Forums

Your Top Ten Blends
 
Notifications
Clear all

Your Top Ten Blends


Lee
Posts: 829
 Lee
Topic starter
Famed Member
Joined: 1 year ago

Ok folks, it’s been a while since we did this and your tastes may have changed. So, let’s have it! You can choose ten blends to smoke for the rest of your life. What are they?

24 Replies
Ted
Posts: 1509
 Ted
Famed Member
Joined: 10 months ago

Always an entertaining discussion! Off the top of my head and for today only 🙂

  1. Mac Baren Club Blend 
  2. Mac Baren Vanilla Roll Cake 
  3. Erinmore Mixture 
  4. Watch City Slice (unfortunately discontinued)
  5. Mac Baren Virginia No. 1
  6. Royal Yacht 
  7. Gawith Hoggarth Bosun Plug
  8. Any of the Gawith Hoggarth ropes, except black. 
  9. Gawith Hoggarth Dark Plug 
  10. HU Flanagan Flake
Reply
3 Replies
Lee
 Lee
Joined: 1 year ago

Famed Member
Posts: 829

Some pretty strong stuff you’ve got there! You like a bit of a nicotine in your blends, it’s safe to say! 😄

Reply
Juan José Pascual Lobo
Joined: 8 years ago

Noble Member
Posts: 611

Which are yours?

Reply
Lee
 Lee
Joined: 1 year ago

Famed Member
Posts: 829

👇 

Reply
Juan José Pascual Lobo
Posts: 611
Noble Member
Joined: 8 years ago

At the present moment, and considering I have nine new blends in my cellar waiting for the right moment to be smoked, and in no particular order. Only blends currently available.

1. Samuel Gawith Skiff

2. Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake

3. Rattray´s Red Rapparee

4. Rattray´s Black Mallory

5. Timm London Blend 1000

6. G.L. Pease Abingdon

7. G.L. Pease Odissey

8. G.L. Pease Robusto

9. Robert McConnell Original Oriental

10. Davidoff Royalty

 

Reply
Ted
Posts: 1509
 Ted
Famed Member
Joined: 10 months ago

Yeah Lee! @Juan José Pascual Lobo has a good question, what are yours?

Reply
1 Reply
Lee
 Lee
Joined: 1 year ago

Famed Member
Posts: 829

I had to put a new lamp up after posting the topic 😊

Reply
ThinkinPipe
Posts: 69
Estimable Member
Joined: 5 months ago

Not really in a particular order except maybe the first 3.

1. C&D Old Joe Krantz

2. Capstan Blue Flake

3. Mac Barren Navy Flake

4. Sutliff Chocolate Mousse

5. Mac Barren Scottish Mixture

6. Sutliff Crumble Kake Va Perique

7. Sutliff Crumble Kake Orchard Mist

8. Lane Dark Red

9. Mac Barren Vanilla Cream

10. Sutliff Crumble Kake No. 2

 

Reply
Lee
Posts: 829
 Lee
Topic starter
Famed Member
Joined: 1 year ago

Off the top of my head, in no particular order and for today only 😄

  1. Samuel Gawith - 1792
  2. Rattray’s - Hal O’ the Wynd
  3. Cornell & Diehl - Bayou Morning Flake
  4. Peterson - Irish Flake
  5. My Own Blend - Old School
  6. Capstan - Navy Cut (Blue)
  7. Peterson - Elizabethan Mixture
  8. J.F. Germain’s - Virginia Goldleaf
  9. G.L. Pease - Windjammer
  10. H.U. Tobacco - Director’s Cut

No room for any Latakia blends 😢 

Reply
1 Reply
Lee
 Lee
Joined: 1 year ago

Famed Member
Posts: 829

Maybe I’d substitute Elizabethan Mixture for Flanagan 🤔 It’s always so damned difficult to narrow it down! Thankfully, in the real world, I don’t have to! 😁

Reply
gladi8tor96
Posts: 9
Eminent Member
Joined: 14 years ago

It's been more than a minute (probably a year or two) since I've been able to fully enjoy a pipe.  Thanks to COVID in 2020 I lost my sense of smell and it is just now back to 90% normal where I can enjoy my pipes and tobacco.  Here is my list, based upon all my previous experience and reviews, kind of in order:

I had to create two lists....  Virginia and VaPer blends and another for English... to hard to rate them against one another IMHO.

  1. Hal O' the Wynd - Rattrays
  2. Blackwoods Flake - McClelland's
  3. Marlin Flake - Rattrays
  4. Curly Block - Peter Heinrichs
  5. Opening Night - C&D
  6. FVF - S.G.
  7. Best Brown Flake - S.G.
  8. Escudo 
  9. No. 44 Dark Virginia - Astley
  10. Stonehaven/Brown Flake - Esoterica/Germain

 

  1. Frog Morton - McClelland's
  2. 3 Oaks Syrian - McClelland's
  3. Quiet Nights - GL Pease
  4. Maltese Falcon - GL Pease
  5. Potlach - Seattle Pipe Club
  6. English Luxury - Peter Stokkebye
  7. Penzance - Esoterica
  8. Black Mallory - Rattray
  9. British Blend - Peretti
  10. Magnum Opus - Russ O. (Pipes and Cigars)
Reply
1 Reply
gladi8tor96
Joined: 14 years ago

Eminent Member
Posts: 9

Correction: "too hard to rate them..."

Reply
Joseph
Posts: 319
Prominent Member
Joined: 6 months ago

As of this writing, I have only ever tasted 26 blends, and my current habit is to smoke from 3 to 5 bowls per week - with only 1 or 2 of those being English. So, I am not a well-rounded or experienced source. Keeping that in mind, here are my top 5 aromatics and top 5 English. (Straight Virginias don't make my top 10, or top 20, tbh - although I have some reportedly excellent examples on hand. ha, ha!).

Top 5 Aromatics:
1. RACKHAM - Kohlhase & Kopp's Caribbean Blue series - sweet, fruit-forward Danish aromatic made with high quality leaf
2. PARSON'S BLEND - The Country Squire - SMELLS like fruit, but, tastes like mild/medium burley with a full, soft mouth-feel. Some sugar topping detectable, but in the background.
3. SEEGAR - Kohlhase & Kopp's Caribbean Blue series - Most unusual Danish aromatic I've ever seen or heard of. It's a RUM/caramel/citrus topped blend with TONKA BEAN and LATAKIA. An English-aromatic crossover - heavy on the aromatic.
4. Riverboat Queen aka RIVENDELL - The Country Squire - cocoa/nutty/woody virginia/burley blend
5. HUNTING CREEK - The Country Squire - Another English-aromatic cross-over (yes, with Latakia)

Top 5 English:
1. SAMARRA - GL Pease - Rich and complex. I have a rolling 10-year supply. Currently open tin is 10-year aged! AMAZING!
2. QUIET NIGHTS - GL Pease - Rich and complex. another rolling 10-year supply aging. Currently open tin is 2-year aged.
2.5. Frog Morton's Cellar - McClelland - unobtanium - I have about 90g left, aged 10 years, and save it for special occasions. This is technically an English-aromatic crossover, too, because of the Whiskey.
3. NORTH WOODS - JM Boswell - Replacement for Frog Morton going forward. Similar flavor profile. Affordable and available in bulk. I buy it 4oz at a time, and don't bother to cellar it (...and you can understand if I put a spritzer mist of top-shelf whiskey on it before I load it into the jar).
4. Pilgrim's Muse aka BAG END - The Country Squire - Scottish Blend - complex yet mild/medium and approachable.
5. ARTISAN'S BLEND - Kohlhase & Kopp's Ashton series - Full bodied English. Stay away if you don't like Latakia. You'll be tasting it for days after.

I have also made a leap of faith on two Gregory Pease blends I've never tasted yet - Merry Monk and King's Fool.  I trust both will be Top-10 when I finally pop the first of the tins I'm aging. Next year maybe. 

Reply
2 Replies
nach0
Joined: 3 years ago

Noble Member
Posts: 728

Nice way to explain, i'll make my list like that too.

I'm on my mobile phone now but as soon i reach my PC i'll write down my list. 

Reply
Joined: 8 years ago

Reputable Member
Posts: 91

I like the way you included descriptions. Very helpful!

I also thought Seegar was a rather interesting blend. A little on the fruity side but definitely interesting.

Reply
Ithian
Posts: 61
Estimable Member
Joined: 2 years ago

No particular order, and it's purely coincidental that they are all from different brands.

  1. Esoterica - And So To Bed
  2. Newminster - 306 English Orient
  3. Peterson - De Luxe Navy Flake
  4. Orlik - Golden Sliced
  5. Country Squire - Bag End (Pilgrim's Muse)
  6. C&D - Haunted Bookshop
  7. HU - Nyala
  8. Three Nuns
  9. Capstan Blue
  10. Samuel Gawith - Scottish Autumn Flake

There are many more that I would miss if only these 10 would remain in the world.

Reply
nach0
Posts: 728
Noble Member
Joined: 3 years ago

They are not in order of preference, all of them are good for me

My aromatic list: 

1 - Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Bob's Chocolate Flake

2 - CAO - Eileen's Dream

3 - Mac Baren - Vanilla Cream Loose Cut

4 - Sutliff Tobacco Company - Molto Dolce

5 - Boswell Pipes & Tobacco - Christmas Cookie

6 - 4noggins - Butternut Burley

7 - Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) - Erinmore Flake

8 - Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Bosun Cut Plug

9 - Mac Baren - Original Choice

10 - Boswell Pipes & Tobacco - Chocolate Cream

 

My top 10 tobaccos

1 - Cornell & Diehl - Blockade Runner

2 - Peterson - Irish Flake

3 - Hermit Tobacco Works Co. - Captain Earle's - Ten Russians

4 - Samuel Gawith - Squadron Leader

5 - Rattray - Black Mallory

6 - Davidoff - Royalty

7 - Peterson - 3P's Peterson Perfect Plug

8 - Mac Baren - HH Bold Kentucky

9 -  Cornell & Diehl - Billy Budd

10 - Cornell & Diehl - Engine 99

 

I will make a honorable mention because there is some tobaccos i cannot set away from any list:

1 - Tabacos Dalberto - Jaguari

2 - Tabac Manil - La Volute

3 - TabacoWay - Old Fired Kentucky (brazilian new brand)

This 3 are important for me, the first one is the best rope we have in Brazil. I learned a lot dealing with it and this is a tobacco i like to keep always close to me even though i don't smoke very often. The second one changed the way i see Burleys, i totally recommend for everyone to have the experience of smoke this precious baccy. The third one is a new Brazilian blend that become the closest thing i can call "my all day tobacco". 

Sorry I know i went beyond the topic but i cannot hold myself sometimes. Another thing is that i still searching for my 'all day tobacco' and i´m quite happy not having found it yet 😎 🍻
This kind of discussion is so nice and i love to learn with you guys. 

Reply
3 Replies
Lee
 Lee
Joined: 1 year ago

Famed Member
Posts: 829

That definitely cheating, nach0! 😄😉

A good list though!

Reply
nach0
Joined: 3 years ago

Noble Member
Posts: 728

I can sum my life up to the difficulty of following the rules 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 

Just kidding. I think i was lacking some interaction and got a bit excited writing the answer. 

Reply
Lee
 Lee
Joined: 1 year ago

Famed Member
Posts: 829

Ha! No worries mate! I was only kidding. It doesn’t really matter 😊

Reply
Nick R
Posts: 354
Noble Member
Joined: 5 months ago

Subject to change by tomorrow and in no particular order:

1) CAO Eileen's Dream

2)Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding

3) Sutliff Creme Brule

4) C&D Old Joe Krantz Red

5) C&D King Cake

6)C&D Green River Vanilla

7) Peterson Irish Whiskey

8) Lane 1Q

9) Escudo Navy Deluxe

10) Local Shop Tobacco Leaf blend Mithril

Reply
1 Reply
nach0
Joined: 3 years ago

Noble Member
Posts: 728

Good Selection mate. I really wanna try the Lane 1Q and Peterson Irish Whiskey. 🧐 

Reply
Posts: 91
Reputable Member
Joined: 8 years ago

Fire Storm RO Series: Virginias, DFK, Perique. DfK forward for me. Cinnamon nuance.

Gawith and Hoggarth Balkan Mixture: Shag cut medium English. My Margate replacement.

G. L. Pease Sixpence: Virginias DFK Perique. Virginia forward for me. Light liquor top note.

Samuel Gawith Grousemoore: Shag cut bright Virginia aromatic. Lemon grass flavor. Takes some getting use to but interesting.

Ken Byron Mind the Gap 2022: Light apricot flavor aromatic with Latakia. Reminiscent of "And So To Bed." Haven't seen it on Byron's web site in awhile, I still have a little left. Hope he makes more!

Hearth & Homes Ten To Midnight: Bright Virginias and Latakia are the backbone of this Lat bomb.

Edisto: Red Virginia flake from the Carolinas. Lightly cased, good Virginia flavor.

C&D Opening Night: Full spectrum Virginia flake from the Carolinas. Lightly cased, good Virginia flavor.

Hearth & Homes Burley Kake: I enjoy a lot of OTC burley blends. This is my favorite.

Samuel Gawith Fire Dance: Virginia flake lightly flavored with blackberry brandy.

 

 

Reply
1 Reply
Ted
 Ted
Joined: 10 months ago

Famed Member
Posts: 1509

You’ve got some fun picks in that group. 

Reply

target="_blank"