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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?
Always an entertaining discussion! Off the top of my head and for today only 🙂
- Mac Baren Club Blend
- Mac Baren Vanilla Roll Cake
- Erinmore Mixture
- Watch City Slice (unfortunately discontinued)
- Mac Baren Virginia No. 1
- Royal Yacht
- Gawith Hoggarth Bosun Plug
- Any of the Gawith Hoggarth ropes, except black.
- Gawith Hoggarth Dark Plug
- HU Flanagan Flake
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
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
Off the top of my head, in no particular order and for today only 😄
- Samuel Gawith - 1792
- Rattray’s - Hal O’ the Wynd
- Cornell & Diehl - Bayou Morning Flake
- Peterson - Irish Flake
- My Own Blend - Old School
- Capstan - Navy Cut (Blue)
- Peterson - Elizabethan Mixture
- J.F. Germain’s - Virginia Goldleaf
- G.L. Pease - Windjammer
- H.U. Tobacco - Director’s Cut
No room for any Latakia blends 😢
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.
- Hal O' the Wynd - Rattrays
- Blackwoods Flake - McClelland's
- Marlin Flake - Rattrays
- Curly Block - Peter Heinrichs
- Opening Night - C&D
- FVF - S.G.
- Best Brown Flake - S.G.
- Escudo
- No. 44 Dark Virginia - Astley
- Stonehaven/Brown Flake - Esoterica/Germain
- Frog Morton - McClelland's
- 3 Oaks Syrian - McClelland's
- Quiet Nights - GL Pease
- Maltese Falcon - GL Pease
- Potlach - Seattle Pipe Club
- English Luxury - Peter Stokkebye
- Penzance - Esoterica
- Black Mallory - Rattray
- British Blend - Peretti
- Magnum Opus - Russ O. (Pipes and Cigars)
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.
No particular order, and it's purely coincidental that they are all from different brands.
- Esoterica - And So To Bed
- Newminster - 306 English Orient
- Peterson - De Luxe Navy Flake
- Orlik - Golden Sliced
- Country Squire - Bag End (Pilgrim's Muse)
- C&D - Haunted Bookshop
- HU - Nyala
- Three Nuns
- Capstan Blue
- Samuel Gawith - Scottish Autumn Flake
There are many more that I would miss if only these 10 would remain in the world.
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
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
3 - Hermit Tobacco Works Co. - Captain Earle's - Ten Russians
4 - Samuel Gawith - Squadron Leader
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
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.
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
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.