Five Strategies to Improve Your New Tobacco-Blend Explorations.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at 8:33AM | Neill Archer Roan | Permalink tagged Cellaring Tobacco, Cornell and Diehl, G.L. Pease, McClelland Pipe Tobaccos, Pipe Tobacco Selection | in Pipe Tobaccos 
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Nicotiana TabacumWe live in a Golden Age of Pipe Tobacco Choices.
Despite anti-smoking fervor and the ongoing attempts of government and society to radically constrain the tobacco industries, we live in a Golden Age of pipe tobacco. The range and quality of blend choices available to today’s pipe smoker boggles the mind. There is so much out there it is difficult to imagine sampling and evaluating most of what is available.
Most of us don’t want to try everything. We know there are a lot of blends out there that we will not or cannot like. So, how do we improve the probability that we can find blends wherein we enjoy both the taste and the affect of the smoking experience?
This is a more complicated question than it seems. We all have different palates and body chemistries. There are five straightforward strategies that we can employ, however, and I will discuss them in more depth below. We can:
1. Learn more about the tobacco blends we know we enjoy.
2. Learn to recognize those blend components that are in tobaccos we enjoy by reading tins, reviews, and Web sites.
3. Talk to those blenders and manufactures that produce our favorite blends.
4. Find fellow pipe-smokers whose tastes parallel our own and learn what they like.
5. Keep a log of those tobaccos we sample so that we know what we like and, just as importantly, what we don’t like.
Smoking just one or two blends can lead to boredom and burn-out.
Some men seem content to smoke the same one or two blends for years on end. “I’ve found the tobacco I like and that’s what I smoke,” is an oft-heard refrain from these pipe smokers.
I, on the other hand, enjoy some variety among my smokes. Without variety, blends seem to flatten out to me and lose their complexity. Can you imagine eating just one or two menu selections day-in and day-out? Sometimes, I find that my palate starts rejecting a blend if I smoke it too often. This seems especially true with English blends as opposed to Virginias.
As a result, if I want to preserve my affection for a blend, I must take care not to smoke it too much or I will develop an aversion to it. I have had the same experience with some pieces of music. I used to love J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, but I have heard it so often – with so many abortive transcriptions and arrangements – I can barely tolerate it today. There are a few tobacco blends that I have smoked too much, as well. I hope, after giving myself a several-year break, my affection might be raised from the dead.
As a result, I’m trying to broaden the variety of blends in my cellar. I’m also curious about blends I haven’t tried yet, so I regularly try new blends, but more often than not I’m disappointed.
It’s not just about a blend’s taste. It’s also about a blend’s affect on
your body.
When I don’t like a blend I usually put it down to the idiosyncratic nature of my body chemistry. I can’t tolerate certain tobaccos, and their presence in a blend prevents my exploration. A strong nicotine content, for example, is something I don’t like. I hate “tobacco head.” Few sensations are as disagreeable to me as nicotine-induced nausea. I find it ironic that I like the taste of some nicotine-loaded blends; Haddo’s Delight comes to mind, but I can’t smoke it – even on a full stomach – without having to endure adverse consequences.
Like many of you, I suspect, I don’t enjoy trying blend after blend after blend, only to dislike them all. Since we all smoke our pipes for enjoyment and relaxation, it is tempting to stick with something we know will give us the enjoyment we desire from our experience as opposed to enduring marginally satisfying experiences or worse.
Exploring different tobacco blends can be made more fun, more interesting, and less distasteful.
For some time now I have thought about how I might make my tobacco explorations more pleasurable and productive. It occurred to me that if I learned more about the specific tobaccos and proportions comprising a blend I like, this might help me determine the probability of enjoying a new blend while still introducing some variety to my tobacco diet.
So, while I was at the Kansas City Pipe and Tobacco Show, I took advantage of the several opportunities I had to speak with Mary McNiel of McClelland Tobacco. There are a number of McClelland tobaccos that I like very much, so I told Mary what I liked about those blends, then asked her about the component tobaccos that comprise the blends. In a couple of cases – for example Frog Morton (which is in the Craftsbury Series) – I was surprised to discover that those components I thought made the blend amenable to my palate were, in fact, not what makes the blend attractive to me.
McClelland’s Old Dog - An Ashton Revival Club BlendThen I took the information that I gleaned from Mary and begain carefully reading the blend descriptions of the new Club Series that McClelland has recently revived and reintroduced. In the process I came upon an Ashton-revival blend, Old Dog, that seemed to fit the profile of what I like. I went across the aisle and purchased a tin for exploration that evening.
When I smoked my first bowl of Old Dog I was again surprised. First, the taste was darker, richer, and somewhat heavier than I expected it to be, based on my assumptions from reading the tin. Old Dog is described as “a full English Mixture dark with cool, smoky Cyprian Latakia, spiced with fragrant Xanthis from Macendonia.”
What smooths out the blend for me, however, is the “aged, sweet flue-cured Virginias and smooth jet-black Cavendish…”
The bottom line is that I like this tobacco very much indeed, and it tastes significantly different from anything else I’m smoking right now, despite having some blending strategies in common with Frog Morton, which I also like. The blend also contains pressure-treated, flue-cured Virginias which are both component tobaccos in many blends that I enjoy.
It is important to be aware of those blend components that appeal to your palate.
My point here is that liking a particular blend isn’t helpful in finding other likable blends if one does not have some hint of what makes that blend likable. While I suspect I have over-simplified the issues here, I think that some self-knowledge is preferable to leaving the palate to wander through a wilderness of choices blinded by ignorance.
Reading reviews can be a helpful part of the process, too, but there is follow-up required.
Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine publishes excellent in in-depth tobacco reviews. The reviewers describe the blend’s component tobaccos and the processes used to prepare them before blending. There is a problem here - at least for me - and that problem is that I don’t necessarily know the likes and dislikes of the reviewers so I don’t have a reliable indicator of how their body chemistry or sensibilities might compare to mind. If, however, I have read their reviews and tried out tobaccos that they have reviewed, I am able to compare my evaluation with the reviewers. As far as I know, this is the only way to determine how my sensibilities might compare to a reviewer’s.
Blend designers can tell you things about your palate that you may be unable to figure out for yourself.
For some years now I have enjoyed the friendship and encyclopedic knowledge of Gregory Pease, the architect of such beloved blends as Bohemian Scandal, Stonehenge, Ravens Wing, Renaissance, Maltese Falcon, Westminster, and of late a new favorite: Chelsea Morning. Unlike some blenders, Greg is as much chemist as alchemist, and he is generous and forthcoming about how and why his blends taste and smoke like they do. However, like most blenders, he is not about to give up his recipes and – as far as I know – he doesn’t own a talking dog that is amenable to bribes.
It is possible, however, by reading both G.L. Pease and McClelland tobacco tins to determine those component tobaccos in a blend. It is not, possible, however, to grasp how different leaf-processing strategies, curing strategies, and combinations thereof will conjure the final taste sensations.
For these reasons, I have found that having conversations with Greg about what I like and don’t like has enabled him to help me make better choices. I’m quite sure that I’m not doing Greg any favors by suggesting that everyone consult him in this manner, but it is my experience that nothing else works nearly so well as talking to the blender or reading their comments and insights. Greg has an informative blog site – The Briar and Leaf Chronicles – which is as educational and insightful a place to learn about tobaccos as anyone has ever has created or is likely to create.
Pipe and tobacco shows are a great place to learn more about blends and blending strategies.
Cornell and Diehl’s display at the Chicago Pipe ShowMost tobacco blenders are at the major pipe shows so I urge anyone who is serious about refining their selection strategies to avail themselves of the opportunities to learn by talking to blenders, accepting some tasting suggestions, and then trying the tobaccos out for oneself.
Friends can be very helpful.
I have also found that fellow pipe-smoking friends can help focus the blend-exploration process. This adds interest to discussions at pipe shows. If you know that a particular friend shares your tobacco preferences, your friend’s taste in tobaccos and perhaps his body chemistry might be similar to yours.
Speaking personally, I have several friends whose taste in tobaccos parallels mine very closely. Thus, I am always quite interested in what they have discovered that they like because I have so often found that I enjoy what they recommend. Robert Lawing turned me onto Magnolia Avenue and McClelland Virginas 22 and 25. Richard Friedman turned me onto Bjarne’s Flake. Fred Hanna introduced me to Marcovitch (somewhat cruelly, I might add, as he has cornered the world’s supply). When any of these friends make a recommendation, I add it to a list for further exploration. While these recommendations aren’t sure-fire, the results have been stellar compared to my trials using scattershot sampling.
It’s time to get cracking on building your tobacco cellar.
These days, with ominous clouds forming on the regulatory horizon, I believe that it has become more important than ever before for me to build my cellar with a robust variety of good blends that I know I will enjoy. I have no little anxiety that I must accelerate my ability to find and select blends that I like so that I can cellar more quickly before blends become unavailable, more expensive, or subject to more egregious taxation.
To sum it all up:
In summary, to increase the probability of discovering tasty, new blends:
1. Acquire self-knowledge. Develop an inventory of what you like. Learn as much as you can about both the component tobaccos and the processing and curing strategies used in the blend development process.
2. Carefully read blend descriptions on the Web and on the tobacco tins. Pay attention to tinning dates since blend vintages change because tobacco crops vary from year to year.
3. Talk to those blenders and manufactures that produce your favorites. Tell them what you like, why you like it, and then ask them what recommendations they might make based on that information.
4. Find fellow pipe-smokers whose tastes parallel your own. Create an ongoing dialogue about both old and new favorites. Offer samples and ask for samples so that you can explore your own palate.
5. Keep a log of your impressions of new blends when you try them so that you can share fully with your friends.
Finally, don’t be afraid to occasionally venture out into that great wilderness. You never know what you may discover.
Reader Comments (16)
My problem is keeping multiple tins and packs open all at once. I rarely get to smoke more than two moderate sized bowls a day. Getting through a tin takes weeks. With multiple options I begin to worry about tobacco drying out and haven't found a really successful system of hydration that works. Generally I can keep things relatively fresh if I move them to a jar, but not if I keep it in the tin and how many bowls can I keep going? Any comments?
That was a joy to read, thank you! I find myself stacking my cellar deeply with a great varitiey for many of the reasons that you do! I am something of a omnivore with Pipe Tobacco, well-within reason, you know, the "good stuff". I enjoy everything from light virginia flakes all the way to the heaviest of Latakia Mixtures. I have, however, had a hard time getting snuggly with McClelland's Latakia mixtures, so, i was hoping that you could quantify the following statement a bit: " I was surprised to discover that those components that I thought made the blend amenable to my palate were, in fact, not what really makes the blend special for me." Could you share what that is? Is what you thought was special, actually not in it? Or is there something else in it that you weren't aware of?
The Brandy #3...yeah. I almost got to that overload place with my favorite, #5. One thing that sets me apart in that way is a strong preference for period-instrument performances. My favorite for the Brandenburgs is Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. I'll post a link.
Cheers!!
I'll post the 5, and the 3 would be there close somewhere, if your interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49IOKnhX0Sk&feature=related
Ira, like you I find I have to move tobaccos to a jar to keep them really fresh. But, barring that I sometimes use ziplock bags and that seems to work well. My tobacco roll-ups do a pretty fair job, too!
Jon, with many contemporary English blends, I prefer those blends that contain some Virginia cavendish, but not too much! Too much Virginia cavendish makes the blend cloying. I want to emphasize that not just any cavendish gets the job done. There are many cavendish tobaccos that have significant amounts of burley in them, and the burley raises the nicotine content. This creates an undesirable effect on me.
Again, I am not suggesting that my sensibilities are the correct ones. I'm just pointing out what works for my tastes inside particular blends.
Ira -- we all have the same problem if we are smoking several different blends on an ongoing basis. I actually like my tobacco dried out, where it is crispy on the outside and slightly cool (moist) when I reach my hands inside the tobacco. One thing that I do is to store my tobacco in a picnic cooler ice chest, which has a constant temperature. Also, Mike McNeil once told me that, when it comes to storing tobacco, cold is always better than hot.
Lou Zischolz once pointed out something that I still don't understand, which is that sometimes the better the tobacco smells, the worse it smokes, and vice versa. I have had the same experience as Lou, and I don't have a clue as to why that is -- except for maybe the drying-out process.
I, like Neill, have the same issues with regard to high-Nicotine content tobaccos. For example, though I like the tast of VaPers, I can only smoke about half an average size bowl before having to retire to the "Porcelain Kingdom". Same with any tobacco blend with more than a trace of Burley. While this tends to limit my choice of blends, there are so many other possibilities that I do not feel "deprived" in any way. On the other hand, my body chemistry apparently mitigates against tongue bite since I have yet to experience that annoying side-effect, even with straight Virginia blends or flakes.
I haven't really taken the time to explore a lot of tobaccos, but working at smokingpipes.com allowed me access to hundreds of blends. We have dozens and dozens of blends from McClelland, Samuel Gawith (when it's available), Gawith & Hoggarth, Peter Stokkebye, Mac Baren, Lane, and others. Like anyone in a store, I would often pick up a jar and give it a good smell. After discussing tobaccos with many customers, I began to use some new techniques to help them:
Something I call 'comparative blending' is just that. When someone wants to explore a McClelland English, I put a few jars on the counter between a pure Virginia, and blending Latakia. We would smell the Virginia, then the blend, and thus smell everything that was NOT the Virginia. The same thing would happen when we would smell the jar of Latakia, and back to the same blend. If one is able to do this (and it looks quite silly) anyone will be able to pick up which blend is sweeter, or smokier. This is just one tiny part in finding something good. I also compare the cut and moisture of blends in jars, and understand what to expect from a particular company.
Sure, many blends simply come in tins, but this was a good way to help people in the store. The greatest suggestion (and one I followed myself), was to buy in quantity if something was enjoyed. It might be a few extra tins, or a complete pound of a good bulk. Jarring it up rapidly built a tobacco cellar, and it was important to understand that any blend they smoke today will only get better with age (in most cases), and get more expensive. Chances are that if I don't like the few pounds of Best Brown Flake or Stonehaven I set aside a few years ago, someone will probably be willing to give me what I paid for them, or trade for something.
Sure, I've been disappointed with some blends that I stocked up on, but am most happy about my pile of Virginia tobaccos. Since I don't smoke much, many of the tobaccos I have are between 2 and 5 years old. The only problem with this is that I really haven't purchased many tobaccos since.
I need to explore quite a bit more. If someone does find a blend they like, be rest assured it's a good idea to get at least a few more as soon as possible.
Great posting...I comes at a time which hits home with me. About 8-10 years ago I gave up English blends. There was something about them that, after many years of smoking them, made me sick to my stomach. I guessed that my body chem had just turned against the latakia. Over the years I tried a couple but they had the same effect.
Well at the KC show Neill opened a tin of John Cotton...I had the pleasure of trying it...wonderful. While on vacation I smoked many of the english blends I had stock-piled over the years...excellent. No ill effects and I remembered how much I loved them and am now looking forward to trying the newer blends on the market.
I was stuck in a rut...only smoking one or two tobaccos...now the tobacco world has a re-newed buyer...
Thanks for the posting Neill and it really hit home with me.
Some tobacco blenders seem to have a taste peculiar to the company. I love the musty fermented smell of Germain's blends. Their royal blend with Perique I find delicious, especially after a few months. Some of the less mainstream companies produce fabulous blends. Peretti in Boston, for example, or Rich's in Portland.
Greg Pease is surprisingly forthcoming with info. Try asking L.J at Perretti about his Blends!!
Matt
There is another strategy that I have returned to recently. A relatively plain Virginia flake has been my touchstone for many years. I always find myself coming back to Orlik Golden, Rotary Navy Flake or Reiner Long Golden slices. However I have always really liked tobaccos that have a notable Turkish component (such as Samuela Gowith's Sam's Flake) and I love St. James Perique. I acquired some blending leaf recently, both Izmir and nice fragrant Perique.
I started playing around with rubbing out some good quality Virginia flake and adding some Izmir and Perique. After tryng several recipes, I have settled on one that has the proportions I like. I did this years ago and can't think why it has been so long since I took it up again.
I still go back to plain Va or Vaper flakes, right out of the tin and of course some oriental and English blends. However, being able to create a flavor profile that speaks to my particular tastes adds anther dimension of fun, interest and satisfaction to this hobby for me.
Neill, A thoughtful and informative post! Ira's comment was interesting to me. I used to keep many tins open at any given time, and I have moved away from that practice to working my way through three tins at a time. Perhaps it might have something to do with reviewing for Pipes & Tobaccos an array of tobaccos four times a year (truly wretched excess).
My previously eclectic use of tobacco led to a few problems, the worst of which was tobaccos drying out on me. I now usually have one VA blend, one English blend another "bonus" blend open at any given time. I use the opportunity to really get into each blend, try it in different pipes and different times of day to appreciate the differences, and for flakes, rub them out to varying degrees for a different taste experience. Once finished with a tin, I may open another of the same kind if I'm still in the mood, or give it a rest and revisit it in afew months.
If you do like to have lots of tobaccos open, get pint size Ball or Mason jars and put some of the tobacco in a jar. These do a great job of retaining moisture for several months (be sure to label the jar!) and you can smoke as much or as little as you want. A word of caution -- I and others have found that rehydrating tobaccos more than once really diminishes the flavor. A lot of my vintage tobaccos, in the tin, dry out and can be hydrated once with great success. More than one rehydrating and something really goes out of the tobacco. You can have a relatively large rotation of blends you like, but only keep enough open to smoke it before it dries out.
But I'm really enjoying the focus and peace of mind that comes with not trying to smoke too many blends at once. And when I do return to a favored blend, it's almost like a new experience!
Thanks for the reply! So, Frog Morton has the Virginia Cavendish, and that is part of why you like it as it turns out, or just the "Old Dog" has the VC? And, by Viginia Cavendish, do you mean just, pressed, steamed, fermented etc, or do you mean all that, and flavored a bit too? Perhaps this can help me get to teh root of my aversion to their English Mixtures. Perhaps there are some that would work well for me after all.
Jon, both Frog Morton and Old Dog have VC in them (according to both tins). As to whether the VC is flavored or not, I don't know, but I doubt it.
Thanks Neill. Good information to have. My frog tins don't list contents. But, they're "across the pond."
I'm always amazed at how many blends have "Virginia, Oriental and Latakia" listed as their components and yet they all seem to taste so different.
After many years of pipesmoking and very little success with Virgina and VaPer blends I discovered something. I like Red Virginia!! Now about 50% of my smoking comprises Virginias and VaPers and I had about given up trying them anymore.