suggestions

Post by **KurtHuhn** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:38 pm

Alan L wrote:Hey, you've been looking in my tobacco drawer!!! Although lately I have gotten kinda funky with the fruit loops: Royal Yacht and an old Murray's-made tin of Erinmore Flake...

/barfing noises/

I tried Erinmore once. I nearly stopped smoking altogether.

ASB · Post by **ASB** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 1:37 pm

Pipesandcigars.com has the Hartwell tobaccos, at least the Signature Blend which I just purchased from them a few weeks ago.

If you care for Virginias I'd suggest giving MacBaren's VA #1 a try, it's my go-to. Some think it bites hard, but I've never had a problem with it.

Just keep trying new stuff, there's a whole world out there and it's full of surprises!

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:39 pm

ASB wrote:If you care for Virginias I'd suggest giving MacBaren's VA #1 a try, it's my go-to. Some think it bites hard, but I've never had a problem with it.

Ohh man! I tried Va #1 ones. It was like a flame thrower on my tongue! Smoke slowly. Glacially with this one. I'm a fast puffer, so this one is off my list. Stonehaven too. Man, i love the stuff, but it frickin torches my mouth!

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:26 pm

As far as Virginias go, I like Rattray's Old Gowrie and Hal 0' the Wynd, which is a bit more spicy. The Blackwood's Flake you got is really nice. If you like that, try Dark Star too. I just got a 5 year old tin of Virginia Woods that I have yet to open, but I have high expectations. Also, Orlik's Golden Sliced is Virginia with a touch of Burly. It's sweet and burns cool. Hoggart & Gawith Brown Flake (unscented, of course, for me anyway) is also a nice Virginia flake with some Burley.

Every morning, I fill an old 50g tin with my tobacco "mix" for the day. Since I can get bored with Virginias, I often sprinkle a little spice tobacco in the Virginia base to add a little interest. Or sometimes I use a strong blend as a spice, such as Penzance or a Balkan mix . I always have mason jars full of Perique, Latakia, Orientals, Smyrna, Stoved Virginias, Burley, etc. on my pipe/tobacco shelf for this purpose. I keep experimenting and some days, I say "wow", and try to remember my recipe of the day and can a full jar of the stuff in similar proportions and stash it away for at least a year. I think it's more fun than smoking the same old blend day in and day out.

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:32 pm

Nick wrote:
ASB wrote:If you care for Virginias I'd suggest giving MacBaren's VA #1 a try, it's my go-to. Some think it bites hard, but I've never had a problem with it.
Ohh man! I tried Va #1 ones. It was like a flame thrower on my tongue! Smoke slowly. Glacially with this one. I'm a fast puffer, so this one is off my list. Stonehaven too. Man, i love the stuff, but it frickin torches my mouth!

Hehe...I have a large amount of VA#1 I've been cellaring for at least the last 7 years now. After about 5 years, it mellowed out a ton and doesn't smoke like a torch on your tongue as it does directly out of the tin. Another thing I did was to mash some into a handy dandy "clean, empty tuna fish can press" and gently stove it for about 24 hours. It took some of the edge off.

flix · Post by **flix** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:47 pm

Hey, Hazmat,

How do you gently stove tobacco? I'm of the mind to grow some this summer and would like to darken it considerably.

Tanks,

--Michael

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:27 am

flix wrote:Hey, Hazmat,

How do you gently stove tobacco? I'm of the mind to grow some this summer and would like to darken it considerably.

Tanks,

--Michael

I didn't do much scientific. I just lined a clean tuna can with waxed paper, hand-packed the tobacco into the can, covered with some more wax paper and clamped the lid down with some c-clamps. I then set the oven to "warm" and put this gizmo in there. I left it go for a full 24, checking it about every half our/45 mins. Every once in a while, I'd leave the oven door open for a bit. My thinking was to allow some moisture out. Don't know if it's needed, suggested or silly. I just did it. After 24, I pulled it out, let it cool considerably and then "popped" the baccy patty out of the can. It had changed a good bit through the stoving, but it wasn't miraculous. Just got a little bit "toastier" all the way around. Give it a try.

android · Post by **android** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:50 am

hey guys, i was in the big city last weekend 'omaha' and near a tobacconist so i stopped in and got some frog morton across the pond, dunhill royal yacht and a few pipe store blends, 'windsor' and 'african queen'. i've liked all of them so far... thanks for the recommendations. i figure i'll just buy a few at a time until i have so many my wife thinks i'm crazy, wait... she already does.

thanks again.

p.s. - does anyone else find it difficult to first, open dunhill tins and secondly, after opening, close them?

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:09 pm

android wrote:
p.s. - does anyone else find it difficult to first, open dunhill tins and secondly, after opening, close them?

If you're talking about the round 50g tins... pry the lid up with a quarter in the little divet provided in the bottom half of the tin. After you hear the "woosh" of the broken seal, then twist open. It shouldn't be too hard to twist the top closed again, as long as you have the threads line up first, if not reverse until the lid drops a tad, then twist closed again. Mind you, once it's been opened, it won't seal again unless you go through a "canning method" of sealing it shut again.

android · Post by **android** » Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:42 pm

kbadkar wrote: If you're talking about the round 50g tins... pry the lid up with a quarter in the little divet provided in the bottom half of the tin. After you hear the "woosh" of the broken seal, then twist open. It shouldn't be too hard to twist the top closed again, as long as you have the threads line up first, if not reverse until the lid drops a tad, then twist closed again. Mind you, once it's been opened, it won't seal again unless you go through a "canning method" of sealing it shut again.

i finally figured out the quarter thing after reading the fine print and i know it won't get 'sealed' again, i was just having trouble getting to close enough that it wouldn't fly open when i picked it up... but thanks for the tips, i'll try to make sure the threads are all lined up.

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:21 pm

A quick follow up to an earlier post where I looked forward to an old McClelland tin... I definitely do not suggest Virginia Woods, after trying a few bowls. Yuck. Tongue torching somewhat aromatic bonfire is how I'd describe it. Run Away!

kbadkar · Post by **kbadkar** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:44 pm

The forum seems quiet today, so I'll post another follow up on tobacco suggestions with another Virginia that I have a new crush on. I was just in North Carolina on a business trip and had a couple hours to kill and went to McCranie's tobacco shop in Charlotte. I asked if they had any good local tobaccos and I was presented with open tin of Red Ribbon to pack into my pipe. It was sweet smooth mellow but not boring. First impressions can be deceiving. I purchased three small 50g tins, the only size available. Now, after a couple tins quickly went up in smoke, I wish I bought a box. The shop purchased the tobacco allotment from a 1996 NCarolina crop and McClelland tins it, so it has that usual McClelland ketchup smell upon opening. But that smell and taste dissapate quickly when it dries out a bit and doesn't taste anything like McClellands other Virginia concoctions. It makes a great base for a little mixing too. It can be purchased at www.mccranies.com. I haven't tried any of their other blends yet.

android · Post by **android** » Mon May 05, 2008 12:05 pm

just wanted to thank y'all for your suggestions. my tastes are yet unsophisticated, but man do I LOVE b. hartwell evening stroll. i can't stop smelling it if i'm not smoking it. also really like the barbery coast, butternut burley and frog morton across the pond. i ordered but haven't tried the lane-rlp6 yet, love the smell though.

i think i'm definitely leaning more toward aromatics at this point in my smoking career, i tried a bowl of mclelland virginia no. 25 again the other day and was really put off by it. maybe in the future.

thanks again.

hazmat · Post by **hazmat** » Mon May 05, 2008 12:13 pm

android wrote:just wanted to thank y'all for your suggestions. my tastes are yet unsophisticated, but man do I LOVE b. hartwell evening stroll. i can't stop smelling it if i'm not smoking it. also really like the barbery coast, butternut burley and frog morton across the pond. i ordered but haven't tried the lane-rlp6 yet, love the smell though.

i think i'm definitely leaning more toward aromatics at this point in my smoking career, i tried a bowl of mclelland virginia no. 25 again the other day and was really put off by it. maybe in the future.

thanks again.

Glad you're liking the Evening Stroll. I kinda broke myself in on that stuff. You'll find that your tastes will most likely evolve as you get more and more adventurous in your tobacco purchases. I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to smoke a VA when I first got into this. Then one day, all of a sudden, I tried a VA that just tasted GOOD and that was that. I hung with that blend and started some investigations into other VAs. Latakia blends were a whole other monster. Initially, I didn't even want to smell the stuff for fear of retching. Now when I smell it, my mouth waters just a bit.