Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

[Levi Gross]

I’ve thrown all measurements out the window on this blend. What is it you may ask.? Well, it is Balkin Sobranidge from WLT and it has three plus ounces of an unknown homegrown that I did a toasting and casing test on, sorry I don’t have a link to share for that but it’s in the toasting section. Then I threw in a large amount of Turkish Izmir that was left over from my shredding when I bought the WLT sampler. My latest addition was spraying both of the casings from the sampler pack on it and letting it rest for a week. Today I threw in a very very healthy portion of Latakia. Here’s the picture of what I am hoping is the ultimate never to be duplicated again totally unscientific pipe blend

 

[deluxestogie]

Wild. It looks tasty.

Bob

 

[Levi Gross]

Wild. It looks tasty.

Bob

I just smoked a bowl of it. I dont know how or why but the latakia tamed it finally. Lat. Bomb perfection very tasty

 

[alPol05]

Comparing Tobacco Varieties for Pipe Blending

That does look pretty nice. What blend was that before you cooked it? Did it change the flavor? Meld together like you planned?

It tastes like rotten veggies when smoked. It was just one of my test blends and there is nothing good about this cavendish. It goes to the trash can.

 

[greenmonster714]

I just smoked a bowl of it. I dont know how or why but the latakia tamed it finally. Lat. Bomb perfection very tasty

Hienz 57 blend. Looks nice.

It tastes like rotten veggies when smoked. It was just one of my test blends and there is nothing good about this cavendish. It goes to the trash can.

Well I guess looks can be deceiving..lol. Better luck next time.

 

[Garlisk]

Mixed up a blend of Lemon VA, Red Tip VA, and Latakia (45/45/10), as my first blend. Pressed it into a wafer for 6 days and then jarred it up for 4 days. Tried it today and it wasn't too shabby. Sweet/smokey with hints of chocolate. I don't have a greatly refined palette, but I did enjoy it.

 

[mwaller]

Nice! Add a healthy dose of perique and it would be right up my alley.

 

[greenmonster714]

Mixed up a blend of Lemon VA, Red Tip VA, and Latakia (45/45/10), as my first blend. Pressed it into a wafer for 6 days and then jarred it up for 4 days. Tried it today and it wasn't too shabby. Sweet/smokey with hints of chocolate. I don't have a greatly refined palette, but I did enjoy it.

View attachment 23499

Nice looking block. My palette consists of damn this is good to omg is this tobacco.

 

[deluxestogie]

Pearl of Shibam (a reprise from the very first post in this thread)

I made up a about a half-pound of this blend today. It's a simple, mild-to-medium English/Balkan mixture. It was among my earliest excursions into custom blending.

Way back when I used to have Cornell & Diehl blend this for me, according to my personal recipe, I would buy a couple of pounds of it at a time from C&D, and store it in a large "tobacconist" glass jar. I made up a label[sup]*[/sup] for it, but was unable to convince Craig Tarler, at C&D, to put the blend in his formal lineup. But in their blend card files it was identified as #404.

Pearl of Shibam
Parts per 16 [i.e. ounces per pound, or tablespoons per 1/2 pint] (percent)

• Virginia bright-cured: 5 (31%)
• Perique pressure-cured: 3 (19%)
• Latakia: 4 (25%)
• Oriental (typically, Izmir): 4 (25%)

Today's batch used:

• WLT Lemon Virginia
• WLT St. James Parish Perique
• WLT Cyprian Latakia
• WLT Samsun

This 5:3 ratio of bright leaf to Perique is the magical balance point at which the tongue bite vanishes, yet the Perique does not take over.

Bob

* The bit of Arabic on the label says, "al Sharq", which means, "the East".

 

[Levi Gross]

I absolutely love this blend.

Pearl of Shibam...

 

[Levi Gross]

I need one of those nice labels for my jar!

Pearl of Shibam

 

[deluxestogie]

Ha! I made up that label about 3 or 4 computers ago. I'll see if I can locate it (if it still exists). If not, I'll try to reconstruct it with what I've got.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

This is the only version of the image I was able to locate. There once was a huge one, with better balance.

Bob

EDIT: My avatar is a Bryce image that I created ages ago, entitled, "Sailing to Shibam".

 

[Levi Gross]

I like it! Can I PM you my address? Maybe there is something I could send you in return. I will be smoking this blend for years to come and a proper label is fitting.

This is the only version of the image I was able to locate. There once was a huge one, with better balance.

Bob

EDIT: My avatar is a Bryce image that I created ages ago, entitled, "Sailing to Shibam".

 

[deluxestogie]

Enjoy. In a browser, you can download the image alone, or open the image in a new tab, then download it.

Bob

 

[Levi Gross]

Ah,yes! Very well... You know us Indiana folks are 50 years behind everyone else.

 

[deluxestogie]

I've moved the sour-bitter-peppery-painful discussion to its own, well-deserved thread.

http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/8057-Comparing-Tobacco-Varieties-for-Pipe-Blending

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

Black Horse
A new blend I've been playing with has finally taken shape. This is a heavy Burley/Perique blend with a slight sprinkle of VA Redleaf and Prilep P66-9/7 which seems to balance it all out well. I've made a few variations but this recipe has won me over.
The use of cigar scrap is copied from some of John Patton blends. His Dark Horse in particular. Blending them with Burley and perique tend to tame them down a little and the VA Redleaf on top just because it tastes good with Burley. Not much influence from the Prilep P66-9/7 but it's in there.

Just in case you'd like to blend some yourself here is the basic recipe. Remember you don't have to be exact with this stuff. Adding or taking away is allowed..lol. Make it your own.

Black Horse 1/2oz or 16g
3g VA Redleaf WLT
2g Burley Redtip BF
2g One Sucker BF
1g Prilep P66-9/7 WLT
3g Cigar Scrap WLT
5g perique BF
I added the vendors for new folks that may be interested in making their own blends.
WLT - wholeleaf tobacco.com
BF - Butcher Farms..BigBonner FTT member

I liked the samples so well I've already made a nice 8oz blend and crammed it all into a quart mason. I'm going to try to keep my fingers out of it so it can meld some flavors. I will just smoke up the samples I have leftover...Maybe.

 

[alPol05]

Black Horse
A new blend I've been playing with has finally taken shape. This is a heavy Burley/Perique blend with a slight sprinkle of VA Redleaf and Prilep P66-9/7 which seems to balance it all out well. I've made a few variations but this recipe has won me over.
The use of cigar scrap is copied from some of John Patton blends. His Dark Horse in particular. Blending them with Burley and perique tend to tame them down a little and the VA Redleaf on top just because it tastes good with Burley. Not much influence from the Prilep P66-9/7 but it's in there.
View attachment 23613

This is a nice looking blend. Very colorful. I would love to try this recipe, but it looks like ingredients are a bit too exotic for what I have.

I have a question: When I put together a mixture I make 50g of it. When I see your quantities, I wonder if so small portions will provide an adequate mix and you can really taste what you made. I don't have much experience in this department, but it seems to me that some volume needs to be there for good melding to occur.

 

[deluxestogie]

Generic Black Horse Recipe 1/2oz or 16g

• 3g flue-cured VA Red [3/16 = ~19%]
• 2g burley upper leaf [2/16 = 12.5%]
• 2g Dark Air-cured [2/16 = 12.5%]
• 1g Oriental [1/16 = ~6%]
• 3g cigar leaf [3/16 = ~19%]
• 5g Perique [5/16 = ~31%]

This will, of course, be different from GM714's original blend. Burley Red Tips are harvested from the upper plant, and naturally take on a deep red-brown color as they color-cure. Some burleys are quite mild, so any of the darker or heavier burley leaf will be a reasonable substitute.

I found the commercial Dark Horse to be very tasty, but more potent than most of the blends I prefer. Reducing the dark-air, the burley or the Perique would be an approach to taming it. Another would be to substitute a lighter, milder burley. Many pipe smokers like the heftier burley blends on the market. (I'm a wimp in that regard.)

When I put together a mixture I make 50g of it.

Most of my initial blending trials consist of a batch about that size. Just blend it will. (I mix it into a quart-size Ziploc, inflate and seal the bag, then agitate it aggressively for about 60 seconds. I then expel the air, squeeze and roll the bag, and re-seal it.)

Bob