Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

[deluxestogie]

Balkan Baldío

Mild and smoky, this simple blend offers a slight sweetness and an undertone of floral Oriental. It is barely acidic.

Balkan Baldío:

• Baldío Vera 50%
• WLT Basma 25%
• WLT Latakia 25%

Simplified recipe:

• Mild air-cured leaf 50%
• Oriental 25%
• Latakia 25%

This might work with lower leaf of Harrow Velvet or other notably mild burley in place of the Baldío Vera, but a very mild, air-cured Virginia might come closer. Because of the tameness of Baldío Vera, the Oriental selected will have more of an influence on the overall character of the blend. At 25%, this proportion of Latakia would be considered to be on the low end for Balkan blends.

Balkan Baldío would also fare well with a small amount of Perique, not for its pH influence, but for the fruitiness it would add.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Edinburgh - A Rich, Oriental and Cavendish Blend

The "pouch" aroma of this blend immediately reminded me of some of the brown, Scottish Cavendish blends from the Rattray's of yesteryear. It is quite Oriental-heavy at 50%. My choice for Cavendish was my Harrow Velvet burley Cavendish, which no longer tastes like burley. Cavendish is 30% of this blend. The two condiments, at 10% each, are Perique and VA Bright.

The nicotine strength of the entire blend is pretty much determined by the choice of Cavendish. The Cavendish process alters the taste, aroma and sweetness of the starting tobacco, but does not alter the nicotine content (unless you soak the leaf, then discard the liquid).

Depending on your choice of flue-cured (I used WLT VA Bright) and Perique (I used the WLT Perique), you may need to make minor adjustments in the ratio to balance the pH to your preference. If it hits the tip of your tongue, then increase the Perique slightly. If it bites the back and sides of your tongue, reduce the Perique slightly. The sweet spot is bite at no part of your tongue.

For Oriental, I used WLT Samsun mostly, then added a portion of Basma to increase the sweetness slightly. Any Oriental or combination of them will work, though the specifics will influence the final aroma.

Edinburgh (%, parts per 16)

• Oriental 50%, 8
• Cavendish 30%, 5
• Perique 10%, 1-1/2
• Flue-cured 10%, 1-1/2

As usual, I use the parts per 16 to count tablespoons of shred. Blending shops use those same parts as ounces per pound of blend. For home-blenders, the leaf sources usually vary enough to render the difference in outcome of counting volume vs counting weight insignificant. Making a small, sampling batch of 16 tablespoons is great for experimentation, then the numbers can be multiplied for a full batch. My jar (shown in the photo) holds a quadruple batch (64 tablespoons) easily. If I had a kitchen scale, weighing would be easier, and give the process a veneer of precision that it doesn't really need.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

A 3.5" label, in case you're interested. (It's high resolution--300 dpi, and can be sized as you like.)

Just save the image, copy and paste 1 or more of them into a Word document , then export to pdf to print at home or carry to a business that can print it in color for you.

Bob

 

[Levi Gross]

Edinburgh could very easily become an simple non Latakia based everyday smoke for me. It has also made me reevaluate some of my own blending concepts. I love the dominant oriental tobacco with the other tobacco playing condiment.

 

[deluxestogie]

Edinburgh is a seemingly simple formula, but with two major complications.

First, you'll have to make your own Cavendish, and the source leaf will significantly alter the strength of the blend. Secondly, with 50% Oriental, the dozens of Oriental varieties from differing crop years and differing stalk level and differing cure conditions, will insure that no two batches are alike, even from the same blender. I guess that's part of the fun.

My opinion is that it smokes particularly well when alternated with bowls of a Latakia blend. In fact, having several tasty but totally different kinds of blends on hand makes each of them more enjoyable.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Blending with WLT's New Flue-Cured Red Virginia

In appearance, this new Flue-Cured Red VA from WLT is not much redder than most of the Virginia Bright. Since the "Red" comes from a higher priming than the "Bright", it presents a richer, warmer aroma, and a bit more nicotine.

I decided to give it a try with one of my previously described Latakia and Perique blends, Smiling Toad, which uses no Bright--just Red for its Virginia. I've adjusted the bend slightly, and show the recipe below. Since Red Virginia is not quite as sweet and acidic as Bright Leaf, you may find that you need to fiddle with the Perique ratio (perhaps lower it).

The Oriental for this batch is Basma, since I was expecting a more potent blend. The Latakia is in the mid-range, yet is unable to overtake the fullness of the WLT Red Virginia. So this is a medium-range English blend, on the order of the now extinct Frog Morton, from McClelland. There are two distinct differences. Frog Morton included burley, while Smiling Toad relies on the robustness of the Red Virginia for its body. The other difference (and why the Toad is smiling) is that it doesn't smell and taste like ketchup. Smiling Toad is a definite, everyday kind of smoke for fans of English/Balkan blends.

The new WLT Virginia Red Leaf passes the toad test with flying colors.

Smiling Toad (%, parts per 16)

• Latakia 37.50%, 6
• VA Red 25.00%, 4
• Oriental 18.75%, 3
• Perique 18.75%, 3

If you are dramatically inclined, here is a 3.5" label for Smiling Toad.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

For those who like to experiment with the Latakia blends, here is a collection of 10 distinctive 3.5" labels, one for each of the 10 blends in the Latakia Blending Matrix (without the burley blends). Here are two examples:

There is a label for each of these:

DOWNLOAD: LatakiaMatrixLabels_completeSet.pdf (~3 MB, will print as 3 pages)

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Is it just me, or is the WLT perique getting better? Bit more wine, little less wildness.

 

[deluxestogie]

I sampled and reviewed some new Perique for Don a couple of months ago. At that time, WLT had only the samples. I'm not sure of the status now.

But I think, more to your point, that every individual batch of Perique (be it from a tiny, home Perique press or giant barrel in St. James Parish) is unique. And then it changes as it ages (probably from continued, slow growth of Pichia anomala).

I have no doubt that most of the alteration of the tobacco occurs during the first few months of the process, but subtle things happen thereafter.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

The Rest of the Story

These are the labels (and updated recipes) for the Latakia and Perique Blending Matrix.

Examples:

DOWNLOAD: PeriqueMatrixLabels_completSet.pdf (~1 MB, 2 pages)

Judging from some of the comments in the past about these matrices (both the "Latakia" and the "Perique"), I've gotten the impression that these may appear complex or mysterious. You might consider, for example, the Perique matrix to be a single notion for a single blend. Through a lot of trial and error and more error, I tried to determine how to adjust the other components when the Latakia proportion is changed, without dramatically altering the overall character. There are a few excursions of dominant Bright or dominant VA Red, but they are generally the same--except for the ramping proportion of Latakia.

In the future, I'll play with more Cavendish/Perique blends, and make a similar grid.

The fancy labels are absolutely nothing more than fun. A piece of masking tape with the blend name will do just as well.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

My final pipe tobacco labels for now: Burley and Latakia Blending Matrix

These print as 3-1/2" labels, on a single page.

Download: BurleyLatakiaMatrixLabels_completeSet.pdf (a single 0.5 MB pdf page)

Bob

 

[Chris A]

Hey, where's the label for my favorite, Jewel of Macedonia? No worries, just checking.

 

[deluxestogie]

Jewel of Macedonia Blend Label

A 3.5 inch label.

DOWNLOAD: JewelOfMacedonia_blendLabel.pdf (162 KB pdf with a single label)

Bob

 

[Chris A]

Excellent. Thanks!

 

[Chris A]

Bob,

I can't get my computer to properly save & size the Edinburgh label. Could you please do that one as a pdf as well? Thanks

 

[deluxestogie]

Here is the Edinburgh label 3.5", 4-up on a single 8.5"x11" page: Edinburgh_3_5_x4.pdf

Bob

 

[Chris A]

Thank you again.

 

[deluxestogie]

Twice as Bright: a Virginia and Perique blend

WLT now offers a Flue-cured Virginia Double-Bright. I find the name confusing, even though the term, "bright" has, for 150 years, been the common description of the process of flue-curing. So this "Double-Bright" tobacco is flue-cured Virginia that has been flue-cured, then flue-cured some more. I don't know if the flue-curing temperature differs from that of standard flue-curing.

My only experience that comes close, is a batch of WLT flue-cured Bright that I subsequently kilned for a month at ~125°F. That kilning increased the red color tones subtly, and provided a somewhat "deeper" flavor profile to the leaf.

In this straightforward Virginia and Perique blend, I simply use 2 parts Double-Bright to 1 part WLT Perique. So 2/3 Double-Bright; 1/3 Perique.

I've shown how I create shred before, but I'll illustrate it again with the WLT Double-Bright. [The color variations are just the Virginia leaf, rather than a blended "cigar'.]

Twice As Bright

• WLT Flue-cured Virginia Double-Bright: 2/3
• WLT Perique: 1/3

Download label: TwiceAsBright_blendLabel.pdf

Apologies to Albert. He preferred an English-style, Latakia blend. Perhaps just the right blending equation might have converted him.
Perique = double-cured * 1/2
On the other hand, he never did accept quantum mechanics as valid. So a Virginia and Perique blend just might have been for him a blend too far.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

I believe this has finished up the remainder of my pipe blends that I posted in this thread over a span of nearly 5 years. I have called this batch the Orphan Blends. It's 14 blend labels that will print out to 3-1/2" circles.

Some examples:

Below are thumbnails of the 4 pages.

DOWNLOAD: OrphanPipeBlendLabels_completeSet.pdf [3.8 MB pdf]

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Burley and Flue-cured Virginia Blending Base

This is not a specifically named blend. It is balanced, smooth, burns well, and offers medium-strength nicotine. It is enjoyable enough in its own right, but the contrasting components are so well balanced that it seems to lack an identifiable flavor profile. So, with the tiny addition of any single additional, contrasting component, it could become a variety of wonderful blends.

A bending base is analogous to a lightly salted dumpling or baked potato. You may decide to elaborate on the taste with added ingredients, or enjoy it for what it offers on its own.

Essential to making this work is that the Burley Red Tips have been kilned for a month. Without kilning, Burley Red Tips can be quite powerful, and would overwhelm this blend base. The kilning softens its edgy taste, and substantially smoothes its aroma. As sold, Burley Red Tips are air-cured, then aged in the range of a year or so.

Burley and Flue-cured Virginia Bending Base

• Burley Red Tips (kilned) 1/3
• flue-cured Red Virginia 1/3
• flue-cured Virginia Bright 1/3

If you perform some natural tobacco blending magic on this blending base, then be sure to post the results in this thread.

Bob