Pipe Tobacco Reviews 75000+

[greenmonster714]

Lately I have been searching the net for pipe tobacco reviews. Since I've tried a tobacco without any dressings or flavorings I'm hooked and I've been searching for more. Searching through tobacco sites is okay but time consuming. I found this site which has over 75000 reviews on over 6500 blends. The site gives you all kinds of information about any blend you may want more information on. I tried to search FTT to see if this was posted anywhere and could not find it. So, I thought I'd go ahead and share this. I find it a great deal of help when I'm looking for any tobacco.

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/

 

[Charly]

tobaccoreviews is the most complete site if you search reviews on pipe tobacco
I spent a LOT of time on it searching for good tobacco

My advice is not to take the notation to literally, appreciation of tobacco is highly subjective, and I do often not agree with what I read.
But it's a good indication of some highly appreciated blends.
One other point to take care is that pipe tobacco change with time, there are some great blends of the past that became uninteresting (english houses for example who was made in UK (like Dunhill, Rattray...), are now just plain boring blends, merely the shadow of what they were...)

Good idea to share the link, since some people might not know this site

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Lately I have been searching the net for pipe tobacco reviews. Since I've tried a tobacco without any dressings or flavorings I'm hooked and I've been searching for more.

Good luck in your search. Almost ALL pipe tobacco has a casing.

 

[deluxestogie]

Charly's points are wll advised. Rattray's and Dunhill (manufactured in Scotland and England, respectively) used to be consistently spectacular blends. Now they are made in the "E.U.", and definitely not the U.K. They have become shocking rubbish, when compared to their former products. But alas, all things change.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

tobaccoreviews is the most complete site if you search reviews on pipe tobacco
I spent a LOT of time on it searching for good tobacco

My advice is not to take the notation to literally, appreciation of tobacco is highly subjective, and I do often not agree with what I read.
But it's a good indication of some highly appreciated blends.
One other point to take care is that pipe tobacco change with time, there are some great blends of the past that became uninteresting (english houses for example who was made in UK (like Dunhill, Rattray...), are now just plain boring blends, merely the shadow of what they were...)

Good idea to share the link, since some people might not know this site

Great input Charly. I use this site as a tool and not much more. Sure I read some reviews but I don't make decisions upon just them. It is a fun place to just surf around and check out tobacco blends that I don't normally see at vendor sites.

Good luck in your search. Almost ALL pipe tobacco has a casing.

Surprisingly, there are many unflavored blends posted on the site. I hope to sample a few before I get my own tobacco harvested. It should help me figure out a few blends with the tobacco I have on hand and I plan on never adding dressings like PG, VG, or any other stuff they put in tobacco to make it look and feel moist. I may try to flavor some Cavendish down the road but other than that I plan on staying with clean tobacco blends.

 

[Charly]

Surprisingly, there are many unflavored blends posted on the site. I hope to sample a few before I get my own tobacco harvested. It should help me figure out a few blends with the tobacco I have on hand and I plan on never adding dressings like PG, VG, or any other stuff they put in tobacco to make it look and feel moist. I may try to flavor some Cavendish down the road but other than that I plan on staying with clean tobacco blends.

"Unflavored" and "not cased" is not the same thing
"cased" means that tobacco has been through some process (like adding sugar, puting PG, etc...)
"flavored" means some perfume has been added to the tobacco (like vanilla, cocoa, etc...)

Most commercial tobacco is at least "cased" (it seems that sugar is added to about 99% of the available virginias for example), GLPease claims to offer one of the very few unsugared virginias blend : Union Square (no sugar and no flavor added)
I have a tin of this blend at home, but I am waiting for it to age So I can't say more.
I don't know if there is any casing at all in "union square", but there still might be some.

I know Cornell & Diehl uses anti fongic products, some houses uses vinegar to avoid mold (PG is used for this purpose too).
Mac Baren, in their "HH" line says they use "the minimum of casing" (so there is some ).

 

[deluxestogie]

Interesting, isn't it. Pipe tobacco is a product that has a single end use--to burn. Yet so many manufacturers add non-combustible ingredients to it, in order to improve it.

I would bet that the Vincent Manil Belgian Semois tobacco has no casing of any sort. It comes totally dry, and in a container that's nothing more than a paper wrapper.

Home-blended pipe tobacco is just an entirely different thing from commercial, even the best commercial.

But the truth is that a pipe smoker can become accustomed to any pipe tobacco, no matter what's in it. I can recall smoking and enjoying the absolute cheapest American pipe tobaccos, like Paladin Black Cherry, Half and Half, even Sir Walter Raleigh. But once I began to appreciate decent tobaccos (Balkan Sobranie White, the old Dunhill Nightcap, the original John Cotton No. 1&2, etc.) those cheap tobaccos tasted truly vile--and still do.

Although I enjoy cherry and chocolate and hazelnut and berries, I prefer to eat them, not smoke them.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

"Unflavored" and "not cased" is not the same thing
"cased" means that tobacco has been through some process (like adding sugar, puting PG, etc...)
"flavored" means some perfume has been added to the tobacco (like vanilla, cocoa, etc...)

Most commercial tobacco is at least "cased" (it seems that sugar is added to about 99% of the available virginias for example), GLPease claims to offer one of the very few unsugared virginias blend : Union Square (no sugar and no flavor added)
I have a tin of this blend at home, but I am waiting for it to age So I can't say more.
I don't know if there is any casing at all in "union square", but there still might be some.

I know Cornell & Diehl uses anti fongic products, some houses uses vinegar to avoid mold (PG is used for this purpose too).
Mac Baren, in their "HH" line says they use "the minimum of casing" (so there is some ).

Hmmm...well it looks as though I will only get exactly what I want by doing it myself..lol. I love the thought of not dependent on a tobacco company to get the product I want. However it is fun trying some of these blends that are completely new to me.

Interesting, isn't it. Pipe tobacco is a product that has a single end use--to burn. Yet so many manufacturers add non-combustible ingredients to it, in order to improve it.

I would bet that the Vincent Manil Belgian Semois tobacco has no casing of any sort. It comes totally dry, and in a container that's nothing more than a paper wrapper.

Home-blended pipe tobacco is just an entirely different thing from commercial, even the best commercial.

But the truth is that a pipe smoker can become accustomed to any pipe tobacco, no matter what's in it. I can recall smoking and enjoying the absolute cheapest American pipe tobaccos, like Paladin Black Cherry, Half and Half, even Sir Walter Raleigh. But once I began to appreciate decent tobaccos (Balkan Sobranie White, the old Dunhill Nightcap, the original John Cotton No. 1&2, etc.) those cheap tobaccos tasted truly vile--and still do.

Although I enjoy cherry and chocolate and hazelnut and berries, I prefer to eat them, not smoke them.

Bob

Ya know Bob. I think my favorite aromatic blend I've ever smoked come from a cheap American vendor called Super Value. I absolutely love their Chocolate brand. I think it comes from a company named Dream Castle tobacco company out of Richmond Va. I've ordered a few pounds of that stuff in the past. I puff on it all day long when I get a day with nice weather.

 

[deluxestogie]

I think my favorite aromatic blend I've ever smoked come from a cheap American vendor called Super Value. I absolutely love their Chocolate brand. I think it comes from a company named Dream Castle tobacco company out of Richmond Va.

Dream Castle? I'm not quite sure what you might be talking about. Chocolate, you say?

I confess. That is the only tobacco I ever smoke in the applewood pipe that I whittled 5 or 6 years ago. It has never known another tobacco. I don't smoke it often, since it is gurgly. I have stored the Chocolate tobacco in this glass lid, tobacconist style, gallon jar for at least 5 years. The jar has no gasket. I use no humidifier for it. Nonetheless the Dream Castle Chocolate tobacco remains soft and pliable. It's eternal.

I love the aroma from this, but it just tries my patience with its sluggish burn qualities.

The other aromatic tobacco that I have is also from Dream Castle: a 14 ounce bag of Vanilla Cavendish. It sits inside my cigar humidor, with its Zip closure left open. I never smoke it. But the soft aroma from the open bag causes my washstand humidor to always smell like a tobacconist shop, when I open the door. Its copious humectant also acts as a humidity buffer for the humidor.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

Yep that's it. Cheap tobacco but very good I think. It does not taste like chocolate at all but it's delicious. And for the price it's a winner.

 

[Charly]

Although I enjoy cherry and chocolate and hazelnut and berries, I prefer to eat them, not smoke them.

Bob

The same for me.
One of the few "flavored" blend I liked is "Bob's Chocolate Flake" from Gawith &Co and it did not taste that much chocolate, more latakia and virginia.
Now I like when pure tobacco gives me some hints of chocolate (like some Nicaragua cigars), but I don't want to add chocolate to it.

 

[Silverone858]

Cool I'm going to check it out! I figure I'll hit a few bulk blends to get a better idea of what I'm tasting. After that I want to pick up a bunch of WLT I'm excited to try everything whole and natural. Thanks for posting this!
Geoff

 

[greenmonster714]

Don't get lost in there. Its a pretty deep site.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Lately I have been searching the net for pipe tobacco reviews. Since I've tried a tobacco without any dressings or flavorings I'm hooked and I've been searching for more. Searching through tobacco sites is okay but time consuming. I found this site which has over 75000 reviews on over 6500 blends. The site gives you all kinds of information about any blend you may want more information on. I tried to search FTT to see if this was posted anywhere and could not find it. So, I thought I'd go ahead and share this. I find it a great deal of help when I'm looking for any tobacco.

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/

I take reviews of tobacco , and alcohol like I take movie reviews. Its generally just someones opinion . Whatever style they prefer will get good reviews and others maybe not so in "their preference zone" gets downgraded.
By now I have a good idea of what I like and tend to stay in that area and only try others with the mantra "I'll try anything once, twice or more if I like it"

Like IPA's - I generally do not drink those as they are way over-hopped but theres an entire "generation" lets say that want nothing but an over-hopped beer. Theres also the total opposite ,the Miller Lite,Coors ,Bud,etc crowd.
Same with Latakia - I'm not a fan but there are many who are and seek it out. Then theres the Captain Black crowd.
Not a big fan of Rocky Patel either. Then theres the Swisher Sweet and El Producto ...ok, you get what i'm saying.
So, I wouldn't put much faith in reviews . I guess you could get an idea of a general flavor/strength panel but I wouldn't accept or deny based solely on a written opinion .
I've seen many blends that once you look at the individual tobaccos in it , they're basically just a slightly different proportion as others. Maybe with a different topping .
Try a bowl or small pouch of XX brand and make your own decision. If you find you don't like it , theres always someone who will gladly trade you for something else.
I know I've wasted way more money on other things.

 

[Costard]

Interesting thread. The video below states (at the 3:39 mark) that C&D's Virginia Flake, Burley Flake No. 2 and Opening Night are uncased - the video also mentions GLP's Stratford as being uncased.

I would bet that the Vincent Manil Belgian Semois tobacco has no casing of any sort. It comes totally dry, and in a container that's nothing more than a paper wrapper.

I agree.

 

[deluxestogie]

Thanks for the video link. He seems to exclude glycerin and polypropyleneglycol (PPG) from his concept of casing. It has been my understanding that every commercial pipe tobacco product on the market contains at least a small amount of PPG or glycerin, in order to act as an antifungal (since consumers seldom store their pipe tobacco in low enough case to avoid mold). The C&D non-aromatics are far drier (and dry more rapidly) than those from other blenders, but it still seems to be in there. I wasn't convinced of that until I had replicated a few of the blends with whole leaf tobacco.

Bob

 

[Damanadaplaya]

Thanks for the video link. He seems to exclude glycerin and polypropyleneglycol (PPG) from his concept of casing. It has been my understanding that every commercial pipe tobacco product on the market contains at least a small amount of PPG or glycerin, in order to act as an antifungal (since consumers seldom store their pipe tobacco in low enough case to avoid mold). The C&D non-aromatics are far drier (and dry more rapidly) than those from other blenders, but it still seems to be in there. I wasn't convinced of that until I had replicated a few of the blends with whole leaf tobacco.

Bob

Bob- what’s the difference between ppg and glycerin? My MD 609 I grew 2 years ago, cured and fermented, smokes OK, but recently made a batch of cavendish (mason jars). It turned black, I caked it, cut it, and dried it. The flavor really mellowed out with no bite, but I’ve been smoking it dry (uncased). Experimenting, I added @1/2 teaspoon Watkins baking vanilla to a jar, and fell in love. It has glycerin rather than PPG on label. It was a very small amount I added, then tried to dry it, but it still seems.... not dry, but high “humidity”. Will the glycerin prevent mold?

 

[deluxestogie]

I have never used glycerin or propylene glycol on tobacco. One or both are used in commercial casing, and will prevent the tobacco from completely drying down. Glycerin and propylene glycol have antibacterial and antifungal properties, though PG seems to be more effective for both.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Bob- what’s the difference between ppg and glycerin? My MD 609 I grew 2 years ago, cured and fermented, smokes OK, but recently made a batch of cavendish (mason jars). It turned black, I caked it, cut it, and dried it. The flavor really mellowed out with no bite, but I’ve been smoking it dry (uncased). Experimenting, I added @1/2 teaspoon Watkins baking vanilla to a jar, and fell in love. It has glycerin rather than PPG on label. It was a very small amount I added, then tried to dry it, but it still seems.... not dry, but high “humidity”. Will the glycerin prevent mold?

My experience is that the only things propylene glycol does is preserve it and keep it moist. Glycerin sweetens the smoke a bit. This is also confirmed by this big book of tobacco flavors I could track down and link, maybe, if you are interested.

 

[fimbrew]

VG is sweeter and thicker while PG is more of a flavor carrier. they are mostly interchangeable.