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Silverone858 WLT pipe blends ala deluxestogies lat matrix

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Silverone858

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So I have been sampling different bulk tobaccos from aero to English and settled on balkans and orientals as my go to. My favorites being frog Morton on the town (not a bulk) stokkebys English Oriental and Balkan Supreme and even pirate kake. A while ago I found deluxestogies pipe blends you can make and his awesome latakia blending matrix.
Anyway I followed his ingredient list for his Balkan sobranie beige since prilep is the available Oriental and I followed his other recommendation for cut and even the kulu knife. Here's a pic of the blend.



Also I took about 2 handfuls and pressed them into a tin for about 6 hours with a c clamp and other cobbled together parts.

This blend is delicious and smokes cool it's a little heavy on latakia but I wouldn't change this batch, I'm going to press the rest of it and jar it and make another. This time I think I'll take out 1 part lat and add 1 part Oriental.
Big thanks to deluxestogie for the awesome latakia blending matrix and WLT for the great leaf!
 

deluxestogie

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Unfortunately, you are now spoiled. Forever. All those tempting commercial blends will be disappointing, when you compare it to what you blend yourself.

Bob
 

Silverone858

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I'll tell you what, I have been underwhelmed with almost every blend I've tried. All seem lacking the "hook" for me. The thread I started about my tastes changing was an account of my frustrating journey to find a regular smoke. Stokkebys English Oriental is the closest thing I've found and would be perfect if it didn't smoke so frigging hot(my fault I'm sure) I decided I don't like the super thin ribbon cut.
Anyway I'm so excited to taste WLT Virginias lemon red and dark air all taste so good just by themselves and not like cigarette tobacco. Anything that tastes like cigarettes turns me off.
Yep you got it right I'm spoiled and I don't ever have to look back!
Geoff
 

Silverone858

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Update: I smoked an ounce or so and decided to add another portion of prilep and hydrate the whole batch. I rubbed out the little cakes I made into a Tupperware bin added the prilep then covered with a towel with distilled water for a couple hours and then back to the press. I smoked a bowl of it and I'm thinking it's even better.
Also I have been shredding more leaf to try more of deluxestogies blends! I think I'll try Damascus sun or Smyrna bright next!
 

deluxestogie

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Ha! I had to refer to the Matrix, to recall what those blends were. I'll take the liberty of including it again here, so my old brain won't have to struggle to remember.

LatakiaBlendingMatrix.JPG


I'm delighted that you are finding it helpful. When I'm a pipe smoker (that would be in the dead of winter), I often begin with what percentage of Latakia I feel like smoking at the moment, then look up the remainder of the blend. Although the ratio of Lemon to Red Virginia definitely impacts the flavor of the final blend, the blend will still end up balanced, so long as the total Virginia remains the same as in the matrix.

A truly wondrous addition to this series of blends is the inclusion of Perique. Every batch of Perique is different, so the ratio has to be by trial and error for each batch of Perique. I begin with all 16 parts of the chosen blend from the matrix, then add 1 more part that is Perique. Depending on the strength of the Perique, you can add up to about 3 parts Perique (that's over and above the 16 parts) for every 5 parts of Virginia.

Bob
 

burge

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Unfortunately, you are now spoiled. Forever. All those tempting commercial blends will be disappointing, when you compare it to what you blend yourself.

Bob
I think Bob that is true no matter what you smoke. This is premium stuff.
 

Silverone858

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I'm telling you! I have been disappointed with every Virginia heavy blend I've tried. I haven't been smoking for years but I thought I would try some favorites of others, escudo, ps bullseye flake, McLellan 2015.
Man WLT virginas are fantastic even by themselves!
 

CowboyTed

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I've been having fun playing with the Latakia matrix as well. I've mixed up a topping concoction made with molasses simmered with water and a number of licorice-flavored spices like caraway, anise and fennel seeds. Adding them to Master's Mate makes a super nice Latakia blend, something similar to Seattle Pipe Club's Plum Pudding. I let the tobacco dry out, then add the topping, let it soak in, then dry it until it's the right humidity to smoke cool. Nice!
 

Silverone858

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I want to give Davy Jones and siege of acre a try, I really wanted to like c&d pirate kake but the lat was missing something in the same order I got some c&d blending latakia and unfortunately it is the same. WLT latakia is very tasty.
I'm processing the leaf I got and hoping to have enough to make several different blends in the coming weeks.
 

deluxestogie

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C&D Pirate Kake contains burley and 75% Latakia, so it's close to Burley Bomb in the Matrix. I don't know the exact formula for Pirate Kake, other than the Latakia %, but there's not much left to play with.

C&D Plantation Evening has no burley, and contains:
  • Bright Virginia: 5
  • Latakia: 3
  • Izmir: 5
  • Perique: 3
"Cornell & Diehl: Plantation Evening
Product Number: 005-459-0038
A smooth, light-to-medium blend of aged Virginias, Latakia, Perique, and a little Turkish, C&D's Plantation Evening is an outstanding, middle of the road English blend with a delightful flavor."

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipe-tobacco/cornell-diehl/Plantation-Evening/product_id/134972/bulk

I don't consider 18.75% Latakia to be "middle of the road".

My Pearl of Shibam was based on this as a starting point, going to:
  • Bright Virginia: 5
  • Latakia: 4
  • Izmir: 4
  • Perique: 3
Bob
 

Silverone858

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So I have been working like crazy and haven't had a whole lot of time to devote to blending but I did put together something about a week ago and I had to take a minute to post about it!
Bob sent me a few types of perique he made and so far all I've done is throw together a pinch of lemon and red Virginia each, a pinch of Bob's perique, a pinch of prilep and a pinch of latakia.
At first it wasn't great and I was wondering what I would add to it but work has been insane and I've been dead tired so I didn't mess with it. Tonight I smoked another bowl and I was floored, I still taste the virginas but now they are very smooth with just a bit of smoky buttery flavor that I love!
Hats off to you Bob! Looks like I'm going to be learning to make perique! Thank you so much for letting me sample your perique!
Geoff
 

deluxestogie

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I'm glad you enjoyed the Perique. If you read much of the verbiage about St. James Parish Perique, it's natural to get the impression that making Perique is a daunting task. The reality is that after spending less than about $50 on stuff (container, clamp, etc.), the process of making Perique is less work than nearly every other tobacco process. You just put some air-cured (or any other cured) tobacco into the container, squish it, then wait 3+ months. The only attention it requires is checking it every so often to make sure that a water seal (just a tiny amount) is maintained above the pressed leaf. Even the business about airing it periodically is probably unnecessary. The liquid within and above the pressed leaf needs to be highly concentrated, so the yeast, Pichia anomala, can take over its competitors. Excess water is not helpful.

Perique-in-process begins with little aroma. Then it begins to stink. Once the Pichia anomala takes command, the aroma becomes fruity.

Finished Perique is hygroscopic, and must be allowed to dry. I've been slicing, and spreading it onto a plastic-wrap-covered seedling heat mat for drying. The other alternative is to double-wrap the soggy mass of Perique, and store it in the refrigerator, cutting off a chunk and drying it as needed. Refrigerated, soggy Perique stores for at least a year or more without deteriorating.

Since I grow all sorts of tobacco varieties, I have made Perique from a dozen or so different ones--usually one variety per batch. But WLT leaf, such as Maryland or burley, or even dark-air, will make spectacular Perique.

Happy Periquing!

Bob
 

Silverone858

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I'm actually smoking the last bowl of that test bag I described, great stuff! I hope I can recreate it, pretty much equal ingredients of everything I have except for the dark air. I'm sure if I let it sit longer it would get even better!
You sent 3 different types I still have to try the other 2 but now I understand why you said to start making it asap since it takes so long. And my next question (you already answered) is would the dark air be a good candidate, I certainly have a bunch of it.
Funny how I don't care for factory va-per but WLT virginas with your perique (and latakia) are freekin delicious.
Thanks for all your help Bob!
Geoff
 

deluxestogie

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It's worth mentioning that the nicotine load in finished Perique depends entirely on the variety of tobacco you use to make it. And there's nothing that says you can't put a blend of varieties into a single batch.

Bob
 

Jitterbugdude

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I'm going to jump in here and say the absolute best Perique I've ever made is from Semois. I am growing 10 plants this year just for Perique.
 

Silverone858

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Well I had the day off so I made a bunch of blends from the matrix, I'll smoke some and press some and report back!
I made:
Pearl's of shibam, with Bob's burley perique
Mix of 1lemon,1red Virginia, 1 Bob's Colombian García perique, 1/2 prilep and 1/2 latakia
Mix of 1 lemon, 1 red Virginia and 1 Bob's habano Colorado perique.
Siege of acre
Smyrna bright
And what was supposed to be Damascus sun, but I switched the lemon and red on accident so:
Mix of 5 latakia, 3 Oriental, 3 lemon, 4 red Virginia and 1 dark air
The smell of the 2 perique mixes is awesome I'll let them sit a week or so before trying them!
Thanks again Bob!
Geoff
 

Silverone858

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Well I've been sampling the mixes I made and some bowls I'm getting a metallic taste. Kind of like biting down on aluminum foil. Some bowls do some don't (same blend) and it seems to happen in the blends with mostly Virginia.
My guess is that the acid balance is off and once flavors marry this will smooth out.
What say you gents?
 

Silverone858

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Hmmm what you say is very interesting, I will get back to you on that. I will say I have only one briar pipe that doesn't have an aluminum. I smoke cob at work tomorrow and report back.
By the way I'm really happy with siege of acre and pearls of shibam.
Geoff
 
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