I'm not so good (or so interested) with matching factory production blends.
Bob
Bob
Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
This blend began life as Greenbriar Two-Tone (50:50 Burley CAV and VA Bright CAV). But I wanted a little broader flavor profile, a rounder taste in the mouth, and to lower the smoke pH a tad. So this has a modest dose of both straight Burley Red Tip and straight VA Bright, along with sprinkle of Basma. The difference is quite noticeable. Although I am fond of very simple blends--simpler than this one, I am delighted with the result.
[I loved my beat up, two-tone (sky blue and white) Greenbriar van, when I was an impoverished student, back in 1968. Air-cooled, rear engine, automatic transmission, and enough space to do a side gig delivering 500 2-inch thick, city phone books to a large subdivision. The ignition lock assembly came right out of its socket, when I switched off the key, so I always left the key and its lock sitting in the dashboard ash tray. Nobody seemed interested in stealing my Greenbriar, even though this was St. Louis! But it had its limits. As does my Greenbriar Two-Tone pipe blend.]
The pouch aroma is inviting and complex. I find it interesting how such tiny amounts of straight Burley Red Tip and VA Bright influence the strength and mood of this mostly Cavendish blend. This all day smoke comes in at medium-to-full nicotine.
Forest Road
- Burley Red Tip Cavendish 41.7% (~6½ parts per 16)
- Virginia Bright Cavendish 41.7% (~6½ parts per 16)
- Burley Red Tip 4.1% (~¾ part per 16)
- Virginia Bright 4.1% (~¾ part per 16)
- Basma 8.4% (~1½ parts per 16)
Bob
I thought I knew automobiles but had to Google the Chevy Greenbriar van to discover that it had the Corvair drive train. Very neat. Thanks for my journey of discovery.
The Corvair sedans had an issue with the front suspension being unstable, if you repeatedly zig-zagged. After Chevy identified the problem, and fixed it, Ralph Nader jumped into the news with "Unsafe at any speed." This "expose" extensively tested the previous suspension design, and surprise, found the previously identified and remedied issue. As a result of Nader's media events and book, the wonderful, air-cooled, rear-engine, vibration-free, horizontally-opposed cylinder engine Corvair (and with it by associated guilt, the Greenbriar van) vanished from the market. Hmmm. Back to the front-engine, long drive train, 1890s water-cooled engines in every car (except the VW) for a couple more decades.
Harumph!
Bob
Harumph!
Bob
Very smokey, but you must provide your own fire. It's not about the Tolkien character. Smaug is actually this creature's genus. How suggestive! The blend is not for the timid. The Oriental (I used WLT Basma) is mostly for looks, though I can taste it in there somewhere. Latakia alone doesn't provide much nicotine, given its intensity of taste and aroma, since it is made from a Basma-type leaf. So the Dark Air is to crank it up a bit. Plan this for your final pipe of the day. I have to say that I really like this blend. Two bowls of this in a row will make your tongue feel like a doormat.
Smaug
- Latakia 75%
- Oriental 18.75%
- Dark Air-Cured 6.25%
[My indoor study confinement ended a couple of weeks ago. My computer's desktop folder, entitled "Pipe Blends Ready" is now empty, so this is the final pipe blend of my 2019-2020 winter pipe blending season.]
Bob
Wow! I had not consciously planned that, nor noticed that before. Maybe deep within my unconscious, that was the plan all along.
Bob
Compared to my other "Frog" blends (Yellow Frog, Calico Frog, Black Frog and Top Frog), Diamond Frog is the mildest in taste and aroma. Its 25% Perique assures that the nicotine cruises just below medium, and the pH floats in a range that eliminates tongue bite from the Virginia and the Oriental. This will work well with other Oriental varieties. Expect Katerini, Bafra, Samsun and Trabzon to be somewhat more edgy, whereas any Basma type (Smyrna, Izmir, Xanthi, Yenidje, Prilip, etc.) will be similar to the stacked Basma. The same is true of other Virginia flue-cure variants, though the Perique proportion may require tweaking downward.
Diamond Frog is also rather pretty to look at.
Diamond Frog
- WLT Stacked Basma 43.75% (7 parts per 16)
- WLT Lemon Virginia 31.25% (5 parts per 16)
- WLT Perique 25.00% (4 parts per 16)
[The unexpected blessing of a solid week of cold and icky rain led to one more pipe blend for the season. I hope this is the last one.]
Bob
Unfortunate Blend Label Fails
Sometimes, graphics that seemed like a good idea for a blend label turn out to be failures for various reasons. These will never grace a blend of tobacco.
Bob
Sometimes, graphics that seemed like a good idea for a blend label turn out to be failures for various reasons. These will never grace a blend of tobacco.
Bob
stdly
Well-Known Member
I mixed a 3rd batch of my CanEnglish the last batch was great, wanted to copy it.
This time I added some Maryland 609 to the blend to spice it up a bit, I added 7%.
My blend was not the same at all, maybe a bit peppery and stronger not bad but not for an all day smoke.
I made another batch leaving out the Maryland 609 and blended it with the first batch reducing the 609 to 1.79%.
I ended up with 14 ozs.
I was surprised that 7% of 609 could make that much difference.
The Virginias are way more than I expected I like the red VA the most, I guess I was thinking pressed cake or cigarette taste but not at all.
I tried to bring the Latakia below 70% but no go.
This is a good all day smoke for me.
Latakia 71.43 %
Cad Lemon VA 7.14 %
Red VA 7.14 %
Hand Tied VA Bright 7.14 %
Dark Air 3.57 %
Basma 1.79 %
Maryland 609 1.79 %
It looks just as good in the jars.
That’s another one of my home made pipes.
Steve.
This time I added some Maryland 609 to the blend to spice it up a bit, I added 7%.
My blend was not the same at all, maybe a bit peppery and stronger not bad but not for an all day smoke.
I made another batch leaving out the Maryland 609 and blended it with the first batch reducing the 609 to 1.79%.
I ended up with 14 ozs.
I was surprised that 7% of 609 could make that much difference.
The Virginias are way more than I expected I like the red VA the most, I guess I was thinking pressed cake or cigarette taste but not at all.
I tried to bring the Latakia below 70% but no go.
This is a good all day smoke for me.
Latakia 71.43 %
Cad Lemon VA 7.14 %
Red VA 7.14 %
Hand Tied VA Bright 7.14 %
Dark Air 3.57 %
Basma 1.79 %
Maryland 609 1.79 %
It looks just as good in the jars.
That’s another one of my home made pipes.
Steve.
Both the Dark Air-Cured and the Maryland increase the pH of the smoke, and with it, increase the nicotine absorption.
Bob
Bob
So I stumbled upon a breakdown of the leaf composition of St Bruno (Ogdens era) the other day and thought I would post it here:
35.0% semi-bright, medium-heavy bodied, flue-cured, USA
27.5% semi-bright, heavy bodied, flue-cured, USA
15.0% dark-fired Virginia
15.0% heavy-bodied, dark-fired, Malawi
7.5% heavy-bodied, flue-cured, Canada
———-
Any suggestions as to how one would go about this using WLTs offerings? In terms of processing, I was thinking a light casing of honey/water and pressing for a fortnight
35.0% semi-bright, medium-heavy bodied, flue-cured, USA
27.5% semi-bright, heavy bodied, flue-cured, USA
15.0% dark-fired Virginia
15.0% heavy-bodied, dark-fired, Malawi
7.5% heavy-bodied, flue-cured, Canada
———-
Any suggestions as to how one would go about this using WLTs offerings? In terms of processing, I was thinking a light casing of honey/water and pressing for a fortnight
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I've never had St. Bruno, but I can't imagine 30% fire cured being enjoyable so I've dropped it, assuming the level of smoke is much lower than the WLT fire cured.
Also, an effort to keep it simple.
45% Hand tied flue cured
35% Red leaf
10% Kentucky fire
10% dark air
Yes I was thinking along similar lines, I was just thrown by the fired cured VA. I’ll press some later this week once the navy plug is out.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I use a red filter because it has less impact on my sleep cycle to look at my phone, and because I work with film in a darkroom. This is what I see:
Ok, so here is the first blend I’m gonna chuck up here. It was inspired by and very similar to Plöjarn’s Irish Mixture.
St Bren’s Broken Flake:
1 part Va Bright Cavendish (high case)
1 part dark fired
1 part dark air cured
2 part burley
Pinch of Syrian Latakia
Roughly chopped and mixed well in a bowl. Pressed for a week. Placed in a jar in a water bath inside a slow cooker set on low (Roughly 190f) for 5 hours and then left inside till cool. Sliced and broken and laid out to dry.
I smoked a Dry sample this morning in a clay and it reminds of a very light balkan blend. Getting hints of honey, dark choc and at times a deep blackberry - similar vibe to Voodoo Queen. The Latakia adds a nice background smokiness. I want to see how this smokes when brought back up to case.
I also think I might try roasting some of the burley next time in advance to see whether this adds anything. The only reason I used wet cavendish is that I had just made it.
St Bren’s Broken Flake:
1 part Va Bright Cavendish (high case)
1 part dark fired
1 part dark air cured
2 part burley
Pinch of Syrian Latakia
Roughly chopped and mixed well in a bowl. Pressed for a week. Placed in a jar in a water bath inside a slow cooker set on low (Roughly 190f) for 5 hours and then left inside till cool. Sliced and broken and laid out to dry.
I smoked a Dry sample this morning in a clay and it reminds of a very light balkan blend. Getting hints of honey, dark choc and at times a deep blackberry - similar vibe to Voodoo Queen. The Latakia adds a nice background smokiness. I want to see how this smokes when brought back up to case.
I also think I might try roasting some of the burley next time in advance to see whether this adds anything. The only reason I used wet cavendish is that I had just made it.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Oh my. That must be intense. Make sure you're sitting down when you smoke.
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