Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

[deluxestogie]

Photo credit: David W. Cerny / Reuters

This is a rich, smooth, burley blend. Full smoke. Medium-to-full nicotine. No bite. Although I have used One Sucker ligero as the burley variety, you should be able to come close with any variety of burley upper leaf. If you have a tobacco kiln, you can approximate the Virginia Double Bright by kilning flue-cured Virginia lemon for a few weeks.

Babies' Bottoms

• Virginia Double Bright 50%
• One Sucker ligero Cavendish 37.5%
• One Sucker ligero 12.5%

Baby-ish Bottoms

• Virginia Bright 50%
• Burley Cavendish 37.5%
• Burley 12.5%

Download 3½" hi-res Babies' Bottoms blend label as pdf.

Bob

 

[Indianapiper]

That looks interesting! Is that a Cigar leaf you used?

 

[deluxestogie]

One Sucker is (a number of different varieties, but usually) a burley or dark air-cured.

Bob

EDIT: from Doug Moats:
"Type 35. That type of air-cured tobacco commonly known as One Sucker Air-cured, Kentucky-Tennessee-Indiana One Sucker, or Dark Air-cured One Sucker - including the upper Cumberland District One Sucker - and produced principally in northern Tennessee, south central Kentucky, and southern Indiana. One-Sucker is a common name for Type 35 tobacco and is used in the manufacture of chewing tobacco."

 

[Davo]

This is currently my daily half and half smoke.

I just used the flue cured whole leaf I already had, but one could totally play around with some different bright leaf. I think the staghorn adds a fruity depth to the blend, which one would probably associate with the flavour profile of some of the darker commercial Virginia blends. I don’t get this fruity flavour so much from WLT dark air cured, but maybe one would if they pressed it with the bright leaf first?

I also used a .8mm shredder for the semois and bright leaf components, as a nod to Tabac Manil’s Le petit robin.

Blackbird

3 parts semois (Martin)
1 part Va Gold
1 part Va Lemon
1 part Staghorn

 

[deluxestogie]

Photo open use copyright.

That small bit of Little Yellow Cavendish (a mere 6.25%) is enough to lend Little Yellow's characteristically warm, full and quite unique aroma to this morning-through-night pipe blend. That seems surprising, in comparison to the Cavendish I've made from other Dark Air-Cured tobacco varieties. And with the Virginia Bright cooked into a Cavendish, the 18.75% One Sucker (dark air-cured) Cavendish balances the pH, eliminating tongue bite.

Burn is excellent. Nicotine is medium.

Sunspot

• Virginia Bright Cavendish 75.00% (12 parts per 16)
• One Sucker Cavendish 18.75% (3 parts per 16)
• Little Yellow Cavendish 6.25% (1 part per 16)

Sunsmudge

• Virginia Cavendish 75.00% (12 parts per 16)
• Any Dark Air-Cured Cavendish 25% (4 part per 16)

Download 3½" hi-res Sunspot label as pdf.

Bob

 

[Krausen89]

A really nice english blend with some cigar leaf that i absolutely enjoy. might be something similar already posted as i just threw it together. I didnt do the math for percentages but here is what i made.

.5 oz VA
.5 oz Burley
.4 oz Izmir
.2 oz latakia
.2 oz cigar leaf ( i used (aged Nicaraguan seco jalapa )

The latakia is very prominent but not overpowering the cigar leaf compliments the latakia and oriental but almost goes unnoticeable. Its a great smoke but i need to think of a cool name now.

 

[deluxestogie]

Photo: Field Museum.

This pileus-style helmet is clearly too deep for a human head and neck. I would guess that it is doubling as a crown or other high distinction. I assume that its interior contained either a strapping suspension or a whole lot of padding. Good luck in a strong wind.

This is a mild (25%) Latakia, English-style blend that uses Virginia Double-Bright as its only Virginia, which is a bit higher in nicotine and less acidic than Lemon Virginia or standard Virginia Bright. There is only a taste of Basma as its Oriental. Little Yellow is a unique dark air-cured variety that typically cures out to a deep, orange-brown, rather than the dark brown of most dark air-cured varieties. Little Yellow also offers a rounder, somewhat less intense flavor, when compared to other dark air-cured leaf.

You can certainly make this blend with any Virginia flue-cured leaf, any Oriental and any dark air-cured variety, though you will need to experiment a bit to find the right balance.

As blended, the Latakia is soft but noticeable, the nicotine moderate, and the aroma full and well rounded.

Little Yellow is not sold as commercial leaf. To obtain it, you will have to grow it yourself. As a dark air-cured variety, it air-cures easily. (It also makes a unique Cavendish, for other blends.)

Balkan Gold

• VA Double-Bright 50% (8 parts per 16)
• Latakia 25.00% (4 parts per 16)
• Basma 12.5% (2 part per 16)
• Little Yellow 12.5% (2 part per 16)

Balkan Gold-ish

• VA Flue-cured 50% (8 parts per 16)
• Latakia 25.00% (4 parts per 16)
• Oriental 12.5% (2 part per 16)
• Dark Air-Cured 12.5% (2 part per 16)

Download 3½" hi-res Balkan Gold blend lable as pdf.

Bob

 

[GunnyJ]

IRISH MIXTURE
A long time ago I smoked a bowl of Petersons "Irish Flake". I remember it as a rich, full, strong smoke that I really liked. With this blend I was aiming at that feeling, hence the name. I have no idea if it even resembles the Peterson tobacco, but I am happy with the blend and smoke it a lot. It is a satisfying, full, sweet, dark tobacco that I prefer in the evening in a small pipe with a cup of strong, sweet Earl Grey tea.

40% Virginia Bright Black Cavendish
30% Burley
30% Kentucky Dark Fired

The Process:
This blend requires pressing to reach its full potential...

If you try this blend, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for improvements or variations on this theme.

Anders

I made this blend using a C-Clamp press I found at Seder Craft. Prior to pressing the tobacco I spread it out on a cookie sheet, lightly sprayed it with distilled water, and warmed it at 170F for 15 minutes. The nice thing about the C-Clamp press is a 100g batch fits perfectly in an 8-ounce ball jar, as opposed to a 16-ounce one (photos from a blend made earlier this year). Looking forward to trying this in a month or two...

 

[GunnyJ]

Happy Saturday...the latest two blends have been released from the press and are now in the cellar. Blends 23 (on left) is Plöjarn's Irish Mixture from above and 24 (on right) is a recreation of C&D Byzantium.

 

[SonicBlume]

While some varieties of tobacco can be enjoyable when smoked straight in a pipe, the flavor horizon can be broadened by simple blending of contrasting varieties and cure-methods. My goal in this thread is to present some pipe blends that do not use casing of any kind. [Practically all commercial pipe tobacco, even the highly regarded English-style blends of G.L. Pease, contain flavorings, humectants and mold suppressants.]

There is nothing sacred about the recipes shown here. You can regard them as a starting point for creating your own blends. All of the ingredients can be produced at home. Of the ingredients shown, nearly all of them can be purchased at www.wholeleaftobacco.com. Unfortunately, Perique that has been pressure-cured is considered by the tax folks to be a tobacco product. But you can make Perique easily at home (http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/2873-Really-Easy-Perique-Press) with any tobacco variety.

deluxestogie's Jewel of Macedonia (an English mixture), hand-shredded from rollcake of each ingredient:
-VA Red flue-cured: ~40% [from WLT]
-Prilep 66-9/7 flue-cured: ~20% [my own] <--This specific variety, either flue-cured or sun-cured, really makes a difference.
-Cyprian Latakia: ~25% [from WLT]
-Pressure-cured Perique: ~10% [my own]
-Dark Cavendish-processed (Bolivia Criollo Black): ~5% [my own]


deluxestogie's Simplified Jewel of Macedonia:
-Virginia bright-cured: 40%
-Oriental (as aromatic as available): 20%
-Latakia: 25%
-Perique pressure-cured: 10%
-Black Cavendish: 5%

**************************


deluxestogie's Warspur (an English Mixture)

-Virginia air-cured: 30%
-Oriental: 30%
-Latakia: 35%
-Black Cavendish or Dark Air: 5% (optional, to add body)

**************************


deluxestogie's Rich Creek (Burley & Latakia)

-lighter burley: 20%
-darker burley: 20%
-Oriental: 30%
-Latakia: 30%

**************************


deluxestogie's Pearl of Shibam (an English mixture)

-Virginia bright-cured: 31%
-Perique pressure-cured: 19%
-Latakia: 25%
-Oriental (typically, Izmir): 25%
[I've had this blend made up by Cornell & Diehl, and can be ordered by name (maybe: they've recently been sold to a large tobacco marketing company). It's just as easy to make at home, if you have the ingredients.]

**************************

I usually make up a batch by rolling a crude, low-case cigar of each ingredient, judging the quantity by size of the roll-cake, then hand shred them with my kulu. The shredded ingredients are then tossed into a 1 gallon Zip Lock. I inflate the bag, seal it, then pinch one corner, while shaking the opposite corner. After blending, I expel the air, and compress the blend by rolling the bag tightly. While most of the ingredients don't change much with time, a blend that includes Latakia exhibits noticeable change after a couple of days rest. A rest period will also tend to equalize the moisture content.

I allow pipe blends to dry to low case: not crumbly-dry, but pretty dry nonetheless. If you keep it at a moisture content that "feels" like commercial pipe tobacco (the stuff with humectants, etc.), it will mold.

Bob

Greetings,

Is your book still available in print for the discount? I definitely wanted to order. Just being Parsimonious!

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

The entire pipe blending book can be downloaded for free, by following the link in our Index of Key Forum Threads (linked in the menu bar). The printed book is available through multiple websites, including Lulu.com at its list price.

Blend Your Own Pipe Tobacco: 52 recipes with 52 color labels

Whether you grow your own tobacco, purchase whole leaf, or purchase commercial blending ingredients, you can make truly great, all natural pipe tobacco blends. ·Tobaccos and Terminology· ·52 Unique Blend Recipes· ·Eliminating Tongue Bite· ·Pressing Plug or Crumble Cake· ·How to Make Cavendish...

www.lulu.com

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Photo credit: Brian Gratwicke

Katerini is an Oriental in the same family as Samsun, Bafra and Trabzon. I find it more edgy than Basma type Orientals. Little Yellow is a unique dark air-cured variety that cures to an orange-brown, is a bit lower in nicotine than most other dark air-cured leaf varieties, but provides a rounder, more aromatic character. The smoke of Little Yellow is a little less alkaline than other dark air-cured, which makes a difference in balancing it with either flue-cured or Oriental leaf.

This particular blend leans toward the acidic side, which can cause some tongue bite, if you smoke it too rapidly. The aroma is mild and well rounded. Nicotine level seems medium. I find this enjoyable early in the day.

Golden Frog

• Katerini 62.5%
• Little Yellow 37.5%

Golden-ish Frog

• Oriental 62.5%
• Dark Air-Cured 37.5% (you will likely need to reduce this proportion by trial and error)

Download hi-res 3½" Golden Frog color label as pdf.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

It you think some people are forgetful, then consider the poor whales. They once had legs, but totally forgot about them a long time ago. ("Sweetheart, have we forgotten anything?") This blend is a study on what pipe tobacco might taste like if we envision it as a whale gently walking on its tiptoes.

Nicotine is full. Room note is subtle, like a whale foot, though I don't really sense "cigar" here. The mouth feel is similar to that of cigar tobacco. Aroma is spectacular. My only disappointment is that the burn is sluggish. So smoke this dry.

Long Red, specifically used in this blend, is in the same general flavor/aroma category as Pennsylvania Red, Dutch Ohio and Little Dutch. But when made into Cavendish, those all resemble Cavendish of any one of the Broadleaf/Seedleaf varieties: PA Broadleaf, Glessnor, Swarr-Hibshman, Lancaster and Wisconsin Seedleaf, and similar, non-Habano-derived cigar varieties.

Whale Foot

• Long Red Cavendish 12.5%
• Olor Cavendish 12.5% (2 parts per 16)
• Little Yellow Cavendish 12.5% (2 parts per 16)
• Basma 62.5% (10 parts per 16)

Whale Toes

• Broadleaf or Seedleaf Cavendish 12.5%
• Cigar Leaf Cavendish 12.5% (2 parts per 16)
• Dark Air-Cured Cavendish 12.5% (2 parts per 16)
• Oriental 62.5% (10 parts per 16)

Download 3½" hi-res label for Whale Foot as pdf.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is brilliant and dark, with interludes of sunlight. Double-Bright is flue-cured Virginia that, after the flue-curing is complete, is subjected to prolonged heating, similar to what I've achieved by kilning Virginia Lemon that was already flue-cured. The result is less acidity, and a somewhat rounder (not as crisp) aroma.

The Dark Air-Cured dose in this blend is generous, yielding a somewhat full nicotine level. The Basma restores some of the missing acidity, giving the overall blend a splash of light. I consider this a mid to late-day blend.

Beethoven's Fifth

• VA Double-Bright 52.25% (9 parts per 16)
• Dark Air-Cured 25.00% (4 parts per 16)
• Basma 18.75% (3 part per 16)

Download 3½" hi-res Beethoven's Fifth blend lable as pdf.

Bob

 

[GunnyJ]

Jarred up a VaPer that I had in a clamp press for two weeks:

70g Red VA
22g Stoved Black VA
8g Perique

 

[deluxestogie]

Photo credit: Silvia Beaumont

This is not a one-pony experience. Exmoor is a full-bodied blend with darker, deeper aromas and flavors dominating, despite over 50% flue-cured and Oriental combined. Nicotine is substantial. Burn is good. The relatively tiny proportion of burley (I used burley red tips) makes a noticeable difference in the character of the aroma.

With all varieties of tobacco, whether grown yourself or purchased, the strength, aroma and nicotine may vary from batch to batch, from growing season to growing season, and with how the leaf was ultimately finished and aged. I find this variability to be particularly significant with dark air-cured. So my "just right" blend for Exmoor may be different from your blend of the named ingredients. Since it teeters on the upper edge of reasonable strength for a pipe tobacco, you may find it to have gone over that edge.

If you wish to tone down its strength a bit, the finest increments can be made by reducing dark air-cured in exchange for Oriental. (I used stacked Basma for this blend.) Larger increments can be accomplished by reducing dark air-cured in exchange for flue-cured Virginia. (In my blending, I was using flue-cured Bright leaf.) A more aggressive approach to lowering the pH (decreasing nicotine absorption) would be to trade a bit of the perique for either Oriental or flue-cured. My quite coarse shred provides a slow and comfortable burn.

Exmoor

• Oriental 31.25% (5 parts per 16)
• dark air-cured 25% (4 parts per 16)
• flue-cured Virginia 25% (4 parts per 16)
• perique 12.50% (2 parts per 16)
• burley 6.25% (1 part per 16)

Exmoor (one of my variety-specific blends, not exactly following my own suggestions)

• WLT Krumovgrad T2 31.25% (5 parts per 16)
• @BigBonner's dark air-cured 25% (4 parts per 16)
• WLT flue-cured hand-tied Virginia 25% (4 parts per 16)
• perique 9.375% (1½ parts per 16)
• burley 9.375% (1½ parts per 16)

Exmoor #6 (another off-script delight)

• WLT Katerini C2 31.25% (5 parts per 16)
• One Sucker CAVENDISH 25% (4 parts per 16)
• WLT flue-cured "Double-Bright" Virginia 25% (4 parts per 16)
• perique 6.25% (1 part per 16)
• burley 12.5% (2 parts per 16)

Just changing the Katerini C2 (in Exmoor #6) to Katerini C4 makes Exmoor #7, and a noticeable difference.

Part of the fun of pipe blending is to experiment with different varieties of a single, categorical ingredient, such as "Oriental". Sometimes, the impact of a subtle change, such as Krumovgrad T2 instead of Stacked Basma, can be surprising.

[Commercial tobacco blends have encouraged us all to see a particular blend as unchanging, and the preferred approach to pipe smoking. While that simplifies a conversation about which you like and don't like--and is certainly helpful for retail marketing, I regard fixed blends to be more similar to "small, medium or large," instead of an actual size that fits. I enjoy my ever-changing pipe blending more than any specific blend.]

Download 3½" hi-res label for Exmoor as pdf.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Blend Label Fails 3rd Edition: Failed Frogs

This adorable thing is small enough to sit on your thumbnail. If you shine a fluorescent light on it, some of the bones glow right through the skin. But alas, it is extremely poisonous.

I had thought this might be a dandy Halloween blend label. But on further consideration, it just made me want to puke.

Toothy tobacco leaf--Toothy Frog! It seemed to suggest something of a bite.

I may be approaching the end of my "frog" series of pipe blends.

And...as a reminder to smoke your pipe in a location where nobody will spoil the moment with complaints:

Bob

 

[Yug]

I named one of my blends with latakia: "Break Sadness".I like the "Quiet Pipe" which seems to me quite close to what it evokes.
Thanks for the information on the poison frog.I am French, I eat frogs, I will avoid eating pumpkin toadlet.

 

[piping_presbyter]

Photo credit: Silvia Beaumont

This is not a one-pony experience. Exmoor is a full-bodied blend with darker, deeper aromas and flavors dominating, despite over 50% flue-cured and Oriental combined. Nicotine is substantial. Burn is good. The relatively tiny proportion of burley (I used burley red tips) makes a noticeable difference in the character of the aroma.

With all varieties of tobacco, whether grown yourself or purchased, the strength, aroma and nicotine may vary from batch to batch, from growing season to growing season, and with how the leaf was ultimately finished and aged. I find this variability to be particularly significant with dark air-cured. So my "just right" blend for Exmoor may be different from your blend of the named ingredients. Since it teeters on the upper edge of reasonable strength for a pipe tobacco, you may find it to have gone over that edge.

If you wish to tone down its strength a bit, the finest increments can be made by reducing dark air-cured in exchange for Oriental. (I used stacked Basma for this blend.) Larger increments can be accomplished by reducing dark air-cured in exchange for flue-cured Virginia. (In my blending, I was using flue-cured Bright leaf.) A more aggressive approach to lowering the pH (decreasing nicotine absorption) would be to trade a bit of the perique for either Oriental or flue-cured. My quite coarse shred provides a slow and comfortable burn.

Exmoor

• Oriental 31.25% (5 parts per 16)
• dark air-cured 25% (4 parts per 16)
• flue-cured Virginia 25% (4 parts per 16)
• perique 12.50% (2 parts per 16)
• burley 6.25% (1 part per 16)

Exmoor (one of my variety-specific blends, not exactly following my own suggestions)

• WLT Krumovgrad T2 31.25% (5 parts per 16)
• @BigBonner's dark air-cured 25% (4 parts per 16)
• WLT flue-cured hand-tied Virginia 25% (4 parts per 16)
• perique 9.375% (1½ parts per 16)
• burley 9.375% (1½ parts per 16)

Exmoor #6 (another off-script delight)

• WLT Katerini C2 31.25% (5 parts per 16)
• One Sucker CAVENDISH 25% (4 parts per 16)
• WLT flue-cured "Double-Bright" Virginia 25% (4 parts per 16)
• perique 6.25% (1 part per 16)
• burley 12.5% (2 parts per 16)

Just changing the Katerini C2 (in Exmoor #6) to Katerini C4 makes Exmoor #7, and a noticeable difference.

Part of the fun of pipe blending is to experiment with different varieties of a single, categorical ingredient, such as "Oriental". Sometimes, the impact of a subtle change, such as Krumovgrad T2 instead of Stacked Basma, can be surprising.

[Commercial tobacco blends have encouraged us all to see a particular blend as unchanging, and the preferred approach to pipe smoking. While that simplifies a conversation about which you like and don't like--and is certainly helpful for retail marketing, I regard fixed blends to be more similar to "small, medium or large," instead of an actual size that fits. I enjoy my ever-changing pipe blending more than any specific blend.]

Download 3½" hi-res label for Exmoor as pdf.

Bob

I made this, thanks. Good but a bit harsh with my leaves. I’m going to make a second version with cavendish to hopefully smooth and sweeten it a bit.

 

[deluxestogie]

Thanks for giving it a try, and for the feedback. You'll have to wade through the earlier half of this thread for fundamentally kinder, gentler blends. I've found that sometimes, quite subtle changes in the specific crop year or shipment of some of the ingredients (e.g. WLT Dark Air-Cured, vs @BigBonner Dark Air-Cured) can make a big difference.

When chilly weather drove me from my front porch (away from cigars), and back into my study (pipes only), I ended up making 8 generous batches of Exmoor in a row. Each was a variation, and each expressed a slightly different character. I admit that every version was stout.

Bob