Well Ladies and Gentleman, I’ve been a bit busy on missions and whatnot but finally found some downtime to get back to writing a little more about one of this Agent’s favorite pastimes: Pipe Smoking. So far, we have expounded upon what pipes there are out there. Well we can’t light anything without some finely crafted pipe tobacco, can we? In this post, we are going to explore the myriad of choices a pipe smoker has when it comes to types of tobacco and blends. We’re going to start with the types.
VIRGINIA
This first type of pipe tobacco is a favorite among many cigar and pipe smokers alike. Virginia tobacco tends to be lighter in color, and ranges from yellow to tan, to a light brown. This tobacco can be slightly sweet, with a somewhat tangy flavor throughout. It has a slight spice which tends to develop into a nice rich base while smoking.
BURLEY
Burley tobacco is air-cured in large barns, much like cigar tobacco. This leaves it with an array of dull brown colors. Burley tobacco often possesses a rich nut like flavor as well as full array of flavors from oatmeal to caramelized sugar.
ORIENTAL
Oriental tobacco, sometimes called Turkish Tobacco, is often sun-dried or flue dried depending on the area of origin. These tobaccos are often slightly sweet like Virginia tobacco, but have a pronounced spicy character to them coupled with an exotic, Middle Eastern aroma.
LATAKIA
Latakia tobacco is mainly grown in Syria and Cyrus and is fire cured over burning aromatics woods and herbs. Before it was changed, it was rumored that Latakia tobaccos were fire cured over flaming piles of camel dung. Whether or not that is/was true, Latakia still remains one of the most popular “spice tobaccos” available. Latakia provides a heavy, rich, smoky flavor to many blends.
PERIQUE
Perique tobacco is a dark tobacco, and is grown in St. James, Lousiana. This makes Perique tobacco very rare; it is slow burning and has a very pungent aroma, much like that of cooked prunes. Because of its rarity, Perique tobacco is often used to add nuances to an already existing tobacco blend.
CAVENDISH
Cavendish tobacco is Virginia tobacco that has added flavors infused into the tobacco, making it taste sweeter or to reflect a certain type of flavor (i.e. cherry, rum, chocolate, vanilla …etc.). This tobacco is used most often in aromatic blends.
After seeing the basic types of tobacco, Agent 6 had said to me:
“Well dem there fixins’ aint gunna be too inter’sting, I reckon. Ya carnt mix all o’ dem up can ya?”
Well, to answer your question, yes. Yes you can. Many of our pipe forefathers came up with several interesting and flavorful blends, just for you and me. So go ahead, Agent 6, sit yourself down on that ugly pink polka-dot bean bag chair you have; try not to eat your boogers, and Agent 10 will give you a little run down on some typical pipe blends.
There are three main types of tobacco blends, the English Tobacco blends, the Aromatics, and the Virginias.
AROMATICS
This type of blend often consists of one to two types of Cavendish tobacco, and is usually cased for a particular flavor. Some blends may have a little Virginia or burley tobacco in them, but are often only Cavendish tobaccos.
ENGLISH
The English blends are usually to describe anything “non-aromatic”. These robust blends rely heavily on latakia, oriental and perique tobaccos, as well as burley. English blends tend to have a more natural tobacco flavor, along with the myriad of flavors that each component of the blend encompasses, which makes it a favorite for pipe smokers who also smoke cigars.
VIRGINIA
Virginia blends are comprised of many types of Virginia tobaccos ranging from tan Virginia to red Virginia. Some blends can have up to nine different Virginia tobaccos. These blends are often paired with a little perique to offer more bite and complex flavor. These blends are also very popular with the cigar smoking crowd.
Well Friends, that’s all for today. Thanks for listening, and have a safe and happy rest of the week.
