Blend Stacking
ghostsofpompeii
Master
Although I've been smoking for several decades I was completely unaware of the existence of a vibrant Pipe Smoking Community and the notion of pipe smoking as a hobby. So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered the extensive YouTube Pipe Community populated by friendly, informative, and highly entertaining Pipe Presenters and personalities - as well as an active on-line discussion groups like The Pipeline. This is all fairly new to me. So with that in mind, if I bring up a topic that's been discussed ad nauseam please forgive me ... I'm a newbie and not quite up to speed.
I imagine everything under the sun pertaining to pipe smoking has been discussed by seasoned pipe smokers, but in my 50+ years of smoking I never considered doing this until yesterday. So maybe it's not such a common practice, and worthy of discussion.
And that is ... stacking blends.
I'm not talking about hand-mixing a combination of blends like a groomer shampooing a poodle, but meticulously layering and packing three or more separate and distinct tobacco blends in the pipe bowl like a brick layer, stacking one on top of the other. Creating a pipe smoking experience akin to eating three-layered Neapolitan ice cream one flavor at a time.
I've only tried this with heavily cased flavored aromatic blends so I'm not sure if it would create the same effect with non-aromatic English blends. And the blends I selected were harmonious flavor combinations that normally compliment one another, and not some juxtaposition of clashing flavors that jar the taste buds into submission.
The three flavor combinations which proved positive results were: a top layer of Sutliff Coconut Almond, followed by Sutliff Chocolate Mousse (a combination that already taste like an Almond Joy candy bar) and at the bottom of the bowl a layer of C&D Corn Cob Pipe And Button Nose (adding a touch of roasted marshmallow and graham cracker). My second three-layered delight consisted of a top layer of Hearth & Home Egg Nog, a second layer of Sutliff Pumpkin Spice, and at the bottom of the bowl was Sutliff Vanilla Custard. And my third combination was a real winning pipe smoking experience tasting like something out of a Fanny May Chocolate Sampler, consisting of the following blends - a top layer of Sutliff Molto Dolce, a second layer of Sutliff Black Cherry, and a bottom layer of Sutliff Chocolate Mousse.
I hope to continue these mad scientist experiments with fruit flavors and eventually find some worthy combination pairing rum and whisky with maple, molasses, or butterscotch. My search for the ultimate Neapolitan pipe bowl continues.
I'd like to know if stacking is a common practice and other members routinely do it, and if so what combination has provided the best results and most enjoyable smoking experience. And I'd also like to know if stacking works for non-aromatic English blends as well.
Comments
@ghostsofpompeii, I have heard of the technique, but I have never experimented with it. I suppose, my mentality is that it would be akin to buying three different single barrel bourbons, and mixing them together. At that point, you would have the equivalent of a small batch bourbon, which sells for less than a single barrel.
On a positive note, pipe tobacco is much cheaper than single barrel bourbon, so the experimentation would be much more economical. LoL
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