OK...I have to share this one. This week and next I have a consulting gig at a firm I work for occasionally. The trip is between 45 minutes and an hour or so with traffic.
Last night I had my tobacco pouch filled with my favorite OWN blend of Carter Hall and Sutliff Vanilla Custard (again Motie you are the man, you created a monster when you recommended the Vanilla Custard). Last evening after dinner I smoked a bowl of Lane Dark Red enjoying every minute of it. When I came back into my office to put the jar of LLDR away, I thought what the heck.....so I opened the pouch and added the LLDR to the aforementioned mix. I probably added what amounted to 50% of what was already mixed. By my math that equates to approx. 33% of each of the components in this new 3 part delight. Ooops I gave it away. After leaving my "employment" I filled a Yellobole briar and lit her up. I had the MOST enjoyable ride home, and that bowl lasted me over 55 minutes (on one light) going out just as I got to my garage. I have to report that those 3 components made for a delicious smoke. I could taste all three in their singularity when I tried to identify them, and the three together provided a very well balance flavor. A very tasty Vanilla Cherry and Nutty flavor. I can imagine how this would taste all mjarred together for a period of time.
I would like to offer the idea of this concoction to anyone who would like to try it. I am finding that I am having so much fun just screwing around with different blends. Not all are necessarily a home run, but I have not yet come up with one that I had to kill the smoking experience.
I am going to smoke this again tomorrow on my way home.
Just finished a bowl of Sutliff Raspberry Cobbler and it wasn't bad - but nothing I'd order again. I'm having a string of bad luck with fruit flavored tobaccos. They tend to taste much to artificial. Very similar to how PappyJoe describes the cough syrup taste ... only instead of tasting like cherries this taste like a chemical facsimile of raspberry.
I am going to list a few I have thought about trying and would like some responses from people who have smoked them, maybe it will keep me from buying something I won't like....lol If you describe the taste, aroma and your personal opinion I can decide if I might like it, the more details the better.....Also let me know if you got tongue bite and the after taste. I will make my list tonight and post it tonight or tomorrow if all goes well.
@pwkarch You have discovered one of the unexpected pleasures of the pipe smoking hobby ... mixing, matching and creating new blends. You should also try the stacking technique I mentioned a while back where you layer your blends one on top the other creating a sort of Neapolitan ice cream effect, as one blend begins the show another then gets into the act as the two flavors combine, and then when that third layer kicks in more often then not an entirely new flavor experience occurs as the three meld together. I've had some of my best smoking experiences using the stacking technique - as well as a few less than desirable smokes ... when the flavor combinations clashed.
Then when you really get adventurous you'll do what I did and buy several Watkins flavor extracts and create blends you might not find anywhere else. I usually start out with some relatively bland OTC blend like Velvet that doesn't have an exceptionally strong topping - the start mixing flavor extracts like Vanilla, Caramel, Rum, Root Beer, Anise, Orange, Lemon - then shaking in a bit of Clove, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon for extra measure. And of course you can always go to the liquor cabinet for additional ingredients and inspiration.
Start with an idea like ... "I'll try making a Root beer Float" and imagine what flavor combinations you might add to achieve that goal ... and you're off and running. I also created my Dreamsickle blend which taste and smells exactly like it's namesake after much trial and error. It's all trial and error ... mostly error - but it's a blast making a mess in the kitchen and turning the place into a Frankenstein's lab, never knowing what to expect.
Not a big fan of Aro's but I got hold of one Borkum Riff Honey Orange which was great. When I tried to get more it was non-existent, available no where. Does anyone know of an Orange flavored tobacco I can try?
Received a tin of Drew Estate Central Park Stroll, as part of a swap, a month or so ago.
Decided to break it outlast night.
Let it sit out for an hour or so before smoking, kinda wet outta the tin.
Very pleasantly surprised. I don't smoke a ton of aro's, mostly English's and Balkan's (I know, I know, some folks insist on callin those aro's, whatever :P)
Will definitely be pickin some of this up and adding to the cellar.
I actually DID try your Parfait suggestion when you first suggested it to me.
I forget at this time which blends I used, but it was a decent experiment. I agree that the "layering" with the correct tobaccos is maybe better than the sum of its' parts. The combination of the various tobaccos drawn through the ones below creates a very unusual taste and aroma in steps unlike what happens when you mix them and get the taste and aroma of the sum of the components. So it IS a different way to enjoy the tobacco experience, and now I need to get into the 'wayback" machine and find out which 3 blends I used when I tried that. But not to fret because I have tons of different blends and when I am off work again I can play until my heart is content.
And here is a slight adjustment in your parfait theory. Using any three tobaccos (for my theory), I would bet that the experience would be somewhat different with changing the positions of the same three tobaccos giving you nine different taste and aroma possibilities (if my math is correct). These may not be significant changes, but there would almost certainly be some changes. A lot would have to do with how some tobaccos smoke "hotter", faster, slower, more flavorful, smokier, etc.
This could really get slightly complicated depending on what parameters are used in making the placement decisions. The only real downside to this is that we are supposed to relax and enjoy ourselves smoking a bowl of tobacco. I would not want to make it seem like a job having to keep notes and comments (actually as I do already with "simple" blend blending). But when I get some time I am going to pick three blends for whatever reason and try them in various fill positions just to see if there is truly a significant change.
And BTW, I am curious as to you screen name. Have you ever been to Pompeii in Italy? When I was in the Navy on a visit to Naples, I went to Pompeii to see the history......pretty fascinating. I also took the chair ride up to the top of Mount Vesuvius which was cool also. I was at the time (and still might be) the only "kid on my block" to ascend Mt. Vesuvius, and the Rock of Gibraltar (twice) with the "Scottish Highlanders". Those were the days.
Our respected @ghostsofpompeii is an accomplished recording artist.
<<Ghosts Of Pompeii is an ever changing work-in-progress. A tonal experiment in melody, harmony, nature, and rhythm, cross-pollinating and fusing genres to create a distinctive style apart from others in the progressive rock field. The music is firmly in the old school progressive rock genre with elements of jazz-fusion, avant-garde, aggressive electronics, and filmscore.
Why this name? "In the 70s' I was keyboardist for the theatrical Indiana Prog/Rock group 'Vesuvius' - and as we know the city of Pompeii was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius - leaving me one of the Ghosts Of Pompeii." >>
Today is another sad day for me, lost yet another family member, going to grab some homemade Rum and drink a little in memory of him and smoke what ever I grab without looking! It will be an Aromatic or I will throw it back....Just saying.
@motie2 I'm a legend in my own mind. My greatest accomplishment in life was finding a woman willing to put up with me for almost 50 years. Talk about finding a needle in a haystack.
@Wolf41035 Sorry to hear about your loss. I've got a little bottle of spiced rum and I'll join you in a toast in memory of all our departed relatives.
On the Italian side of my family I have lost so many relatives that I am now the third eldest member of the family. I have one uncle who just celebrated his 90th birthday and an aunt in her early 80s'. Next in line is me. When my cousins and I get together after these family funeral's for our parent's generation we look around the room at our kids, grandkids, nephews and nieces and realize we've now become the older generation. I always wanted to sit at the Adult Table when I was a kid but didn't expect to be seated at the head of the table so quickly.
@ghostsofpompeii wrote <<My greatest accomplishment in life was finding a woman willing to put up with me for almost 50 years.>>
Hey, me too! (married 9-9-69) Males in our family get married on their birthdays, so one never forgets a wedding anniversary. Of course, that meant that we got married on a Tuesday evening......
Thanks guys and that was a nice little story/poem I always sit and think about family, some gone to young others gone at a ripe old age but still had more to teach. I look at the younger generation and wonder if when I die if I should have a funeral.....Thinking it might be best to be hauled off to the Veterans cemetery and put in the ground right away, only one child, no grand kids, no wife, most of my family is gone and the ones remaining I hardly talk to much.......Who gets my stuff? Not sure what to do about it other than let them all fight over it or give it all to charity.....LOL OK Enough of this kind of talk.
Mrs. Hudson's is called a bakery blend because it smells like fresh baked cookies. The predominant flavors/aromas are vanilla custard and chocolate mousse with a kind of caramel (Creme Brulee). I guess that's at least 3/4 of the way to cookies and cream.
I mixed equal amounts of Boswell's Christmas Cookie and Cupcake with Sutliff Vanilla Custard and came up with a nice version of what could be called "Cookies And Cream". Like Motie suggested, Sutliff Vanilla Custard and most anything really brings out the flavor when mixing blends.
And I am confused as to the classification of Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic. It must be intended as so with the suffix of "aromatic", but a lot I have read says it is not. Not that I really care, but this is a nice tobacco. I like SWRA a lot better than just plain Walt. I am so enjoying revisiting all of the "OTCs".....I am next going to order some Velvet and some Grainger to take for a spin.
<<Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic is a long-time American favorite blend of Burley and Virginia tobaccos, that are enhanced by the addition of three fine liqueurs from around the world.>>
<<Sir Walter Raleigh Regular is a cross-cut tobacco made with rich but mellow Burley .... There are hints of anise and molasses in the taste, but the primary notes are chocolate and nuts which come from the Burley itself.>>
SWR regular has little taste and top note to me, whereas SWRA has a very distinct taste and a great top note. I can see the SWRA having an aromatic connotation, but not the regular at all. I have noticed as you pointed out in their advertisements that it is not clear perhaps as they have branded or rebranded these blends. Since the regular has been around since almost biblical times I am going to see if I can find out how it was marketed and advertised yea@motie2
My guess is the SWRA was at least originally marketed strictly as an aro compared to the regular, much like a very close competitor Prince Albert many years after their original blend was a mainstay came out with PA "Soft Vanilla" and PA "Cherry Vanilla" to be competitive in the aromatic market. That being said, I have never heard of Half and Half coming out with an Aro version in marketing compe@motie2
I am going to have to do some online research........
Comments
I will make my list tonight and post it tonight or tomorrow if all goes well.
Thanks
@pwkarch You have discovered one of the unexpected pleasures of the pipe smoking hobby ... mixing, matching and creating new blends. You should also try the stacking technique I mentioned a while back where you layer your blends one on top the other creating a sort of Neapolitan ice cream effect, as one blend begins the show another then gets into the act as the two flavors combine, and then when that third layer kicks in more often then not an entirely new flavor experience occurs as the three meld together. I've had some of my best smoking experiences using the stacking technique - as well as a few less than desirable smokes ... when the flavor combinations clashed.
Then when you really get adventurous you'll do what I did and buy several Watkins flavor extracts and create blends you might not find anywhere else. I usually start out with some relatively bland OTC blend like Velvet that doesn't have an exceptionally strong topping - the start mixing flavor extracts like Vanilla, Caramel, Rum, Root Beer, Anise, Orange, Lemon - then shaking in a bit of Clove, Nutmeg, and Cinnamon for extra measure. And of course you can always go to the liquor cabinet for additional ingredients and inspiration.
Start with an idea like ... "I'll try making a Root beer Float" and imagine what flavor combinations you might add to achieve that goal ... and you're off and running. I also created my Dreamsickle blend which taste and smells exactly like it's namesake after much trial and error. It's all trial and error ... mostly error - but it's a blast making a mess in the kitchen and turning the place into a Frankenstein's lab, never knowing what to expect.
Decided to break it outlast night.
Let it sit out for an hour or so before smoking, kinda wet outta the tin.
Very pleasantly surprised. I don't smoke a ton of aro's, mostly English's and Balkan's (I know, I know, some folks insist on callin those aro's, whatever :P)
Will definitely be pickin some of this up and adding to the cellar.
@Wolf41035 Sorry to hear about your loss. I've got a little bottle of spiced rum and I'll join you in a toast in memory of all our departed relatives.
On the Italian side of my family I have lost so many relatives that I am now the third eldest member of the family. I have one uncle who just celebrated his 90th birthday and an aunt in her early 80s'. Next in line is me. When my cousins and I get together after these family funeral's for our parent's generation we look around the room at our kids, grandkids, nephews and nieces and realize we've now become the older generation. I always wanted to sit at the Adult Table when I was a kid but didn't expect to be seated at the head of the table so quickly.
<<Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic is a long-time American favorite blend of Burley and Virginia tobaccos, that are enhanced by the addition of three fine liqueurs from around the world.>>
<<Sir Walter Raleigh Regular is a cross-cut tobacco made with rich but mellow Burley .... There are hints of anise and molasses in the taste, but the primary notes are chocolate and nuts which come from the Burley itself.>>
So which one is the aromatic?
SWR regular has little taste and top note to me, whereas SWRA has a very distinct taste and a great top note. I can see the SWRA having an aromatic connotation, but not the regular at all. I have noticed as you pointed out in their advertisements that it is not clear perhaps as they have branded or rebranded these blends. Since the regular has been around since almost biblical times I am going to see if I can find out how it was marketed and advertised yea@motie2
My guess is the SWRA was at least originally marketed strictly as an aro compared to the regular, much like a very close competitor Prince Albert many years after their original blend was a mainstay came out with PA "Soft Vanilla" and PA "Cherry Vanilla" to be competitive in the aromatic market. That being said, I have never heard of Half and Half coming out with an Aro version in marketing compe@motie2
I am going to have to do some online research........