Whats you blending in 2018?

trhoton

I have been expirementing with blending. I have matched P&C Scotty Trout Stream that they are always sold out of. Two pinchs of 1Q Two pinches of Sutliff Butterscotch and one pinch of Sutliff Vanilla Custard. I love the Trout Stream but at 40 bucks per lb it was breaking the bank and getting me in trouble SWMBO! Just wanted to share to any butterscotch vanilla lovers. Its a smooth smoke with a great room note easy light and easy to fill.

ghostsofpompeii

@trhoton Welcome to the amateur blenders club. I've created a few blends myself just by trial and error. And once you start feeling a little bit more adventurous you might buy some cheaper OTC blends and add food grade flavor additives like Watkins products such as pure vanilla, cocoa, anise, orange, root beer, rum, caramel. There are a variety of Watkins flavors I've used to make blends in addition to simply mixing and matching regular blends like you've described. I created a Root beer Float blend as well as a Dreamsickle blend through trial and error using Watkins flavors. Another thing you might try to enhance your smoking experience is stacking blends similar to the idea behind Neapolitan ice cream. For instance you might start with a layer of Vanilla Custard in the bottom of the bowl, a cherry flavored blend as the middle layer, and top it off with some Chocolate flavored blend like Sutliff Chocolate Mousse. And you'll end up with a smoke that taste like chocolate covered cherries. First you'll experience the initial light of the Chocolate. Soon the cherry will kick in - still with the chocolate mixed in. And then it finishes off with that blast of Vanilla Custard in combination with the smoldering embers of chocolate and cherry. It's a real flavor treat for the aromatic smoker. The longer you remain an active member on the forum you'll discover a variety of different ways to enjoy your pipe beyond what you may be currently doing. I've been smoking a pipe for about 50 years and until I discovered the YouTube Pipe Community and forums like The Pipeline the entire world of pipe smoking really opened up to me and it developed into a genuine hobby. I even started scouring second hand shops and antique store and began buying Estate pipes (a fancy term for used pipes) - learned simple restoration techniques and build up a collection of beautiful old restored pipes. And never once developed a case of the cooties. Welcome to the group.     

motie2

Wise words. I had a Carey pipe that I loved, save for its pinkish hue. It was an eBay purchase and the photos were in a more favorable light... I guess... 
I sought advice in the Pipe refinishing and pipe making folders (discussions?) and was told what kind of leather (!) stain to purchase. I applied the dye according to the advice I received, to two pipes, the pinkish one and another Carey, dull and faded.

The lesson to be learned: Ask and someone will answer and help you out.

ghostsofpompeii

@Motie2 Nice job on the pipes. They really look great. I love that Carey.

motie2

@ghostsofpompeii -- Thank you, kind sir!

(Leather stain/dye.... who would have thunk it?)

Also, both are Carey's.

ghostsofpompeii

@Motie2 I need to do the same thing with my Big Ben Jade that has most of the green coloring wore away. I'm just now so sure I'll be able to find the right shade of green leather stain.

Pipefreak2383

where can you go to blend your own? also what about pipes? 

trhoton

@ghostsofpompeii How do you apply the extracts? Best method?

ghostsofpompeii

@trhoton An actual blender would have a heart attack if he watched me adding extracts to my blends. I simply pour some of the extract into the cap and drizzle it on. I don't mix it with water or spray it on with an atomizer. Then I go about mixing it by hand. Invariably I add more and more until I have a goopy mess. Then I'll add more tobacco to sop it up. I resemble the mad scientist Colin Clive creating the Frankenstein monster in one of those old Universal Horror Classics. Or better yet - the Wolfman - because my hands appear fur covered by the sticky tobacco. In the end I might have three or four different extracts, a bit of honey, some brown sugar, and powdered clove mixed in before I'm done. My wife thinks I know what I'm doing because I seem to be so knowledgeable as to the ingredients I add and the proportions - but I haven't got a clue. Sometimes I've created a monster that should never be ingested. But on rare occasions I've struck gold. The Root Beer Float and Dreamsickle taste, and smell exactly as they sound in both pouch note and room note. But I'll never be able to replicate either of them because of the many changes I made throughout the process. And at one point I simply gave up and packed it away in a Tupperware container - then returned to it a month later, and low and behold it was very close to what I was hoping for. So by adding a bit more tobacco to help absorb the excess moisture of the toppings, and giving it another good mix, and even taking out the hair dryer and giving it a good dry  ... then once again let it set for a month ... and BANG! ... that did the trick. It's truly like playing Frankenstein ... but I can't begin to tell you how much fun it can be. And you can also include your wife in the process.    

PappyJoe

I have taken the idea from some of you guys and decided to mix some of the tobacco I have on hand into a home blend. It contains almost a full tin of Payless Blend #230 (an English blend with one review - 4 Stars - on tobaccoreview.com) that I just didn't like. It has some other tobacco sitting around from maybe a bowl full to not quite a half tin: Briar Fox, G.L. Pease Six Pence, Ashton's Smooth Sailing, C&D Corncob Pipe & A Buttonnose, C&D We Three Kings, and Missouri Meerschaum Independence Day 2015. 

The last three were a bowl or less remaining. 

I have named it Pappy's Gumbo. 

motie2

@Pipefreak2383 -- Here is a popular make it yourself blend:

"Mrs. Hudson's 221B Bakery Blend" by @ghostsofpompeii

The name is a reference to Sherlock Holmes' landlady. Since Holmes probably smoked a strong English blend naming a sweet aromatic after him would be inappropriate. 

The blend consists of Sutliff bulk tobaccos blended together as follows: 

• Three parts (or 3 oz.) Sutliff Vanilla Custard
• Two parts (or 2 oz.) Sutliff Chocolate Mousse
• One part (or 1 oz.) Sutliff Crème Brulee

Comments:

You can substitute Sutliff Private Stock Molto Dolce for the Creme Brûlée, as the two are very similar, with the Molto Dolce being a bit sweeter.

Pipefreak2383

@motie2
thank you 

Pipefreak2383

@motie2

I assume you buy each one and mix them together? I'm going to have to give this a try :-) i'm really liking the ones I got :-)  

motie2

You can buy Sutliff bulk by the ounce at http://www,pipesandcigars.com

Charles

Wow!  The most I have done was add some additional Latakia to Dunhill's London Mixture. 

To be honest, I in December, I mixed up a batch of Mrs. Hudson's 221B Bakery Blend and placed in a jar.  First bowl I smoked was right after I mixed it up which was a little wet but not bad.  I have mixed it up a few days ago by simple shaking it up in the jar.  My thought is to revisit it in another month to compare how it smokes and how it tastes.

motie2

My adult son, who doesn't smoke, has asked me to smoke some of my Mrs. Hundson's stash rather than my usual Barbados Plantation, because he loves the room note.....

ghostsofpompeii

@motie2 That's music to my ears. I've been so intent on emptying my tins of tobacco that it's been some time since I smoked a bowl of Mrs. Hudson's myself. But tonight that's gonna change. I'll introduce one of my new Corey pipes to Mrs. Husdons this evening.

motie2

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet

trhoton

@ghostsofpompeii Thanks! Ill put my lab coat on and give it a go!. I would have never thought you could use extracts like that. Much appreciated!

trhoton

@ghostsofpompeii Thanks! Ill put my lab coat on and give it a go!. I would have never thought you could use extracts like that. Much appreciated!

Woobie

My lone attempt at blending  was some C&D Exhausted Rooster mixed 1:1 with Haunted Bookshop. It was actually really good. I thought about pressing that into a cake and setting it aside for a few months. I suppose that isn't really blending, per se, but it was fun to do.

Charles

Sounds interesting @Woobie.  Personally, I love Haunted Bookshop and never considered mixing it with anything. 

Woobie

@Charles, I love it too. But I caught a wild hare and tried it. I think I think the impetus was that I had less than a bowl of one left.

Mangoandy

Just jumped into the blending world. Trying to duplicate McClelland 5110. It's all in the right proportions of Stoved VA and BCA (both sweet), but too much takes away from the Latakia.

AnantaAndroscoggin

Just opened and tried out the 2 oz. package I got of Stokkebye 314 Dark Fired, and after 3 bowls find myself wondering what I can add to it, or what I can add it to.

ocpunk714

I’ve been cellaring my own blends for a number of time. There are some Virginias, Turkish and Burleys, but most of my creations are English. Latakia and Sutliff Stoved Black Virginia create a nice base that I like. Haven’t really tried to touch them because I wanted to give them time. February will be a year, so I’m targeting that as my next taste test. I read a suggestion to check about every 6 months.

ghostsofpompeii

For those who have been experimenting with flavorful yet goopy aromatics ... mainly Sutliff blends ... I've been taking some of my sweeter blends and mixing them with about a 1/3 mixture of good old "Carter Hall" and it works perfectly in toning down the sweetness - as well as drying out the goop in the bottom of the bowl. The mixture retains the dominant flavor of the various Sutliff aromatics (like Crème Brulee, Vanilla Custard, Chocolate Mousse) yet tamps down that excessive sweetness that puts off many who have an aversion to aromatics. It's also great for toning down Sutliff Frosty Mint. Maintaining that cool smoke with a hint of chocolate mint.