Blend Classifications
jfreedy
Master
in Tobacco Talk
Most of my pipe life I've simply thought of tobaccos as Aromatic or English. (I'm sure I'm not alone here.) It wasn't until the past 10 years that I realized there are other categories as well, such as Virginia combinations, Orientals, Burley blends, Cigar leaf, etc. What are some other classifications of pipe tobacco, and are they really a stand alone classification or simply a variant on the big 3 (Aros, English & Virginias)?
Comments
Aromatics are aromatics.
Many Virginia blends are in fact VaPers, that is, Virginia/Perique blends.
There are other categories, but that's the Big 3
English=Latakia>Oriental
Balkan=Latakia<Oriental
RUSS OUELLETTE'S BLEND CATEGORIES
There are many descriptive terms for pipe tobacco blends, and, it seems, that just about every company has their own nomenclature. Below, I give a list of what I consider to be the main categories of tobaccos.
English- The older use of the term “English blend” just meant that the tobacco used was unflavored, since, under old laws, processors in the UK were not allowed to add much of anything to their tobaccos. Today, the description is a bit more specific. For my purposes, an English blend is a tobacco which has a dominant note of Latakia, and the secondary flavor comes from Virginia(s).
Balkan- Similar to an English, but after the Latakia, the most prominent flavor will come from Turkish or Oriental tobaccos. The name, of course, comes from the superb Balkan Sobranie (a blend which used some of the most outstanding Orientals ever).
Scottish- An English blend with Cavendish added, usually. Dunhill 965 is one of the classic Scottish-type blends.
Virginia- Pretty self-explanatory; a blend which is all, or overwhelmingly dominated by Virginia tobaccos. Sometimes a little Burley or Oriental might be added for balance or to mitigate the sharpness that Virginia can exhibit.
Va/Per- These blends are predominantly Virginia with the addition of Perique. The sweet and spicy characteristics of Perique work very well in combination with the sugary and somewhat acidic nature of the Virginias.
Aromatic- These blends are usually made with lighter flavored base tobaccos (Virginia, Burley, Carolina, Maryland) with flavors, usually in the form of syrups, added. The main drawback to these blends is that the tobacco rarely tastes the same as it smells.
Burley- Again, the reference is apparent. The blend will be primarily Burley, and may have other tobaccos added in condimental amounts, but will exhibit mainly the characteristics of Burley, which is usually a nutty and somewhat sour flavor.
Oriental- The flavor will mostly come from Oriental or Turkish tobaccos, with Virginias and/or Latakia and, possibly, other tobaccos used for “spice”.
There are also a number of crossover blends, such as American/English (English with Burley), English/Aromatic and others, but these descriptions should at least help to make more sense of all this.
The variety of pipe tobaccos is amazing. Virtually any type of flavor is out there, but the taste isn’t the only thing you should consider. I’ll outline the major categories for you, and I’ll rate them for their appropriateness for newbies.
Aromatics- This is the most popular category by a long shot. These are blends that usually contain some combination of Burley, Virginia and black Cavendish, but they may have one, two or all three, and sometimes other tobaccos are included. What makes a blend an aromatic is the addition of a top-dressing. This is a flavoring that is added to give the tobacco a pleasant aroma. However, don’t expect the tobacco to taste the way it smells. You’ll get some sweetness and a hint of the flavoring, but nowhere near as much as you’ll notice in the aroma. Even though they’re very popular, the have a few issues that may not make them the best choice for a beginner. They tend to be quite moist and can be hard to keep lit. This usually leads to puffing too fast or too hard just to keep them going, and that can lead to a fried tongue. Also, the flavor is pretty light with most aromatics, and, again, this can lead to smoking too hard trying to get more flavor out of the tobacco. The high moisture content can make your pipe gurgle, which is annoying at best and can lead to getting fluid coming through the stem. For these reasons, I don’t find these blends to be the best choice when you’re starting out.
Burley blends- These tobaccos are largely made of Burley, which is a type of leaf that doesn’t have a high sugar content. These blends are exemplified by a number of the old standard blends- Prince Albert, Carter Hall, Half & Half, Sir Walter Raleigh among others. They usually have a top-dressing, but it’s normally very slight. The flavor of these tobaccos tend to be mild, and they’re usually very cool-smoking. These blends are generally a good starting point, unless you’re looking for a lot of flavor.
Virginia blends- Virginia is one of the most commonly-used tobaccos, found in the vast majority of pipe blends. Virginia blends are ones where the tobacco is predominantly Virginias, possibly with small amounts of other tobaccos added. Virginias are high in sugar content which makes them burn a little hotter, but they add sweetness to a blend. They also produce a thinner smoke, which might cause the smoker to puff a little harder or faster trying to get more smoke. For these reasons, I’d avoid these blends until you learn how to smoke slowly.
Latakia blends- Latakia is a fire-cured tobacco from the island of Cyprus. It starts with a Turkish leaf called Smyrna which is hung in a building with an open fire on the floor. The fire produces an aromatic smoke which saturates the leaf until it turns black. Latakia creates a campfire-like flavor and aroma, and it’s usually combined with Virginias and Oriental tobaccos. It burns slowly and tends to make a cool blend. For newer pipe smokers who want more flavor than a Burley blend, these tobaccos may be the best choice.
https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/virginia-and-perique-mixtures-varied-family-pipe-tobacco
https://www.tobaccopipes.com/blog/9-of-the-best-liquor-blends-to-try/
https://www.alpascia.com/moments/en/detail/115