Dr. Bradly Mixture et al

jim102864

I'm sure this has been discussed before, maybe multiple times, but it's on my radar screen today so indulge me.  Here it goes:  drug store blends such as Carter Hall, SWR, etc are undoubtedly part of the rite of passage for pipe smokers.  I'm still a newbie, but in the 8 or 9 months I've been smoking, everything is new to me.  I was given Dr. Bradley by a veteran of the hobby and have to say it is one of the most enjoyable blends I've tried to date, partly because of the flavor, partly because this newbie doesn't have to relight 50 times like I seem to have to with everything else I smoke (I'm getting better at it though).  While I suppose technically not a drug store blend since it's sold by Iwan Ireis, I'm looking forward to trying Carter Hall, which everyone seems to like.  I'm curious to know if you've tried a "drug store" blend, if it's part of your daily rotation, why you like it, etc.  Fire away!

PappyJoe

In my early days, Borkum Riff and Capt. Black were over-the-counter (OTC)/drugstore blends. So were Half &Half, Prince Albert, Carter Hall, Mixture 79 and Middleton's Cherry. Some people have elevated Capt. Black and Borkum Riff above the OTC level but that is still what it basically is.

I smoked them because they were what I could get easily aboard ship. Then I fell under the wing of an older pipe smoker who started introducing me to the jars of tobacco at a local pipe shops. I pretty much stopped smoke the OTCs because the bulk blends were better. Then I progressed from bulk blends to tins.  

I do have some Carter Hall and Half & Half in my cellar but they are not in my daily rotation. I use the Carter Hall mainly to break-in a new pipe or an estate pipe that I've just clean. I will occasionally smoke Half & Half if I'm going to be doing yard work. 

Frankly, I would encourage you to try the OTC blends just for the experience but decided for yourself whether you want to smoke them daily. 

Smoke what you like because you like it. 

ghostsofpompeii

@jim102864 Funny you should mention Carter Hall, it was the tobacco I smoked last night, and the one thing that really amazed me was just how long that bowl lasted. Now mind you the pipe I used has a small bowl and under normal circumstances it might last 20 minutes at best if I gently sip the pipe. But last night I was watching an episode of the British dinosaur series "Primeval" and got completely through an episode which is probably somewhere between 45 to 50 minutes long and found myself still puffing a nice cloud of smoke.

As for other OTC blends I still smoke all the Captain Black varieties, Velvet, Carter Hall, and occasionally Sutliff Mixture 79. I stopped smoking Borkum Riff a while back because it seems to have changed considerably from the time I originally smoked it back in the day. I might be wrong - but it just doesn't taste the same. I do have a can of Borkum Riff 36 Degrees North Mixture - a special limited blend with California Wine ... but can't really call it an OTC blend because I doubt it ever turned up in a drug store or supermarket.

As a newbie I wouldn't discount anything and try everything including the inexpensive OTC blends. You might even consider those cheap bulk blends you see offered at some gas stations and convenience stores like 4 Aces, Super Value, Better Smoke, Largo, Jester, Smoker's Pride, 752, Kentucky Select, OHM, Kentucky Gold, and Gambler to name a few. Some more experienced pipe smokers might refer to them as floor sweepings but for the newbie just getting started - and depending upon your financial situation you may not have the disposable income to spend on more expensive quality tinned tobacco. Yet want to be a part of the community. And as your palate develops and your finances increase you can branch out and begin cellaring the higher quality products. And since many of the gas station brands are so cheap they might be perfect for creating blends of your own by adding Watkins flavor extracts. When-ever I'm experimenting and mixing up a witches brew of some vanilla, caramel, maple, mint, fruit, or root beer based blend I always use my Velvet tobacco since it's my least favorite smoking tobacco - and feel anything I do is an improvement.    

     

 

judandhispipe

" You might even consider those cheap bulk blends you see offered at some
gas stations and convenience stores like 4 Aces, Super Value, Better
Smoke, Largo, Jester, Smoker's Pride, 752, Kentucky Select, OHM,
Kentucky Gold, and Gambler to name a few."
Please note that most of these are not pipe tobacco.  They are RYO cig tobacco that was relabeled to avoid taxes on RYO. RYO is much lower quality tobacco than pipe tobacco.
Back when I started out, I smoked a ton of BR Regular, Troost Special Cavendish, and Sail Yellow - all available in drugstores then. My experiences with the first caused me to avoid aros like the plague for decades - I have only recently tried some of the lighter,Danish style aros. (W.O. Larsen makes some darned good ones.)
I'm currently going through  an exploration of codger burleys.Been smoking some Half and Half. It's not bad for what it is, but it's not great pipe tobacco. It won't crack the rotation.

Don't smoke cheap tobacco if you can afford better. There is a difference between being frugal - being careful with your money because you don't have a lot - and being cheap - having it, but refusing to spend it. The former is admirable; the latter is not.
Smoke the best tobacco you can afford in the best pipes you can afford. It will increase your enjoyment. 

jim102864

I've taken the same approach to pipe smoking that I did craft beer 20 years or more ago when it was called "microbrew", and cigars:  I'll learn about the craft and the product and try everything and anything I can get my hands on.  I was warned early on not to try English blends because it was felt they would be too harsh for a new piper.  This of course, led to me trying my first English about three months in...Nightcap.  It is now part of my regular rotation.  OTC or drugstore blends are new to me.  I was given Dr. Bradley to try by a friend.  I like the way it smokes with limited re-lights and the flavor is nice...not terribly complex, but nice. Will I still be smoking it five years from now?  Who knows?  The only way to truly experience quality in anything be it craft beer double IPA's, sours and barrel-aged stouts or boutique, quality tobacco blends in either cigar or pipe tobacco form is to try them.  It's what make the journey so much fun.

PappyJoe

@jim102864 - You are correct about trying everything. I've been pipe smoking for 45 yeas and I'm continually buying new blends to smoke. I even have two private blends that are made for me and I don't smoke them on a daily basis. 

I have found a lot that I like but nothing I want to smoke every time, everyday.

Woodsman

My Codger blend of choice is Carter Hall, like Pappy I use it as a break in smoke but, I also often just smoke it for a change of pace; it never disappoints.  I have found Smokers Pride Black Cavendish to be a real pipe tobacco, it's an inexpensive blender although quite "Gloppy" requiring a long drying period.