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Cigar leaf blends

What are your favorite cigar leaf blends and why?
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  • Billy Bud is good, but I have not had enough of it to say its my favorite. I'm still searching!
  • drac2485drac2485 Professor
    @pipeprofessor I like Billy Bud but prefer Purple Cow (love that name), I too am still looking though. I know the most recent IPCR there were some blends shown to imitate famous cigar brands. I can't wait to try La Gloria Cubana http://www.pipesandcigars.com/pipe-tobacco/110186/la-gloria-cubana-pipe-tobacco/#p-219561
  • mhajecmhajec Enthusiast
    Wasn't even aware that such blends exsisted. Damn it, now I have to scouring the internet to find this "new" cigar leaf blends, you guys are evil and wife is going to get very upset soon. (Deviant smilie face)
  • @drac2485, I saw that some were available as of last night. I think I'm going to wait to see how the reviews are. I have a feeling they may be a bunch of hype. 
  • @mahjec, haha my wife rolls her eyes every time I start looking at pipe related items!
  • mhajecmhajec Enthusiast
    @PipeProfessor Kelly stopped going with me to the local brick and mortar all together now (which says a lot because it's in the local mall here). And when she's talking to me at home and I don't respond right away, she tells me to put the tobacco search on hold and focus.

    Just a curiosity question here guys, can you tell me why you would want a blend that imitates a specific cigar. In my mind when I want a cigar, I grab one from the humi and light'er up. Why would I want to smoke, in essence, that same cigar out of my pipe?
  • drac2485drac2485 Professor
    @pipeprofessor  Yeah the more I looked into those NEW Cigar Blends (Like the La Gloria Cubana), they aren't listed to have any cigar leaf.  They are just "supposed" to be similar in profile to the equivalent of the cigar. I'll still get some to try though. 

  • drac2485drac2485 Professor

    @mhajec  C&D has several blends that contain cigar leaf like Billy Bud and Purple Cow and a few others I can't remember.  McClelland has some and Hearth & Home has some.  If you go to tobaccoreviews.com you can search for it.  Here's the search already to go http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/search?Contents=Cigar+Leaf  Some will be listed as just cigar leaf while some companies specifically use maduro leaves or habana leaves
  • drac2485drac2485 Professor
    @mhajec I like the idea of smoking the cigar from my pipe because I sometime just want a "shorter" cigar or one that I can come back to, I have never been able to come back to a cigar a few hours or days later without just tossing it.  Also, when it comes to tobacco, in general, I like the flavor profiles of what I am smoking, if not I wouldn't smoke it, and being able to get the same flavor profile while clenching a pipe sounds appeasing to me.  Plus the cost of the pipe tobacco is a lot less per smoke than the cigar.  I know the La Gloria Cubana is listed at about $7 right now per tin and that's the cost of the cigar or less and I'd get more out of the cigar.  It will never replace the cigar though (I have to many of those and enjoy a brainless smoke on a regular basis, not having to relight and tamp...).
  • You will have to let me know how they are when you get them @drac2485
  • dstribdstrib Apprentice
    Have some Purple cow and Billy Bud from 2010. Last Order from pipes and cigars I was thinking about getting McCelland Dominican Glory Maduro.
  • drac2485drac2485 Professor
    @distrib I have all 3 but only have smoked the first two.  I am waiting to crack the seal on the Maduro until I finish some of my other open tins
  • Most of the cigars in my humidor are maduros. Haven't thought about trying cigar leaf pipe tobacco. Was unimpressed once when I tried a cigar made with pipe tobacco.
  • drac2485drac2485 Professor
    @pappyjoe Was the cigar the Spectre?  If not I'd recommend it as it has latakia in it and actually is an interesting crossover.  I will warn you that it will taint any other cigar near it from that smokiness from the latakia.  C&D's Billy Bud and Purple Cow are more English blends and I think that Billy Bud has more latakia and perique in it but the cigar leaf adds a bit of a creaminess to the smoke.  I really enjoy them.  PM your address and I'll send you some the next chance I get.
  • @spectre - not a Spectre. Can't think of the brand but it was one that has been around a long time. The local B&M has a jar of them sitting on the counter and I was given one as a stocking stuffer one Christmas.
  • drac2485drac2485 Professor
    @pappyjoe  I can hook you up there as well.  If you like english blends I think you'd like the Spectre
  • https://rebornpipes.com/category/tobacco-reviews-2/page/1/

    McClellands Dominican Glory + something to rescue it

    The tin label says – a satisfying blend of Dominican cigar leaf and Virginias. For me this does not say it at all. It is anything but satisfying. It is a very bland blend indeed. Not enough cigar leaf to do anything for me – no taste of the cigar coming through at all. And not enough Virginia flavour to make it sweet and tangy. I just about pitched this tin awhile back. But on a whim I had an old Romeo Y Julieta Cuban Cigar here that was just a bit dry – to dry to my liking. So I crumbled it up in the tin of McClellands Dominican Glory and viola – Cuban Glory! It is a good smoke. It has been aging for almost a year now. I had forgotten about it. I took it out this afternoon and cracked the sealed Mason Jar. The sweet tang of the Virginias came through with the earthy smell of Cuban cigar just over the top of the other smells. It was the perfect moisture. I packed a bowl and lit it – no charring light necessary at all.

    The first smokes in the little Argyle Bulldog were full of flavours. The Virginias came through loud and clear and the cigar leaf was very spicy and earthy throughout the smoke. The flavour seemed to careen from a nice Cuban taste to a good Virginia and back again. Then as the bowl progressed they blended together for a really nice cigary taste. This is really good. I am going to have to get some more and do it again!

    Midbowl and to the end the flavours danced back and forth. The residual taste on the lips is a cigar like flavour with just a bit of Virginia Tang coming through. The smoke was good and I was ready to hit the first relight when the bowl seemed light and empty! Smoke over. The ash was a powdery white and gray. Very tasty smoke.


  •      I wonder if a “cigar blend” will smoke like a cigar in a pipe.  There is an art to the rolling of cigars with specific filler/binder/wrapper.  It seems to me that the “layers”? of a cigar would be most difficult to control in the random strands of tobacco strewn throughout the bowl, unless the tobacco is layered in a flake AND smoked as a flake AND not rubbed out.  I would imagine that the flake would have to be assembled inside-out with the “wrapper” leaf in the center, “binder” leaf around that and the “filler” blend pressed around that....hmm more like a rope, coins could be stacked rather than going with a true flake.  Hmm, maybe more like a cylindrical “crumble-cake” 🤔💡 Now if I could just get it into production, I would be filthy rich👍🏻
         I read somewhere here on This Pipe Life that someone “rubbed out/dismantled” a broken cigar and stuffed it in their pipe (they were NOT impressed).  I have tried the same with similar results.  I have been thinking about cutting a “bowl size”  piece of cigar and stuffing that in a bowl as as short piece of cigar.  I have not tried it yet, but I believe the results would still be similar as the outside wrapper would be against the inside of the bowl and would not burn at the rate it should.  I have read that the wrapper of a cigar lends a lot of the flavor profile to the cigar and I think this would mostly be lost in a pipe.
         I have two old Weber “Smoke-A-Roll” Zulu/Horn pipes and a Century Old Briar (Mastercraft?) “Zepplin/Torpedo” pipe that I thought I would try a cutoff cigar in.  The “Smoke-A-Roll” pipes were designed to use pre-formed “plugs/cartridges” of tobacco.  From what I have garnered from the information I have found, the “Smoke-A-Roll” was tobacco that was wrapped cigarette style in a (50 ring? or so) paper tube to be inserted into the pipe bowl.  It was to facilitate an easy, clean, quickie pipe load. I wish I could get my hands on a package of them, or for that matter just one of the “cartridges” as an example.  I think they were made in early 1900’s to 1920/30’s? with/for Velvet tobacco.
         The Zepplin’s were kind of the predecessor to Chris Morgan’s “Briar Cigar”.  I think Vauen may still make a Zepplin pipe? but they are very few and far between, and somewhat expensive.
         Come to think of it, I also have a Swiss made “Pipstar” pipe that might smoke a 3/4”-7/8” long piece of a smaller 38-40 ring cigar.
         I have a couple cigar leaf blends C&D “Sansepolcro”, Savinelli “140th Anniversary” both of which contain Italian dark-fired cigar florets and some Tobac Manil “La Brumeuse” pure Semois from Belgium that has a cigar tin-note.  It has been so long since I smoked them, I do not remember what any of them were like exactly, but from what I recall none smoked like any cigars I have had🤔
         I may have a serious case of TAD (too many tobaccos? I think not.)🤪🤫
  • I have about an ounce of Billy Budd that I'd be willing to trade with someone. I've tried it, but it's just not my kind of blend. If anyone is interested, feel free to drop me a DM for it.
  • The only cigar blend I've tried is GL Pease Key Largo.  While it's an enjoyable blend and I can detect hints of cigar leaf, it isn't in my normal rotation.  I have a jar that I tap in to every now and again. 
  • I've been a fan of Key Largo for some time. Not too long ago I tried some C&D Seersucker, which is a cake type of blend that contains enough cigar leaf to be noticeable but not overpowering. It's from their Cellar Series, but at my age I don't feel like waiting 5-10 years to try it. It had 18 months on it when I finally popped the tin, and I quite enjoyed it, so I don't know how much more age will affect it. Just thought I'd mention it here as it was a nice cigar leaf blend.
  • I've found Purple Cow to be the most cigar-forward blend. I actually created a blend a couple of years ago called Lane Andullo. It's about half fermented cigar leaf with black cavendish and a hint of Latakia. Andullo is some strange stuff (video link below). Stumbled on it during a factory visit to the Dominican and decided to experiment with it. I love the blend myself, but it's very different and probably not for everyone.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTEvVwpCKpc
  • Woah~ That's pretty intense! haha
  • I was given samples of the three Raccoon Blends by Daughters & Ryan. The tin note of Raccoon Accent and Raccoon Friend reminds me of a good Honduran cigar. 
  • Does adding cigar leaf give the blend a distinctive cigar flavor and aroma or is it more of a nuanced condiment like Perique, adding a spicy peppery flavor to the blend?   
  • Depends on the leaf and the ratio.....
  • I bought some of @Leonard’s Andullo in September. I really like it. 


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