Mixing tobacco's and pipes

catfishbluezz

Ok....so I'm screwed with this whole pipe tobacco thing. I just ordered a ridiculous amount of tobacco LOL. Anyways, how should I seperate my pipes for specific tobacco? I smoke mainly 1776 and Captain Black out of one, and then Frog Morton out of the other. I ordered another cob for vanilla/cherry stuff. I do want to buy a nice pipe or two now that I am figuring out what I like, so i do not want to ghost them at all. Anyways, let me know, and thanks for all the help gents...I'm hooked.

mgk2020

I think ghosting is a bit exaggerated, especially if you don't have a particularly discerning palate. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that it doesn't happen as bad as it is made out to be or that the average person wouldn't be able to tell most of the time. If you don't smoke anything particularly strong or if you don't smoke any particular type of tobacco regularly, your risk probably isn't that high. You could probably get away with not dedicating pipes. That said, if you decide to dedicate pipes, my advice would be to have separate pipes for aromatics and non-aromatics. If your non-aro's include oriental blends, then I'd suggest having two pipes for the non-aro's: one for those with latakia and one for those that don't. The reason being latakia is pretty strong and smoky and oriental tobaccos without it tend to be pretty subtle and may be lost a little in a ghosted bowl. Those would be the basics for dedicated pipes. The only reason to further sub-divide would be if you smoke a very strong/flavored tobacco (either an actual flavor in the case of an aro or a big latakia bomb) regularly or if you have a favorite tobacco that you are very familiar and don't want to risk anything changing the flavor at all. This assumes that you can actually notice of course. In the end, it really comes down to what works for you. Every hobby or interest has those that want to make it as complicated and esoteric as possible; that come up with all sorts of pomp and circumstance to try and elevate themselves and how they do things to the elite or "right" status. Bottom line: if the way you do it adds to your enjoyment, then you're doing it right. If it doesn't, then you're not.

catfishbluezz

Makes sense, so what is an aromatic? i hear that, English blends, orientals, etc... For instance, Captain Black Royal says it is Cavendish blend and has a nice smell to it. Frog Morton smells like campfire, very different, so I do not smoke both in the same pipe. What would each one be considered?

J.S.

Lots to consider here. First, an aromatic is anything that is cased to the point that the blender wants the smoker to taste flavor other than just natural tobacco. Cavendish is a great process to allow the added flavor to come through because the process takes a lot of the natural flavor out. Unflavored Cavendish can still be found in English blends to help mellow the smoke a little, however.

J.S.

CB Royal is an aromatic (the tin descriptions helps here), FM is an English blend. You will basically only taste the natural tobacco. I personally have not made up my mind if there is a light casing on FM or not but it does not take away from the tobacco taste and it does not ghost just the Lat. would be the ghosting element in it.

J.S.

Now as to what will ghost. Lat. and perique will ghost badly. Aromatics will ghost even worse than Lat and perique. If you are really into aromatics you might keep one for vanilla and one for cherry, etc. but I don't I have one aromatic pipe and that is all. I smoke cherry, vanilla, and lakeland all out of this one without problems. I don't think VA's or burley blends ghost at all but these do often have to be cased or topped and the casing can ghost but this normally smokes out in 5-12 bowls.

J.S.

Sorry all for the broken posts. I thought I had the spacing figured out but it keeps everything in a single paragraph so to make it a little easier on the eyes I have just broken it up. Best,

catfishbluezz

Hey JS, I'll bump the formatting thread

it helps

to figure out how to do breaks, or you can just quote this
and see how I typed in the breaks.

catfishbluezz

So, in essence how many pipes would you need? One for the Cavendish blends, one for the Latakia, one for the periques, and one for flavored?

mgk2020

Aromatics have a casing or topping - a flavor/scent, basically; coffee, vanilla, cherry, etc. Non-aromatics are just tobacco. Technically, "English blend" is just another name for non-aromatics that stems from English law back in the day that didn't allow for anything to be added to tobacco but tobacco. Today it is more commonly applied to non-aros that are predominantly latakia, usually with Virginia also. This is because latakia was a very common addition to these tobaccos because it gives a blend that nice smoky flavor. Balkans are usually predominantly oriental tobaccos. This goes back to my point about people loving to complicate things. It gets even more blurred when you realize that most tobaccos contain some form of casing, making many blends that are "English" non-aros technically aros. As a result, the classification isn't precisely on technical grounds, but on what the defining characteristic of the tobacco is - i.e. whether it is designed to taste like the casing or like the tobacco. If all this unnecessary bullshit is losing you, reread the first two sentences. Lol.

As far as FM and CB Royale are concerned, FM is a non-aromatic. That smokiness you mention is latakia. Thus, it is also an "English" by today's standards. I haven't had the CB, but everywhere I see it it is listed as an aromatic. I don't see a particular flavor or scent mentioned, so it may just be to make it sweeter. (Cavendish is a process for preparing tobacco). Hope this helps clarify things. Again, like wine, cigars, or any other interest man has ever had, you can make it as simple or complex as you like. The key is to enjoy it, however that may be for you.

Mason

catfishbluezz

So...if I open it up some tobacco and it smells like CB or is a cavendish, then that is aro. If it smells like pepper or a campfire, that is non aro. Separate the two, and I am good. That makes sense and what I was getting to.

mgk2020

catfishbluezz:

So, in essence how many pipes would you need? One for the Cavendish blends, one for the Latakia, one for the periques, and one for flavored?

It is hard to say. Usually it is based on a combination of the type of tobacco and how often you smoke it. If you smoke a particular aromatic flavor regularly (cherry, for instance) you may want a two aro pipes: one cherry, one everything else. Then you'd have a non-aro pipe. The same thing would apply here if you often smoke... say Perique blends. One for those and one for others. You could go further though: a Perique, an oriental, a Virginia, etc.

I like some oriental blends without latakia that are pretty easily overwhelmed by it, so I have two non-aro pipes: one for those blends and one for everything else. I have one aro pipe that I keep pretty clean and smoke all of my aro's from. I rarely smoke a significant amount of any one flavor so I don't see any particular flavor building up ghosting the bowl. (Full disclosure: I have a second aro pipe for my roommate because she smokes mint flavored tobacco and that *** will ghost something incredible. Lol)

Just one last thing, you can always get a few corncobs, smoke something in it, then in your regular pipe, and compare. If you don't notice a difference, then ghosting probably isn't much of an issue yet. Unless you smoke something repeatedly or have a sensitive palate, it probably isn't.

catfishbluezz

Reviewing will follow, so I am very particular to not ghosting. I do have a couple cobs though. For instance, I am smoking a straight burley now. It smells like a aro, has that sweet tobacco smell, but tastes like a non aro.

mgk2020

catfishbluezz:

So...if I open it up some tobacco and it smells like CB or is a cavendish, then that is aro. If it smells like pepper or a campfire, that is non aro. Separate the two, and I am good. That makes sense and what I was getting to.

Generally speaking, yes. Cavendish isn't necessarily aro, but usually is. Especially when by itself. But it doesn't have to be. Anyway, generally speaking, if it smells like tobacco, a tire fire, a campfire, then it is probably a non-aro. If it smells like peach cobbler, vanilla, chocolate, etc. it's probably an aro. As J.S. mentioned, the descriptions usually give a pretty clear idea what to expect. At the most basic of levels, I think it a good idea to have two pipes: an aro and a non.

J.S.

Usually there is something in the blend notes that will help tip you off about the blend. Cavendish is a process and you can have some "unsweetened" found in blends to help mellow them. As far as how many, you can get by with 2 or you can subdivide and have 1 for aromatic, 1 for Lat. and perique, 1 for VA/per, 1 for VA and burley, so 4 would get you started. A lot of tobacco is cased but in the case of non-aromatic (not just English blends) the casing is very mild and does not ghost the pipe. Just the Lat and or perique in the blend does that. Yes, there are some aromatic English blends out there but they will say cherry, etc. on them.

J.S.

catfishbluezz:

Hey JS, I'll bump the formatting thread

it helps

to figure out how to do breaks, or you can just quote this
and see how I typed in the breaks.

Thanks for pulling that up.
I think I have it now!

mgk2020

catfishbluezz:

Reviewing will follow, so I am very particular to not ghosting. I do have a couple cobs though. For instance, I am smoking a straight burley now. It smells like a aro, has that sweet tobacco smell, but tastes like a non aro.

My personal opinion for reviewing: if you can afford it, buy a new corncob with each tobacco you want to review and smoke it out of that. You can buy corncob pipes for, literally, a couple of dollars. No break in, no ghosting (if you always use a fresh one for reviews), and a fairly small expense. Obviously, even $2 can add up over time, but it's a very effective way of buying peace of mind.

J.S.

catfishbluezz:

Reviewing will follow, so I am very particular to not ghosting. I do have a couple cobs though. For instance, I am smoking a straight burley now. It smells like a aro, has that sweet tobacco smell, but tastes like a non aro.

This is more likely a topping that was given to the tobacco. Toppings are different then casings. They will impart an aro smell but not affect taste and at least for me does not ghost.

You might also like to know that while I would never smoke a Lat. blend in my straight VA pipes, I do like to smoke a VA in my lat. pipe from time to time. I will get that ghost of Lat. that adds to the VA. It is a very nice crossover that I enjoy from time to time.

J.S.

mgk2020:

catfishbluezz:

Reviewing will follow, so I am very particular to not ghosting. I do have a couple cobs though. For instance, I am smoking a straight burley now. It smells like a aro, has that sweet tobacco smell, but tastes like a non aro.

My personal opinion for reviewing: if you can afford it, buy a new corncob with each tobacco you want to review and smoke it out of that. You can buy corncob pipes for, literally, a couple of dollars. No break in, no ghosting (if you always use a fresh one for reviews), and a fairly small expense. Obviously, even $2 can add up over time, but it's a very effective way of buying peace of mind.

LOL we are posting like 2 min. apart. It is like a slow IM! I agree that cobs are a good way to get to know a new blend. I have a Meer. for this (non-aro only) and it does not or at least has not ghosted. Some say they can others say they cannot and it was cheap $60.00 that if it does it does. I still will not chance crossing aro in it, however.

Also a double fired porcelain bowl would work too, there you just wipe clean and you are back to 0. It will never ghost. Over a period of time these pay for themselves.

mgk2020

J.S.:

mgk2020:

catfishbluezz:

Reviewing will follow, so I am very particular to not ghosting. I do have a couple cobs though. For instance, I am smoking a straight burley now. It smells like a aro, has that sweet tobacco smell, but tastes like a non aro.

My personal opinion for reviewing: if you can afford it, buy a new corncob with each tobacco you want to review and smoke it out of that. You can buy corncob pipes for, literally, a couple of dollars. No break in, no ghosting (if you always use a fresh one for reviews), and a fairly small expense. Obviously, even $2 can add up over time, but it's a very effective way of buying peace of mind.

LOL we are posting like 2 min. apart. It is like a slow IM! I agree that cobs are a good way to get to know a new blend. I have a Meer. for this (non-aro only) and it does not or at least has not ghosted. Some say they can others say they cannot and it was cheap $60.00 that if it does it does. I still will not chance crossing aro in it, however.

Also a double fired porcelain bowl would work too, there you just wipe clean and you are back to 0. It will never ghost. Over a period of time these pay for themselves.

I thought the same thing. Lol Your meer would probably be fine so long as you weren't repeatedly smoking the same flavor in it. However, if you've solved it already, no reason to chance it. Meers are great, I recommend everyone try one.

The_Kid

mgk2020:

catfishbluezz:

So, in essence how many pipes would you need? One for the Cavendish blends, one for the Latakia, one for the periques, and one for flavored?

It is hard to say. Usually it is based on a combination of the type of tobacco and how often you smoke it. If you smoke a particular aromatic flavor regularly (cherry, for instance) you may want a two aro pipes: one cherry, one everything else. Then you'd have a non-aro pipe. The same thing would apply here if you often smoke... say Perique blends. One for those and one for others. You could go further though: a Perique, an oriental, a Virginia, etc.

I like some oriental blends without latakia that are pretty easily overwhelmed by it, so I have two non-aro pipes: one for those blends and one for everything else. I have one aro pipe that I keep pretty clean and smoke all of my aro's from. I rarely smoke a significant amount of any one flavor so I don't see any particular flavor building up ghosting the bowl. (Full disclosure: I have a second aro pipe for my roommate because she smokes mint flavored tobacco and that *** will ghost something incredible. Lol)

Just one last thing, you can always get a few corncobs, smoke something in it, then in your regular pipe, and compare. If you don't notice a difference, then ghosting probably isn't much of an issue yet. Unless you smoke something repeatedly or have a sensitive palate, it probably isn't.

Interesting read.. Some things for me to think about as I am meeting a buddy on Mon who has some meerschaum pipes for me. We were talking the other day and he mentioned being stationed in Turkey so I brought up the coral used for meerschaums. He said Yea he knows, he's got two ornate pipes that he picked up while over there and theyve just been sitting around, (he doesnt smoke) he asked me if I would like to have them, I said "hell yea" but I thought he should keep at least one,, IDK what he's planning, we'll see.

Amos_Umwhat

catfishbluezz:

So...if I open it up some tobacco and it smells like CB or is a cavendish, then that is aro. If it smells like pepper or a campfire, that is non aro. Separate the two, and I am good. That makes sense and what I was getting to.

This is about exactly what I do. Simplify.

pilgrimtex

ARO Shmay aro. Who cares. Its all in the palate. Mix aro with non and you can come up with some great blends. Since I have some really good blends like Gloucester I needed a blend that was really mild on easy on the tongue and to get rid of ghosts in my pipes so I went to a %parts BLWB with 2 parts Black Kathy and Voila. A really nice easy smoke and no more ghosts after one or two bowls. Good after cigars as a transition back to pipes. for those who know my drift.

catfishbluezz

This is what i ordered lol
1 McClelland Tin Frog Mortons Cellar (100g)-A mellow, fragrant Latakia blend aged with stave cubes cut from barrels used to mature and flavor Frog Morton's own special whiskeys. Ahhh!

1 McClelland Grey Havens (100g tin)-This is something that might appeal to those who favor Danish blends of Burley, Virginia and Cavendish. It is a predominantly dark brown to black medium-cut blend with a few blond strands. Composed of Burley and matured Virginias with a Cavendish treatment, it smelled at a distance (at first upon opening) like vanilla, but directly from the tin like chocolate, though laid on with a restrained hand. What makes it interesting is the addition of Perique.

1 McClelland Frog Morton on the Bayou (100g tin)-A good Latiakia English blend that i believe Has a little perique added.

1 McClelland Blue Mountain-Rich with the finest Mountain Latakia, a classic full Balkan pipe tobacco mixture, smoother and deeply fragrant. The inspiration for this elegant mixture was a 21-year old tin of the legendary #75

1 McClelland Black Shag-The first in the 221B Series, it is a very finely cut stoved Virginia running from dark red to jet black.

1 McClelland Easy Street-Cool as the coolest jazz, soft as velvet nights, rich and creamy. A whisper of English Walnut perfects this elegant Black Cavendish.

1 McClelland Navy Cavendish-With this tobacco, we reintroduce the smoker to the traditional Navy Cavendish, pressed in cakes and aged naturally with dark Jamaican rum to achieve its rich depth of flavor, color and aroma.

1 McClelland Frog Morton on the Town-This is a softer Frog Morton blend. Frog Morton formulated this exceptionally mellow blend, fragrant with basma, smooth and rich with Latakia for his evening at the opera. This is a new blend and hailed as exceptional by all lovers of Frog Morton

So let me know which ones sound like they can be smoked in one pipe. From what you guys have described, I woudl guess that the following could be smoked in one pipe:
Easy St, Navy, Grey Havens, and maybe the 221B?

FM on the Town, Blue Mountain, Bayou, Cellar?

Is that how you guys would separate them?

catfishbluezz

Then I woudl also assume that the 1776 and Captain Blacks I like would mix well with the other Cavendish blends, not the Latakia's.

mgk2020

catfishbluezz:

Then I woudl also assume that the 1776 and Captain Blacks I like would mix well with the other Cavendish blends, not the Latakia's.

I'd say that's about right. Bayou has Perique which has a very unique/strong flavor and is sometimes kept separate because of it; however, I REALLY don't think it would be necessary unless you're smoking a lot of it regularly. The only other note is that a lot of Virginia smokers keep a pipe strictly for their Virginias for sort of the opposite reason; but again, I think you'd be fine. So, basically, I think you've broken it down well enough, but some people might advise separate pipes for Perique blends and Virginias. Regardless, you'll be fine starting off with two. Start with the subtler ones and then try them again after using the pipes for the others. See if you notice a change. If so, separate them out further. If not, you're fine. I've "junk piped" most of my tins for awhile (only a few exceptions) and have had no issue - some blends of which I am very familiar and would notice a change.

catfishbluezz

Ok cool, that makes sense as I have heard that about Perique. I had not heard that about VA's, so I assume you are speaking of the black shag correct?

J.S.

catfishbluezz:

Ok cool, that makes sense as I have heard that about Perique. I had not heard that about VA's, so I assume you are speaking of the black shag correct?

VA's will not ghost. Because they don't, they will pick up any ghost in the pipe. So if you are smoking a lot of Lat. or perique or lat/perique blends, a straight VA will pick up the ghosts lingering in the pipe. I like that once in a while but if you are trying to get to know a new blend you will have added elements that are not part of it present. You might eventually get a pipe for just VA's.

Right now, I think you are heading in a good direction. No need to break the bank buying pipes right away.

mgk2020

J.S.:

catfishbluezz:

Ok cool, that makes sense as I have heard that about Perique. I had not heard that about VA's, so I assume you are speaking of the black shag correct?

VA's will not ghost. Because they don't, they will pick up any ghost in the pipe. So if you are smoking a lot of Lat. or perique or lat/perique blends, a straight VA will pick up the ghosts lingering in the pipe. I like that once in a while but if you are trying to get to know a new blend you will have added elements that are not part of it present. You might eventually get a pipe for just VA's.

Right now, I think you are heading in a good direction. No need to break the bank buying pipes right away.

This was going to be my response exactly. J.S. we're getting good at this. Lol

Amos_Umwhat

mgk2020:

catfishbluezz:

Then I woudl also assume that the 1776 and Captain Blacks I like would mix well with the other Cavendish blends, not the Latakia's.

I'd say that's about right. Bayou has Perique which has a very unique/strong flavor and is sometimes kept separate because of it; however, I REALLY don't think it would be necessary unless you're smoking a lot of it regularly. The only other note is that a lot of Virginia smokers keep a pipe strictly for their Virginias for sort of the opposite reason; but again, I think you'd be fine. So, basically, I think you've broken it down well enough, but some people might advise separate pipes for Perique blends and Virginias. Regardless, you'll be fine starting off with two. Start with the subtler ones and then try them again after using the pipes for the others. See if you notice a change. If so, separate them out further. If not, you're fine. I've "junk piped" most of my tins for awhile (only a few exceptions) and have had no issue - some blends of which I am very familiar and would notice a change.

I second this opinion

catfishbluezz

Alright, this makes sense to me now. Now I am thinking 6... VA, English, Aro's, Flavored, Perique, Orientals?? That sound about right guys? And by flavored I mean the heavy Vanilla or Cherry stuff versus the aro's that are Cavendish but not overly flavored.