Which tobacco?

[crusse]

I'll keep that in mind - I'm willing to try any tobacco once, but I don't think that the heavy, spicy flavour of latakia is for me. Or maybe it's an acquired taste?

[Smallclub]

Or maybe it's an acquired taste?

It is definitely an acquired taste! That said, heavy latakia blends are special, they should be reserved as after-dinner smokes, or for these moments when you drink strong booze…

Syrian latakia is more "supple", less leathery and less smoky, unfortunately there are very few blends that contain REAL syrian (I'd recommend McBaren HH Syrian, McClelland Wilderness and 3 Oaks Syrian but I think they're not imported in the UK – maybe the McBaren?)

[crusse]

I suppose I could imagine a toned down latakia blend going well with a smoky, peaty single malt, but it would have to be a LOT less strong than Gawith's Balkan Mixture. I will look out for those syrian latakia blends next time I make an order. Thanks for the advice Smallclub.

[Pipe Dude]

I'll keep that in mind - I'm willing to try any tobacco once, but I don't think that the heavy, spicy flavour of latakia is for me. Or maybe it's an acquired taste?

Never say never with pipe baccy......

When I first started out, I couldn't stand perique. To me, it tasted like I was smoking burnt celery. I got two bowlfuls into a tin of Dunhill Nightcap and gave up. Fortunately, I didn't bin it and just put it aside. As my pipe experience increased, I 'learned' to like blends where perique was a less dominant component and re-visited the Nightcap about 6 months later. I was amazed when it instantly turned into one of my favourite baccies of all time.

[crusse]

Then I guess I'd better put the Balkan mixture in a drawer and try it again in a few months. In the meantime, I might try some blends that contain less latakia to see if I can handle it in smaller quantities. I wish that I could put my finger on exactly what I was tasting when I tried the Balkan mixture. The smell reminded me of creosote, but the flavour was completely new to me, and very overpowering. My brain seemed to be telling me 'your taste buds can't process this information so they're going to reject this flavour!'

[captain duff]

I still haven't found a better any-time pipe tobacco than St Bruno

On that basis I would definately recommend Ogden's Walnut Flake - to my palate it is the St Bruno base tobacco blend but without the floral ('lakeland' style) casing, so a purer tobacco taste, but also a hint of nut in there somewhere (although I've always assumed it was caled Walnut Flake due to the colour rather than taste - could be wrong though!). Also have an experiment with contrasting St Bruno ready rubbed with St Bruno Flake, as many think the Flake superiour in terms of tatse intensity (I like both though myself - and sometimes ready rubbed is good when I'm feeling lazy!).

Incidentally, none of the Ogden's (Imperial Tobacco owned) blends have been made in Liverpool for years, despite what the packaging states. The front of the old factory still stands (grade II listed) but the rest was knocked down a while ago, so as far as I'm aware the Ogden's stuff comes from Spain these days...

[crusse]

Walnut Flake definitely sounds like a blend I should try. I don't find the floral casing to be that pronounced in St Bruno (at least compared to some of the aromatics I've tried, which I really have to be in the mood for). It just seems to add a rich fruitcake sweetness to the blend, without making it soapy. Some of the stronger aromatics seem to smell much nicer than they taste: I tried Gawith Hoggarth's Ennerdale Flake for the first time this morning and it felt a bit like smoking pot pourri!

[Pipe Dude]

I tried Gawith Hoggarth's Ennerdale Flake for the first time this morning and it felt a bit like smoking pot pourri!

Yeah, the Lakelands' baccies can be a bit 'floral'. Broken Flake No 7 is my favourite. Sweet, but less soapy than Ennerdale.