Question About Pipe Tobacco Strength

[rdj735]

Can you seasoned pipe smokers tell me if there are blends out there that have the body of cigar smoke? I've been smoking cigars for several years, but am a noob with the pipe. I've had four different blends from the local shop, some of which had good flavor, but none with much body or strength. I was hoping to find something with a bit of oomph... When I finish a bowl, I don't really feel like I've smoked anything. Do I need to keep searching for blends, am I smoking the pipe incorrectly, or do I just have unrealistic expectations?

 

[LilBastage]

You'll likely have to smoke some English or Balkans in order to get close. Some Virginias will give you similar body, but not many.

Look for blends with latakia or oriental tobaccos in them. If you like spicier cigars, try some blends with perique in them.

It's a different experience, though. One just doesn't get the volume of smoke from pipes that one can draw with cigars. If one puffs up a pipe in order to get a lot of smoke, one is likely to get tongue bite.

That's my experience, anyway. I'm far from a seasoned pipe smoker, but I've smoked a fair number of bowls over the years.

 

[DeputyDawg]

I am aware that McClelland makes a tobacco that is made up of dominican cigar leaf.

This is a link to one of the internet retailers that has it.www.4noggins.com/mcclellanddominicanglory100g.aspx

There is a maduro style available as well. I have not personally tried either of these, but they are on my list to.

I will back what lilbastage said about the English style tobacco, with varying amounts of latakia. I have had several

and you will know you are smoking a substantial tobacco. Start out with a Frog Morton english and go from there. JMO

 

[Mark Twain]

Just a caution here, and also to echo LilBastage, the experience of a full-bodied tobacco in a pipe is far different than in a cigar, IMO. Honestly, the closets I've come was with some Partagas pipe tobacco that I bought from Johnny-O. Extremely powerful and nearly overwhelming.

 

[LilBastage]

Just a caution here, and also to echo LilBastage, the experience of a full-bodied tobacco in a pipe is far different than in a cigar, IMO. Honestly, the closets I've come was with some Partagas pipe tobacco that I bought from Johnny-O. Extremely powerful and nearly overwhelming.

That Partagas completely kicked my backside. I got rid of most of it and kept very little to blend into some other blends.

I've tried several of the cigar leaf blends out there. I've never been satisfied with any of them.

 

[rdj735]

One of the four blends I have is an English one. The selection at the local shop consists of a dozen or so bulk blends, and the same number in dusty old tins, so I'll try some of the online retailers for my next purchase. I'm not actually looking for cigar tobacco (although I'd be willing to try it). I like the flavor of pipe tobacco, but am just wanting more body/"nic kick" to the smoke. In many ways, pipe smoking fits my lifestyle and time constraints better than cigars, so I'm willing to do some digging to try and find something that suits me.

 

[nismo270r]

If you want some more vitamin N from pipe tobacco, try out some Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake or if you want it in plug form, Cob Plug. Some other potent ones are Samuel Gawith Black XX rope, and Brown No. 4 rope, and Gawith, Hoggarth Co. make some bulk rope tobaccos as well: Bulk Brown Irish X, Bulk Brown "Happy" Bogie, Bulk Black Irish X.

 

[rdj735]

I have seen a few of those online (along with a thousand more), but wasn't sure which ones I should be considering. Thanks for the info!

 

[vortex]

Just a caution here, and also to echo LilBastage, the experience of a full-bodied tobacco in a pipe is far different than in a cigar, IMO. Honestly, the closets I've come was with some Partagas pipe tobacco that I bought from Johnny-O. Extremely powerful and nearly overwhelming.

That Partagas completely kicked my backside. I got rid of most of it and kept very little to blend into some other blends.

I've tried several of the cigar leaf blends out there. I've never been satisfied with any of them.

Thanks for reminding me. I still have a couple ozs, and remember mixing it with VaPers.

 

[rdj735]

Picked up some 1792 Flake today... More along the lines of what I was looking for. Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[Mark Twain]

Picked up some 1792 Flake today... More along the lines of what I was looking for. Thanks for the recommendations!

I purchased a tin of this about three months back and it was really wet. I ended up having to remove it from the tin because it was rusting the interior. Hopefully my experience was the exception and not the rule.

 

[rdj735]

No, my tin was wet, too (although not enough to cause rust). I fought through a bowl, since I didn't want to ruin my Monday routine of having a smoke at my local shop. I have read, though, that most people let it dry for an hour or so before packing.

 

[B.HOBS]

Picked up some 1792 Flake today... More along the lines of what I was looking for. Thanks for the recommendations!

I purchased a tin of this about three months back and it was really wet. I ended up having to remove it from the tin because it was rusting the interior. Hopefully my experience was the exception and not the rule.

Its pretty common...most Sam Gawith flakes come very very moist, whether in the tin or in bulk. Any SG blends I buy get pulled from the tin, aired out for about 3 hours to help them along, and then placed into a jar for proper storage.

 

[Pipe Smoker]

If you're still looking - look for something with Dark Fired Kentucky, sometimes listed as "Malawi".
(unsweetened burley). G&H cut many of their "straight" Virginias with Kentucky. It packs a wallop and gives you a more neutral tobacco flavor (as opposed to the natural sweetness of the Virginia leaf).

GLP created a rather nice balance of VA/KY in Jack Knife Plug.

If you’re a brave man, and looking for something with strong flavor and nicotine content give G&H Brown Boggie a try. That was the first blend to really open my eyes to the strength of pipe tobacco. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it really is a wonderful tobacco.

 

[LilBastage]

I could of sworn this thread was asking about the body of tobacco. To me, the body of a particular blend has little to nothing to do with the strength. I completely misunderstood the question.

Strong nicotine is easy to find. You've been given some great examples in this thread. The Jack Knife Plug is particularly good and packs a wallop.

 

[Pipe Smoker]

I could of sworn this thread was asking about the body of tobacco. To me, the body of a particular blend has little to nothing to do with the strength. I completely misunderstood the question.

Strong nicotine is easy to find. You've been given some great examples in this thread. The Jack Knife Plug is particularly good and packs a wallop.

I'm with you, I typically associate "full bodied" with falvor, but this made me thing he was looking for strength:

I've had four different blends from the local shop, some of which had good flavor, but none with much body or strength. I was hoping to find something with a bit of oomph... When I finish a bowl, I don't really feel like I've smoked anything.

 

[rdj735]

I was thinking of both, actually. I could be off from common thoughts, but I consider "strength" to be related to nicotine content, while "body" refers more to the flavor and mouth-feel/heaviness of the smoke. Having just picked up the pipe, it seemed as though I wasn't getting enough of either of these with the blends I was trying. With a couple of weeks under my belt now, though, one of two things has happened (or maybe a bit of both):
 
1) I've gotten better at packing/lighting/smoking my pipes
 
2) I've smoked enough to have more accurate expectations of what I'll get out of the next bowl.
 
It seems that, as I've gotten used to the pipe, the blends I have are both stronger and more flavorful than they were at first. Flavors are starting to appear to me that I didn't notice only a couple of weeks ago. I also find myself enjoying the entire process more. I may be on the verge of "getting it"...

 

[Pipe Smoker]

You may also want to give Prince Albert a try. Many scoff at it for being an OTC blend, but there is a reason these guys have been around for more than a century. I personally love the way it tastes and since it was initially meant to pull double duty as a RYO cigarette blend, it has enough nicotine to keep cig smokers happy.