by Mary McNiel

Armed with knowledge of all varieties of pipe tobaccos, consumers can better instruct their tobacconists in preparing custom tobacco blends. Such understanding is a vital ingredient in the pursuit of smoking satisfaction, and requires that all parties speak the same language, which sometimes requires learning a few new concepts before we can talk about specific choices. Here are some hints, designed to get everybody on the same page:

STYLE
The more natural English and Scottish-style cake tobaccos are based on flue-cured Virginias, which are matured in pressed-cake form to release the natural sugars in the leaf. The best of these tobaccos can not be surpassed in flavor, which is subtle, highly interesting, and clean-tasting.

The cased and flavored tobaccos in the American style that we call "aromatics" usually have Burley in the blend. Burley doesn't have the natural sugar, so these tobaccos rely on added sugars and other flavors for their taste. The best aromatics have a nut-like character and are pleasant to smoke. True to their name, the aromatic tobacco's greatest trait is the heavy, sweet smell it imparts when smoked. In between are the Danish and Dutch style tobaccos, which are frequently both aged and flavored, and historically rely more on Maryland style tobacco, which lacks the natural sweetness of Virginia but is milder than most Burley.

TASTE
Each tobacco type has its own flavor range, making it useful in blending for the particular properties that it alone possesses. A basic understanding of these differences can be very useful.

Matured Virginia
The best are lightly sweet, more fruity than nutty, not really sharp, but a little tangy and pleasant to the tongue (like a mild salsa). These natural, clean-smoking tobaccos fill the Mouth with flavor and become richer as they are smoked, as if ripening or cooking right there in the bowl.

Burley
A good-quality, cased Burley starts light, mellow, mildly nutty, and has no sharpness. Somewhat bland, rich, and full-flavored, Burley tastes something like sweet oatmeal or granola, with a caramel character derived from the burnt sugars.

Turkish
Second only to flue-cured Virginia in natural sugar content, the finest Oriental leaf from Greece and Turkey is mildly sweet and has an herbal or spicy character that is especially apparent to the olfactory sense. A truly exotic and delicious base tobacco often used in the natural Oriental or "English" mixtures.

Latakia
This smoked, blackened Oriental tobacco is intense to the nose with an incense-like fragrance, but is surprisingly soft on the palate. Cool, relatively tasteless in the middle range, but heavily aromatic, this excellent condiment tobacco is a basic component of natural Oriental or "English" mixtures. Usually, the fuller the mixture, the more Latakia that is used.

Perique
A deeply aromatic tobacco with distinctive character that lies somewhere between the fragrance of cooked fruit and the musty aroma of mushrooms. Like Latakia, Perique is a condiment tobacco and, as such, it is used rather sparingly. We taste this rare and precious tobacco more through our sense of smell than in the mouth.

Stoved Virginia
Bright, flue-cured Virginias, blackened by stoving, create a measure of richness and a mellow sort of fruity sweetness in many natural, aged blends. Not as full-flavored as a classic Matured Virginia, Stoved Virginias have the type of richness we associate with dark chocolates, and they impart a cooked fruit aroma.

Black Cavendish
Basic to many American-style aromatics, Black Cavendishes are the stoved versions of the specialized, air-cured One-Sucker and Green River tobaccos of Kentucky and Tennessee and the dark, air-cured Virginias from Central Virginia. The best have a caramel-like flavor, sort of like pancake syrup - mild, sweet, full-flavored, but with a slight aftertaste like the burnt taste on toasted marshmallows.

Knowledge is the Key to Satisfaction

The smokeshop environment provides the opportunity for customers whose experience with pipe tobaccos may be very limited to become connoisseurs. There are distinctions in flavor and quality in all types of tobacco, from the heady aromatics to the clean-smoking, naturally aged tobaccos. Take the time to discover the subtle and interesting flavors of the full range of pipe tobaccos available from the different manufacturers. This learning process is great fun, and will provide the smoker many pleasant experiences as they embark on the road towards that elusive perfect pipe tobacco.

Mary McNiel is one of the co-founders and directors of the McClelland Tobacco Company.