Whether you have just started smoking tobacco pipes for the very first time or you have come back to them after a few years’ absence, you will find an extensive selection of pipe tobaccos for sale today. From old favorites such as Early Morning Pipe and Nightcap, to new boutique blends from independent manufacturers, the choice is larger than ever before. While this can only be a good thing from the perspective of pipe smokers, it does make it a little more difficult to find that perfect blend: a blend that you can use as the foundation for your new tobacco rotation.

It’s true that some people enjoy a different blend with every bowl but most pipe smokers have a particular blend they always turn to when they want to enjoy a satisfying bowl. With this in mind, we’d like to invite you on a journey of discovery: a journey that will end when you find your own perfect tobacco blend.

Starting Your Search for the Perfect Blend for Your Tobacco Pipes

If you have never tried pipe tobacco before or it has been so long that you can’t really remember what it was like, you may wish to start your search with a selection of the classic blend types that have been made over the years:

• Aromatic Blends – Many pipe smokers start and finish their search with aromatic tobaccos. These blends, which may contain flavors such as honey, vanilla, chocolate, cherry and rum, are normally made from a mixture of golden and dark Cavendish tobaccos. They deliver a very mild and pleasantly flavored smoke that can make them a great choice of all-day blend. However, with relatively low levels of nicotine, aromatic blends are certainly not everybody’s favorite. They can also sometimes be a little too moist straight out of the pouch or tin, owing to the casing that gives aromatic tobacco its flavor.
• Virginia – Virginia blends are made from the classic Virginia tobaccos that have been grown in the USA for centuries. A pure Virginia blend offers a very straightforward smoking experience, full of citrus and grassy flavors imparted by the ripe tobacco leaves. If you are not a fan of exotic aromatics and you’d prefer your tobacco to taste as nature intended, make sure you include a Virginia blend in your initial selection. They may not be complex as far as their flavor profile is concerned but they can be very tasty.
• Virginia & Perique Blends – Sometimes referred to as VaPers by pipe smokers, Virginia/Perique blends are very popular in certain parts of the world. Perique tobacco is fermented under high pressure in oak barrels, for around a year. It lends a spicy, piquant flavor when added to a plain Virginia blend, a flavor that is appreciated by many.
• English Blends – Sometimes also referred to as Balkan blends, English blends include some of the most famous names to have been stuffed into tobacco pipes over the last couple of hundred years. The aforementioned Early Morning Pipe and Nightcap are two excellent examples of well-known English blends, both of which that have been in production since the early 1950s. A standard English blend is usually a mix of Virginia, Turkish and Latakia tobaccos, possibly with some Perique added as well (as is the case with Nightcap).
• Burley Based Blends – Some of the best-known American blends of pipe tobacco appear in this category, such as Prince Albert and Carter Hall. The former is a blend of burley and Cavendish tobaccos while the latter is a mix of burley and Virginia. These tobaccos are smoked all across the world by people who are looking for a simple, undemanding smoke with a pleasant flavor. The burley tobaccos impart a nutty flavor while Cavendish tobaccos generally add a note of sweetness to the blends.
• Pure Burley Blends – Less common but still well worth a mention here are pure burley blends such as Five Brothers. If all you want from your collection of tobacco pipes and tobacco pipe accessories is a decent supply of nicotine and a no-nonsense flavor profile, a pure burley blend should definitely be on your shortlist of products to try. However, if you have a sensitive palate or a low tolerance for nicotine, these blends are probably best avoided.

If you purchase a small sample pouch of all the above-mentioned blend types, you should quickly be able to discover what you like and what you don’t like in a pipe tobacco. You can then use your tasting notes to help you focus on the blends you are most likely to appreciate when shopping for new tobaccos in the future.

Bonus Tips on Finding Your Perfect Tobacco Blend

Many people believe that it's better to only use one type of tobacco blend in one particular pipe. For example: you could have one pipe for pure Virginia blends, one for aromatic tobaccos and one for English blends. If this sounds like an expensive proposition, there's no need to worry: you can buy good-quality retail and wholesale tobacco pipes at very reasonable prices today. The reasoning behind this belief is that briar pipes inevitably absorb some of the flavors of the tobaccos that are smoked in them.

Our final tip is this: never throw away a tobacco that you don’t like when you first try it. Put it away and try it again in a few months’ time – you could be pleasantly surprised.