2016: Summer Tobacco Rotation Thread!

Just thought it would be fun to start up a place to share your planned/current summer tobacco rotation. Anytime you add something new to your rotation, or completely switch everything out, feel free to post it! Maybe we can inspire each other to try some new things. Plus it is always fun to see what baccy's we are all working through.

I'll start us out!

1. Samuel Gawith Kendal Cream Flake: My fave light Lakeland during the warmer times of the year. The burley helps hit the spot.
2. GH&Co Kendal Flake: My fave heavy Lakeland during the warmer months.
3. GH&Co Louisiana Flake: A little dark for summer, but it is just so tasty...thanks @NeverBend for ruining my wallet....uhh I mean making my Va rotation better :lol:
4. Solani 656 Aged Burley Flake: Tasty little booger. Nice in the evening after a meal.
5. C&D Briar Fox: Always a staple for me. Some people find it cigarette-like. I say slow down :)
6. Dunhill Aperitif: A nice, lighter English for summer. I like how the Cavendish smooths out the Latakia and orientals.
7. Samuel Gawith St. Jame Flake: My fave warm weather Va/Per. Sweet, peppery goodness.
8. Rattray's Red Rapp: Always a staple. Smoke it year round.

Happy Smokes :piper:

IDK how to answer this. I don't have a 'rotation' so to speak. Usually if I want a smoke, I just grab something I haven't smoked in a long time. Recently I've been into G&H Sliced Black Twist (also Neverbend's fault) G&H Black Irish X, G&H Sweet Rum Twist, G&H Happy Bogie... see a pattern here? But if someone asked what my 'summer rotation' was - assuming I had a rotation - I probably wouldn't think I'd be smoking high-N blends when it's hot out because they tend to make me sweat like a dog. I'm confusing me; I don't make any sense.

I don't rotate pipes or tobacco.I reach in and grab a jar and thats the smoke of the moment.Choosing a pipe can be trickier,that will depend on my mood or how rough the day was.A really hard day , it will be a cob.Pack and go thing.An easy day,I'll reach for one of my meers and sit back to enjoy the ritual.But anything coming close to a rotation will start with Captain Black white and Virginia Gold Black and gold.It will include Germains Plum Cake.After that it's anybodys guess what my grubbies will find.

I don't have a rotation persay, but I do tend to smoke more straight Virginias in the summer months.

So there will likely be more Dunhill Flake, FVF, PS Luxury Twist Flake, MacBaren Virginia No. 1 and Orlik Golden Sliced (thought that isn't technically a straight VA) than usual.

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Originally Posted by Emperor Zurg

IDK how to answer this. I don't have a 'rotation' so to speak. Usually if I want a smoke, I just grab something I haven't smoked in a long time. Recently I've been into G&H Sliced Black Twist (also Neverbend's fault) G&H Black Irish X, G&H Sweet Rum Twist, G&H Happy Bogie... see a pattern here? But if someone asked what my 'summer rotation' was - assuming I had a rotation - I probably wouldn't think I'd be smoking high-N blends when it's hot out because they tend to make me sweat like a dog. I'm confusing me; I don't make any sense.

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Then it is safe to say your current rotation is Black Sliced, Black Irish X, Sweet Rum, and Happy Bogie....You vitamin N hound.... Jeeze :lol:

As far as not making any sense, sounds like systems normal here folks :dork:

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Originally Posted by Cool Breeze

So there will likely be more Dunhill Flake, FVF, PS Luxury Twist Flake, MacBaren Virginia No. 1 and Orlik Golden Sliced (thought that isn't technically a straight VA) than usual.

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Looks like a rotation right there to me! :thumb:


Just to clarify to everyone, I too will reach for an odd tobacco here and there as well. I think of a rotation more as "what you will spend the majority of your time smoking right now." What I listed are 90% of what I am smoking on the reg. But if Abingdon, Mississippi Mud, Maltese Falcon or some other tobacco that I primarily smoke in the colder weather starts calling me, I am lighting it up :piper:

I foresee smoking at least 4 new Sutliff blends in the near future, thanks to @Tobias Lutz 's contest. Otherwise, I reach for whatever I happen to feel like. I thought I'd be off latakia blends in the hot weather, but not really. Most recently I've smoked Dunhill Flake, Moonshine XXX, Firedance Flake, Boswell's Best, and Sutliff Burma Road. Right now I have a hankerin' for MacBaren Vanilla Cream Flake..... I rarely smoke the same blend twice in a row, but that's something I feel I should change to get to know each blend better.

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Originally Posted by c.ortiz108

I rarely smoke the same blend twice in a row, but that's something I feel I should change to get to know each blend better.

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Smoking the same thing will definitely help you get to "know" a tobacco much better. As well as giving it multiple smokes later on after it has had time to sit around a bit.

When I get a new tobacco that I haven't tried yet, I will usually smoke 3-5 bowls of it before I review or pass any judgement on it. Durbar is a good example of this. The first 3 bowls of it I though it was dreadful and sour. I was ready to write it off. But around bowl 5 I got the blend figured out....matched with the correct pipe, the right moisture content, and a solid cadence. Now, I think it is really good stuff!

I have a consistent tobacco rotation, and it doesn't vary with the seasons (San Diego has a mild climate year round):

Dunhill Flake
F&T Vintage
Escudo
Capstan Medium (blue)
Solani 633 vaper
F&T Cut Virginia Plug
Solani 656 burley

The two Solani tobaccos are new in my rotation (and excellent), and I don't think that I'll be ordering any more F&T Vintage or Escudo.

I also have some FVF and Wessex Campaign with good age on them that I smoke on occasion. And I try some new-to-me tobacco from time to time.

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Originally Posted by Branzig

Then it is safe to say your current rotation is Black Sliced, Black Irish X, Sweet Rum, and Happy Bogie....You vitamin N hound.... Jeeze :lol:

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That's pretty much all i smoke plus my rations worth of Tambo:mope: now and then.

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Originally Posted by Branzig

Just thought it would be fun to start up a place to share your planned/current summer tobacco rotation. Anytime you add something new to your rotation, or completely switch everything out, feel free to post it! Maybe we can inspire each other to try some new things. Plus it is always fun to see what baccy's we are all working through.

I'll start us out!

1. Samuel Gawith Kendal Cream Flake: My fave light Lakeland during the warmer times of the year. The burley helps hit the spot.
2. GH&Co Kendal Flake: My fave heavy Lakeland during the warmer months.
3. GH&Co Louisiana Flake: A little dark for summer, but it is just so tasty...thanks @NeverBend for ruining my wallet....uhh I mean making my Va rotation better :lol:
4. Solani 656 Aged Burley Flake: Tasty little booger. Nice in the evening after a meal.
5. C&D Briar Fox: Always a staple for me. Some people find it cigarette-like. I say slow down :)
6. Dunhill Aperitif: A nice, lighter English for summer. I like how the Cavendish smooths out the Latakia and orientals.
7. Samuel Gawith St. Jame Flake: My fave warm weather Va/Per. Sweet, peppery goodness.
8. Rattray's Red Rapp: Always a staple. Smoke it year round.

Happy Smokes :piper:

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Great post, but I don't know $h!t from Apple Butter what I'll smoke next....

For the next few weeks to come, I am looking forward to smoking the four blends that @Tobias Lutz sent me to review.

But prior to this working on:

Samuel Gawith Navy Flake that @Cool Breeze sent me
Gawith & Hoggarth Kendal Kentucky
McClelland Navy Flake
Milan Tobacconist aromatic blends from the last review session that @Tobias Lutz sponsored
Tambolaka that @Shemp Jizzle sent me

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Originally Posted by Shemp Jizzle

That's pretty much all i smoke plus my rations worth of Tambo:mope: now and then.

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RIP Tambo..

For my part, more Peterson aros and less Latakia

Oh, there's one I keep coming back to: Sam Gawith Chocolate Flake. That is just some really nice tobacco. Anyone who hasn't tried it certainly ought to. But like you, it took me a half dozen bowls to figure it out as I didn't see it as anything special at first. I like it as broken flake bits or folded and stuffed sticks. (Actually I usually cut it into sticks with a razor blade prior to airing it a while) Imo it's ok rubbed out but not as good, and I always smoke it pretty dry. Good stuff. When I get over this G&H rope kick I'll circle back that way for sure... assuming I haven't managed to hang myself...

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Originally Posted by Emperor Zurg

Oh, there's one I keep coming back to: Sam Gawith Chocolate Flake. That is just some really nice tobacco.

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One of the Gawith flakes I have not smoked yet. Mainly because the thought of chocolate on my tobacco made me go ick....but Louisiana flake supposedly has a chocolate topping on it...and I fell in love with that.

Might have to rethink it!



Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Emperor Zurg

Oh, there's one I keep coming back to: Sam Gawith Chocolate Flake. That is just some really nice tobacco. Anyone who hasn't tried it certainly ought to. But like you, it took me a half dozen bowls to figure it out as I didn't see it as anything special at first. I like it as broken flake bits or folded and stuffed sticks. (Actually I usually cut it into sticks with a razor blade prior to airing it a while) Imo it's ok rubbed out but not as good, and I always smoke it pretty dry. Good stuff. When I get over this G&H rope kick I'll circle back that way for sure... assuming I haven't managed to hang myself...

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I have a tin but haven't opened it yet, but have enjoyed many a bowl of GH Bob's Chocolate Flake. How do they compare?

- - - Updated - - -

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Originally Posted by Branzig

One of the Gawith flakes I have not smoked yet. Mainly because the thought of chocolate on my tobacco made me go ick....but Louisiana flake supposedly has a chocolate topping on it...and I fell in love with that.

Might have to rethink it!



Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

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I thought the same until trying Bob's, and two of my favorite aros recently have been Boswell's Piper's Pleasure, and McClelland McTruffle - both of which have chocolate (among other flavors).

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Originally Posted by c.ortiz108

I have a tin but haven't opened it yet, but have enjoyed many a bowl of GH Bob's Chocolate Flake. How do they compare?

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They really don't other than that they're both made from tobacco.

SGCF smells tangy, sweet and fruity in the tin... er mason jar. You get the tangyness in the smoke for about the first half of the bowl. There's a faint latakia smokiness that keeps things interesting and an even fainter incense quality that reminds me of Early Morning Pipe. I don't notice any chocolate flavor but there does seem to be an added sweetness from the topping. There seems to be a 'darker' flavor that becomes more prominent as you progress further down the bowl. I guess if I use my imagination I could call that chocolate. There's no Lakeland soap flavor or smell to this one at all.

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Originally Posted by Emperor Zurg

They really don't other than that they're both made from tobacco.

SGCF smells tangy, sweet and fruity in the tin... er mason jar. You get the tangyness in the smoke for about the first half of the bowl. There's a faint latakia smokiness that keeps things interesting and an even fainter incense quality that reminds me of Early Morning Pipe. I don't notice any chocolate flavor but there does seem to be an added sweetness from the topping. There seems to be a 'darker' flavor that becomes more prominent as you progress further down the bowl. I guess if I use my imagination I could call that chocolate. There's no Lakeland soap flavor or smell to this one at all.

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Thanks, sounds like I need to open that tin soon!q