Parfait?

[Scot's]

I am still a noob here and I haven't traversed my way through 48 pages of posts so forgive me if this has been discussed before.

One of my favorite monikers has always been, "I came for the flavor and stayed for the kick". The problem is when deciding between flavor and nicotine, sacrifices need to be made either way. I have heard of a parfait before but have yet to try it. I am thinking the power in the first light and traversing into the flavor.

My question is, are there certain types of tobacco that compliment each other in the transition. What works well with what? The power lies in C&D's Burley blends #1 and #3. My flavor tobaccos are usually Balkan and pungent Va's like Presbyterian or Plumcake. Any suggestions or links to previous post's?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Anonymous]

Why not just find one (or several) you like and smoke them ?

:face:

 

[Storm_Crow]

I've never seen flavor and strength to necessarily be mutually exclusive. While it is true that some of the strongest blends seem to make this trade off, (some of the G&H ropes for instance) many medium and medium/strong blends (the lionshare of non-aromatic tobaccos on the market really), have outstanding flavor accompanied by a kick that would be considered more than reasonable by all but perhaps those who are transitioning from being a 2 pack a day cigarette smoker.

 

[Anonymous]

For the sake of argument, suppose that the majority of blends & mixtures out there are composed by people who have at least some sense of what they're doing and what they want to accomplish. (IMHO, these span a spectrum from minimal to expert, but concede the point for the sake of argument).

How likely is it that you're going to improve on their work ?

It's certainly possible, and if you can't play with your toys, what's the point of having them ? But I wouldn't be expecting that much from the endeavor.

:face:

 

[kaiser83]

The parfait idea isn't a new one and people do it, not commonly but it is done. Generally from what I have read it isn't aromatic with virginia or anything like that but people mix virginias with virginias and aromatics together in a parfait so that different flavors are hit as the bowl smokes down. Just because blends are created does not in any way mean that they are set for every individual and some people experiment with parfaits to try and achieve the two distinct flavors as they smoke down that are not completely mixed. If you want to try and parfait...go for it, heck you may run across a combination that you really love. Most people seem to end up getting back away from it in a short time and back to the more traditional way of just packing in one particular blend. Experiment and enjoy.....or don't.....either way it is your tobacco, your learning, and your ideas, so run with it. People find what they like by tasting different blends....you may not "improve" a blend in others minds but the tweak may be just up your alley and that is what matters in the end.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Newtonian wisdom: "To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction."

It isn't so much that you have to sacrifice between flavor and nicotine, but find which tobacco already has the right balance for you. Local tobacconists will let you try as many as you need. It'll be cheaper, less frustrating and easier on your tongue than thinking you're a master blender and going to suddenly crack the code on pipe tobacco. In fact, no one has cracked the code, that's why there's so many blends and mixtures out there...you just gotta find yours. There's nothing wrong with experimenting, but from my years of being a cook, usually it's a good idea to know your flavors and ingredients before you start thinking you're a master chef. Especially when there's plenty of master chefs already making great tobacco "dishes" for your smoking pleasure.

So, with ol' Newton being quoted above, if you start adding one tobacco to another, you're doing a lot more than you think you are. By adding sweet with one tobacco, you're subtracting something else from the other. By adding something with a nic-kick to a blend, you risk complicating the taste. It might yield good results at first (probably because you really want to like it) but generally it's just playing around. Which, again, is fine. It's your smoke.

8)

 

[Scot's]

I make jokes about the state I live in... but Tobbaconist's were basically legislated out of business years ago. The last one I came in contact with was Steven Books at Rich's in Portland OR., 150 miles away... but he doesn't work there anymore and he has priced his tobacco blends into the stratosphere, some as much as $11 oz. There is a Tinderbox about 30 miles away but they don't blend, the owner is a franchisee, the last one in the Northwest I'm sure.

But Books, man he could whip up some cool stuff, and he's so delightfully weird.

And blending my own, once you find something special enough to keep buying, you don't want to foul it with experimentation. Kinda like asking for catsup to put on your Filet Mingon to enhance the experience by adding some sweetness... it seems a little quite sacrilegious.

I dunno, guess I was looking for some ideas to try that maybe some have tried and had a little success with. But thank you all for your input.

Scott

 

[Fishfuzz]

I believe Steve has a place in Oregon City now.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/house-of-calabash-oregon-city-2

I still need to make a trip to see the store.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

I've been blessed with a great Tinder Box here--and all they blend are Lane Ltd. tobaccos. Kind of a franchise thing, I think. On the other hand, if they're anything like my store, they'll have some tins open of a few things for you to try, and even send you home with a 1/2 oz to sample. If they seem overly expensive, think of it as keeping a guy in business rather than "giving in to paying the taxes." If you're going to be taxed anyway, at least make it a good reason.

30 miles away? I'd happily drive that far to a good B&M. I just completed two round-trips with a buddy to Sacramento, which is 260 miles round-trip, just to visit a few of the local stores there--and it was well worth it, both cost-wise and more to the point, the experience.

8)

 

[Carlos]

I haven't done a parfait in a long time. Almost always with the strong ropes. But nowadays, I just tough it out and smoke a whole bowl of rope. :sunny:

 

[Scot's]

I've been blessed with a great Tinder Box here--and all they blend are Lane Ltd. tobaccos. Kind of a franchise thing, I think. On the other hand, if they're anything like my store, they'll have some tins open of a few things for you to try, and even send you home with a 1/2 oz to sample. If they seem overly expensive, think of it as keeping a guy in business rather than "giving in to paying the taxes." If you're going to be taxed anyway, at least make it a good reason.

30 miles away? I'd happily drive that far to a good B&M. I just completed two round-trips with a buddy to Sacramento, which is 260 miles round-trip, just to visit a few of the local stores there--and it was well worth it, both cost-wise and more to the point, the experience.

8)

No, you don't understand what I'm saying, there are no more good B&M's in the state... I am talking extreme anti-smoking Nazi's government. No open tins and no samples, in parts of the state it's illegal for them to hand it out... 1oz of bulk starts at $4.50 for BLWB and goes to $7.85 for Plum Pudding, a 50g tin of EMP is $22.50 and Royal Yacht is $26.80! And yeah they blend, they can mix anything sitting on their tobacco bar which is all Tinder Box blends with a couple of bulk McClellands and 3 or 4 MacBaren jars, no blending tobacco to be found sans some straight Latakia. There are no leather chairs to sit, smoke and shoot the sh*t as it's illegal to smoke inside any business in Washington, including cigar/tobacco shops or within 25 feet of a door or window of any occupied building including the restroom at the freeway rest stops. It' now illegal to smoke outdoors inside a park and the first college in the area will be a smoke free campus including inside your car in the parking lot come September. We have government officials who have stated on camera that their goal is to make smoking so expensive that there will be no choice but to quit.

If you smoke cigarettes... 15 cents tax on each stick, almost $9 for a pack of Marlboro's now. State law also prohibits sending tobacco products across the border into Washington and if caught are subject to a $5,000 fine. Fortunately they dont have an effective way to enforce it... yet. I live in the same state as Lil Brown and I can't make an online order of any tobacco product. I can physically go into the store and fill out an order form that has to reoccur every month without change so they can be sure that they collect their tax directly from me but I still can't order online. Almost surreal and definitely 1984ish.

Wow... I've gone completely off the reservation... this is probably not the place to vent is it? Anyway, somewhere in there I think I made my point. Sorry for the rant.

Scott

 

[monbla256]

Parfaits ? I LOVE Parfaits !! :lol: My favorites are Lime/Cherry Jello w/lots of whipped cream btwn. layers of Jello :twisted:

 

[Fishfuzz]

Oh, and trifle too!

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[jj1015]

I've been doing parfaits for years and have several briars I use for that purpose. You need a large-bowled pipe (free hands or deep pokers are best IMO) and the just layer 3 or 4 different blends. I tend to put balkans/aromatics on the bottom with burleys, virginias, Va/Pers and light englishes in the preceding layers. I like dissimilar tobaccos in succeeding layers. My favorite is Carter Hall on top, Chelsea Morning or Countryside second, Old Joe Krantz or Filmore third, and then Northwoods, Odyssey, or something similar on the bottom. In a large bowl, I get an hour's enjoyment with about 15 minutes between transitions.