I’m a lover of all tobacco including cigarettes. However sometimes I get the feeling that there is a bit of a social stigma against admitting that you enjoy smoking a cigarette. Don’t get me wrong I love my pipes and cigars but most of the time I smoke cigarettes. I don’t always have time to enjoy a pipe or cigar and when I want a quick smoke I make a cigarette. Personally I love Drum Halfzware Shag and go through a can of the stuff every two weeks. I hand roll my smokes because I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the last few years of doing it and while I have tried other RYO brands I always come back to Drum. So are there any other cigarette smokers out there and if so what do you smoke? Do you roll your own or buy packs at the gas station? Yeah we all know they are bad for us but like bacon… Damn they taste good!

Outstanding cig tobacco that Drum.

Years ago Drum was my choice for hand-rolled. Until a couple years ago I did RYO, an only stopped because I was enjoying cigars and pipes more and my cig kit was collecting dust.

I enjoy a drum ryo on occasion. I even twisted up some five brothers PT[kicked my ass]. Time is no problem here; I sport pipes most of the waking hours. Drum isn’t as good as it used to be but still better than most RYO OTC. I like a good cigar but that is a luxury I can’t afford anymore. I was a slave to cancer sticks for 40 years I find smoking Pipe tobacco far more enjoyable. I worked at a nursing home as a teen and there were 90 year olds that smoked all their lives go figure? I agree cigarette smokers are looked down upon in todays society.

I tried a lot of different tobaccos about 7 or 8 years ago… did the tube and injector thing for a while and found a few brands of tobacco that I liked but nothing like Drum… I’ve tried other stuff like Bali Shag and even more expensive tobac like Peter Stokkebye but always come back to Drum. @basement_shaman I thought I was the only one who rolled 5 brothers… Hahaha… yeah it will put hair on your marbles that’s for sure… A few years ago a friend of mine went to Ireland and brought back some Euro Drum… Completely different flavor than the U.S. version. But for a cigarette this is my go to smoke.

You can get PS PT Turkish in bulk damn cheap $27 lb. makes a decent camel.

I have not rolled one in about 20 yrs. Drum was my choice as well back then. I do have a friend that will also roll G&H Kendal KY, he says he likes it a lot, for me KY will remain a pipe tobacco only. By the way, have you considered a small group 1 pipe? Takes about 12-15 min. to clear a bowl. Just a thought if time is short. Anything shorter than that I reach for snuff now.

Most of the time when I smoke a cigarette it’s at work after lunch or when I only have a few minutes. I have a few small bowl pipes, most of them are nose warmers… I love the short little pipes. I use snuff almost all day long so this is in addition to snuff… I smoke pipes in the car or at home and fill gaps with cigarettes and cigars… I might have a problem now that I think about it.

the peter stokkbye Amsterdam shag is my favorite about $1 more than drum but comes with papers … not many choices in the us for rollie tobacco England has a few good ones old holborn golden Virginia etc …

I enjoy PS and have had the London and Amsterdam shag a number of times. The problem with those is getting it in my area… I have to go to a specific tobacco shop and they keep crazy hours so usually my lazy arse just ends up at the Cheap Tobacco where they have a stack of Drum… Hahaha…

American Spirit Perique was a decent RYO. I had a few pouches when it first came available. The fire safe rolling papers had a lot to do with me quitting. lord know what they put in them. I did have some club papers from the 70tys but since used them up. I have yet to try 100% hemp papers. They may not be governed the same as cigarette papers.Those fire safe papers annoyed me having to relight more than once.

The can’s of drum I get have JOB papers with them. I like them because they are ricepaper and you can’t taste the paper. I’ve smoked ZigZag and a number of others but you can always taste the paper. It’s like smoking a cigarette rolled with notebook paper. Raw makes excellent rolling papers from hemp and they don’t have the fire safe garbage in them as far as I know. When I smoke Drum in a Raw paper it also gives the cigarette a mild cigar flavor which is nice if you like the taste of cigars.

Once in a blue moon I’ll roll a cig with a blend of GH Kendal Gold and Kendal Kentucky

Haven’t had a cigarette in a long while, but I used to enjoy Gauloises rolling tobacco with liquorice papers.

Wow can you still buy those papers? It sounds great.

Wow can you still buy those papers? It sounds great.

yep rizlapapers the gauloises isn’t for sale in the us anymore I don’t think so if you find any it will be dried out

I only smoked Bali Shag, or Peter Stokebye Denmark, or Drum when those 2 couldnt be found. I do miss it sometimes I never felt ill or had breathing problems, but just switched over to nasal snuff after using too many forms of tobacco decided to choose one.

I don’t mind the manitou organic and raw hemp papers. Nice robust smoke.

I used to smoke Perle Shag mixed with hash and rolled in chocolate papers at work back in the 60’s. Good times.

@Mouse “The Good Old Days !”

I smoked Drum for years–you clear your throat a lot when you smoke that stuff. I also enjoy regular non-filters like English Ovals, Nat Sherman’s Havana Ovals, Pall Malls, Camels, Luckies, Export, etc. Never tried Commanders–they’re hard to find when I’m in the States. I quit this winter, though, not being immortal.

I don’t remember much of the ,dugh @-) 8-} drain bamage. All in the name of having a good time

@Mouse “The Good Old Days !”

I wonder what the ‘old hippy’ count is in this list.

@Mouse Count me in…there was a certain “essential oil” back in the 70’s that could be applied to just about any tube of burning leaf that did a fine job of making the days more interesting and the nights more, ahem, fruitful. Living near the female dorms at the local college created a target rich environment for those of us that were good boy scouts and were always prepared.

Wow… I wanna hang out with you guys! I have a pretty interesting collection of “novelty glass” smoking pipes I’m sure you would all be interested in. :)>-

I collect Rumph ceramic myself.

@chefdaniel that certain “essential oil” is making a very popular come back in CO right now. Except now you can buy it legally at a corner store.

@coreymillia I’m taking a vacation to Boulder next week! I have family out there and I’m pretty sure I will be enjoying some of that essential oil and other fine herbs while I’m there.

Just my two cents here, Drum has to be the best ryo that I have tried. Granted, I no longer smoke cigs, however, Drum is damn good rollyourown tobacco.

@peter77 I couldn’t agree more…

stop it, STOP IT YOU FIENDS! ive run out of beloved snus so im making do with odd old snuffs, last of a can of skoal, and a crap ecig till i can make a worthy order. im leaning back to smoking, and i prefer drum.

@mouse, I too used to enjoy Perle shag, it was in 1972 in fact. There was only one tobacconist in my area that carried it. I fondly remember that, along with the English brands, Golden Virginia and Old Holborn. I also liked Drum and Samson, but the Perle was the best. Too bad I don’t smoke tobacco these days. And @SnuffnStuff, yeah the Colorado oily material is fantastic. There are 3 recreational shops in my little town. I “accidentally” tried some of that stuff in a e-cig type of apparatus that one of my friends had. Really powerful stuff. Sorry I got off topic everyone!

As being Dutch I of course tried Drum during the years. But I should warn you international fellows on the fact there are a lót fake imitations out there! Make sure Imperial Tobacco is listed as manufacturer.

I smoke occasionally RYO cigarettes. I prefere halfzware including Drum, of course!

I used to roll Gauloises, but you can’t find it in the States any longer. That stuff was my favorite RYO. Three Castles was good too.

@Jim - feel you buddy; me too. Have you tried Auld Kendal Dark rolling tobacco (try your local tobacconist or on-line)? Its a bit too ‘meaty’ on it’s own for me personally, but if you blend it 50:50 with any decent Halfzware shag (or drum at a push!) it makes a blend equally as pleasurable, and fragrant, as Gauloises Blue. There is something very slightly different in the taste profile, but is easy to get used to and absolutely the best compromise I’ve found since Imperial Tobacco discontinued the Gauloises Blue rolling mixture

Back when I was using RYO it was pretty much bugler or top. Always thought drum was way too moist and it was “fancy”. And people wouldn’t bum as much off you when they saw the pouch. But to each his own…

I handroll peter stokebye amsterdam pipe tobacco daily, although I really need to kick the papers and just use a small pipe.

@cmsevert   Try it in a Clay.  Nice,  clean flavor !

I’ll have to try that. Tried it in briar and cob but don’t think I’ve had it in my clay yet

Oooh, devil Drum!

Used to smoke the hell out of Drum. Quit cigs 10 years ago, but bags/tins of Drum still catch my eye when I’m at the grocery store. I picked up the RYO thing thinking it would slow down my smoking. My rolling skills were pretty pathetic at the beginning. Started with the machine thing, then figured out how to roll with big papers (JB 1.5 silver) and no machine, and finally graduated to standard papers. By the time I quit, I could roll while driving winding mountain roads, enjoying a…beverage, in a pickup truck with no cup holders. So much for the slowing down thing. 

Bali Shag always was a little too wet for me. American Spirit wasn’t really my thing. Someone posted something about Gauloises. I remember a variety in a light blue bag that was DARK, stinky, and delicious. 

Okay, I gotta stop now. 

I’m content with my once a week good cigar, and a cob pipe here and there. 

Drum for me. TOPS is ok too and cheap enough, but really tastes flat.But most things taste flat to me now: I smoke Luckies and Camel Unfiltered when i smoke…VERY efficient way to get vitamin N! Also very efficient way to damage the lungs,but i just dont care for the filters.anyone else like that? I guess the luckies are good for nicotine in a hurry,but if i really want to enjoy smoking ill sit down with a briar. I used to roll by hand, try as i might,they all looked like something illegal and people would stare cuz the ends were thinner and the middle would be fat.really admire those that can rollup a perfectly cylindrical smoke!

Ha! I can make a roll-up with my hands in my pockets whilst falling off a mountain during a hurricane and the thing will still turn out as pristine and perfect as a Senior Service. Trouble is I only rarely make 'em since the snuff took over. Drum was fabulous as I recall. I think Viking Dark smells so similar that I’m almost tempted to try lighting it as much as shoving it up my snout.

How I roll a cigarette:

Evenly distribute the tobacco on the paper, pinch one end to form a funnel, then proceed to empty it into a pipe. B-)

After 20+ years of smoking RYO, I have just done my first ever week without. It’s not been easy, and still have moments where I’m tempted to reach for my coat and go grab a pouch. So far I have managed to refrain. I was smoking Drum for a couple of months before I managed to lay off. The week prior, I managed to make 12.5g last a whole week, and at that point I knew I was ready to take the plunge

Whenever I find myself having a huge craving for a cigarette, I take a narrow-chambered corn cob (like the Missouri Meerschaum Mark Twain) and fill it with Five Brothers pipe tobacco.  When doing so, I commit two of the worst pipe-smoking sins (according to the snobs): 1) I use a filter, and 2) I inhale.  But hey, it’s the closest I’ve ever come to smoking a cigarette without actually smoking a cigarette.  Plus, I don’t have to fiddle around with rolling papers (something I’ve never been very good at anyway).  Also, since I smoke it out of a pipe, it doesn’t feel like that much of a departure from my regular, more refined pipe-smoking habit, so I don’t have so much of the feelings of guilt about “falling off the wagon”.  I realize that may not make much sense, but I tend to beat myself up about things, which only makes me obsess about them more.  If I were to smoke the tobacco in the form of an actual cigarette, I can just see myself thinking, “well hell, I might as well just buy a pack of Marlboros”.