Check out Iwan Ries. iwanries.com They also have the most snuffs I’ve seen in a brick and mortar. If you find yourself in downtown Chicago it’s a great place to check out. They also have something like 12,000 pipes in stock, cigars, snus. My favorites are: IRC international IRC virginia flake Ashton- Smooth Sailing I’m no expert though I do smoke my pipes a few times a week. AP- Looks like a nice sampling of tobaccos I’d love to check out more varieties so I may give some of those a try in the future. Let us know what you think when you get them.
AP, there are so many pipe tobaccos out there. I love latakia blends, especially in the colder weather for some reason. SG makes some delicious blends. For their lats, I would recommend Squadron Leader and Balkan Flake. Peter Stokkebye Balkan Supreme is very good, and inexpensive- $25/lb at Mars. Cornell and Diehl make a wide range of lat blends too, some with burley and perique for big flavor and a larger nic-kick. When I first started pipes, I was fascinated with the old styles of tobacco, the plugs and ropes. IMO, they deliver the most in terms of flavor, good smoke, and vitamin N. However, they require more preparation and can require more attention. Pipe smoking is economical, once you have your pipes. I went to a cigar shop the other day, and bought a tin of Hamborger Veermaster for the price of a good cigar. Enjoyed an hour-long smoke, and still have tobacco enough for about 20 more smokes. If I may recommend a forum, check out smokersforums.org Many pipe smoking veterans there, lots to learn. In fact, that forum is where I first learned about snuff.
I’ll probably receive a few groans for mentioning this one, but I’ve always liked Borkum Riff Bourbon. It’s very accessible, found almost anywhere and the flavour is quite nice.
@mr_snuffypants no laughing here. Though I have never tried it, I always hear that Borkum is one of the best drugstore brands for pipe tobacco. I’m going to have to check out iwanries next time I go into Chicago. Didn’t ever occur to me I could find a place carrying snuff out here in the midwest, though I guess Chicago is a big enough town… EDIT: Checked out their site. Definite stop on my next trip into town. Hmm. I’ll be passing through next week. I’ll have to stop in for some Toque Chocolate which I am out of and some WOS Lemon Grove which I have never tried.
This thread has some pics from the last time I went to iwan ries
Many in the organized pipe tobacco smoking community believe in ‘cellaring’ to intentionally age tobacco. I fit more into the hoarding a ridiculous amount category than sophisticated aging. Iwan Ries flakes come in aluminized zip-locks, ready, that day. This is a high quality operation.