All I can say is “Hell yeah!” Just have rolled a cig of Van Nelle halfzware shag,very nice indeed! So whats it for you?

RYO is the bomb. I love the Dutch halfzwares … Drum and Samson come to mind.

Gotta be good old cheapo Amber Leaf for me, better than Drum by a long chalk although not as good as Golden Virginia. Stefan

Holy cow,Golden Virginai is what i got at my gas station,gotta try that too.

I’ll vouch for the Golden Virginia as well , very good stuff and it’s easier on the lungs than the (half)zwares i usually smoke.I only had the pleasure of tasting it once or twice. Since i can’t find “the” Golden Virginia here i usually smoke Bali Shag - Golden Virginia when i go to a party and i know I’ll be smoking more than usual , otherwise it’s either Bali Shag Halfzware or if I’m out of cash Red bull Aromatic (they messed it up as well , it was a lot better a few years ago) . Speaking of , Bali Shag tobaccos are quite good , but then again I haven’t had much to compare to. The Drum i had was full o stubs and pretty dry (fixed that last part with some apple). Red Bull Virginia is really low quality , sad really. and Samson was pretty good , but i only had a pouch.

I’ve tried Bali Shag Light,didn’t really impress me,but that might be after one month of Domingo Blue. BTW I’ve tried all Domingo except the black one.

Drum used to be great. Don’t like the new stuff nearly as much. Yes when I did used to smoke it regularly American Spirit was my last smoke of choice.

Gauloise was my favorite even though I didn’t smoke it often. When I got back into RYO i was disappointed to learn it had been discontinued. I think I first tried it when I saw the brand in the original Die Hard movie. Even though I’m moving to a pipe I may buy a few tins or bags of RYO before the price increase.

Best to stock up if you’re in the US, as of April 1 the S-CHIP 2,200% tax hike goes into effect increasing each pound of RYO tobacco by $24.80. This is before any local and state tax increases (doubt the feds are gonna have all the fun). I guess this is an example of some of the “change” we can all look forward to. Gotta hand it to hussein though, already levying the largest tax increase on a single product in our nations history and he’s only begun!

lxskllr adds: _ That tax was staged before he ever got close to office… _ It had to be to be implemented this quick, odd how previous incarnations were much smaller and spread across OTPs in a fair manner, relatively speaking. Of course it’s difficult to argue when the government stands to make more than the tobacco companies themselves, and the retailers, farmers and distributors… combined. This is cool though, it’s only really gonna hurt those making less than $30,000 annually; the average RYO consumer (to help those making up to $82K annually get free dental for their children). Not to mention all the bankruptcies the RYO industry will soon suffer. I don’t suppose NOT SIGNING it was an option…? Smoke all you can afford to, it’s for the children.

Apologies for going OT, my original intent was simply to warn those who were unaware that the S-CHIP bill’s net effect has been to preposterously tax RYO tobacco at a record setting rate of 2,200% (this is not a typo). This becomes effective April 1, so stock up while the gettin’s good. Rumor has it that many Net retailers will either go out of business or simply stop selling RYO altogether (some already publicized intent) along with many B&M tobacconists. I would imagine drugstore brands will still be available though. I’ve already stocked up considerably and found several popular blends are already sold out till midsummer, supposedly. I should have kept the dig about hussein’s promised “change” to myself or for another forum, apologies again. My frustration at a bill that’s economically prejudiced and industry-crushing got the best of me. How the government can legally profit more than the entire chain of the RYO industry, from the farmers all the way down the line to mom & pop’s tobacconists and every related business in between, is more than alarming. Makes me anxious as to what other “changes” we can expect in the upcoming 4 years…oops, there I go again. Again, sorry if I offended anyone’s political sensitivities.

I smoked a couple cigs rolled from 5 Brothers Smoking Tobacco last night. I heard about the tobacco in a pipe forum and heard that it can be rolled so I gave it a try. Pretty darn good. It’s funny how the experience can change depending on smoking method.

In “Good Night and Good Luck” they used pipe tobacco as cig tobacco. It was not as caustic to the crew, and showed up on camera better. I still haven’t tried it.

@NickKick There’s a tobacco called “Merci” that’s manufactured by Kretek which is supposedly very similar to Gauloise. I don’t know if that’s available where you are but there’s always Google.

When i ran out of rolling tobacco i used to borrow some Amphora from my pop and roll that up , it was surprisingly good. He’d even ask me to roll him one from time to time. And as to the tax increase , i have a funny feeling I’ll end up growing tobacco in my closet by the time I reach 30. Sad really. In related news: http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw\\_021309\\_news\\_oregon\\_beer\\_tax.126942e1.html?npc

Ever tried Five Brothers? It’s an old time shag with birdseyes. It’s really good in a pipe, for a high-nic boost of burley. I do a roll up of it occasionally. Very potent. I bet it would make a real strong snuff, might have to try that.

Hey sprangalang, Ive tried it (see my post above). I heard about it on the smokers forum - I’m pretty sure I’ve seen posts from you there. I agree it’s quite good.

I believe Mars has the Five Bros. I just wish you could buy it in bulk cans, like PA or CH.

Hey Matt, I missed your post earlier. Yup, it is good stuff, I just broke open another pouch the other day. Another pipe blend to try in a roll up is GH Dark Birdseye. Now that stuff would probably make a real good snuff, too.

@NickKick, nope, I can’t find anything other than their wholesaler’s site which you have to be a member to access. I was able to find Lookout from this place before and I believe they used to carry Gauloise and Merci, although it wasn’t ever listed on their site; http://www.deweyavesmokeshop.com/tobacco/ryo%20tobacco.htm. I had to call to get the Lookout (although now they list it) maybe they have some Merci too but just don’t list it.

If anyone insists on smoking cigs i would go with the american spirit tobacco. It’s good, and additive free. When i rolled my own i use to use the menthol american spirit tobacco and get the Zig-Zag empty’s with the light filters and that was my favorite smoke.

Sprangalang - I just made some snuff from five brothers. As you suspected it was very strong. Within seconds I could feel my heart beating in my chest. Smells good too.

I miss all the good import cigarettes I used to get back in the 80s. I never did like the American brands even though I live in the US. With all this taxing going on, I don’t think we will ever get anything that good again.

Cutters Choice for me - the cheapest baccy in Sarf Lahndun!

The US members will be where Sarf Lahndun is, lol Old Holborn is just a bit too tarry for me, more than a couple and I develop a cough. The king of RYO baccy, IMHO, is Golden Virginia, and it has to be rolled with liqourice papers, now thats a good smoke.

definatly is snuffster. One of my typical smokes when I still smoked.

Matt - Cool! I’m gonna try it! I just opened and jarred a pouch, it’s on the workbench.

The last time I asked at the backy store and asked for Old Holborn the 20 something girl behind the counter looked at me like I had 3 heads. All they had was Drum, Bugler, and Kite. I remember when you had 20+ types to choose from. I had better stat GYOing that is grow my own. I was inspired by another thread on here to look for seeds I never knew how available they are.