Kentucky Select Pipe Tobacco (Red)

A guy I know bought a pound of this stuff for 16 bucks.  Fresh, not dry.  The taste is smooth... too smooth for my tastes.  I looked it up online - they offer Red as full flavored, Gold as light, and Silver as extra light.  I had to double check his bag to make sure he didn't buy the gold or silver.  Nope - it's red.  There's nothing particularly wrong with it - the taste, shred, moistness, etc. was by no means substandard - it's just not my cup of tea.  If you like to smoke Marlboro Lights, give this a try.

Natural American Spirit (Organic)

All bags of American Spirit weigh the same, come with papers and yield a bit more than 40 100mm cigarettes.  This was very dry tobacco.  I spent an additional dollar for a Water Pillow, soaked it, and left it in overnight.  It did no good whatsoever.  Ended up doing the damp paper towel trick again.  This worked and revealed that this is probably the best tasting variety NAS has to offer.

Stockholm Blend - London Export

I'm able to do a side by side comparison with these two pouches.  They are touted as having the fullest flavor of the Stokkebye products.  The London Export is extremely finely cut per Drum, Bali Shag, and a few of the other Stokkebye tobaccos; I am able to grab a handful of the tobacco, shake it and pack my machine with what drops onto the tabletop.  The Stockholm Blend isn't cut as fine and needs to be pinched off into small bits then stretched out to pack the roller.  The London Export seems to be somewhat of a cross between the Amsterdam Shag and the Turkish Export - it is smooth and flavorful through and through.  The Stockholm Blend packs a decent wallop and is probably my favorite of the six varieties pictured above.  I found a convenience store that offers these for $6.89 + tax = $7.50.  Another variety I'm aware of is Late Harvest but I'm unable to find it at any of the local smoke shops.  I will eventually revisit these varieties and update previous reviews as some were less than glowing per "soapy taste". 

Drum Halfzware Shag Cigarette Tobacco

$9.00.  Came with a pack of Job rolling papers.  Made about 34 100mm smokes.  Overrated - smelled weird,  like socks in a hamper or Vietnamese food - this is pretty much Bali Shag sans the ball of shit in the bottom the bag.

Amsterdam Shag

33 well packed 100mm smokes.  Taste was very smooth

American Spirit Perique Blend Cigarette Tobacco

Made about 2 packs with this bag.  Tobacco was extremely dry to the point of crumbling into dust.  Covered the last five smokes worth with a damp bandana overnight - this smoothed out the taste a bit.  Can't really write up a fair review at this time.  Will try again in the future when I run out of new products to sample and begin revisiting the ones already reviewed here.

Bali Shag (Halfzware Shag Cigarette Tobacco)

Blue pouch comes with 50 cigarette papers - cost after taxes was around $8.00.  Yield was in the neighborhood of 2 packs.  Tobacco had a strange smell to it; best description is "sour".  Taste was smooth with a strange undertaste I can't nail.  Toward the bottom of the bad I found a ball of feces smaller than a pea, bigger than a BB.  I'm wondering if the odor/off taste is rat piss.  I might try again in the future from another store.

Turkish Export

Back in the late 80s/early 90s I bought a pack of cigarettes imported from Turkey.  The smokes were rolled kind of oblong.  The first initial draws were smooth and mellow gradually becoming more robust before the full flavor kicked in; I was unable to smoke more than 2/3s of any of them.  Peter Stokkbye's Turkish Export starts of similiarly but its finish is nowhere near as overwhelming as the prepackaged cigarettes I smoked last millenium.  I got about 2 packs of 100mm cigarettes from this pouch.  They were okay but not my cup of tea.  I'm not slagging the product - it's fine - it's just not what I'm looking for in a smoke.

Traffic Pipe Tobacco (Classic Virginia)

I picked up an entire pound of this yesterday for $10.99+ tax.  Tobacco is long cut per cigarette tobacco.  Product is fresh and moist; don't pack too tight else let dry out for a couple of hours.  Taste has the slightest bit of harshness but for the price I'm not going to complain; this is going to be my new mainstay. 

American Spirit (Original Blend vs 100% U.S. Grown)

I've smoked almost all that American Spirit has to offer in either RYO form or in prepackaged cigarettes and have no complaints whatsoever.  I purchased a pouch of the 100% U.S. Grown tobacco last week for a  little over $9.00.  Net weight was 1.41 oz. and yielded 44 100 mm cigarettes.  A guy I know buys the original blend by the can and I did a side by side comparison between the two.  Both were excellent but I'll have to give the edge to the U.S. grown product.  (The guy that supplied the sample of Original gives Original the edge.)  Original is around 15 cents less expensive per pouch than the U.S. product.  At $4.50 (+ tubes)  per pack this is not economical but both were so good that it was difficult to go back to Gambler...

Bugler Turkish And Blended Cigarette Tobacco (Original)

$3.69 + tax = $4.00 for a .65 oz. bag of tobacco.  32 rolling papers included.  Tobacco was fresh, tasted very good and yielded more than 20 100mm gigarettes.  Pricewise Bugler's in the same neighborhood as Midnight Special and Zig-Zag.  Definitely a better product than the former but the latter has a solid edge over Bugler.  If I had an extra $5 in my pocket and there was no ZZ I would buy this again.  If Bugler were to drop the papers and market this as Pipe Tobacco then I would definitely buy more often.

Tin Star Pipe Tobacco (Regular)

$3.49 before sales tax for 3 ounces.  Light colored tobacco has the consistency of shredded cork.  Fastest burning tobacco I've ever smoked; a jam packed machine turns out a 100 mm smoke that is finished in 10 draws.  Tobacco is raspy flavored.  Will not be buying again.

Danish Export

Pretty much the same as Norwegian Shag.  Taste might be a bit stronger.  No acridness but a hint of soapiness.

Midnight Special Cigarette Tobacco

$3.50 after tax for a .65 oz. pouch.  Came with a book of 32 cigarette papers.  Yield was 19 cigarettes.  Tobacco was dry and had more than its fair share of shake.  Taste was very good (bold and robust) except for a subtle soapy taste.  I won't be buying again.

Half And Half Pipe Tobacco

$4.38 for 1 1/2 oz.  Made appx. 30 cigarettes.  Avoid.

Largo Pipe Tobacco (Gold)

This is the best tobacco I've ever smoked (I found it on the sidewalk and it cost me nothing).  The bag was opened but nearly full.  Package states 0.75 oz.  I got 17 smokes out of it.  I was expecting more of the familiar/dislikeable Top/Largo/Dean's flavor from this but was taken aback that it tasted (and looked) like Gambler red.  This one wasn't bad.  I'll probably revisit sometime.  Sorry - no image available - all I can find is a bag that says "Mellow" rather than "Gold".

Norwegian Shag

It's shag time!  $8.95 for 1.23 oz. (about 35 gm.).  Was able to wrangle 37 cigarettes from this bag.  Comes with a pack of 50 rolling papers.  Package states "Virginia tobaccos, some air-cured Burley and fine Oriental tobaccos."  Tobacco was very light colored.  Product was torn to small pieces and tamped lightly to fill chamber level - cigarette was hand packed 5 times after ejection yet burnt way too fast.  Smooth light taste - a hint of acridness  Acrid taste mellowed overnight as tobacco taste strengthened - taste came to resemble Winston.  Not bad - but at $4+ per pack I will only repurchase as a treat to myself.

Tubes - Is There A Difference?

I dunno.  I've used 4 at this time:  Smoker's Best, Gambler (both Red and Tube Cut), and Zig-Zag.  The first brand I tried was Smoker's Best and they seemed to be a bit tight of my machine but it also may have been due to my inexperience at the time.  However they were the least expensive option at the time. The Gambler's were $0.25 cheaper than the ZZ and come with a coupon good toward the purchase of a medium/large bag of tobacco.  The Gambler filter seems to be more dense than the Zig Zag filter.  Shrug.  Whatever.  I have no idea if tubes really make a difference - one brand is as good as another as far as I'm concerned.  I guess it depends on what you want your final product to look like and what you want to have written above the corkline.
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Update 20 Sept., 2012

Smokers Palace 100s Red Premium Tubes are $3.25 after tax.  The filter is shorter than the three aforementioned brands and seems to be a bit more dense than the Gamblers.

Red Cap Pipe Tobacco (Regular)

Welllllll - I'm at the bottom of my bag of Gambler pounder.  Thought I'd shoot in and try something different.  I twisted up a bag of this last winter (too) and thought I'd see how it fared in a tube.  Notbadnotbadatall.  $1.75 after tax yielded 21 smokes from a .75 oz. bag of tastes very much like Gambler but this tobacco has a slightly longer cut.  I'd have given a slight edge to Red Cap for flavor had it not been for the fact that I'm at the bottom of my Gambler bag and built a Red Cap straight from the top of the new bag.  But I'm liking this very much nevertheless.  Will definitely purchase again.

Top Premium Cigarette Tobacco (Regular)

 $2.38 after tax for 4/10s of an ounce.  Tobacco is light colored and moist yet dry enough not to gum up my machine.  Package came with 40 papers.  Yielded 24 100mm cigarettes.  Back of bag proclaims that this is "America's #1 Selling Full Line R-Y-O Brand".  I dunno why.  First taste to hit me was similar to Largo/Dean's but not as overwhelming.  In spite of being firmly packed tobacco burnt fast.  I won't be purchasing this again.

Zig Zag Cigarette Tobacco (Original)

Robust yet smooth.  Tobacco was almost a shag, similar to the brown bag Euro imports (but I didn't have to tear it apart into bite sized bits while loading the machine).  Fresh, but not moist enough to jam up my machine.  Came with 25 rolling papers.  Very nice albeit a tad expensive - $3.80 for .75 oz/21.3 g. yielded 27 cigarettes.  Will definitely treat myself to more of this sometime in the future.

Smoker's Pride Pipe Tobacco (Rich Taste)

I twisted some of this up last winter when I was down to change - at $1.00 a bag I thought I'd give it a go again for the hell of it.

Sorry, can't find a pic online of the individual package - only ones I'm seeing are of the bulk 12 package box.  Individual packages are red, weigh in at 0.65 oz./18.4 g. each.

Tobacco is long cut and very moist.  Had problems filling tube - lotsa resistance - then tube would be empty near filter and runneth over at opening.  Allowed contents to air dry for a couple of hours and tried again.  Bag yielded 16 100 mm cigarettes.  Taste wasn't all that bad, similar to the Bugler I've been known to twist up once in awhile, but a tad bit on the harsh side for my tastes.  At $10 for 6.5 oz. this isn't the most cost effective tobacco either.  Nevertheless, I'll probably revisit it again sometime during the next year.

Tips And Tricks

1  Q:  My cigarettes only last 5 or 6 drags.
    A:  You're not putting enough tobacco in the machine.

2  Q:  I packed my cigarette after rolling it now the tube's only half full.
    A:  See above.

3  Q:  I made a cigarette with too much tobacco and can barely get a draw off of it.
    A:  Put out the smoke and roll it firmly between your thumb and forefinger working evenly from the filter to the top.  Pinch off and stash the overflow - relight - enjoy.

4  Q:  When I pack my smoke shit goes flying everywhere leaving me with a half full tube.
    A:  You're down to shake.  Buy a new bag.  Tamp shake from old  bag 2/3 to 3/4 of the chamber from the nozzle back.  Add fresh longcut to the 1/3 to 1/4 furthermost from the nozzle.

5  Q:  It seems the last smokes of my batch have problems with the tobacco falling out even though they were packed tight.
    A:  You're rolling with fresh moist tobacco and as it dries out it loses volume.  Either seal the ends after you pack 'em down, store upright with the filter end down, or just roll just enough to get you by.

6  Q:  When I remove my cigarette from the machine the nozzle keeps some of the tobacco leaving me with a   less packed cigarette.
    A:  This usually happens when you load up with 100% shake else too dry tobacco.  See tip 4 - also try twisting the cigarette off of the nozzle rather than just pulling it straight off of it.

7  Q:  Tobacco seems to get trapped in the same corner of my machine by the nozzle.

    A:  It's the nature of the beast - use a paperclip to clear out the corner every 5 smokes or so.

Gambler Pipe Tobacco (Regular)

Ahhhhhh - this is the shit!  Yeah, I've smoked better but the better brands cost a helluva lot more.  Before taxes I'm paying $6.79 for a 6 oz. bag but less than a dollar an ounce for the 1 pounder (and you can score for a helluva lot less if you do that newfangled online ordering thingy).  My Gambler 100s tubes come with a $.50 discount coupon on the end of the box good toward the purchase of a medium/large sized bag of Gambler tobacco.  I'd recommend purchasing any unknown brand in the smallest available package before splurging on the economy size bag.  In Gambler's case try to find a 16 oz. sack with the instant $1.00 off coupon stuck to the front.  I have a pounder stashed away - waiting for me to finish off the Ohm and Samson...

Ohm Pipe Tobacco (Bold)

Ohm Bold 8 oz. bag went for around 9 bucks.  Tastes like Pyramid full flavor cigarettes - burns about as fast too.  Can't wait to finish this bag and get back to my mainstay.

Samson (Original Blend)

I've been trying different European brands as of late.  Samson (Original Blend) ---  1.41 oz./40 grams - $8.75 after taxes.  It seems that the Euro brands are shredded to almost resemble hair.  This definitely doesn't taste like hair.  But it does taste like soap - I wanna refund.

Largo Pipe Tobacco (Regular)

A few years back I switched from Doral Full Flavor 100s cigarettes to filtered cigars.  After trying several brands I finally settled on Santa Fe reds.  They were going for $5.99 a carton I think.  Bush Jr. signed in a tax that added a couple of dollars to that.  The tax that Obama signed in when he took over raised the price of my budget smokes to $13.99 a carton.  Thanks Barack.  The first pack of filtered cigars I bought were Dean's Full Flavor.  "These cigars are predominantly natural tobacco with non tobacco ingredients added."   Sawdust?  Ratshit?  (to be fair pretty much all budget filtered cigars carry the same text on their packages).  But Dean's really suck the big one.  Horrid Horribly Horrid. 

Which brings us to Largo Pipe Tobacco (Regular) --- 3/4 of an ounce for around a buck and a half.  Tastes like Dean's Full Flavor.  Never again.

4 Aces Pipe Tobacco (Turkish & Blended Tobaccos)

This is the first stuff I shoved into a tube.  I bought the Gambler injection machine, a box of 200 tubes,and a  Buy-1-Get-1-Free special on canned 4 Aces.  It had a mild taste to it - not really to my liking.  If you prefer light cigarettes to full flavor then this is the one for you.  Me? - I couldn't wait finish this stuff off and move onto something else.  More than 2 cartons worth of tobacco for less than 15 bucks is a great deal nevertheless...

Welcome To My Blog

About me --- I'm a bald fat middleaged guy that likes to smoke tobacco.  It was sometime around December of  1975 (when I was 11) that I first inhaled; it was a Kool filter king.  I began smoking regularly in Jr. High School - the big fad was (and still is, I suppose) Marlboros.  I preferred (and still prefer) the 100 mm length.  I've switched brands here and there over the years based on whimsy or budget.  My preferred packaged cigarette at this time is Winston 100s.  Unfortunately, at around $5.00 a pack,  they are a luxury I can ill afford.  So, for the past few years, I've been reduced to smoking bargain brands and filtered cigars up to a couple of months ago when I finally bought an injection machine, a carton's worth of tubes and some tobacky to go with it.  I'll be reviewing my purchases on this blog as I make them.  No fancy writing here - I'm not a snooty wine sniffing/swishing/spitting connoisseur type of guy.  Some of what I've had is good - some of it isn't.  I'll try to be somewhat articulate but will most likely fail in that area - hopefully you'll get the gist of what I type and will be able to go with that. Also - I will be editing my posts from time to time as I sample more tobaccos as taste is relative so check back once in awhile and reread.