>>1254806There are so many flavors and blends it’s hard to go into detail about them all.
But generally, there are two main varieties of tobacco, Virginia and Burley, and they are the basis of 99% of tobacco blends. Virginia has a richer flavor, while Burley has a little more nicotine and smokes cooler. There are other tobacco varieties as well, but they are used in smaller amounts to flavor tobacco blends.
As for families of blends:
>American blendsAlso called OTC or “drugstore” blends, these are Burley-based and mild-flavored, allowing them to be smoked all day. Examples include Prince Albert, Carter Hall, Half and Half.
>English blendsUnflavored Virginia-based tobacco blends often featuring Latakia, a smoke-cured tobacco from the Middle East. Famous examples include Dunhill 965 and Nightcap, and Samuel Gawith’s Squadron Leader.
>Balkan blendsA subset of English blends featuring lots of other condimental tobaccos. Famous examples are Balkan Sobranie, Balkan Sasieni and Hearth and Home’s Magnum Opus.
>AromaticsWhat laymen think of when they think of “pipe tobacco”, this is the flavored stuff. The tobacco in these tends to be steamed to make it more neutral, as it’s not the star of the flavor show. Examples include Captain Black regular (vanilla), Cult Blood Red Moon (cherry) and Borkum Riff bourbon (whiskey).
