Favorite burleys

here's what I'd suggest:
First,try some Carter Hall or Prince Albert. Both are mild and I believe a good intro. to burley.

Next, try some Edgeworth RR...has a little more of a kick to it and for a burley, is a smoke with various flavors.

Finally, hit the big leagues with something like Old Joe Krantz...it'll blow your sox off.

If you have any tendencies toward English blends, then give Walnut a shot. It is burley first and foremost, with a bit of English in the background. Almost like smoking Carter Hall in a English-dedicated pipe. Or, as GI stated, Carter Hall mixed with some Squadron Leader.

If you enjoy perique, Matches suggestion of OJK is a good one.

For pure burley flavor, Carter Hall or Haunted Bookshop. Bookshop, I believe, has latakia and perique, but in such small quantities that they are hardly noticeable.

These suggestions are based on my limited experiences with burley, but sometimes it is good to get input from someone new to the game. No old allegiances or biases to contend with.

S-U-C-K-E-R was stamped there. :-) Sorry, I only know how to take cheap shots.

Funny that you should mention giving Burleys a whirl, if you are planing a State side order I offer the following suggestions aside from my JD recommendation on todays Smoke Thread I would suggest Solani Aged Burley Flake. Other than that I would second PA and OJK as well as Orlik DSK, aBurley/VA, which is more available to you than I.

Burleys are a funny thing in the smoking world. I have a friend who will run on and on about the joys and wonders of CH, which I could never understand, while fundamentally ignoring the bigger world of burleys.

Anyway, this is what I like to smoke;

ALL BURLEYS (in no order)
Edgeworth Readyrubbed
UHles' Perfection Plug
5Bros
KyClub Blue
Schermerhorn's
PA
Velvet but not Granger (too many problems with Granger's quality control)
C&D #808 granulated burley

BURLEYS BASED (50% burley or more)
Morley's Best
Haunted Bookshop
OJK
C&D Competition Blend (75% burley)
Safe Harbor Flake
Half and Half
Pegasus (about 60% burleys and 40% VAs and black cav)

Now, there are many blends that use burleys in some percentage between 25-50%, but then one is never certain about what is the 'driving' taste of the blend. The 'driver' is the predominate tobacco in a blend; it's what makes a blend what it is. There are three predominate 'drivers': cavendish tobacco (which is usually VA-burley pressed ), VAs and burleys. I am wary of some blends, like the MacBarens, because of the cavendish tobaccos, and the casing. BTW, I really don't think that MacB's do a very good job w/ burleys. Overall, their tobaccos are good enough, but US blenders do burley better than any other country, because there are so many old coots like me that enjoy the warm nutty flavors. I didn't mention 'Nut Brown Burley' or 'Burley Light' because NBB may or may not be produced anymore, and BL truthfully is not very good, not unlike sucking in hot steam.

I hope that this has helped. Please e-mail any time.

All the blends I was thinking of have already been mentioned. Well, no one has said G&H BB#2 yet but it seems like I'm the only one smoking that fine weed here so just ignore me.

I'm surprised ckr didn't mention Solani Silver Flake ... hmmm.

If you want to find out how good Edgeworth Slices used to be the closest currently available blend would be Wessex Burley Slices ... not bad stuff ... and yes, it really is pretty darn close (but not quite!).

I suppose if I can step out and smoke Virginias and Dunghill blends anything can happen. But Lars asking after burlies!? Now that is awesome.

Light Burley,
Carter Hall (almost too mild for my tastes)
Kentucky Club Blue (nice but also a bit mild for my tastes)

Medium Burley (in order of my preference)
Prince Albert (the national joy smoke)
Edgeworth RR (another great smoke a bit more complex than the good prince)
Half and Half (a unique taste in burley half and half with bright virginia) it may take you a while to warm up to this but it really is good.

Heavy Burley
OJK (the God of all pipe tobaccos period but lots of perique)
Walnut (the most English of the codger burlies)
Purple Cow (quite cigary but latakia and maduro cigar leaf make this one quite nice)

The first two you try should probably be PA and Carter Hall

That I have had actual full fledged experience with, and that is Walnut. I am forever grateful to Oldgi for introducing me to this blend, and by all means, classify it as a great blend.

On the "I have heard" note, Solani Aged Burley Slices is supposed to be great, and is on my buy me list next time I order.

Good stuff fer sure, but to me it is very close to MacB NF and Lars is already hooked on that.

Me asking about burleys is truly out of this world, but what the heck, right?

I'm curious about all blends, but the realm of burleys is one I have spent very little time in.

ckr is right, I'm hooked on Mac Baren Navy Flake. In fact, I have been smoking MBNF all of last week, and probably will do so until tomorrow when I believe the tin will be empty.

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm going to see about filling an order with smokingpipes with as many of your suggestions as possible.

Solani Aged Burley Slices. I enjoy this one a lot. I used to smoke Edgeworth Sliced daily and it too was/is a good one. Enjoy your burley exploration.

I love the old tub stuff but smoking the Wessex Burley Slices is a spa...

Every once in a while you catch a wiff of grass and hay and the memories of summer when you were young when you had nothing to do. Nothing to do, imagine...

Its like Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine 'cept in a tin!

of all the burley blends is Haunted Bookshop. I love OJK & all the others, but HB is my personal favourite. A must try Lars.

Well it seems I have a list as complete as it's going to get - at least for now. I'm going to go ahead and place an order. Cross your fingers that customs will leave it alone :)

This is actually on my try list. I've decided for purposes of the 12 relative to burley, I will have alternates so actually there's 16 but I won't have more than 12 on hand at any one time. The burley list looks like this:

OJK/Purple Cow
Prince Albert/Haunted Bookshop
Edgeworth/Half and Half
Five Brothers/Morley's Best

At the moment I'm nearly fresh out of PA so it's haunted bookshop time. I've actually even considered culling the menu down for the NBTs to include only 2 English/Va blends and 2 Flake Blends. If I had to make the call today, here's what that would look like:

English/VA
Old Gowrie/London Mixture

Flake
SG Chocolate Flake
St James Flake

For me, it's Esoterica Stonehaven and Butera Kingfisher. Gawith Hoggarth & Co Kendal Kentucky is nice now and then.

Esoterica: Stonehaven 8oz 1 $20.74 $20.74
Cornell & Diehl: Pegasus 2oz 1 $7.41 $7.41
Cornell & Diehl: Safe Harbor Flake 2oz 1 $7.85 $7.85
Solani: Aged Burley Flake #656 50g 1 $10.34 $10.34
Cornell & Diehl: Purple Cow 2oz 1 $7.85 $7.85
Cornell & Diehl: Old Joe Krantz 2oz 1 $7.41 $7.41
Cornell & Diehl: Haunted Bookshop 2oz 1 $7.41 $7.41
G. L. Pease: Robusto 2oz 1 $8.15 $8.15
Wessex: Burley Slice 50g 1 $9.94 $9.94

Now we play the waiting game.

I'm going with 4noggins for, CH, PA, etc.

CARTER HALL - 14oz Can or 2oz Sample $3.99 1 $3.99
EDGEWORTH READY RUBBED - 14oz Can or 2oz Sample $6.49 1 $6.49
HALF & HALF - 14oz Can or 2oz Sample $3.99 1 $3.99
PRINCE ALBERT - 14 oz Can or 2oz Sample $3.99 1 $3.99
WALNUT 2oz (57g) $4.69 1 $4.69

The race is on. Who will get here, first?!

Where can I get 5bros, velvet and uhle's?

Just for the record ...

OGS OGS OGS OGS OGS OGS OGS OGS OGS.

There - That should do it.

Lars,
Nice order man! I've got to try Edgeworth RR and Wessex baccys.
Dave

Your mouth says OGS but your actions say Codger Burley! Apparently you've heard the sirens, ah yes Lars, come to the darkside, it's good here really it is.

Morleysson,

I didn't see a couple of C&D blends in your list which I have on hand at the moment. Wondering about your opinion on Big & Burley and Walter Franklin.

You wrote about Morley's Best somewhere (maybe tobaccoreviews.com?) that it was a "pipe smoker's tobacco" and to my mind you really hit the nail on the head. It is a fantastic blend. It doesn't always burn exactly right for me, but there is that *something* about it which is unmistakably "the real deal". It is surely a foundation breed for burley blends.

I wrote you awhile back about three of these C&Ds I bought including the two I asked about here because I felt they came really green from C&D and you said to wait a bit and try again. It is now I think about six months from the purchase and they do seem to be settling down (I have not tried my OJK yet, I didn't pop the top on it) but I have to admit there's something troubling me about these. I am not educated enough and don't have the fine palate to be able to articulate what's bothering me, but it could be I just like straight burlies and don't like the condiments. My current benchmark burley is BPC but last time I tried to place an order the "service" was so appalling I don't plan to do business with them again. I can't get 5Bros where I live but I think something along that line would be more to me preferences. I also can't get any drugstore blends where I live but it could be that I would find a home run among the others you mentioned in your list.

Regards,

Israel

which I mentioned are, in fact, 75%-100% burleys. If someone wanted to understand burleys' smoking, one new-to-burleys would be better served in sampling the all or majority burleys first, to understand the variety and complexity of burleys, both in their leaf and their processing. One could find anything from cube cut to string cuts, air-cured and fire-cured, each with their own distinctive characteristics. True, burleys may appear to some to be bland and unnoteworthy, but they have a subtle flavor allowing them to be smoked w/ multiple successive bowls. Sadly, because burleys have low sugar content, they will usually take on the characteristics of many of the tobaccos with which they are paired.

Morley's Best, Haunted Bookshop and OJK are all variations on a theme of a predominate burleys' mix with minimal number of components.

Both BigNBurley and Walter Franklin were mentioned. BNB is not my blend, but I wish it was. It has a strong presence of dark fire-cured burley which ups the nicotine level and the sharp taste, more cigar-like. WF, Bailey's Front Porch and Home/Hills were my explorations in evaluating combinations of the four basic tobacco groups (burleys, VAs, latakia and perique), w/ black cavendish. No tobacco was predominate in the blends, but I sought a harmony of elements. I may/not succeeded; I don't know. Individual tastes and chemistry go a long way to determining one's sense of harmony. BTW, in all the years of smoking, I only found a few truly harmonious blends: Balkan White, Blue Boar (to which Morley's is an homage), Bulwark Navy flake and the C&D discontinued Billiard Room.

After reading your notes and thinking them over while smoking another bowl of B&B, I get the sensation of a Cuban Upmann! B&B is very cigar-like indeed! As funny as it seems, now that it fits into a category I seem to appreciate it more. I couldn't quite place it before, and I used to smoke nothing but cigars...

Is the Balkan White you mentioned the so-called "Original Smoking Mixture" or was it something else?

I have been smoking quite a few as of late. Carter Hall,P.A, Walnut, Morleys Best, as well as a few McB's burley, VA blends. Morleys is the one I'm starting to reach for the most.
Really developing a taste for it. Don't get me wrong I like em all. Walnut is also a everyday smoke for me.
Dave

Kentucky Club {Mild}
Half & Half
Velvet
Sir Walter Raliegh {Regular or Aromatic}
Rum and Maple
Model
Union Leader
Carter Hall
Prince Albert
The strongest of the group is Union Leader.
The mildest is Model.
The sweetest is Sir Walter Aromatic
The rest are all no-nonsense burleys.

Solani Aged Burley flake
Butera Kingfisher
Prince Albert
C&D Haunted Bookshop

and no particular order of preference. I enjoy them over the others I have tried.

Carter Hall, way too mild. OKJ very tasty, but can kick like a mule so I'll keep on training wheels for a while longer.

Oh yea, Junkyard Dawg ranks high also.

Walnut
Prince Albert
Prince Albert Choice Blend
Edgeworth Ready Rubbed
Sir Walter Raleigh
Half&Half.
Carter Hall

My Favorite Burlies:

OJK
PA
Edgeworth RR'd
5Bros
Epiphany
Riverboat Gambler
Walnut
Big n Burley
Half and Half
SWR (Reg or Aromatic, which reminds me, I haven't smoke any of this in a while)

my favorites are

PA
Carter Hall
Velvet
Stonehaven
WAlnut
OJK
Butternut burley