Your Favorite Blends of 2018

[Doctor Willet]

What blends did you smoke the most in 2018? Did you discover any new ones? Regardless of how long or short, make a list or two of your top blends from last year! I'm always curious as to what my fellow pipers smoke the most of, and even though the monthly "What Are You Smoking" give me an idea, top/favorite lists are fun.

I'll add mine after thinking about it and getting a pen and paper for a rough draft (no sarcasm). I smoked A TON of different blends in 2018, and it's gonna be tough to choose my favorites. I wanna do it without taking up a whole forum page, so I'm gonna take my time.

In the meatime, for your entertainment, here's me a while back with my C&D / Pease collection - well, as many as I could hold - and in desperate need of a shave:


Have fun making your lists, and here's to another year of beautiful briars and tasty tobaccos!

[Ray Mackessy]

I have many blends and smoke them all so it's difficult to say which one I smoked the most. However a new blend I tried in 2018 was Edward G. Robinson. I initially bought a small tin, but fell in love with the blend and eventually bought the large tub.

[Fr_Tom]

Picayune
ODF-RR
PS Amsterdam
Double Down
OJK

[Tsal]

A part from my usual suspects I've had the pleasure of smoking;
Cannon Plug
Revor Plug
Bracken Flake
Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls
F&T va cut plug
Dunhill Light Flake
SG Laurel Flake
SG FVF

[Fr_Tom]

I should have added that I have tried a number of good things this year. None of them are in the "buy a pound and have a pound in reserve" category except Epiphany. I reviewed that 1/3/18.

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/user/14371

[Longshanks]

I'd have to say Lane: Dark Red was what I smoked most of in 2018, though I certainly enjoyed what was left of my tin of Sutliff: Molto Dolce.

[Kevin Keith]

I guess my favorite blend of 2018 was one I knew about through [mention]Fr_Tom[/mention], Low Country Natural Virginia & Burley. After talking to Tom I knew that it was one I'd like. It's a strong VaBur with a rough edge I really like. I have also added a couple of other Low Country blends, Cherry and Natural Virginia & Oriental. They come in at a great price point too...at least until they get discovered. When I found out about PS LNF it was $25/lb at WV, then everyone jumped on the bandwagon!

[Fr_Tom]

I guess my favorite blend of 2018 was one I knew about through @Fr_Tom, Low Country Natural Virginia & Burley. After talking to Tom I knew that it was one I'd like. It's a strong VaBur with a rough edge I really like. I have also added a couple of other Low Country blends, Cherry and Natural Virginia & Oriental. They come in at a great price point too...at least until they get discovered. When I found out about PS LNF it was $25/lb at WV, then everyone jumped on the bandwagon!

Initially I was going to put Low Country VaBur as a discovery of 2018 for myself, but I checked my reviews and I started buying it in 2017. I have only smoked a pound of it this year, and so Double Down gets the nod for favorite. I had three partial bags of SPRT taste open when the year started, and I probably smoked a pound of that total in 2018 as well. Low Country VaBur is very good to my way of thinking.

[Mr Beardsley]

This is a difficult question for me because my rotation is based on variety. If I had to guess I'd say that there are at least 50 open jars at the moment. Some of the standouts that I ran across this past year were
Newminster 400 navy flake
Wessex gold slice
Rattray's marlin flake
Watch City Nor'easter
Double Down (my 1lb bag arrived dated 10/31)
Low Country VaBur (I'll echo Kevin saying that it has a rough edge that I find pleasant)

[slowroll]

I did have a revelation (not the tobacco) in 2018. I discovered HH ODF and am now buying it 5 lb at a time. A revelation because i've been a Balkan blend smoker for 50 years. The 2 I smoke most are ODF and C&D Engine 99, followed by HH Vintage Syrian.