German pipe tobacco

[Ruffinogold]

The German pipe tobaccos are really top notch . Their flag is horrid . I notice there isn't much discussion here about them , or I havent noticed . America rocks and we grow and blend great tobacco , no doubt , but the damn Germans are masterful at much of their blends . I know that the unholy trinity of pipe tobacco brands are probably the most popular here , looking at the ways threads and elsewhere , Im just bumping German made products given they're really exceptional . I get that a lot of their products aren't even shipped to the states . I mean , Dan Tobacco probably has triple the amount of blends that are offered at American online etail stores but it is what it is . They're still upset that we beat them in WW2 [ probably why we don't get much Redcoat stuff also .. independence an all ] , so we only get a limited amount of blends and they aren't constantly in stock much of the time and theres probably a reason for that
That said , there are great great blends from them and should be tried for sure , I believe . Other than a few crazy high aromatics , they are very conservative on humectant , for those that poo poo PG . German Aromatics can go into bizzarro land , just a heads up , but they do have fine ones .. like say Dans Choo Choo Train .

HU Tobacco
Dan Tobacco
Peter Heinrich
Kohlhase & Kopp ... they contract a lot of stuff and have a lot of their own blends over seas
F&T , I think
Wessex
Theres others but Im blank atm

Theres many others that we never see , like stuff made by Pöschl , which makes the Radfords brand , which Ive not had hardly any of those brands . I did carry Sundays Fantasy and it was strange in the Germains Plum Cake sort of way

Ill toss out some blends I think are worth a try

Anything Wesex , mostly . Their burley broad cut isnt very good though
Peter Heinrich .. Anything but the aromatics , lol
Dan .. Most anything . They do have some out there aromatics but they arent hot like PH stuff . Their flavorings are pretty heightened in some of them , like Devils Holiday
HU Tobacco .. Most anything

See how easy that is . If its German , most anything is worth a try . Their blends are much less abrasive than the sound of their language , so they wont eat your face off

A note Id make is that the Germans aren't fearful of highs and lows in a blend , which Americans seem to be . It seems we shy away from the outer edges and depths in fear of negative results but the real masters can go there and pull it off . It takes a hell of a lot of talent but the result is fullness

Try some German stuff if ya haven't

[Mr Beardsley]

I'm right there with you on the German blends and have a bit of kraut tins tucked away. Haven't tried any of the HU stuff, came on my radar a little late

[Mr Beardsley]

One of the best that's kind of under the radar, possibly because it's a bit odd, is the Wessex sovereign curly cut. VaPer coin with a light cider topping. It works.

Wessex burley slice needs no introduction. It's proof that God loves burley smokers.

Wessex gold brick. Very good but in my opinion not worth chasing or overpaying for because :

Wessex gold slice. Fantastic under the radar va flake. At least as good as gold brick, I tend to enjoy it more

Wessex gold va flake. Another great va flake. Kind of more towards the bready side but there's some citrusy something going on there

Wessex brown Virginia flake. Another great one. Deeper flavor for a va

Wessex red va flake. Good stuff with a fruity something

Wessex campaign dark flake. Love this one. Deep and rich.

If you can't tell, I'm a wessex fan. I have a decent stash put away and it's all from before chicken little started screaming that all the blends changed. They may well have, but I don't think the average smoker would notice that much

[fingall]

This has been around a long time but in case you haven't seen it, it's funny; I may have even seen it here first

[Mr Beardsley]

F&T- blackjack. Been years since I smoked this one. Have a couple of tins tucked away somewhere. Just a red Virginia ribbon. Not exciting, just solid va

Cut Virginia plug. Solid. Again, not a really exciting experience just an excellent smoke for a summer evening with some booze to sip on

Cut blended plug. I like this one a bit more than the plain va. Bit bigger and bolder. Still a great evening smoke but not a bad choice if you can stockpile enough to smoke all day.

Special brown flake. Nice straight va, darker tasting with a very minimal rum topping.

Vintage. Another good brown flake. I think they press it a little longer or something and it gives a deeper flavor.

One thing to note about some of the K&K produced products is that they will pop up in multiple lines with different names

[Mr Beardsley]

Former's. Produced by Dan. Only have a couple of these.

Private Flake. A VaBur flake with a kitchen sink topping. All kinds of stuff going on here and I get flashes of a sweet fruit of some sort and a very light sugary something that reminds me of Sammy G brown sugar flake. Nice change of pace

Straight grain flake. One of my favorite VaPer flakes. Edges into the medium range. Loved it from the very first smoke, kind of like I did when I was introduced to escudo.

[Mr Beardsley]

Dan tobacco. I've smoked only a few of their blends, surprisingly. I actually have more of the stuff they produce for others than I do DTM branded.

Hamburger Beermaster. Boring (not in a bad way). Reliable as hell every single time. Great fresh, ages amazingly well.

Devils holiday. Not my jam but a good aromatic for guys that enjoy that sort of thing.

London blend 250. I have a tin tucked away because it sounds incredibly interesting. Lat, VA, perique, with a plum extract topping. Every year when it cools off I think "I should open that one" and I continue to forget. One of my buddies has some and he didn't click with it so he was going to give it to me and that's part of the reason mine is still sealed too.

St. Bernard flake - same blend as former's straight grain flake. Already said how I feel about that.

One of these days I need to make nice with a euro member and get my paws on a tin of Tumblin Dice.

[Mr Beardsley]

Rattray's. Produced mostly (or all?) by K&K

Old Gowrie. Fantastic Virginia / Kentucky / Perique blend. One I could smoke all day if I could afford to. My first experience with it was some that a buddy had that was like 15 years old or some such. Crazy good.

Marlin Flake. Another fantastic blend. Always sold out but not many people seem to talk about it. VaPer flake with some cavendish tossed in. First smoke was the same as old Gowrie, really well aged and amazing. Another one I could burn all day.

Wallace Flake. VaBur with a plum topping. Rattray's version of university flake from when K&K produced it. My only experience with university is from the k&k days so I can't really compare it to the modern iteration. It's a nice change of pace.

Red Rapparee. For my money one of the best English / latakia mixtures on spaceship earth.

Exotic Orange. Not my jam. Left my mouth feeling waxy. Didn't care for the topping. More for you fellas, count me out.

One I'd love to get my paws on is Malcolm Flake. It's apparently the old recipe for erinmore flake from the Murray days, now produced by K&K but not available to us yanksters. Euro folks, hook a brother up!

[Mr Beardsley]

I'll stop for now. My tobacco snob is showing

[Sheridan]

Used to smoke a fair bit of German tobacco. Since brexit though, I haven’t ordered anymore. Not good enough to pay customs duty on top of what it already costs.
My favourites were;
St. Bernard Flake - sharp & rough when fresh, lovely after 3years plus.
DTM - Skipper Flake - a strong & satisfying Virginia.
HU Sunset - a nice mild smoke.
Heinrich’s Curly Block - tasty!
Should also give the krauts credit for their versions of the McConnell & Rattray blends. Not what they were when made up in Scotland but they’re still quite highly regarded, here in the UK. Marlin Flake, Hal O the Wynd & Old London Pebblecut etc.