I ordered from SmokingPipes.com in the US. They carry a lot of different tobaccos.
These are some ideas around blending, but include thoughts around the individual blends. All of these are bulk tobacco rather than tinned. You can you can probably tell that I prefer Virginia tobaccos. ๐
Tobacco tasting notes
Stoved Virginia
Smooth and brown-sugar-like on the retrohale, with a hint of smokiness. Like a sweet barbecue sauce with none of the sour campfire flavor some blends have. Very tasty on it's own. Should blend well with some of my hot-pressed favorites, or as a base for something with a bit of citrus or tartness to balance the heavy mouth-feel. Maybe a bit of lemon peel?
Yorktown blend
It looks like a very light Virginia, but tastes slightly darker than that. Mostly light and smooth with a little bit of sweetness and hay. This might blend well with a hot-pressed Virginia, to sweeten it without adding too much complexity.
Mac Baren rustica ready rubbed
I found this pretty hard to light. It's probably just too wet it needs to dry out a little bit before I smoke it again. When I can keep it lit, it reminds me a lot of Mac Baren's pure Virginia blend, which is excellent. The nice thing is I can buy this in bulk. I think this is going to be worth an 8 oz reorder, but I want to try it after drying it out a bit to make sure.
Windsail Silver
This tastes like a very medium Virginia blend. No real smokiness, maybe a hint of hay, and that typical Virginia retrohale. On the retrohale it's not nearly as deep as something like an evening flake, but still satisfying. Probably a good one if I want just a light smoke, or better still a good base for blending.
Night Slice
Pre-Lite, it smells a lot like evening flake, or luxury twist flake. Not surprising, given the maker. The flavor is much lighter than the other Stokkebye blends. Complex, and interesting. Toasted nuts and hay, It became spicier the longer I smoked the bowl. I'm really enjoying it, and I will l want to get some more of this. It's very good, but I think if I age it a year or two it will be fantastic.
Louisiana Perique
Dis heeyah tase like de Virginia, but wit a hint a da fahn madiro see-gar. Will add complexity to anything I mix it with. It smokes really well on its own, too!
Broken Scotch cake
This Burns really really well. Stays lit for quite some time. Overall flavor is standard Virginia, maybe a bit of spice but just a tiny bit. Probably best mixed with something with some dark character, like Stoved Virginia.
Brown Flake Unscented
Smoooooth smoke. Burns amazingly well. A bit of spice and vanilla. MUST BLEND this. It will be a great base. Maybe a little perique, a bit of navy flake, and just a hint of Stoved Virginia. It doesn't need much. It develops nicely on its own. Still smooth, but a bit more spice halfway through a bowl.
The finish is like a navy flake. Maybe top it with a small amount of the above instead of mixing?
Kendal #7
This didn't leave any lasting impression.ย It was sort of a "yeah, it's a ribbon cut virginia".ย It will be fine as a minor additive if I want to round out a blend & the cut of the other tobaccos is compatible.
I'll second PARA. It works well for me. I used it as an organizing principle in my notes and todo software.