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by alist
on Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:18 pm |
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gilster wrote: next time you are in their store, ask them if you can see their 'Distributors' listing of available items.
Ok, I will definitely do this. I know I will be going back there, because I got my Topomatic today, which included a form to get coupons off of Top tobacco. Once I have those coupons, I will hit the tobacco shop again. Top doesn't make an ultralight, to my knowledge, but I am interested in blending small amounts of light tobaccos into my ultralights, as well as whipping up sample cigs for friends to taste, eventually.
gilster wrote:
I also go to a store in another state and they have them, different distributor in that area - so I load up on the tubes there when I'm in the area.
I am on a state line, but there are miles between the state line and next major city, if you can even call it major.
Topomatic ROCKS, by the way. Here's a suggested recipe for an ultralight menthol;
1 part D & R Wingate Light
3 parts Stokers #2 Ultralight
I did 3 sticks in a Zen tube, which almost seems to strong for me. It's hard to tell, I am flying on caffeine at the moment. I also did two sticks in the Gizeh Silver Tip Charbon tubes. It will be better to test these in the morning. It appears to provide just a hint of mint. |
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alist
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by Darkseid
on Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:39 pm |
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I am flying on caffeine at the moment
---------------------------------------------------------------
Coffee is the elixer of life LOL!  |
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Darkseid
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by alist
on Sun Sep 09, 2007 7:32 am |
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Darkseid wrote: I am flying on caffeine at the moment
Coffee is the elixer of life LOL!
Who are you telling? Everyone who knows me knows to NOT speak to me when I first wake up. My brain is oh so sluggish, until my first cup of coffee and first cigarette has kicked in. If only there were a way to inject caffeine into a cigarette! |
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alist
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by alist
on Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:56 pm |
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Lynda F wrote: I've tried Rave, and really like it a lot, so far better than others I've tried.
This is an excellent recommendation! I received two 6 oz bags of Rave today, one ultralight and one menthol light. The Rave ultralight smells remarkably similar to Stokers #2 ultralight. The only difference I can tell is it tastes as if the Stokers #2 ultralight uses more of whatever flavoring provides that certain scent and taste. I am VERY pleased with the Rave ultralight.
The Rave menthol light is also very smooth and tasty. It doesn't seem to be as heavily mentholated as the D & R Wingate Menthol light, but is quite tasty nonetheless. |
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alist
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by Darkseid
on Mon Sep 10, 2007 5:54 pm |
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| Once you RYO for a while with the 'mix-n-match' blending, youstart to feel like a bartender learning how to mix all those drinks LOL |
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by alist
on Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:54 pm |
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Darkseid wrote: Once you RYO for a while with the 'mix-n-match' blending, youstart to feel like a bartender learning how to mix all those drinks LOL
That's already happening. For instance, one of my favorite blends right now is 1/2 of the Rave ultralight, mixed with 1/2 of the Rave menthol light. THAT mix is SO incredible, it will make you jump up and slap your grandma. I also have D & R's Vengeur Light & Windsail Light on my shopping list. Oh, I need to add Sagamore Light to that list as well. As if that's not enough, I am busy tracking down all of my friends to find out what they smoke, so I can make some blends for them when entertaining. And let's not forget the 3 packs I shipped to my sister today, representing 1 pack each of 3 different blends. And when in the hell is the Farmer's Gold and Golden harvest ultralights going to arrive, along with the American Thrust ultralight and Iceberg samples?
Is it the fact that I am a customization freak, or does everyone lose their friggin mind when they discover SYO and the infinite choices when it comes to blending? |
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alist
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by alist
on Sat Sep 22, 2007 5:19 pm |
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Ok, here's what I have decided on thus far for the long term:
Tobaccos I personally avoid;
1. Gambler - as stated by others earlier in this thread, this stuff is harsh. I really don't like it and won't buy it again. Thank God I only bought 6 oz and my sister likes it. I stuffed the last 3 packs to give to her and get rid of it.
2. Farmer's Gold - this one has an odd taste to me. It's nowhere near as harsh as Gambler. The aftertaste is faint, but tastes like lawn clippings or dirt in the ultralight. This is easy enough to hide by mixing with other tobaccos, so the 6 oz package of this isn't a total loss and is almost gone.
3. Golden Harvest - I go back and forth on this one. It's not bad, but it's not particularly good either. It also have a very odd aftertaste, although it is much, much more faint than the Farmer's Gold. This one is excellent as a blender, so the 6 oz bag won't go to waste either.
My Favorites;
1. Stoker's #2 ultralight - Nothing I have tasted so far tops this one. Love it! I am checking with the local tobacco shop regarding placing an order for 10 pounds of this one.
2. Rave ultralight - Stoker's #2 just barely edges this one out. I REALLY like the Rave products and would recommend them to anyone.
3. Rave menthol light - I find myself stuffing about 6 of these per day to enjoy throughout the day. I haven't smoked menthols in forever, but this is so damn good I can't resist. The nicotine content is nowhere near as strong as the D & R Wingate Menthol Light and the Rave is nowhere near as heavily mentholated as the Wingate either. I love this tobacco.
4. Wingate Menthol Light - I love the heavy mentholation but not the higher nicotine level. I can't decide if I will buy this again or not. Ideally, I would like to always have this on hand to pass around when entertaining other menthol smokers. It's excellent for me when mixed with the Rave menthol light.
5. Sagamore Light - I seem to prefer burley based tobaccos that are flavored sweetly. Sagamore Light is neither burley based nor sweet. Although it's way too strong for me, it's a helluva smooth smoke. I want to keep this one around for entertaining other light smokers.
6. Ramback - I haven't even opened the 3.5 oz tub of 100% Turkish tobacco. I am sure I will eventually mix small amounts of this into blends for friends, especially the Sagamore Light, and may well end up mixing even smaller amounts into my own smokes. I can't really speak of this one yet, however, since I am reserving it for a visit with friends next week.
7. American Thrust Ultralight -This is a good tobacco. It's just not flavored sweetly enough for me. I would recommend it to other ultralight smokers, but won't personally buy any more for myself. |
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alist
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by Stuffer John
on Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:04 pm |
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Although Menthol really isn't my bag, I'm following this thread with interest as we seem to have similar tastes otherwise.
I'm with you on the Rave, just trying Stoker's Ultralight today, as the Rave was a bit hard to find around here. The last bag of Rave UL I got had what looked like a 2004 in the heat seal. It was about half shake, so I couldn't use a lot of it. The bag of Rave Light that I tried before was ok, so I picked up a Rave Light and a Stoker's UL to try. Later in the day I found a 2007 bag of Rave UL (although they also had one of the 2004 bags). I showed the shopkeep the date on the older bag and he threw it out (unlike the shop where I originally got my "shakey" bag of 2004 Rave UL).
The Stoker's UL seems to have a more bitter aftertaste than the Rave, but I'll have to give it a longer tryout. Perhaps it's just a tad too dry....
I thought the Gambler light was harsh and nasty, so I didn't even want to try their UL.
Golden Harvest UL wasn't much better than the Gambler, so I tossed it.
None of the others I've tried (Midnight Express, American Spirit, Bali Red (not too crazy about fire cured), Norwegian Shag, Zig Zag American Light, McLintock Light) have filled the bill either. Three Castles was interesting, but too vegetative in a light tube. Much better in a hand roll.
I'd be interested to hear more of your experience with the D and J tobaccos; especially the Turkish.
Regards -
John |
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Stuffer John
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by alist
on Tue Oct 02, 2007 10:43 am |
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Stuffer John wrote: I'm with you on the Rave,
The Rave is an excellent tobacco, at least the menthol light and ultralight are.
Stuffer John wrote:
The Stoker's UL seems to have a more bitter aftertaste than the Rave, but I'll have to give it a longer tryout. Perhaps it's just a tad too dry....
If the Stokers #2 ultralight is tasting harsh, it MUST need to be rehydrated. The only worry I ever had with the pound of Stokers #2 ultralight I purchased was that it was so moist I wondered if it would stuff at all. It is the SMOOTHEST and sweetest in flavor of all of the ultralights I have tried.
Stuffer John wrote:
I thought the Gambler light was harsh and nasty, so I didn't even want to try their UL.
The aftertaste of the Gambler is harsh and nasty. Don't waste your time with it. I am lucky my sister liked it and I was able to dump the last 3 packs of a 6 oz bag of the ultralight on her.
Stuffer John wrote:
Golden Harvest UL wasn't much better than the Gambler, so I tossed it.
The Golden Harvest aftertaste is very faint, but not good at all. I have to smoke it all day long to begin to notice it. I have kept my Golden Harvest for blending.
Stuffer John wrote:
I'd be interested to hear more of your experience with the D and J tobaccos; especially the Turkish.
You MUST purchase the D & R Ramback. I only have two words for it - friggin INCREDIBLE! It's difficult to describe the taste. Imagine a slight hint of unsweetened baking chocolate settling in the back of your throat. At the same time, the flavor is very dry, like a dry champagne. There are no words to describe it accurately. It's simply something which must be experienced. You won't regret it. There's nothing else like it.
The D & R Ramback is 100% Izmir Turkish tobacco. The Turkish tobaccos are the lowest in tar and nicotine as compared to the burleys or virginias. Due to this, it is easily blended into ultralight tobaccos, without having a nicotine kick that is too strong. The flavor is overwhelming in the best possible way. To create an ultralight Turkish using Ramback, I use the following recipe;
4 parts ultralight (Stokers #2 or Rave)
1 part Ramback
You might also like the Ramback at a 10% or 15% proportion blended into an ultralight tobacco. I have found that less Ramback tastes better when blending with an ultralight tobacco, since the Turkish overwhelms the flavor of an ultralight tobacco. I haven't smoked the Turkish straight. I just don't think it's necessary. The Ramback is particularly nice when blended with the Stokers #2 or Rave ultralight, since the sweetness of these tobaccos remain.
I recently purchased a 6 oz bag of Sagamore light, along with a 3.5 oz tub of the Ramback from RYO Tobacco (www.ryotobacco.com). In addition to wanting to experiment with the Ramback for myself, I needed these two tobaccos for experimentation with an out of state friend. This friend is very direct and clear regarding her preferences, which made her perfect for my purposes in using her as a guinea pig to create the perfect Camel light replica, since she usually smokes Camel lights. She knew I was using her as a guinea pig to recreate a Camel light, so that I could offer some samples to a friend near where I live.
On the first night of my visit, as we sat on her deck chatting, I was stuffing one or two sticks at a time using the Sagamore light and Ramback to achieve something she really liked. After several tries, we hit on the following formula;
2 parts Sagamore Light
1 part Ultralight (I mixed Stokers #2, Rave and Golden Harvest throughout the 8 days I was there)
1 part Ramback
She went absolutely NUTS over this blend. I had enough on hand to keep her smoking this blend for the full 8 days of my visit. At first, she stated this blend is what a Camel light was trying to be. On the fourth day, she attended a party in the evening, but didn't have enough of this blend on hand to smoke throughout the evening. So she smoked Camel lights again that night. She told me I had completely ruined her, since, although Camel lights had been her favorite cigarette for years, she simply could no longer smoke them because having tried this particular blend, Camel lights now tasted like sh*t to her.
Aside from the taste, there were several things she liked about this blend;
1. The cigarettes burn for a very long time. She almost chain smokes when having cocktails, so she smokes fewer of these since they burn longer than premades.
2. She didn't experience the side effects of smoking this blend that she always experiences with Camel lights. She refers to these side effects as a cigarette 'headache' from smoking too much. Her fiance actually brought her some aspirin one morning expecting her to need it from smoking the night before. She told him she didn't need it because she didn't have a headache.
Throughout the week I was there, I sometimes mixed her blend using Stokers #2, Rave or Golden Harvest ultralight. She never noticed any aftertaste from the Golden Harvest. I expect this is due to the fact that although the Sagamore light definitely has the nicotine kick of a light cigarette, the flavor of it is far more pronounced than any of the ultralights. So the Sagamore light, in combination with the Ramback, completely masked the Golden Harvest ultralight aftertaste.
She said this blend in a Three Castles mild tube tasted so full that it scared her, so she settled on having this blend stuffed into an El Ray light tube. Before I left, she insisted I provide information on where these tobaccos, tubes and Topomatic could be purchased, because she could save so much money and have such a better cigarette by stuffing her own smokes. |
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alist
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by kestrelvt
on Thu Jul 03, 2008 6:50 pm |
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Hi,
I smoke Sagamore tobacco. Has great flavor and right price (17.00 lb) |
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kestrelvt
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