Any good blends that have zero Virginia content?

Hello again gentlemen.

After a brief time away, and a lot of bowls of tobacco, I've come to realize that I very much dislike Virginia tobacco. Taste way too much like cigarettes for my liking.

I've now had a good assortment of blends, and have found that Dunhill London Mixture and Frog Morton's Cellar are to my liking. It seems like the Virginias are at a minimum in those.

So my question is, are there any blends that lack Virginias altogether? I've been searching but everything I've found all seem to have at least of little bit of it.

Cheers gentlemen and as always thanks in advance!

All I can think of is burley/cavendish aromatics. But that's probably not what you are looking for, am I right?

the_edski said:

All I can think of is burley/cavendish aromatics. But that's probably not what you are looking for, am I right?

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No, I'd prefer to avoid the aromatics (very disappointing that they don't taste the way they smell). I'm thinking anything that has big doses of Latakia, Orientals, Turkish etc. English blends, Balkans, whatever.

Just basically anything that zero, or very little Virginia, and no aromatics.

English, Balkans, and orientals all have VA's. you will have to look at straight burly blends. I know the american OTC codger blends are all burly like Prince Albert.

chef8489 said:

English, Balkans, and orientals all have VA's. you will have to look at straight burly blends. I know the american OTC codger blends are all burly like Prince Albert.

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Ah OK. It seems though that some of them have very little VA's in the blend. Would that be correct?


The Dunhill London Mixture and the Frog Morton's Cellar, even though they say it contains VA's, taste nothing like cigs to me, which is a good thing.

If you get a stronger latakia blend the va is quite hidden. Try something like pirate cake from c&d

You could always try blending tobaccos. Some will be smokable straight, and some will need to be blended with others to be palatable, but there'll be no question of Virginias in them, if you didn't buy any Virginias.

What blends have you tried that have given you that cigarette flavor?

I believe both Peretti Oriental No 40 and Peretti Tashkent are Va free.

Kilroy6644 said:

You could always try blending tobaccos. Some will be smokable straight, and some will need to be blended with others to be palatable, but there'll be no question of Virginias in them, if you didn't buy any Virginias.

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There's an idea. I see McClelland has a line of tins of just straight tobaccos for blending.

Commander Quan said:

What blends have you tried that have given you that cigarette flavor?

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Erinmore Flake, Dan Tobacco Devil's Holiday, Mac Baren Vanilla Cream, and Mac Baren Modern Virginia were the worst for cigarette flavour.

Bell's Three Nuns has a slight cigarettish quality but is tolerable.

Hirsute said:

I believe both Peretti Oriental No 40 and Peretti Tashkent are Va free.

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Thanks, I'll check them out.

If it's only the taste of VA that you find offensive and aren't particularly affected by it in any way then I can see no reason not to try some decent "English" blends with Latakia etc where they overpower it so much as to essentially sit behind the scenes. Are you in North America? If so I'm sure some good soul here will send you a small sample to try. If you're in Australia, just let me know and I'll send you some stuff to try.

All of those tobaccos have some form of a topping as well.

My Mixture 965 has some cavendish VA I believe but it's not very noticeable. That might be up your alley.

Robster said:

If it's only the taste of VA that you find offensive and aren't particularly affected by it in any way then I can see no reason not to try some decent "English" blends with Latakia etc where they overpower it so much as to essentially sit behind the scenes. Are you in North America? If so I'm sure some good soul here will send you a small sample to try. If you're in Australia, just let me know and I'll send you some stuff to try.

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It's definitely just the taste I'm opposed to. And yes, I am in North America. Canada to be specific.

Senshi said:

All of those tobaccos have some form of a topping as well.

My Mixture 965 has some cavendish VA I believe but it's not very noticeable. That might be up your alley.

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All righty I'll look into that one.

General question for anyone: Why are Virginia tobaccos so prevalent?

Because they taste so GOOD! ;-) Honestly though I did read about it somewhere. I'll see if I can't dig that article up.

PatDaddy13 said:

General question for anyone: Why are Virginia tobaccos so prevalent?

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It's mild and high in sugar, so it has a pleasant & sweet taste. The sugar also helps it light easy and burn well.

Seeing what you like I think any english blend will work well.

the_edski said:

It's mild and high in sugar, so it has a pleasant & sweet taste. The sugar also helps it light easy and burn well.

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Yes. Virginias seem, to me, to be more finicky about how they are smoked. Too fast/hot and the typical enjoyment issues seem to rear their heads (taste, bite, other). Perhaps more so than other type blends? And none of this is taking simple taste preference into account. Personally, burley blends seem to be my least dependable "pick up something new and get a satisfying smoking experience right off the bat" tobaccos. That said, I have a few of which my cellar should always keep.

Robster said:

Because they taste so GOOD! ;-) Honestly though I did read about it somewhere. I'll see if I can't dig that article up.

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Me, this ^^^^^^

I've gotten that taste on occasion, and know it well because I once smoked cigarettes. Any Virginia that's blended with Latakia or Perique seems to be totally lacking in any cigarette note, though. English and Balkan blends are probably what you should stick with. Good luck!

I share your dislike of Virginia, and I find that I do quite well with lots of English/Balkan blends. Even if they contain a significant amount of Virginia I don't notice it. I think Frog Morton Cellar has a pretty hefty percentage of Virginia.

Milan's "Our Mixture 965" doesn't include Virginia in its description, it may be VA-free. "A full bodied tobacco with choice Latakia imparts a rich nutty flavor and coolness. Macedonia bright is added for sweetness. Brown Cavendish completes the blend that pipe smokers love." I've had it and it's good.

Edit: Also their Sheik's Delight: "A medium strength Turkish, Latakia blend that burns slowly with a soft taste. It is a fare-runner of English type blends." I like that one too. Their Triple Crown also does not say VA but I haven't had it and can't say if it's good.

chef8489 said:

English, Balkans, and orientals all have VA's. you will have to look at straight burly blends. I know the american OTC codger blends are all burly like Prince Albert.

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I think some Englishes/Balkans are devoid of VA, containing mostly Latakia and Oriental.

Thanks for the help guys. As always a storehouse of knowledge. I've identified these blends as something I'd be interested in trying and are easily available to me:

-Dunhill: Early Morning Pipe
-Samuel Gawith: Squadron Leader
-Cornell & Diehl: Black Frigate
-Mac Baren: HH Vintage Syrian
-Tsuge: "Ryujin" God of Dragon
-Dan Tobacco: Old Ironsides
-Hearth and Home: Blackhouse
-Dan Tobacco: Bill Bailey's Balkan
-Hearth and Home: WhiteKnight
-Dunhill: Nightcap
-Mac Baren: HH Acadian Perique
-G. L. Pease: Quiet Nights
-Cornell & Diehl: Pirate Kake
-G. L. Pease: Gaslight

If anyone has any suggestions on a top three or four from that list, or know of any on that list that I should stay clear from (knowing that I'm not a big fan of a cigarettey flavour) I'm open to it.

Cheers!