Let's discover the best pipe tobacco

In this article we will review some of the best pipe tobaccos, taking into consideration only those available in Italy.

For this reason, we will not discuss brands such as Samuel Gawith, which is currently unavailable in Italy but used to offer tobaccos of excellent quality.

On the other hand, compared to 15-20 years ago, the assortment of pipe tobaccos is far greater.

Rattray's are undoubtedly among the best at the moment, both as English Mixtures and as aromatics and naturals, available in 50 to 100 g packs.

The same goes for Robert McConnell's, in which case the company has made its own numerous tobaccos formerly under the Dunhill brand.

Peterson and Brebbia are two brands that, in addition to marketing pipes, also sell fine tobaccos.

Now, let's look at a number of tobaccos that we particularly appreciate, starting with English Mixtures.

The first is Rattray's Black Mallory, a well-structured English, with Virginia base, Black Cavendish, Orientals and Latakia, then, we have the Robert McConnell Notting Hill, which takes the blend from Dunhill's old Standard Mixture, with a very balanced composition of Virginia, Orientals and Latakia.

From the same brand there’s the St. James Park, which in this case takes up the Dunhill Aperitif blend, whose composition is of Latakia, Turks and Black Cavendish. 

This particular blend, characterized by the presence of Turks and Black Cavendish, gives an excellent aromatic structure.

Finally, also worthy of note are Brebbia No. 9 Flake and No. 10 Balkan.

The former has a composition of Virginia and Latakia, while the latter has the distinction of containing smoked Kentucky, as well as Perique and Latakia.

The latter in particular offers really satisfying smokes, especially because of the considerable amount of Perique (around 40 percent) and the excellent quality of Kentucky and Latakia.

Let us now turn to the natural tobaccos.

The Robert McConnell Scottish Flake is a guarantee: it is a blend of Virginia, Kentucky and Perique, enhanced by a rum flavor.

We also consider excellent, from the same brand, the Red Virginia, consisting of Virginia and Perique, and the Paddington, another Virginia that takes up the flavors of the old Royal Yacht.

To conclude, let's look at the 5 best aromatic tobaccos for pipes.

From Rattray's, we recommend Royal Albert and Westminster Abbey.

Both are blends of Black Cavendish, Virginia and Burley, which give fairly balanced smokes, but while the former offers fairly persistent notes of honey, orange and vanilla, the latter of caramel.

Also worth considering is the Robert McConnell Red Roses, a very light and mild tobacco where freshness is the strong point. Here, the blend is Cavendish and Virginia, enhanced by rose and caramel flavors.

Finally, we have Brebbia No. 32 Opera, a selection of Virginia, Black Cavendish and Burley, featuring good flavoring, and Solani Blend 633, a blend of Virginia and Perique, with apple and rum notes.

How much does pipe tobacco cost?

In Italy, 50 g boxes of pipe tobacco cost on average between €25 and €35, and 100 g boxes around €40.

Among the cheapest we find the bagged ones, with prices between 5€ and 10€, such as Comune, Trinciato Forte and Italia.

We are talking about Kentucky-based tobaccos, except the Italia, which also contains Virginia.

Despite the low price, these are tobaccos not to be underestimated: it is no coincidence that they have always found good success among pipe smokers.

Cornell & Diehl tobaccos, once distributed in Italy, were among the most expensive, with a price tag of about €45.

The high price, however, was not due to better quality, but rather to the high taxation to which it was subjected, due to excise and customs duties, as it was a tobacco imported from non-EU countries.

What is the name of pipe tobacco?

Pipe tobacco should be divided into categories and types.

The categories are English Mixture, Aromatics and Naturals, which differ in composition and processing.

For example, in the former we have a strong presence of Latakia, often accompanied by Orientals and Virginias.

Aromatics have the particularity of undergoing a flavoring treatment, in which a series of additives are applied that enrich the taste of the smoke.

Naturals, in fact, still undergo some processing, but certainly less invasive than aromatics.

As for types of pipe tobacco, some examples are Cavendish, Burley, Latakia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Perique.

In our article devoted to pipe tobaccos, we went in-depth into the characteristics of each category and type of tobacco.