Top 5 Pipe Tobaccos of 2020

Top 5 Pipe Tobaccos of 2020   

Let’s address the elephant in the room, 2020 was more than complicated due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.  Many of us have had to change our day-to-day habits, several individuals have lost their jobs, and even more have suffered from the loss of family and friends due to the virus.  Nobody, at the start of the year, would have ever guessed our current situation would look as drab as it does.  On top of all the pandemic chaos, Americans have persistent through a tough and interesting election year.  And although the election itself has been decided, we continue to be overrun with crappy political battles that do the exact opposite of putting people in the country at the forefront of decision making.  Alas, we do see hope on the horizon with vaccines beginning to be distributed and business/restaurants beginning to re-open.

For us pipe smokers, the social aspect of the hobby was put on complete hold as many pipe shows and tobacco shops were forced to close their doors or cancel for the year.  Although many organizations attempted to push dates back, the ongoing shutdowns, due to the pandemic, proved too much for pipe smokers to gather in organized fashions.  If we are able to learn anything from this entire situation, I hope that it’s to not take things for granted.  Our time with others, and simple gestures such as hugs and handshakes, should, and will, never be viewed the same.  If nothing else is produced from all the craziness, I hope each of you will, when safely permissible, take the time to visit with family and friends (and not just go through the motions).  We have quickly come to realize, we are not invincible, and life is not a haphazard dream.   

Similar to year’s post, my favorite tobacco list includes my top five tobaccos of the year and my two biggest disappointments.  As with any handmade product that requires personal inference, my thoughts and opinions are subjective and reflect what I enjoy or dislike as a pipe smoker.  You may or may not agree with the tobaccos on either list, and that’s ok.  You too are entitled to an opinion; however, you’re visiting this site to share in my own tobacco enjoyments and disappointments.  So, without further ado, I present my top five tobaccos of 2020 and my two biggest letdowns.  Keen observers of The Pipe Professor webpage will note some old comrades who continue to make the list, while eyeing a few newbies that have appeared. Enjoy!  

Tobacco #5 for 2020

Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding

Info & Overview

Brand: Seattle Pipe Club 

Category: Balkan

Blend Components: Black Cavendish; Latakia; Oriental/Turkish; Perique; Virginia

Flavorings: None 

Cut Type: Krumble Kake

Available Packaging: 2oz or 8oz tin

Price: $15.99 USD (2oz); $39.99 (8oz)

Tobacco Notes:  Although being listed as a Krumble Kake, this tobacco is presented in large, thickly sliced flakes that easily fall apart in your hands if not handled with care. On top of being very tasty, Seattle Pipe Club’s Plum Pudding provides the smoker with a creamy, spicy, fruity sweetness while offering a wonderful room note to be enjoyed by smokers and non-smoker alike. The pleasant smoky characteristic partners well with the Virginia tobaccos to showcase a fresh grassy, molasses sweetness.  Similar to other blends on this list, Plum Pudding continues to be a go-to tobacco for me, as it never fails to deliver an enjoyable smoking experience.  My only fear is that it will soon outprice itself.  I’ve noticed a steady price hike over the last few years (as with many other blends) and wonder when/if it will lose its “bang for the buck” promise.  Fingers crossed the price will level itself out and the enjoyment it provides will continue.    

Tobacco #4 for 2020

Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader Special Edition with Perique

Info & Overview

Brand: Samuel Gawith 

Category: English

Blend Components: Oriental/Turkish; Latakia; Perique; Virginia

Flavorings: None 

Cut Type: Ribbon

Available Packaging: 50g tin

Price: $13.75 (not currently in production)

Tobacco Notes:  Samuel Gawith produces a staple English tobacco blend.  If fact, Squadron Leader is a quintessential example of a classic English blend.  Add some perique, as in the Special Edition listed here, and you have pipe smoking bliss!  This tobacco shows tasting notes of fresh cut cedar wood chips, sun dried grasses, and a comforting burnt campfire essence.  The tobacco’s moisture content is spot on and delivers a wonderfully cool smoking experience.  The only downfall this tobacco has is its availability.  Being a resurrection, spearheaded by smokingpipes.com, the tobacco is typically offered once per year in limited quantities.  Unfortunately, this year, SPC did not offer the blend as in years past (probably just another thing this stupid virus caused us to lose).  Hopefully, 2021 will see another production run of this blend and if it does, I highly suggest you pick a tin or two up to try.      

Video review of Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader Special Edition with Perique can be found here.  Full written review can be found here.

Tobacco #3 for 2020

McClelland 221B Series Arcadia 

Info & Overview

Brand: McClelland Tobacco Company

Category: Oriental 

Blend Components: Oriental/Turkish; Virginia

Flavorings: None 

Cut Type: Ribbon

Available Packaging: 50g tin

Price: N/A (no longer in production)

Tobacco Notes: Several years later, and we all continue to feel the loss of the famous McClelland Tobacco Company.  Anyone who knows me, knows I was very fond of McClelland tobaccos (before they announced their plans to close).  I had steadily built my cellar stock of their tobaccos prior to the insane online crisis that occurred in 2018-2019.  One of the tobaccos I had stored away pre-closure was the McClelland 221B Series Arcadia.  In fact, I managed to purchase several of these tins with, at the time, 8-10 years of age on them.  Now, those tins are 15-20 years old and showing the value of their contents.  McClelland Arcadia is an easy burning sweet and sour Oriental blend that shows notes of dark fruits, earthy woods, black coffee, and herbal spice.  Each bowl of this fantastic tobacco only reminds me that all good things eventually come to an end.  If you are holding back collectable tins, such as McClelland Arcadia, for that special occasion, go ahead and pop them now.  Tomorrow is not guaranteed, as this pandemic has shown, therefore, every day is a special day to smoke a special tobacco.   

Tobacco #2 for 2020

Boswell’s Northwoods

Info & Overview

Brand: Boswell’s Pipes & Tobaccos

Category: English

Blend Components: Black Cavendish; Latakia; Virginia

Flavorings: None 

Cut Type: Ribbon

Available Packaging: 2oz tin or bulk per oz

Price: $13.95 USD (2oz tin); $5.35 (per oz bulk)

Tobacco Notes:  I must admit, although not holding the #1 spot on this year’s list, I purchased more Northwoods pipe tobacco than any other blend (per pound that is) during 2020.  There are some folks who find aging latakia pointless, however, I beg to differ.  Beyond delivering a balanced, silky, flavorful smoke when young/fresh, I find Northwoods to be even better with 3-5 years of age on it.  The enjoyment of the blend, when aged, creates an unapparelled smoothness that only enhances the creaminess from the latakia tobaccos.  In fact, the blend is so creamy and smooth, I would argue some type of vanilla topping has been added (it hasn’t according to the Boswell website).  If you have never tried this iconic pipe tobacco do yourself a favor and pick some up.  Never a disappointment!   

My video review of Boswell Northwoods can be found here.   

Tobacco #1 for 2020

Cornell & Diehl Professor

Info & Overview

Brand: Cornell & Diehl

Category: English

Blend Components: Latakia; Perique; Black Cavendish; Virginia 

Flavorings: None

Cut Type: Ribbon

Available Packaging: 2 oz tin

Price: $10.75 USD

Tobacco Notes:  Those of you who follow my YouTube channel, or know me in any capacity, will not be surprised by this pick as my #1 tobacco of 2020. As I have stated in the past, this selection has nothing to do with the fact that my website is known as The Pipe Professor.  I give a full and detailed overview of how I came across this blend in my 2018 Top 5 Pipe Tobaccos for those who want to reminisce on the story.  This tobacco provides the smoker sweet and sour notes, woody earth, dried grass, spicy fruits, and a lingering musty room note that is suggestive of an old library or bookstore full of dusty tomes.  Maybe it’s my infinite love for books and libraries that make this tobacco’s smoking profile so enjoyable for me, or maybe it’s just complex enough to remain interesting?  Either way, Cornell & Diehl’s Professor has earned my #1 spot since 2018 and continues to be a superstar tobacco for me.  Similar to other tobaccos on this list, I encourage you to pick a tin up in your next order and give it a try.  Personal preference, smaller pipe bowls, sipped slowly, provide the most payoff when it comes to Cornell & Diehl’s Professor. 

Top Two Tobacco Disappointments of 2020

Cornell & Diehl Good Morning

Info & Overview

Brand: Cornell & Diehl 

Category: English

Blend Components: Latakia; Oriental/Turkish; Virginia 

Flavorings: None 

Cut Type: Ribbon

Available Packaging: 2oz tin

Price: $10.75 USD

Tasting Notes: Being a major fanboy of Dunhill’s Early Morning Pipe (I have yet to try the blend since Peterson took over product as I have a fully stocked cellar of the Dunhill run), I was interested to learn that Cornell & Diehl had what they defined as an EMP match in their line-up (Good Morning).  From the start let me be point blank in saying, this is not an EMP match blend.  I did a full review of the blend on both my YouTube channel and The Pipe Professor webpage, but to sum it all up, this blend is about the most uninteresting bland tobacco I have ever smoked.  The beauty of EMP is the balance between the Virginia tobaccos and the English/Orientals.  This balance is non-existent in C&D Good Morning.  I found the blend to be very Virginia forward with the Latakia and Oriental tobaccos having minimal if any presence.  On top of this, the Virginias were very dry tasting, reminding me of burning dead leaves and cigarette smoke (which I am NOT a fan of).  The pipe had to be sipped slowly to avoid tongue bite and the tobacco burned very quickly.  In my opinion, this blend is nothing short of a hoax.  I will not be purchasing it in the future and would not recommend it to any pipe smoker I call a friend.      

 Ken Byron Ventures (KBV) Sakura

Info & Overview

Brand: Ken Byron Ventures (KBV)

Category: Aromatic

Blend Components: Black Cavendish; Oriental; Virginia

Flavorings: Cherry 

Cut Type: Ribbon

Available Packaging: 2oz pouch

Price: $15.00 USD

Tasting Notes: I was introduced to Ken Byron Ventures (KBV) tobaccos this year and must admit I’m on the fence about their blends.  There are several I have enjoyed such as Goblin Mixture and King’s Ransom, however, at $15.00 USD per 2oz, my expectation for quality is of the utmost level, as yours should be.  I have yet to have a KBV blend that met its $15 worth/value.  Yes, Goblin Mixture and King’s Ransom are good, but not $15 good.  Therefore, you can image when I smoked the Sakura aromatic blend, and it tasted like a mix between wet dog and cherry cough drops, I about lost it.  To be fair, I don’t smoke aromatics as much as I used to, but I still make time and space in my rotation to appease my aromatic desires.  With that being said, there is an art to creating a quality, enjoyable aromatic tobacco; Sakura does not adhere to those guidelines.  The tobacco not only tasted bad, the burn was hot and harsh with the topping leaving a lingering essence in the pipe after being smoked (my second bowl I tried in a cob and still disliked the tobacco).  On top of all this, I paid $15 just to have this monstrous disaster fill a good mason jar and ghost one of my briars.  Now, on the upper hand, KBV does have a lot of positives going for them such as their packaging, quickness of shipping, and shipping cost (free).  So, that does make up for a little of the $15 price tag, but I’d rather have a quality tobacco that gave me a good memorable smoking experience than unique packaging.  If you’ve ever considered purchasing from KBV I encourage you to support their small business (it’s the right thing to do during these difficult times); however, stay away from Sakura.  You can thank me later for the heads up.

Again, thank you for visiting The Pipe Professor website.  I hope you have enjoyed my Top 5 Pipe Tobaccos of 2020 and please stay tuned for more reviews and exciting content in the upcoming year.  As always, I hope each of you have a blessed new year and until next time, cheers!

* All tobacco/tin pictures and blend information (excluding tobacco notes) were taken from tobaccoreviews.com, boswellpipes.com, and smokingpipes.com.  The writer of this post is not the owner of the above photos/blend information related to each tobacco and does not take credit for their creation.