Whether you want complete control over your cigarettes or are looking for a handmade experience you can take with you, hand-rolling tobacco is a popular option for people who are dipping their toes into the smoking world.
An all-round smoking experience that combines the convenience of cigarettes with the ritual of a pipe or cigar, hand-rolled cigarettes using your own blend of tobacco is a routine type of pleasure.
However, because there are so many rolling tobaccos available, it can be difficult to know where to start, especially since you need to roll a cigarette before you can try out the tobacco.
This is where our expertise and connoisseur tastes come in, as we have compiled a list of ten of our favourite rolling tobaccos, with a range of different brands, types, tastes and blends to consider.
Rolling your own cigarette is often the first step beyond smoking a packet of cigarettes, but why should you take the time to roll your own rather than have a box of smokes to hand?
Everyone has their own reasons, but here are some of the most common we hear.
Whilst Oscar Wilde once wryly noted that people know the price of everything and the value of nothing, it is perhaps unsurprising that one of the big reasons to roll your own is to save money on cigarettes.
Filters, papers, loose tobacco and a rolling machine will typically cost you less than a packet of cigarettes, but the ritual of putting a cigarette together often means that you end up smoking less of them in a sitting.
The big advantage of a cigarette is that a set of flavours are chosen for you so you do not have to spend time sorting out a blend you want. The big disadvantage is that the flavours are chosen for you.
Control is a huge part of the tobacco smoking experience, and selecting your own blend, sprinkling it yourself and rolling the cigarette to your satisfaction is a huge part of the joy of hand-rolled cigarettes.
Many tobacconists will sell rolling tobacco, but as with pipe tobacco and cigars, it is best to choose a supplier you can trust, with a significant selection and a reputation for quality.
We can supply everything you need to roll your own in one place, including filters, rolling papers and affordable rolling machines, ensuring that you have everything you need to get you started.
Finally, ordering online in bulk reduces the cost per cigarette if your priority is value.
In no particular order, here are ten of our favourite rolling tobacco pouches, with a wide selection of brands, strengths, flavours and experiences to choose from.
Completely additive free, this blend of traditionally grown Virginia tobacco gives a mild, earthy taste for a pure, unadulterated smoking experience.
The original additive-free rolling tobacco brand, American Spirit is still one of the best for beginners, providing a smooth, mild and mellow smoking experience that serves as the perfect introduction to hand-rolled cigarettes, as well as being well suited to occasional smokers.
Originating in the beautiful Lake District, Auld Kendal is a pure, easy-to-roll blend of fine-cut Virginia tobaccos, providing a delicately sweet flavour and an indulgent smoking experience made with some of the finest tobacco available in the world.
A perfect balance of quality and affordability, not least because it comes with a pack of rolling papers, this mild-to-medium strength tobacco is built on a base of Virginia tobacco for a welcoming, familiar taste.
One of the world’s most famous tobacco brands, Marlboro’s rolling tobacco pouches provide the same refined, smooth experience in an experience you can curate yourself.
Its nutty undertones and mildly-sweet flavour profile are the result of a careful mix of Virginia, Burley and Oriental tobaccos in a blend that provides a lighter experience than most rolling tobaccos.
One of the more innovative rolling tobacco brands on the market, Riverstone uses a bespoke cut for its tobacco pouches that is easier to roll than most on the market, which is aided by including a pack of rolling papers.
The even burn produces a satisfying, cigarette-like draw and flavour, making it ideally suited to people stepping out of the confines of the cigarette for the very first time.
A reliably smooth and mild tobacco blend, Gold Leaf manages to balance strength and mellowness to create an everyday rolling tobacco suitable for any smoker, whether you smoke an occasional hand-rolled cigarette or are a connoisseur of the craft.
Probably the first name associated with rolling tobacco, and a familiar sight in tobacconists around the world, Amber Leaf is reliable, easy to roll, smooth, mild, slightly nutty and provides an even burn for an ideal smoking experience every time.
A smoother variation of classic Golden Virginia, Bright Yellow provides the distinctly rich flavour whilst also being less harsh in the draw, easier to roll and providing an ideal smoking experience regardless of whether it is the first time you have rolled your own or the hundredth.
A robust, earthy tobacco taste, Drum is a stronger rolling tobacco than many on this list, but retains many of the sweet notes that make Virginia rolling tobaccos so special to knowledgeable connoisseurs of the craft.
