About To Give Up On Non Aromatics

[rdoss16]

So fairly new to the hobby but have been trying every blend i can get my hands on. have acquired a handful of pipes i rotate and have really been focusing on my cadence and breathing. I feel like im really hitting my stride and sipping rather than puffing. Its all coming together. Whenever i see advice to new smokers its to not start with aromatics as tongue bite, etc can be an issue. I have yet to really suffer any tongue bite to be honest.
My big issue is taste. i loooove aromatics and have jars on jars that i rotate. i feel like my palate is gettin better at identify flavors and im happy after every bowl of aromatic. the flavors i am enjoying are why i came around to pipe smoking. Now when i try non aromatics, i seem to get the same bland "cigarette" taste. i dont get the "grassy" bright notes or any of the tasting notes i read about. Its hard to articulate, but i feel like theres a bit of pressure with the community to step up to non aros. ok maybe not pressure but the thought that "true" smokers focus more on non aros. Aros seem easy to identify and enjoy, but non aros require a more cultured palate. maybe Im on an island here but anyone else have this same feeling? any long time smokers gravitate mainly to aros? apologize for the rambling post.

 

[jaytex1969]

If you are happy smoking the aro's, then stick with it. We are all different.

Put those non-aro's in a jar and check back in 6 or 8 months, just in case.

Pay no mind to those who might tell you otherwise.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have never understood when someone wants to taste tobacco and then complains that it tastes like cigarettes, which is made of tobacco. But, I don't understand much of anything. puf

Well, good, smoke aromatics. Someone has to. Ha ha!! Smoke what you like, like what you smoke.
I don't feel compelled to talk someone into liking what I like. In fact, if everyone would just stop smoking my favorite blends, I would appreciate it.

 

[spartacus]

I started with aros. But after time my tastes changed. Only smoke the occasional aro now. Jar up the non-aros like Jay said and I bet you will enjoy them down the road.

 

[lawdawg]

I smoke a lot of the fancier and more expensive non-aromatic blends much of the time, but lately what I've been enjoying the most this past week or two is Sutliff Crème Brulee, an inexpensive oily goopy aromatic puf

While I'm confident most of the forum would agree with your point about the consensus that "true" smokers focus on non-aromatics, I think the negative view towards aromatics is changing a bit, at least to the point where aromatics aren't simply dismissed out of hand.

 

[mso489]

Like many, I started with aromatics years ago, with long hiatus of not smoking. When I got back to pipes about 2002, with very moderate smoking, I tried some aromatics that really burnt me, literally ... tongue and gum bite, chemical burn. These were classy blends. When I moved to non-aromatics, even full strength blends, I had little or no bite or burn. After a long stretch of only non-aromatics, I tentatively tried some tobacco forward aromatics as a variation in my rotation. Now I smoke both, moderately. I still prefer the non-aromatics, but like some selected aromatics too. You can't tell your taste buds and sense of smell what to enjoy, so you have to go with your own experience. If you don't enjoy, don't (don't!) smoke it. In your smoking area, you are the king. If it doesn't make you happy, banish it.

 

[hauntedmyst]

but i feel like theres a bit of pressure with the community to step up to non aros. ok maybe not pressure but the thought that "true" smokers focus more on non aros.

Nope, true smokers smoke what makes them happy. If someone can smoke straight virginia and taste berries, varieties of woods, hay, beef stroganoff and chocolate sundays in them, more power to them. I can't. I enjoy aros and Englishes but it took me 20 years for my tastes to flip and for me to like English.

 

[cigrmaster]

When I am in the mood for an aromatic I smoke Molto Dolce and Blood Red Moon. Other than those two I am smoking Va,Vaper and Vabur flakes and plugs. I do have one aromatic flake I enjoy which is Mac Baren Modern Virginia Flake, quite tasty when I am inn the mood.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

When I am in the mood for an aromatic I smoke Molto Dolce and Blood Red Moon. Other than those two I am smoking Va,Vaper and Vabur flakes and plugs. I do have one aromatic flake I enjoy which is Mac Baren Modern Virginia Flake, quite tasty when I am inn the mood.

+1 for the MacBaren Modern Virginia. I've only had one tin of it but I gladly smoked it all. It was full of sweet, juicy flavor and behaved like a normal Virginia flake.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

but i feel like theres a bit of pressure with the community to step up to non aros.

My very first venture into a pipe shop was one ran by an 80 year old man that had three jars on the counter. One was Captain Black, one was an English, and the third he said is for more "experienced" smokers. He told me that I shouldn't use it as I was still learning... it was a cherry aromatic. So, not wanting to be a pussy novice, I threw my money on the counter and demanded the one for more experienced smokers. He said, but it's bitey. You really have to know your pipe... I cut him off, the old bastard... "you're not going to deprive me of an experienced smoker's tobacco. Now, I want 2oz. Pack it up old man."
I sat in my car, loaded my pipe, and proceeded to scald the hell out of my mouth.

Now, don't mistake our talk of... tasting, experienced this or that, or even when we say "real pipe smokers..." as to mean that you should aspire to be like us. It doesn't mean that you are any less, or lacking in any way... other than we prefer a more connoisseur variety of tobacco tastes.
Some drink finer wines and some drink strawberry flavored wine from boxes. It doesn't make one any less of a person. puf

 

[jpmcwjr]

Nope, true smokers smoke what makes them happy. If someone can smoke straight virginia and taste berries, varieties of woods, hay, beef stroganoff and chocolate sundays in them, more power to them. I can't. I enjoy aros and Englishes but it took me 20 years for my tastes to flip and for me to like English.

I added the bolding to the above quote. So true. And he may not give a fig as to what another may like.

 

[philipa4]

I purchased a bunch of aro blends when I first got into pipe smoking. As time has passed I sometimes wonder what I was thinking liking some of these blends. What I realize is that my tastes have changed a lot. I now can't stand some of the aro blends I thought were good at the time. I now love Virginia and Va/pur blends the most. I think it just takes time to figure out what you will really like the most over the long haul as your tastes will likey not be what they were at the start of your pipe smoking career.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Smoke what makes you happy, but I'd encourage you to continue trying a few non-aros every once in a while at least. Straight tobacco has a subtle flavor nuance that I didn't pick up on at first. I smoked aros mostly but about 1 in 5 I'd try something new. I began to come around to english blends, then eventually vapers, then eventually straight VAs. Now my cellar is probably 80% non-aro. Tastes change over time. Smoke what you like most of the time, but give your palate a different experience every now and then for the hell of it and you may just find something that opens a door for you.

In the meantime, cease giving a single rat's ass about what anyone else thinks or what a "true smoker" is. This is meant to be a pleasurable activity, not a popularity contest or exclusive clique. If anyone tells you other wise, I would recommend utilizing the quote displayed in my signature below.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Its hard to articulate, but i feel like theres a bit of pressure with the community to step up to non aros.

Not really. I started with Latakia blends and now primarily smoke Virginia/Orientals and aromatics. Smoking something you don't enjoy would be pointless and there is a myriad of aros out there to try!

 

[brooklynpiper]

Some people have bad technique and some people just have gutter palates. I'm kidding, smoke what you like, doss papa, you're smoking a pipe for you. Plenty of people will judge you for smoking, especially up in my neck of the woods, you don't need to judge yourself for what you like to smoke. It all serves you.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

So far I have only had horrible experiences with Aromatics but to notice, all those were widely known OTC brands
I would think some light Danish type of Aromatics by Mc Barens /Orlik might be a nice change of pace especially in the summer

 

[npod]

i loooove aromatics and have jars on jars that i rotate.

Well there you have it. Have at it. Nothing wrong with aromatics. Hell, I tried for years to be a "Virginia" guy because I thought I was supposed to do that in order to be a true pipe smoker of distinction. Turns out I'm a "Burley" guy.

 

[mso489]

My idea of a good aromatic is Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic, not the regular, based in burley with Virginia as a condiment and flavored with three (!) liqueurs. Other good examples to my taste are Iwan Ries Three Star Blue and Edward G. Robinson. But these are just my choices. One or all of these may make you queasy.

 

[anotherbob]

what makes someone a pipe smoker is that they put tobacco leafs in a pipe and burn those leafs. I mostly smoke non aromatics but when I started I smoked only aromatics and a huge part of that was if I wanted tobacco I had cigs and cigars. The aromatic was what made pipes different to me at that point. Now pipes are all I smoke so.... Honestly I prefer aros these days when I am hanging out with people some of who don't smoke at all and the aros seem to have a nice room note that's more widely enjoyed then non aros. p.s. one of my favorite can't live without it blends is an aro. Allegro by Brebbia. And I hate that question what should a newb smoke? Well I need to know their tastes first

 

[sandollars]

Hello,

My name is Steve and I am an Aromatic...