Aromatic Haters Top 5 Aromatics

[deathmetal]

Aromatics -- of the goopy kind, not the mild topping of Royal Yacht or University Flake -- strike me as an attempt to placate the herd by offering an overly sweetened product with a simpler, "safer" flavor than its natural taste. I think of the McSugarBurgers, soft drinks, wine coolers and other products for mass consumption. For this reason, I'm philosophically averse to sodapop aromatics.
That being said, if I found one I could enjoy, I'd smoke it. C&D Autumn Evening comes closest.

 

[bigpond]

I often wonder if you ever read what you post.

 

[deathmetal]

I can't read.

 

[perdurabo]

My secretary types all the shit I say....If you got offended, Blame her!

 

[perdurabo]

That Buffalo Soldier was magnificent. This Autumn Evening is delicious. If AE was made of any other tobacco, I think It would suck.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The thought has occasionally struck me that the topping on some tobaccos is there to make unpalatable tobaccos taste more like other blends that smokers would have been familiar with at the time. The topping on Royal Yacht makes a stronger African Virginia taste more like a VaPer of sorts. By itself the African Virginias can be bitter strong on the palate. I found that in some of my own processing of my own grown. The plumb of Perique and the anise of a casing for straight Virginias, such as Astleys adds anise as a casing, and so do several other British blenders, all come together for a balanced flavor. Wallace Flake and Petersons UF are similar, but with bolder burleys being amended.
Whereas your soda pop stuff is ammending a less palatable weak burley to taste less like tobacco and more like a Germanic pastry.
When our people were first exploring tobaccos from the Native Americans, they were adding maple syrups and other carbs of sorts to control the cardboard like burn of straight tobaccos, especially around the time we were developing the Cavendish methods. So, it's easy to see how both directions occurred.
Sorry, I was just pontificating out loud, ha ha!

 

[deathmetal]

It all comes down to whether the topping is complementary, or whether it is a flavor replacement.
Although I love a good Strudel. Ever notice how Motzek Strang resembles a Strudel?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

...and an occasional Black Forrest cake is pretty good too.

 

[deathmetal]

I could go for some Stollen about now...

 

[perdurabo]

I think SodaPop aromatic pipe tobacco is a great sub genre. When it's said, you know exactly what is implied. Doesn't mean that you are any less of a pipe smoker, it's just that the Added Flavors are what really pleases you. Something like Autumn Evening (AE is the only soda pop tobacco that I've liked so far) still has that tobacco undertone, but the primary note is the maple/vanilla/whiskey. Ennerdale is a scented aromatic that compliments the virginia's and Burley. The almond/lavender/various fruits/ tonquin really meld well with the tobacco. Subjectivity may be at play here.

 

[michaelmirza]

I like this thread a lot. I don't mind aros so it's good to know which blends you "purists" can appreciate. Adding Cortez, I especially appreciated you recommending and linking to Captain Bob's Blend! I hadn't known about that one so I'm adding it to my list as I love aromatics with latakia. Thanks!

 

[pitchfork]

Anyone here ever try Reiner Professional Blend?

 

[deathmetal]

If we're talking technical aromatics, I'd have to speak up for Irish Flake and University Flake, but they're not sodapop aros.

 

[deathmetal]

Something like Autumn Evening (AE is the only soda pop tobacco that I've liked so far) still has that tobacco undertone, but the primary note is the maple/vanilla/whiskey.

AE strikes me as a great tobacco. The topping is too overwhelming for me, but it's good quality leaf that smells so good I want to eat it.

 

[perdurabo]

leaf that smells so good I want to eat it

I was cooking omelettes with sausage and cheese, while smoking Autumn Evening. With the sausage smell mingling with AE, I thought I was inhaling piles of pancakes and sausages. Reminded me of Waffle House at 3O'clock in the morning after a three or four hour concert. Suddenly I was 22 years old again with hair. The power of Aromatics.

 

[beastinview]

I'm new to pipe-smoking, and I haven't yet met a pipe tobacco I don't like, so I don't really qualify to post in this thread. But one thing that has struck me is that in the whole discussion of aro/non-aro, it seems that the differences in tobacco are so often exaggerated. I don't find aromatic, non-aromatic, and "English" (latakia) blends to be so radically different from each other.
For example, I still can't really detect any discernible flavor in Mac Baren's Mixture Scottish Blend. I believe it's there because it's always listed as an aromatic, but it doesn't taste dramatically different from some non-aromatics I have. I would think this sort of aro would appeal to those who mainly smoke non-aros, so I'm not surprised to see it listed here a few times.
From the way some people describe it, smoking an aro is like smoking a piece of bubble-gum, while smoking a latakia-based blend is like smoking a tire fire. I found both to be delightful and not all that different. I think a lot of people would enjoy a wider variety of tobacco if reviews didn't so often use such strong language in describing the flavors. I was initially scared off from trying a lot of tobaccos that I now really enjoy.
But again, I don't have a refined palate, so perhaps I'll start being as sensitive as others before long. :D

 

[deathmetal]

"Aro" is a wide range between complementary flavors and replacement flavors.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

A buddy of mine dropped by the store today and loaded up my aro pipe with something New from Dan Pipe Tobacco called Choo Choo Train. Smoked slowly, it was the flavor of apricots and... maybe honey? With a slight spicyness to it. Lora came back to my work area and asked me if I was burning potpourri, because it smelled like cinnamon. It did have a very cinnamon smell. I probably won't buy any, but it was an interesting smoke. The only thing that keeps me from buying it is the strength. Like most aromatics, it just didn't have enough nicotine to keep me interested.

I already have almost a hundred pounds of weak Virginia flakes that I know that I can chain smoke all day, and at least get a tobacco taste fix from. But, I know that if I smoked a weak aromatic all day, my tongue would have blisters.

 

[deathmetal]

I agree. Where are the high-nicotine aromatics?

 

[perdurabo]

Where are the high-nicotine aromatics?

1792 Flake?