Tobacco first love

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didache

Can't Leave
Feb 11, 2017
480
8
London, England
Hi all
This afternoon I was lighting up a bowl of my current 'my mixture' blend (2/3 Old Ironsides, 1/3 Squadron Leader) and reflecting on the taste. It suddenly occurred to me that it was not unlike the very first tobacco I ever really loved.
The story: when I started I smoked various otc blends - none of which were very distinguished. I used to buy it at a real pipe shop run by a wise old guy who knew all his customers and was always ready with sage advice and encouragement. One day I went in and asked for my usual pouch. He looked at me a moment, and with a little smile said 'Try some of this instead - I think you'll like it'.
I did like it! I did! It was love at first puff. It was my very first taste of latakia - quite a coarsely cut blend with, I think, a pretty high latakia content. It was called 'Colonel Bogey' and it was smooth as silk. No bite at all, and the creamiest taste in the mouth you could imagine. I do not know if it was one of his own blends or if it was one of those blends sold in bulk to tobacconists to rename what they wished. All I knew was that I was smoking something a million miles from the pouches that had satisfied me up to then.
Please understand that I am not denigrating otc blends - there are many smokers who are content with them and good for them. I can only speak to my own experience - and, to me, it was like being satisfied with a three year old supermarket scotch, and then being introduced to a 16 year old single malt from Islay! It was an epiphany moment, like my first kiss (Oh Kathy, where are you today I wonder??)
As I smoked my own mixture I remembered Colonel Bogey. All that was a long time ago. But still I find myself wedded irrevocably to English and Oriental tobaccos, especially in rich mixtures with a smooth and creamy smoke.
I owe that wise old bird a great deal - had he not sized me up and suggested Colonel Bogey I very probably would have persisted for a while with the pouches and then given it up. Instead, he introduced me to a life time of smoking pleasure. God bless him!
I wonder if others recall their first tobacco love as fondly as I do?
And, if any of you happen to have any Squadron Leader and Old Ironsides knocking about, give it a try!
Mike

 

didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,895
31,635
34
Burlington WI
I'm sure this isn't the post you were looking for, but yes I do remember my first love. After months of doing nothing but trying different blends, I found Carter Hall. Only a couple times have I strayed for a bowl or so, only to become disappointed. It's my first love, and my only love. Smoke it daily.

 

didache

Can't Leave
Feb 11, 2017
480
8
London, England
didimauw - not at all! As I said, many a smoker is more than content with an easily available blend. My point wasn't really about that - it was about people suddenly discovering that tobacco (whether rare or common) which will influence their whole smoking journey from then on. My own day to day blend is St Bruno which is a UK otc. Mike

 

drennan

Can't Leave
Mar 30, 2014
344
3
Normandy
The first bowl that blew my mind was SG Balkan Flake, I got a lovely creamy sweetness but unfortunately the rest of the tin wasn't anywhere near as good as that first bowl however it was only my second ever tin tobacco and SG flakes aren't easy. I've been aging a tin of Balkan Flake for a while and I'm looking forward to giving it a whirl with more experince.
Not long after the SG Balkan Flake I openned a tin of Rattray's Marlin Flake, that was love at first puff and I've been primarily a VaPer smoker ever since.

 

wyfbane

Lifer
Apr 26, 2013
5,117
3,517
Tennessee
I've only been smoking for 5 years, so all my memories are recent and only one is of super old tobacco.
Mind blown 1: The first time tobacco tasted as good as it smelled. Not sure how many of you started pipe smoking from 0 previous tobacco use, but you have to become a 'smoker'. At first, none of it tasted as good as it smelled. Took about 6 weeks to develop into a smoker, where I could taste the magic properly. Oh what a journey it's been since!
Mind blown 2: Dan's Devil's Holdiday: Such an amazing flavor the first time I tried it.
Mind blown 3: SPC Plum Pudding: The beginning of a love affair. Still probably my favorite tobacco.
Mind blown 4: 70's Mac Baren Scottish I got off ebay. Took it to a meetup with metalheadycigarguy. It was awesome tobacco, and mindblowing with that age on it.
Mind blown 5:(My biggest tobacco moment to date)SPC and forum member Anglophile got a tin of tobacco from the 50's and was kind enough to share a bowl with me. I WISH I could remember the name of that stuff. It had the floral scent to it, but wasn't a Gawith thing at all. It just slayed me. The subtleness of the flowery note with the magic of that tobacco. Oh my goodness.
Mind blown 6: XX rope. I can only smoke like 1/3 bowl without becoming green, but that stuff is so tasty it's worth it.
Sorry to have so many moments, but I am an excitable fellow. lol :lol:

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
I've not been smoking a pipe for often either. I liked tobacco, but hadn't found a love. A fellow forum member sent me a sealed 8oz bag of Penzance from 2001. The first hit of was a revelation. It has thick, creamy perfect smoke. The combination of this extreme random act of kindness combined with the sublime tobacco was stellar. Ah... first love :)

 

oldmojo

Might Stick Around
Jan 9, 2017
96
1
Dunhill 965 was my first really enjoyable smoke, and still on my top shelf. I've widened my tastes to Balkans, Orientals and VaPers (and just ordered a burley blend) but if I could have only one (shudder) it would still be 965.

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
When I first started smoking back in 2009 I went with some oct blends and I wasn't too impressed with them so I made my way to a very nice B&M store and bought a few new bulk blends. Two were heavy, goopy aromatics and the other was A.M. Pipe by McClelland. The aroma of the tobacco in the jar was totally different from anything I had ever smelled before. Long story short, that blend absolutely hit the spot and I knew from that point on that I was going to like this pipe smoking business. I started buying all kinds of English blends from there on and I kind of gravitated towards the heavier English blends. I still love Latakia to this day but I'm more of a European aromatic nut now, blends like Condor and St. Bruno really ring my bell these days. Oh and if it's in a plug, I like it even more. Wouldn't that be great if they made St. Bruno Plug? ... a man can dream...

 

weezell

Lifer
Oct 12, 2011
13,653
49,163
1974 HoW Barking Dog! Fell in love with that and Smokers Haven Krumble Kake. Alas, both long gone...

 

kirkland

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 24, 2017
126
1
Revelation back in the 80's. It changed somewhat over the years though, but still was a great smoke. Before it went on the discontimued list I stocked up. I have a few pounds stashed.

 

toobfreak

Lifer
Dec 19, 2016
1,365
7
Is that the original Revelation or the MATCH? I've found the MATCH to be excellent (better than the Epiphany) and have a lot of that stockpiled.

 

aquadoc

Lifer
Feb 15, 2017
2,044
1,522
New Hampshire, USA
I wish I could remember what it was but my first smoke was a blend that came in a tin that had an owl on it and the pipe was my grandfather's Dunhill that he picked up in Europe. No idea what you would call it but it was a bent smooth, sorta smallish pipe that had seen some miles. Both the tobacco, dry as sand, and the pipe were his. And it was wonderful. If I could find it again, the blend would become a daily part of my routine.

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
Unfortunately, these times have as much to do with circumstances as the smoke. This means it'll never be repeatable. This is sad.

 

madox07

Lifer
Dec 12, 2016
1,823
1,689
Hmmm ... my first ever pipe tobacco was an aromatic called 24 karat, a house blend of Pipe World in Austin Texas. I am no longer an aromatic fan, but I have to admit that to this day I haven't smoked a better aromatic than that one. A pity I can no longer get it, since I have moved to Europe. My absolute love in terms of tobacco, however, I have only discovered recently and it is my favorite by a long shot: Ashton Artisan's Blend.

 

didache

Can't Leave
Feb 11, 2017
480
8
London, England
Nate - so, so true and it was something I was reflecting upon. It's like hearing piece of music you love for the first time, or eating something wonderful you've never had before: these experiences are locked into the context of your life at that time. Perhaps it is the same with special tobacco - and continuing to savour it is a form of revisiting those happy or significant moments?
Here's me getting all philosophical :roll:
madox - I have a tin of Artisan's blend, but I have never actually tried it. Time maybe to crack the tin?

 

loomongous

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 12, 2015
119
11
Colorado
I don't have any recollection of what I smoked early on, other than it being an aromatic. That was 37 years ago. I only smoked a pipe occasionally over the years until a few years ago. I do remember the first non-aromatic that I loved and it was OGC. I still enjoy it.

 
M

mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast

Guest
My first love was Escudo. I had heard so much about it, but put off trying it for years. I don't know what I was waiting for, but one day I pulled the trigger and... holy shit! I was in love.

 
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