What's With.....W.O. Larsen

[blendtobac]

Russ, are you saying if the bottom fell out of the aromatic market tomorrow you would pack your bags and go home?

No, that's not what I meant. But manufacturers whose lines are primarily aromatics would lose so much business that they wouldn't be able to continue. I guess we'll see what happens if they ever tell us that adding flavors to tobacco is prohibited.
Russ

 

[mawnansmiff]

Right on Russ.
"I guess we'll see what happens if they ever tell us that adding flavors to tobacco is prohibited."
Not wanting to be a doom monger but I believe I read somewhere that is precisely what has happened in some European countries. Even here in the UK menthol cigarettes are now a mere memory.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yep, I feel very anomaly today.

Go to a pipe show and stand down wind; vanilla, chocolate, apple, cherry, and that melted waxy smell. Setting in the lounge of the Briary, I am always more shocked to hear a customer ask for something other than an aromatic. While aromatic smokers care nothing about pipe clubs, hanging out and smoking in the lounge, nor even talking much about pipes, they load up weekly on their aromatics and smoke them in the privacy of their abodes.
I'm not sure why it is that aromatic smokers don't participate in social smoking, or even discussions. Of course I am just stereotyping. But, they do make up the majority in swarming numbers. On here, we do get aromatic smokers, but mostly they don't engage much in tobacco discussions, and their reviews tend to get little response. Maybe aromatics makes people cranky? ::

 

[wilson34]

I love smoking aromatics, but I also love smoking non. I think one reason so many like to smoke aromatics is the smell and scent it gives off. My neighbors complain a lot less and even compliment my tobacco when I am smoking an aromatic. And in this society where tobacco is taboo. I have found, people are a lot more tolerable when they can tolerate the smell of the smoke, plus after 20 years of smoking Marlboro's Reds. I like the taste of aromatics-it's a nice change of pace.

 

[spartan99]

because most of their blends are aromatics and most pipe smokers rather smoke natural tobacco!

As others have pointed out, it's the other way around, but the non-aromatic smokers are much more interested in talking about it on the internet. The aro guys don't post oenophile-style tobacco reviews.
On a related note, one of the biggest review tropes is to say that a given tobacco could be an all day smoke. Sometimes it seems like half of the reviews for mid-strength virginias, Englishes, and non-aromatic burleys make this claim, but the only all day smokers I know are aro guys. They will happily try whatever boutique tobacco you have on hand, but they are otherwise single blend guys whose daily operations consist of converting Black & Gold, 1Q, Prince Albert, or something along those lines into ash.
The guys who smoke a bowl or two a day all have arsenals of tobacco.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"The aro guys don't post oenophile-style tobacco reviews."
Perhaps this is because there really isn't much to write about?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[judcole]

I discovered Larsen a while back, when I got a tin of one of their limited runs in the goody bag at the fancy dinner at the Chicago Pipe Show a couple of years back.

I must admit I approached it with some trepidation - I am not an aro guy. But I finally popped it, and it was darned good! It inspired me to get a better pipe for aros - a big Cayuga bent dublin. My current aro is Larsen Signature, which is a very nice blend indeed. I don't smoke a lot of it, but it is a nice change of pace.

If aros are part of your rotation, I would encourage you to explore Larsen. ::