Aro Baccys vs. Non-aros

I can't explain the prejudice some have against aromatics. I've been an aromatic fan since I began pipe smoking. This year I have gotten into VaPers pretty big, but I still enjoy aromatics. I'm puffing on a bowl of 1Q as I type this. I'm big on smoke what you like and like what you smoke. Not sure about the Creme Brulee.

I dont dislike aro's I just don't care for the fact they rarely taste like what they're supposed to taste like. Aromatic tobacco is just that. Aromatic. It's best enjoyed by everyone BUT the individual smoking. I smoked a few aro's and will puff on the occasional aromatic when the wife is around, bit for the most part it's non aros for me.

This post seems to have been posted twice. ? Anyway, I recently posted A Brief Tribute to Aromatic Blends, for my part of this discussion. Aromatics sustain the blenders, wholesalers, and retailers for us all, aromatic and non-aromatic smokers, and many of us non-aro smokers enjoy aros as a change of pace.

Since I've had a few beers, I'm going to give my take on it.
One is a natural flavor, one is a bunch of chemicals. Why do some people prefer strawberrys over strawberry flavored gelatin?
I know why I prefer dark roasts, black, when it comes to coffee, over mocca-latte-caramel-sugar-high.
For me, it's about nuance. That's what most often gets lost when humans poor chemicals over natures bounty. That's not to say I'm better than someone who likes mocca-latte-caramel-sugar-high (I just think I am). I'd like to think 'better' and 'worse' when it comes to us humans hinges on other things than aro or non aro

This is an odd debate because many who hate aeros dont realize their favorite blends are considered aeros. I normally don't smoke the super sweet stuff but navy flake and mcbaren dark twist are listed as aeros in review sectons and those are my two main smokes. They seem pretty popular with the non aero guys too.

But most pipers (at least on this forum) seem to abhore aros

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On this forum, yes, because we are hobby enthusiasts that crave nuance and variety and appreciate the craftsmanship of it all. In the industry, as noted, aros outsell non-aros 10-1 or something like that.
I think the logic goes something like this: If a blender is planning on dousing a blend with flavors, they have little motivation to use higher quality leaves in the blend. Ergo - aro's = poor quality tobacco.
This may or may not be true, depending on the type of aromatic, the manufacturer, etc. as they certainly aren't all created equally. Some aro's, you can't detect flavor in the smoke and the tobacco flavor shines through and is great quality.
Some guys just really prefer the flavor and nuance of natural tobacco to tobacco that tastes like vanilla/caramel/fruit/whatever, and that is just fine.
But let's be honest with ourselves here - perique has a not-tobacco flavor, and latakia is certainly an "added flavor" as much as a rum topping or vanilla casing is. To my knowledge, all pipe tobacco is cased/topped to a certain degree to maintain consistency in blends or add a certain something to the blend.
This debate is probably as old as tobacco smoking itself. My suspicion is that adding flavor to tobaccos has been going on since that time. Aromatics are certainly older than "english blends" with Latakia, at any rate.
I like everything for what it is and there is a place for it all. If someone belittles you for smoking aro's or acts superior because he "smokes only Englishes" that person is a dickhead - probably in life generally - not just pipe smoking.

It's the same in many hobbies/pursuits, the newly graduated expert must put down anything other than his new level of awesomeness. The fly fisherman putting down bait fishermen, the Jeeper putting down anything that doesn't have lockers and all the rest that money can buy. The truth is many more enjoy themselves without all the geegaws and froofroos.

Indeed. It would be a much better world if we all just minded our own damn business and concerned ourselves with what is happening in our own little sphere of control.

(don't send me any samples!)

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Same goes for me!! - except the exact opposite.
Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake is a great quality bulk non-aro offering. Something like 2.50 an ounce.

As a long time smoker I left aros with acne medicine in my teens! Smoking what used to be English non additive tobaccos you avoid over wet none drying glycol goop! Whether English Scottish,va vaporperique you can vary taste,and other factors without chemicals. My wife dislikes perfumes and perfumed artificial tobacco. Shel

There is a problem with nearly every part of that reply. I can't speak to your wife's dislike of perfume or your complexion, but all the stuff about the tobacco is pretty problematic.

Read the differences between English tobacco and American. Shel

I know Loggers, Firemen and Truck Drivers that smoke aros, maybe someone could give them some pointers, if not on being a man, perhaps on skin care. Oh, I continue to include aros in my rotation, but thankfully, no acne.

1. Aros are only for baby pipe smokers with pimples.

2. Non-aro's don't have "chemicals" (whatever that means)

3. Aro's are goopy messes
Pretty much covers the crap non-aro elitists claim about aro's that try to make aro smokers feel "less than."
So there you go, OP. Take all that, flush it down the crapper, and then happily smoke as much of whatever you like as you want.

The coffee references are the closest analogies I've heard to explain the general feeling of tobacco snobs.
People that use only high quality coffee and grind their own beans to produce a great cup of black coffee

do not feel that the mocha-choca-latte crowd really gets it at all.
Likewise, someone that smokes nothing but high quality, unflavored (as much as possible) tobacco will similarly not

understand why someone would want to add maple, caramel, vanilla or any other tooty-fruity sauce in the mix.
It's a difference of outlook, taste and personal opinion.

Likewise, someone that smokes nothing but high quality, unflavored (as much as possible) tobacco will similarly not

understand why someone would want to add maple, caramel, vanilla or any other tooty-fruity sauce in the mix.

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Yep. And I don't understand why anyone would like deep dish pizza, but I'm not going to make them feel like crap about it. Like what you like and tell me all about it without belittling someone for liking what they like. And it's especially annoying when you attempt to justify your opinion on factual inaccuracies and other nonsense.

Fred (sparrowhawk) asked for reasons concerning why the feeling exists ... I'm not justifying it, just trying to relate the feeling.