Brand new to the hobby

IslandCobFog · Feb 28, 2014

Hi all from Lake Stevens Washington here. Just started smoking the pipe flast weekend. I have held an intrest in it for some time and always enjoyed the smell. I have never gotten into smoking cigs or cigars. Dont care for the taste. I bought an MM country gentleman and found some sutliff great outdoors and tabac noir at the local tobacco shop and decided to go with them cause thats all I regognized from the web. Needless to say so far im a bit dissapointed. I don't care for the taste or smell of either one of them. They both remind me too much of cigaretts. Is this just a normal thing for tobacco or am I just not smoking the right blend? I would like to find that tobacco that I have smelled in the past when being around a pipe and taste what all of you are tasting when you talk about it on these forums. I have been watching videos on filling ligjting amd sipping and I dont feel like tjat is the issue. No problems keeping it lit. I am barely sipping on it but it just tastes like cigaretts to me. Please advise me. Also I realize I am in washington and my choices are limited.

fnord · Feb 28, 2014

Brau:
How old are you?
Do you remember your grandfather or other family members and friends smoking a pipe? What did you smell?
You might be a candidate for an aromatic type of pipe tobacco and there are some excellent forum members here, far more knowledgeable than me, on what might be a suitable smoke. I do know that Lane 1-Q is a fav around here for an affordable aromatic tobacco.
Best of luck on your journey.
Fnord

IslandCobFog · Feb 28, 2014

I am 31 yrs old. I remember my grandfathers pipe always resting on the table by his chair. I never saw him smoke it while I was around but he must have because it always smelled so go when I would be playing in the vicinity of it. It was vanilla I think.

apatim · Feb 28, 2014

I am new to the hobby as well... was drawn to it nostalgically for the aroma. I can't stand the taste of cigarettes; I like some cigars but not enough to ever desire one and I don't like the smell.
The pipe, however, hooked me from the second smoke (first smoke I burned my tongue so I came here to learn proper techniques). I can't say that I smell the aroma so much while smoking but definitely enjoy the smell of the tobacco in the tin and the lingering aroma after smoking. I love the taste and the experience.
I suggest giving it a little more time and if you don't love it, don't bother with it.

cortezattic · Feb 28, 2014

I know next to nothing about aromatic tobaccos, but welcome to the forums! :clap:

(Like the rest of us, you may well be on a never ending journey in search of that perfect blend.)

sfsteves · Feb 28, 2014

Welcome to PM ...
That Country Gent is a good first pipe and one of the great advantages it offers is that it will allow you to taste the tobacco pretty cleanly, without the influence a briar has ...
If I were you, I'd check out the (admittedly limited) local stores ... Tobacco Patch, Rain City, Tinderbox, Cigar Plus, and Fairhaven Smoke Shop ... skip Kirstens as they have an extremely limited selection of tobacco ... for you, the Tinderbox in Tacoma is a bit of a long haul, but it might be the best alternative for selection and knowledgeable folks working there ... my Seattle experience is a bit dated, though and a lot has changed since I was there last several years ago ...
Probably the biggest favor you could do yourself is to hook up with the Seattle Pipe Club guys ... last I knew, they were meeting on the second Wednesday night of every month at Smokey Joe's in Fife. Those guys WILL know where your best choices are and will be able to offer you a wealth of knowledge and experience ...

apatim · Feb 28, 2014

BTW, I've been smoking the MM Country Gent since I started a couple of months ago... fine smoke (as far as I know) but I don't care for the look of a cob pipe so I'm looking to move up now. My wife and I visited a local shop to see firsthand and she seemed genuinely enthused about the different options. I'm fortunate to have her support! She even asks for a puff on occasion!

lucky695 · Feb 28, 2014

Vanilla without being too vanilla would be 1Q. Try 1Q. It has a good aroma that others don't dislike and is a good starter IMO.

IslandCobFog · Feb 28, 2014

I work in south seattle so rain city cigar is near by. I know they have quite a few house blends. Does anyone kniw if they carry a good aromatic I should try. I will be going there after work tonight. So last night the wife told me I coukdnt smoke in the house anymore because she hated the smell if the sutliff. She too thought it smelled like cigaretts.

allan · Feb 28, 2014

Braumeister
Welcome to the forum!
As far as 'smell' is concerned, the smoker almost never smell what the surrounding folks are exposed to. The latakia blends I love so much I have been told don't 'stink' to some significant other members of my family LOL
Most folks are initially drawn to aromatics because they leave a pleasant room note, or 'smell', and one would think that by smoking that particular blend, you would taste what you are smelling.
Not so.
Ask your local tobacconist to sell you an assortment of aromatics that you can try at home and see which one pleases you the best.
Good luck!

fadingdaylight · Feb 28, 2014

If you can make the drive out to the Tinderbox in Tacoma, you could try the bulk Vanilla Black. Its got some nice flavor. Another thing you could look into, what I just did, is joining the Seattle Pipe Club. They have monthly meetings in Fife, where you could get a chance to sit down and talk with other pipe smokers.

allan · Feb 28, 2014

Fadingdaylight

is joining the Seattle Pipe Club

Excellent suggestion. You will be able to try a huge amount of different blends in friendly company.

pylorns · Feb 28, 2014

Try Sutliff's Molto Dulce you'll get more taste, or try Maple Street.

IslandCobFog · Feb 28, 2014

So after searching around this forum and the web I have found that others thing the great outdoors tastes like cigaretts also. Is there blends that dont taste like cigaretts out there is is it just how I am tasting tobacco?

lucky695 · Feb 28, 2014

i don't know... I can honestly say that I have NEVER smoked a cigarette. Braumeister...check your private messages.

sfsteves · Feb 28, 2014

braumiester asked:

Is there blends that don't taste like cigarettes out there (or) is it just how I am tasting tobacco?

Individual taste is, well ... individual ... your taste profile and that of anyone else are always going to be two different things ... BUT, there are hundreds if not thousands of different blends out there and I can assure you that there IS something out there that is going to work for you ... finding the ones that work best for you is going to be the challenge ...
Which is the beauty of going to a local shop such as Rain City or Tinderbox where they do a lot of blending ... they will be able to guide you through the various components of the most common blends which will allow you to cut through the confusion with the greatest possible ease ... also, by hooking up with the Seattle Pipe Club, you will be exposed to local guys who have to navigate the same restricted waters you do in terms of obtaining many of the most common tinned blends on the market ...
Finally, for what it's worth ... like many others here, I've enjoyed pipe smoking for a long time ... some of my early favorites are no longer on the market, so finding others is something that I and all the others here all do ... I think of it as the quest for the Holy Grail ... an elusive search that will never be truly completed ...

plateauguy · Feb 28, 2014

Welcome Braum! My daughter lives in Lake Stevens - I'm on the Enumclaw plateau. I sympathize with your TAD choice limitations.
Do yourself a favor, make a day of it and drive down I-5 to Tacoma. Take the Hosmer exit and go to the Tinderbox. The price isn't cheap, but I've never been disappointed in the quality. They'll open the canisters and let you smell to your hearts content, the only thing missing is a glass of wine and a leather chair. My favorites are Wilshire (Lane 1Q) and Sunset - but talk to the clerk and discuss your needs. After you've had a few successful smokes under your belt, go to smokingpipes.com and 4noggins.com. Both companies will treat you well and have bulk tobaccos available. That way you can try 1 or 2 oz without a hugh cash outlay while you are learning your tastes.
Good Luck! Next comes the PAD!

smeigs · Feb 28, 2014

smoking a pipe and smelling a pipe are completely different. People are often disappointed when smoking a pipe because it doesnt taste like the smell of the pipe. It takes a while to appreciate the different tobaccos and find your own "nitch" in the tobacco and pipe world. Dont give up. Get some better tobaccos and different pipes and hopefully you will find a great combo. Good luck.

IslandCobFog · Feb 28, 2014

Thanks for the great info. I wont be abke to make the tobacco shop tonight but will try for in next week. I am intrest in the lane 1q and have heard lots of good things about it on the web. I hope I can find a good combo because I really want to be a pipe smoker.

darkcloud · Mar 8, 2014

Braumiester, I sympathize with you as I have also been disappointed with some of my tobacco purchases. I recently tried Dunhill My Mixture 965, which is an English blend, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Like you, I'm also a bit of a newbie. Have patience and something appropriate for you will come along.

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