Finally had my first smoke yesterday. It wasn't quite what I expected. It wasn't bad but not as great as I thought it'd be. Is that how it usually is for the first time?
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Pipes Magazine » General Pipe Smoking Discussion
First smoke ever
(34 posts)-
Posted 9 months ago #
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have you smoked any thing else before? ie cigars or cigarettes?
Posted 9 months ago # -
Anonymous
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That depends on just what you expected. I really can't remember much about my first pipe experience, I do remember I enjoyed it. Maybe the tobacco wasn't to your liking. Did your pipe get got? Did you experience tongue bite? There could be many reasons it wasn't enjoyable.
Posted 9 months ago # -
umm dont know i actually enjoyed my first pipe. But then i was a ciggs smoker first
New Zealand
Peter Piper.
Give me the weed, the fragrant weed, My wearied brain to calm; In a wreath of smoke, while I crack my joke, I'll find a healing balm.Posted 9 months ago # -
Have had the ocasional cigar. Never cigs. I smoked captain black out of a Dr. Grabow Grand Duke. The pipe was warm not hot. Little to no younger bit. The biggest thing was I did not taste any real flavor.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Tongue not younger.
Posted 9 months ago # -
having never smoked capt black i cant help my friend
Posted 9 months ago # -
Ahh first times...
Agree with baskervile and depends on types of flavors you are looking for..or being new what you are looking for...as others have suggested get some sample packs of English blends, Virginia blends, Aromatics, etc. Read tobacco reviews here, learning about the differences might help you find your way to what you really might enjoy
I found with starting out, it takes time to learn all the mechanics of pipe smoking, being a long time cigar smoker..pipe-smoking is a whole new level, which I love! I think it was already said here about enjoying the journey;finding your pipes, bacci, packing methods, smoking methods...all become like second nature at some point, I don't even think about it anymore..just know which bacci should be packed which way and in what pipe.
Finding that sweet-spot is GREAT as other pipe-smokers will tell you...I have had QA issues with tins or pack/pipe issues that can turn a GREAT pipe smoking experience to just blah, never give up..because knowing you got to cloud-9 once, always makes you want to return there....any trekkies out there?...The Nexus
The Nexus
The Nexus is an extradimensional realm in which one's thoughts and desires shape reality. Inside the Nexus, time has no meaning, allowing one to visit any time and any place that one can imagine. The entrance to the Nexus was a violent temporal energy ribbon which crossed through the galaxy every 39.1 yearsPosted 9 months ago # -
I know exactly what you have experienced. Smoking something and "tasting" some things, but none of them exactly a flavor experience, and certainly not anything expected.
I would say this. If you enjoyed, or think you might enjoy, the pipe smoking simply for the pleasure of doing so and possibly for the nicotine buzz if you appreciate such a thing, then continue on. If the entire thing was a drag and a disappointment, then no sense doggedly pursuing something of no real value just because you feel you have to.
But, if you continue on and begin to pick up on the nuances of packing, lighting, keeping a bowl lit, etc., you will eventually begin to find some blends, or ingredients, really appeal to you. I like a bit of latikia. Didn't know that until I smoked a blend whose taste I found intriguing (more than just a smoke flavor) and found that the flavor that was getting to me was latikia. Right now, I have no latikia blends on hand. But, i know I would like to pick some up. As well, the Lane 1Q has a really nice vanilla that I can pick up on.
So, it may just take a bit of time to find your own pace. I am not a wine drinker, but I think pipe smoking is a bit like wine or gourmet coffee blends. The first few times you try drinking wine, or coffee, you just "like it or don't". But if you do basically like it, and start drinking it, you find that certain brands or types really set you in a good place, and others are just pretty blah.
"To seek freedom is the only driving force I know. Freedom to fly off into that infinity out there."Posted 9 months ago # -
I remember my first smoke. My first time was in my local B&M.It wasn't like tasting a steak. Smoking a pipe is something you kinda learn what to expect. Once you smoke for a while, and I'd say a while is a few months, you start to understand what to expect. Then you'll enjoy it more. So I'd say your putting for par.
"A pipe gives a wise man time to think and a fool something to stick in his mouth." - C.S. LewisPosted 9 months ago # -
Just depends on what you are looking for. I find Captain Black (white label) to be quite enjoyable. Try different blends and you may find something that suits you.
Mason
And though it is much to be a nobleman, it is more to be a gentleman. - Anthony TrollopePosted 9 months ago # -
The first couple of smokes for me were great. They got much better after I quit smoking drug store brand tobaccos. Prince Albert is the only one I still smoke on occasion. My personal experience is there are much better tobaccos out there that come stock with a deep rich experience that you cannot really find at Walgreens or the local grocer. I know there is a reason the drug store brands have endured, but then again cigarettes are the most popular form of tobacco.... Point being just because it is there doesn't really make it great.
Keep searching, and broaden your horizons. Great things will come.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Also you'll prolly have to break in your pipe a bit first. I'm in the same boat as you as I just started a little less than a month ago, and my first smoke, while enjoyable for the most part, didn't have very much taste. But by the second bowl I was tasting the different flavors a bit, and the more often I smoke the same blend, the more flavors I discover.
Posted 9 months ago # -
As a good rule, blends like Captain Black and other aromatic blends dont have a lot of actual flavor on the tongue, but their excellence is in the smell that they produce. Aromatics smell good for everyone else in the room that may not be used to you smoking. Other blends like Virginias, English, Latakia, and Perique all have a distinct flavor on the tongue, and in some cases, through the nose. I myself like aromatics because they have a simple taste and can be enjoyed with little thought or maintenance. As for the pipe you have, I own several Grabows and love every one of them, but again, this is something that varies from person to person. I had to practice with a pipe for a little while before I really started to enjoy it. By any means, dont let this first experience put you off of pipe smoking. If you stick with it for a while, Im sure that the rewards will be plentiful.
Posted 9 months ago # -
I agree with Matchstickman.
IF you expect the tobacco to taste like it smells either in the pouch (Tin Note or Pouch Note) or what it smells like when someone else is smoking it (Room Note) then you may be disappointed.
However; (It seems that I'm record that skips tonight) If you would like something that actually does taste like it smells (Room or Tin Note) then you might try this wonderful "Vanilla" Aromatic Flake... Mac Baren Vanilla Cream FlakeDon't give up... Your journey is just beginning. Learn the basics and a whole new world will open up to you.
Posted 9 months ago # -
I have just recently started picking up nuances and flavors in tobacco. It takes a long time to get to this point. I think that if you want an easy starter pipe then you should try a meer (no breaking in is necessary). My first real pipe was a meer-lined one.
Posted 9 months ago # -
Remember the first time you got your groove on? Great, but Coulda done certain things better. Very similar here. On my first pipe experience, It was with E-Bay pipe and some CBW. Loved it, but knew instantly that I had to work on some things. I did and am sure now that I will always be a pipe smoker. This is one hobby where age and experience count in a big way!
BTW, I'm not a badass, I'm just socially awkward. – BillyZoomPosted 9 months ago # -
Remember the first time you got your groove on? Great, but Coulda done certain things better
yeah, I didn't know about the left hand thing.
Posted 9 months ago # -
my first time was great
Posted 9 months ago # -
I'll never forget her. Good old ...................Whazzername.
If at first you don't succeed you are running about average.Posted 9 months ago # -
Remember the first time you got your groove on? Great, but Coulda done certain things better
yeah, I didn't know about the left hand thing.
Posted 9 months ago # -
My first time was just a week and a half ago. I am a cigar smoker and wanted to try something new. I am enjoying the pipe quite a bit, although I know that my technique is lacking. I smoke once a day, usually in the evening, and I have had a few times where I only light a couple of times and then a few where I'm lighting every other minute. Right now I'm working on a container of Sutliff Blend No. 5 and I rather enjoy it, both the taste and the tin note. I'm not really sure what kind of room note it has as I don't have anyone hanging around to tell me!
One question, is it better to have a dedicated pipe for each blend that you smoke, or is it ok to switch back and forth on the same pipe?
Posted 4 months ago # -
Captian black is wet when u first buy it, so add that to smoking in an unbroken pipe, prob did not leave a very memorial experience but... keep at er mate, I think it took me bout 7 yrs to come to luv the pipe. but i also smoked cigs for yrs so that kept me back some too. Hang in there mate an ull live long and enjoy. Happy puffin!!!!!
Now i gotta larn how to reed and rite goodPosted 4 months ago # -
It might be your tobacco.
But it might be that you're just not used to ingesting your tobacco either. A lot of the smoke residue ends up in your throat and stomach, and to someone who isn't accustomed to it, it can make you feel a little uneasy.
I only picked up smoking a pipe again around Thanksgiving. The first few pipes were a bit of an adjustment, just like anything new to your system. And it took me a few weeks before I tried some tobaccos that I actually have come to savor.
Never had Captain Black myself. But if you're looking for flavor, there are definitely some tobaccos out there that will suit you. You probably want to try some English blends
Esoterica Penzance has a bunch of flavor. It seems the reviews say Seattle Pipe Club's Plum Pudding has a very mild flavor, and maybe it isn't an overwhelming taste, but it's still very good.
@jew_jitsu - You may notice some "transferance" of flavors if you don't clean your pipe very well. Plenty of people though have a pipe for aromatics, a pipe for English blends, etc.
I clean my pipe after every smoke, nothing major but it gets a pipe brush and a swabbing so there isn't a lot of lingering stuff left in the pipe afterwards.
Oh and I ought to mention something that took me a lot of smokes before I realized ... the drier your tobacco is before you pack it, the less condensation build up you will get. That stuff is what really cakes up a pipe (in my experience). I've been in the habit of setting out a couple of fills of tobacco to dry for an hour or two, ever since it was originally suggested.
And I'll add that these are just my observations, I'm not an expert, like some of the guys on this forum.
"Under all speech that is good for anything, there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as eternity; speech is shallow as time."
Thomas CarlylePosted 4 months ago # -
Welcome to the forum, jew_jitsu.
I think one of the best things you can do as a new piper is to be on this board. There is a ton of knowledge to be found and everyone is friendly and willing to share. I have been a pipe smoker on and off for close to 30 years but just recently took it back up. While I know quite a bit, I have learned a lot from the members here in a fairly short time. It's a great place to be.
Posted 4 months ago # -
portascat
CBW is big on room note and light on flavor. If you're a cigar fan you may want to give some latakia blends a shot and go for the flavor of the tobaccos in the blend. Penzance, Squadron Leader, Frog Morton, Magnum Opus and Black House are all great blends.
Posted 4 months ago # -
One question, is it better to have a dedicated pipe for each blend that you smoke, or is it ok to switch back and forth on the same pipe?
Dedicated pipes are not necessary. Some people (like me) maintain dedicated rotations - a latakia rotation, a Virginia/burley rotation. Others don't. I have one dedicated pipe, because it smokes that blend beautifully.Thought in the early morning, solace in time of woes,
Peace in the hush of the twilight, balm ere my eyelids close
Rudyard KiplingPosted 4 months ago # -
I'm a newbie too, so takes this fwiw....
Tomboo: if you smoked the occasional cigar, listen to these guys for advice. They know what they're doing (sort of
). Spend the $15-20 on a good tin. I'm a cig smoker and tend to gravitate towards burleys and Virginia's. If you llke some flavor or aromatic, MacBaren Vanilla Cream is definitely one i've come to like a lot. But let it dry out for an hour or two like zanthal said. I do the same and it has two advantages: one, less moist so easier to keep lit, two, since it's easier to keep lit, less steam since you're puffing less to keep it going. And hence less hot feeling on the tongue (tongue burn is not the same as tongue bite). A cigar smoker who smokes the occasional pipe told me he smoked purple cow from Cornell & diehl. But I have neither tried it, nor smoke cigars, so take it just as a hunch.@jew_jitsu: welcome. I don't have all that many pipes yet, but I did notice that smoking my two heaviest aromatics, MacBaren vanilla cream and Peterson holiday blend, it leaves somewhat of an aftertaste, even with running a cleaner through and wiping the bowl. So I've decided to break it up at least in "aro pipes" vs. "non aro pipes". After all, I don't want to taste vanilla when I'm smoking a straight Burley or Kendal Kentucky.
Again, just the two pennies from a guy who's learning.
"The fact is, squire, the moment a man takes to a pipe, he becomes a philosopher. It's the poor man's friend; it calms the mind, soothes the temper, and makes a man patient under difficulties. It has made more good men, good husbands, kind masters, indulgent fathers, than any other blessed thing on this universal earth."
-"Sam Slick, the clockmaker" aka T.C.HaliburtonPosted 4 months ago # -
Thanks for all the advice guys. I'll have to try setting out some tobacco to let it dry a bit first. Until I get another pipe, I'll just have to give a good cleaning when switching between aro's and non aro's.
Posted 4 months ago # -
A new pipe smoker has at least two strikes against him - probably a new pipe yet to be broken in, and a selection of tobacco brands and mixtures all telling him they are the best.
New fellow, it may be years before the right pipe and the right tobacco meet for you. Don't give up.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I almost gave the pipe up back in the day for the same reason. It was okay, but nothing amazing. Was it really worth shivering outside? (I took it up in January) Turned out that the tobacco recommended to me was mild, bland and uninteresting. After joining up here, I got my hands on some different blends, including my first English. Then the TAD and PAD kicked in and it's been smooth sailing.
Simon
Posted 4 months ago # -
@tomboo, you are me in 1971. My first pipe was a little one from Georgetown Pipe called a Beastie, (I still have it) and my first bowl ever was... Capt Black. I smoked the whole pouch in about 4 days. I was a cig smoker, Kools, and I expected a cornucopia of flavor from my pipe. It didn't happen, my palate was not set to grasp what tobacco had to offer. It is NOT cig smoking where you just suck it in. It is smoke, the act of it, breathing and savoring it in the mouth. It is slower, more time consuming than, sucking it in, I just didn't know that then. In fact my next tobacco was Balkan Sobranie and I just hated it. Yes, the stuff of legend was terrible. My 3 friends and I all smoked pipes so we just kept going all not wanting to be the quitter of the group. Later in life I learned that if one of us had quit, we all would have but, to move on, I bought more of CB and BS to smoke and guess what? I found more flavor and nuances in the smoke as I went on. I found BS to be the wonderful stuff we all claim it to have been and I smoked, I am sure a hundred tins of it. So the meaning of this diatribe? Keep going, try everything and one day, bliss will happen.
There is nothing like being left alone again, to walk peacefully with oneself in the woods.
To boil one's coffee and fill one's pipe, and to think idly and slowly as one does it.Posted 4 months ago # -
I agree with Lawrence. Try out the Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Flake. That is a real treat. You have to try out different blends, however it really shouldn't be forced. I enjoyed it from the first puff, however I was and still am on occasion, a cigar smoker. Try out a few blends and keep at it for a bit, you'll start to really love it, I would think. Good luck!
Posted 4 months ago # -
As a new guy myself, I think the greatest advice has been said by several members: Hang out here and learn. I've already tried so many things mentioned on the forums. Some I like and some not so much (and those I'll go back and try again!). I've tried drying, "blending," DGT, you name it! Keep on keeping on! My most recent first was Half&Half. Loved it from the get go! I smoke a lot of OTC as that fits my budget right now, but my son and I have tried some bulk and higher end tins too. I am more relaxed, and when I have the opportunity to smoke with my son, it's just great!
By the by, my "first" first was oak leaves wrapped in paper towels!! LOL! Stooopid kid!
"Let them all go to hell except cave 76!"
"There can be no fear sir! Go forward with faith in the briar!!" OTD 2-15-12Posted 4 months ago #
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