Great Smokes Some Days...and Lousy Smokes on Others????

bowler1 · Apr 23, 2014

I always really look forward to smoking my pipe at night, but am often disappointed. Some nights I find my smoking to be absolutely heavenly, and others it is just not enjoyable--I can't taste the nuances of the tobacco I am smoking and often I am left with a nasty taste.
Tonight is one of those nights....I have tried 3 different tobaccos is 3 different pipes and all taste pretty lousy tonight, despite them being favorite blends in good, clean pipes.
Why is this? I have yet to figure it out. It's not the tobacco, it's not the packing, and I don't think it's the pipe. I think it is largely my palate perhaps, but I am not sure what causes it.
I avoid spicy foods and onions on nights when I am going to smoke. Still just seems like some nights things are just not right and maybe that there is some sort of chemical imbalance that causes the bad taste.
Same goes for my Scotch and Bourbon...just doesn't taste good some nights.
Any thoughts or advice?
thanks

matt

kendodan · Apr 23, 2014

The palate is fickle like that. Have you tried sipping on water as you smoke?

ithelouniverse · Apr 23, 2014

I've found a glass of black or green tea usually clears my mouth. If I've had something especially flavorful ill use coffee before I smoke. I almost always have coffee when I smoke, but it is also a hell of a palate cleanser...

snagstangl · Apr 24, 2014

What you cleaning your stems and pipes with, inside and out side? I found when I was using some oils on my stems that if i didn't clean it off very well once it touched my tounge i couldnt taste smoke for almost 3 hours afterwards.

andrew · Apr 24, 2014

For me it's a combination of the right pipe, dedicated to the right type of blends ie English latakia, sweet va's, vapers, light english, etc... Add to that perfect moisture level, which is quite hard to keep at a content level of perfection. Add to that having a clean pipe that's rested long enough in between smokes. It's definitely a balance that takes a long time to achieve. If a blend is too wet it tastes like crap, if it's too dry it tastes like crap. This can fluctuate in a few days time easily.

lostandfound · Apr 24, 2014

Your state of mind plays as big of a roll in determining the quality of your smoke, as packing does.
Also, alcohol desensitizes your taste buds. Maybe on your "lousy smoke" nights, you had one too many?

apatim · Apr 24, 2014

It seems to be a part of the mystery and intrigue of the hobby. Golf can be that way... Play great one day and horrible the next. Either way, you want to do it again!
I had a bad smoke last night... Dumped it and tried different pipe and tobacco - still not good so I dumped and watched TV instead. And now I sit enjoying an absolutely delightful bowl of Frog on the Bayou in one of my less favorite pipes. FMOTB has not impressed me all that much until right now... This is great!

mrdottle · Apr 24, 2014

I know I can’t fully enjoy a pipe if I have things weighing on me or feeling stressed. The best smokes I have are in a relaxed state when I put ‘the world’ on the back burner and my pipe in the front burner, i.e., my mouth.
Regarding your issue, you may be imperceptibly under the weather, and perhaps stuffy with a minor cold or nagging spring allergies. Anything affecting your sense of smell will negatively impact the true taste (and pleasure) of any blend.
Additionally, a pipe is fine after a full meal. But if you eat a sweet dessert, candy, or especially chocolate, don’t smoke a pipe until you have cleansed your palate of any sweet aftertaste, i.e., smoking a pipe on a sweets laden palate is not pleasurable.

zekest · Apr 24, 2014

Great Smokes Some Days...and Lousy Smokes on Others?

That's how I bowl...I never which "me" is going to show up at the lanes!
I bowl a 175 one night, a week later I have to work really hard to bowl 100.

numbersix · Apr 24, 2014

The same thing happens to me - though fortunately not too often. I think it's just the way our bodies are. Sometimes I can just sense that my body/palette is off. It's on those days that I reach for my most reliable pipe and my favorite, most reliable tobacco.
FWIW, if this type of thing happens a lot, you might look at your diet. At least for me personally, I have discovered that when I am able to maintain a reasonable balance in foods, I tend to have fewer issues with my palette, body, etc.

mso489 · Apr 24, 2014

I agree that it is mostly a body chemistry fluctuation. Sometimes, if you are a little dehydrated or have some

other minor imbalance, it can put your taste and sense of smell off just enough to make nuanced flavors

in tobacco, beverages, and food off just a bit. Once you're packed and puffing, if things don't taste right,

just let the pipe go out and come back later. A packed pipe will keep fine for a day.

latbomber · Apr 24, 2014

The more experience you get trying different pipe/tobacco/technique combos the more often you will have great smokes. Sometimes I can predict when I just won't have a good smoke with a certain tobacco depending on how im feeling that day.

w4ti · Apr 24, 2014

Have you considered the weather? There is a lot to be said for ambient humidity and temperature and the role it plays while smoking certain blends of tobaccos. For instance, during the fall, when the weather turns a bit chilly and the humidity rises around periods of rain, I've found VA/Perique blends to really sing. I don't know why that's the case, but I believe the weather plays a factor. This idea seems to validate another experience of mine-I don't prefer pipes in summertime heat- but cigars seem much more flavorful then.
Maybe something like this is happening?

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