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trouttimes

trouttimes

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
5,262
21,715
Lake Martin, AL
I usually keep 4 or so blends in my truck for when I'm out and about. This morning I grabbed a pouch of Carter Hall and fired up a bowl for an hour drive. As many old pipers, this was my regular smoke for years but I haven't smoked it in a while. This time I found myself searching for some depth in this smoke. It really left me flat. I dumped the bowl about half way thru and reloaded my pipe with another favorite, Magus Opus. There it was. The flavor depth I have come to expect. Has my taste changed that much or have I become a snob? The last two years I have "expanded" my cellar greatly with things like Plub Pudding, Navy Flake, etc. has anyone else experienced this?

 
ashdigger

ashdigger

Lifer
Jul 30, 2016
11,383
70,079
60
Vegas Baby!!!
Tastes and preferences change, at least for me. I used to love latakia based blends, until everything I smoked tasted like salt. I then moved to virginias and vapers. Rode that train for a few years. Currently I'm exploring Carter Hall, Velvet, Prince Albert, but most importantly Granger.
Now, do I still smoke Dunhill Flake, Klondike Gold and St. James......hell yes. But for just mindless smoking while driving or working, but still wanting taste...its a Codger for me.

 
cosmicfolklore

cosmicfolklore

Lifer
Aug 9, 2013
34,000
75,783
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
I'm a total snob, and I think it's ok. We should all aspire for the best of things, and we can't have a best without a worst, no winners without losers, and scowling at the losers is the prerogative of winning... correct?
But, on the other hand, I do tolerate a bowl of Carter Hall when mowing the lawn. Whatever that casing is they use compliments the lawn mower exhaust and smells of cut grass and gasoline. But, I would never dream of just smoking Carter Hall for... enjoyment. Pshaw. :puffy:

 
carolinachurchwarden

carolinachurchwarden

Lifer
May 9, 2018
1,687
86
Raleigh, NC
I haven't experienced it yet, but I'm still discovering things for myself. I have yet to feel that unsatisfying smoke from one or the other, but I get a more satisfying smoke at times from one versus the other.
Had some Mac Baren Modern Virginia burn the crap out of my mouth one day

Not with tongue bite, but just this all around mouth burning feeling. It's like I was smoking a tobacco that had been soaked in Texas Pete. I dumped half the bowl, placed on my desk for a future trial. Smoked it a month later with no problems.
Not sure why this happens, but the body wants what the body wants, and if CH does it, then so be it. If not, if the body needs $50 oz. tobacco, then I'm getting a new body or quittin' cause that shit'll be too rich for my blood.

 
briarbuck

briarbuck

Lifer
Nov 24, 2015
2,288
5,494
There's no reason to feel guilty for liking nice things. Often, you get what you pay for.

 
didimauw

didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,966
31,891
34
Burlington WI
Yes it's all on your body. I can smoke other blends, I just don't want to. Like trouttimes said, some times you are looking for that depth and flavor. Where I get that only from Carter Hall. Other blends just don't do it for me. It's a favorite of many people, such as Cosmic and I. Where we just can't get enough of it.

 
npod

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,946
1,034
@trout, as a fellow fly fisherman, here is a reference to ponder. People often say that the big trophy trout are hard to catch because they are "smart". In truth, as research has proven, they are actually hard to catch because they are not smart. They have survived and grown because their brain honed in on how to maximize calories per each bite. This occurs via experience. They spot natural movements of bugs/fish/critters with precision. So if anything acts unnatural they know it's not worth their time or will not yield maximum results. Thus, a perfect cast, perfect drift, perfect retrieve do in fact matter if only to make the fly act as simply natural as possible in hopes the fish will open its mouth.
How does this apply to tobacco? I think that eventually we all learn what tobacco/pipe/accessories/mood will maximize our smoking experience. We become not smart like trophy trout. We just know what we want and what requires the least amount of work. I call it experience, not snobbery. Pipe on fishing brother.

 
timt

timt

Lifer
Jul 19, 2018
2,844
22,730
Snob? I don't think of it that way. It's just that I prefer Virginias and VaPers and the old codgers just don't scratch that itch. Even when it comes to burley, there are more satisfying burley blends with more flavor and nicotine. There are times, like this morning walking the dog when I loaded a cob with LL Ready-Rubbed, when a mild codger is ok. It tasted good but it just won't do the trick most of the time. A steady diet of it would get awful boring for me.

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
I backtracked to codger blends after starting with up-market and then premium blends. I don't think there's a snob question involved, unless you make it so. Codger blends have good things to offer, but they can also tire you out with their limits after a while. A range of blends keeps me happiest.

 
cosmicfolklore

cosmicfolklore

Lifer
Aug 9, 2013
34,000
75,783
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
I think that smoking the better quality codger re-makes by H&H is the pinnacle of snobbery. Like Porsche saying, "we've made our own version of a Pinto, so that you can feel what it is like to drive a piece of shit, without having to get all dirty from driving a used car."

H&H is saying, "you can try the OTC crap, without having to be subjected to the crappy leaf they use."
Ha ha, and to reiterate, I don't think there is a single thing wrong with being a snob. In fact, we should all aspire to enjoy the best things in life.

 
anthonyrosenthal74

anthonyrosenthal74

Lifer
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
733
Enjoying one blend over another doesn't make you a snob. A pipe or tobacco snob is, in my opinion, one who says something along the lines of, "you're not a true pipe smoker unless you smoke a real blend like Penzance in a real pipe such as a Castello." Or something like, "I turn my nose up at your measly little Dr. Grabow and your Captain Black. They are beneath a true connoisseur of the leaf and the briar such as I. Begone lowly wretch with your cheap wooden thing and your dust you call tobacco! Return to the hovel from which you came! You stink of cheap burley and cabbage!" Not sure why I threw cabbage in there, but you get the idea. No sir, you have not become a snob. You smoke what you like in the pipe you like. Nothing wrong with that. :puffy:

 
cosmicfolklore

cosmicfolklore

Lifer
Aug 9, 2013
34,000
75,783
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
No, being a snob is the enjoyment of these things, and detesting the poorer varieties is snobbish. Being conceited is putting down those who are not as lucky.
To say that I only enjoy the best (or that I would never smoke...) is snobbish. Saying that you aren't as good as me because you smoke Carter Hall is conceited.

There's a difference. Long live the snob, and punch the conceited bastard in the face.
But, of course the nuances of language gets lost on some of a rabble around here. :puffy:

 
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