I've always smoked aromatics, and only aromatics. I once tried a Latakia blend some years ago. I don't remember what it was or where I got it, but it was a house blend of some sort. It was God-awful. That was the last time I smoked anything with Latakia in it, and for years whenever the subject came up I made it a point to mention how much I hated the stuff. Then I found a tobacco shop this past Thursday while in NC on vacation.
There's a very nice, friendly pipe shop in Wilmington (Davis and Son Tobacconists) that has a wonderful selection of pipes from Dunhills to basket pipes. The owner also makes his own tobacco blends. One of my sons wanted to try an English blend, so while he was sticking his nose in a variety of tobacco jars I was browsing the shop. My son decided to take home a couple of ounces each of two English blends, one called 'Round Midnite and the other Trafalgar Mixture (supposedly a knockoff of Balkan Sobranie). When we got back to the house he lit up one of the blends and began singing its praises. I don't know if it was genuine curiosity on my part or the Drambuie, but just for yuks and giggles I broke out one of my cobs and stuffed the bowl with 'Round Midnite (I wasn't going to crap up one of my good briars with Latakia). From the first light to the very bottom of the bowl I was mesmerized. I'm not going to go into detail about the experience, but all I can say is that I wish I hadn't given up on Latakia so quickly...I missed years of enjoyment. I've been stealing my son's tobacco, so it's already time to order some more. Being a Boswell fan I plan to try some of his blends as well the next time I get down there.
BTW, when I got to the shop in Wilmington I had no intention of buying a pipe, which of course meant that I left with a new pipe. I picked up a Savinelli Oscar Lucite, which I always considered ugly from the web photos, but actually are quite nice in reality. I'll get a photo up in another thread.
There's a very nice, friendly pipe shop in Wilmington (Davis and Son Tobacconists) that has a wonderful selection of pipes from Dunhills to basket pipes. The owner also makes his own tobacco blends. One of my sons wanted to try an English blend, so while he was sticking his nose in a variety of tobacco jars I was browsing the shop. My son decided to take home a couple of ounces each of two English blends, one called 'Round Midnite and the other Trafalgar Mixture (supposedly a knockoff of Balkan Sobranie). When we got back to the house he lit up one of the blends and began singing its praises. I don't know if it was genuine curiosity on my part or the Drambuie, but just for yuks and giggles I broke out one of my cobs and stuffed the bowl with 'Round Midnite (I wasn't going to crap up one of my good briars with Latakia). From the first light to the very bottom of the bowl I was mesmerized. I'm not going to go into detail about the experience, but all I can say is that I wish I hadn't given up on Latakia so quickly...I missed years of enjoyment. I've been stealing my son's tobacco, so it's already time to order some more. Being a Boswell fan I plan to try some of his blends as well the next time I get down there.
BTW, when I got to the shop in Wilmington I had no intention of buying a pipe, which of course meant that I left with a new pipe. I picked up a Savinelli Oscar Lucite, which I always considered ugly from the web photos, but actually are quite nice in reality. I'll get a photo up in another thread.