New to Pipe Smoking. Please help?

Typically most pipes will give a bit of a wierd flavor until the cake starts to build up in the bowl. Another tip in learning how to taste the tobacco flavor is to puff the pipe and let the smoke linger for a second or two before blowing it out of your mouth. Another word of advice would be to make sure you're hydrated before smoking the pipe and keep something around to sip on as you sip the pipe. Even a glass of water can help to taste the tobacco better. Also, make sure you're just sipping on the pipe every so often. If you're puffing too often it will heat up the bowl and the smoke and can cause major tongue problems with burn/bite.

Seeing as it is your first smoke of anything, I definitely wouldn't say that your individual taste buds are funky. I have always been drawn to smoking, I loved the idea of it even when I was young. I started sneaking cigars and such when I was 15 (I'm 22 now). I couldn't believe how awful it tasted! Nothing like the smell, just burning something or other. Its like coffee or liquor, it usually startles you and doesn't really taste great the first number of times. It's an acquired taste, a person usually develops a taste for it. It can take weeks, months, or years. I kept at it and it really took me years to actually start enjoying more than just the smoking part, haha. That said I am not a cigarette smoker nor an addicted smoker, but I've smoked enough to really enjoy it now.

It seems those two have already given you some good advice. The other thing to consider is trying different blends of tabacoo. Some of them are stronger and will offer different flavors for the first time smoker. Get you a tin of something then keep a list of the ones you liked over the course of a year and then start building your cellar based on what you know you like if its a English blend heavy Latakia or Virginian blend or more paprik whatever you mouth tells you "yes please more of that". Don't be afraid to try new types the Baccy police are t going to knock your door down if after two bowls of Frog Morton accords the pond you toss it out cause you don't like it. Over all its like they said take your time and find what you as a Pipe smoker like. I've been on pipes for 10 years now and am still finding blends that I'm like "wow I would have never thought ".

You have already been given good advice. The only thing I would add, is the better it smells to others likely the harder and less enjoyable it will be for you. There are a few exceptions but try to find something that is a naturally sweetened tobacco like a light virginia or a german aromatic which tend to not be as sugary and less goopy in your pipe. This will also help a lot with the dreaded tongue bite. Sugars will carmalize with the heat of the flame and tend to burn hot if there is too much casing in your tobacco.
Good Luck and ask lot's of questions. It's the quickest way to move up the learning curve.

the better it smells to others likely the harder and less enjoyable it will be for you.

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Amen.
You've gotten some good advice.Hang in there.

Welcome and good luck! Keep at it!

Welcome, Punkrock. Smoke slow, and enjoy.

Welcome.

I'm not familiar with Peterson's Gold Blend, since I almost never smoke aromatics (the blends that have flavors added to them to smell like chocolate, fruit, coconut, maple, etc.).But whenever I try a new-to-me blend, I do like to check out TobaccoReviews.com to see what the ingredients are (if I can't tell from smoking it) and to see how others are experiencing it. (Here's a link to the Gold Blend reviews: http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend_detail.cfm?ALPHA=G&TID=1898.)
Now, keep in mind that palates and preferences differ widely. (And wildly.) So for almost every blend on the site, you'll find folks who think it's the best thing they've ever put in a pipe and others who think it's vaporous swill. But it will at least give you an idea of what others think, and it might alert you to qualities in a blend that should be there for you to discover. If you're not tasting what most others are, then you know you need to educate your palate and get a deeper understanding of what you're smoking.
And in case you haven't discovered it yet, there are hundreds and hundreds of different pipe tobacco blends available these days. As I said, my preference is for non-aromatics, of which there are many types: English blends (which feature Virginias, orientals, and latakia), straight Virginias, Virginia/perique blends, burley blends, etc. These tobaccos tend to be more flavorful for the pipe smoker than an aromatic (which will smell great for passersby but which sometimes don't have much flavor for the smoker and can tend to burn hot/wet). I've been smoking a pipe for 30+ years, so I'm not sure I'm qualified to recommend a "starter" non-aromatic. But I can tell you that my very first non-aromatic was an English blend from Dunhill called London Mixture. I liked it (and still do). You might enjoy it too, just to see how different blends can be. (Because it won't be anything like your Gold Blend!)
Bob

That plastic taste could be the pre-carb burning off. Was the bowl already black when you bought it? If so, that's probably it. Some bowls are pre-carbed to ease break-in and help cake to develop, which it does, but it can taste funny for the first few smokes. Get yourself some Lane 1-Q or MV-1000, both mild aromatic blends. Your tobacconist will have them or something similar in bulk. Smoke 4 or 5 bowls of that, then clean your pipe with some pipe cleaners soaked in rum or whiskey. Use them to swab out the shank, stem and bowl. Then when it dries, go back and smoke your Peterson blend. You'll notice a big improvement!

Tobacco selection is key. Get as much variety as you can in flavor and type. If you buy locally try different blends by the once. Smoke 4 or 5 bowls and move on. You will develop a taste for what you like. Don't only smoke aromatics. Try Virginia and English blends too. Get a couple cheap pipes. Devote them to types of tobaccos. Have fun!

Strong drink is highly recommended