Recently I've been trying many new tobacco blends and have liked almost none of them. I got some samples at the Richmond Pipe Show, ordered a few blends online, and even got into a drug store blend kick but always seem to gravitate back to my standbys Captain Black (white) or Shiloh from Old Va Tobacco. Anyone else share this burden? Finding themselves almost drooling when reading the descriptions of some of the blends? You read about it, order it, daydream of how wonderful it will taste and when it finally arrives cant get through a bowl of it. I say this half joking because I really do enjoy trying new blends but seriously only have a few that are on my regular list or even on my "would smoke a 2nd time" list.
New Tobacco Blues
- Thread starter vabriar
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Welcome, do not get rid of the tobaccos you don't like! Seal them up and try them again later, your tastes may change, if you still don't like them in 6 months, then trade them off. The key is you might grow to enjoy some flavors you don't care for now.
I have 3 tobaccos that I keep returning to. They are my "rotation". I keep trying new blends, but those 3 are what is in my pipe on a regular basis. There may come a day when another blend makes the grade to be included in that exclusive group. I enjoy the variety of finding and experiencing new tastes and I have only found a handful of tobaccos I truly hate. Most are just not good enough, for me, to buy more of. My 3 include a Virginia, a Latakia , and a aromatic (if Grousemoor is truly an aro) so there really isn't much rhyme or reason to my choices except I like them. Smoke what you enjoy, but don't give up on the journey. Tomorrow you may find tobacco number 3 for your rotation.
I like trying new blends as well, but I typically have a few blends I smoke on a regular basis. Now that I've found my go-to blends I just pick up a new tin or two once a month or so for a change of pace. There's so many blends on the market today you'd never get around to trying them all. The important thing is to smoke what you like.
Thanks for all the response and suggestions!
I'm kinda new at smoking a pipe, well new again. I have smoked a pipe off and on (mostly off) for years. I picked it up again every year or so then wont smoke much for a while. This time it's sticking around a little better as I am spending more time at home and have the time to sit and relax with a book or in my shop ect. I am also a big reader and researcher with hobbies so what that means for me is I have a decent working knowledge of pipe topics but have not refined my palate or skills such as consistently packing a bowl well. I have recently tried 1Q and wasn't thrilled with it. It smoked well and tasted good but the aftertaste was a little unpleasant for me and it stuck around for a while but I will definitely be trying it again and I will take your advise to smoking the whole tin/bag before giving it a thumbs up or down. Great suggestion on keeping the tobaccos, I will hang on to all of them for now and try again later! And smoke what you like is preaching to the choir!
I'm kinda new at smoking a pipe, well new again. I have smoked a pipe off and on (mostly off) for years. I picked it up again every year or so then wont smoke much for a while. This time it's sticking around a little better as I am spending more time at home and have the time to sit and relax with a book or in my shop ect. I am also a big reader and researcher with hobbies so what that means for me is I have a decent working knowledge of pipe topics but have not refined my palate or skills such as consistently packing a bowl well. I have recently tried 1Q and wasn't thrilled with it. It smoked well and tasted good but the aftertaste was a little unpleasant for me and it stuck around for a while but I will definitely be trying it again and I will take your advise to smoking the whole tin/bag before giving it a thumbs up or down. Great suggestion on keeping the tobaccos, I will hang on to all of them for now and try again later! And smoke what you like is preaching to the choir!
Welcome Vabriar.
Two things you might consider...
One: Do a bit of reading... basic descriptions and curing methods of the various tobacco types.
e.g. Cavendish, Virginia, Burley, Oriental, Latakia, Perique for starters.
Try Wikipedia... like I said basic information.
That way you'll begin to understand what you like and what you don't.
Second: You may wish to make a spread sheet listing what you have tried. I keep tin descriptions, a competent review, my personal observations about that particular blend, and of course a basic listing what is in that blend.
Here's a screen shot of part of mine. Maybe that'll give you an idea of what I mean.
Two things you might consider...
One: Do a bit of reading... basic descriptions and curing methods of the various tobacco types.
e.g. Cavendish, Virginia, Burley, Oriental, Latakia, Perique for starters.
Try Wikipedia... like I said basic information.
That way you'll begin to understand what you like and what you don't.
Second: You may wish to make a spread sheet listing what you have tried. I keep tin descriptions, a competent review, my personal observations about that particular blend, and of course a basic listing what is in that blend.
Here's a screen shot of part of mine. Maybe that'll give you an idea of what I mean.
The spread sheet is another great idea, I have kept notes in the past but the spread sheet is more consistent and organized. I fortunately do know the main tobacco types/categories/curing or at least enough to know what I want to stay away from for now. The blends I have liked have all been Virginia, burly, or Cavendish blends and I'm not a big fan of latakia, perique, or orientals. Mild latakia blends are ever so slowly growing on me over the last few years but wouldn't say I like it.
I like being able to tell at a glance what's in a blend at a glance.
Also I put notes into the various cell's when some specific type of tobacco is used in a blend. e.g. "Orange & Red Virginias" Or, in the cell notes I'll put reviews, so that they pop up when I move the cursor over them.
I also have links to where I purchased it, or to a related web site.
If you notice there two basic colors one is to designate tobaccos I haven't tried, and those I have rated.
This particular page is a listing of nearly every tobacco blend I have heard of. I have another page that lists every tobacco I have or have ever had in my possession. I also have one a list of what's in my meager cellar, when it was made (if I can read the coding) and when it was placed into the cellar.
Also I put notes into the various cell's when some specific type of tobacco is used in a blend. e.g. "Orange & Red Virginias" Or, in the cell notes I'll put reviews, so that they pop up when I move the cursor over them.
I also have links to where I purchased it, or to a related web site.
If you notice there two basic colors one is to designate tobaccos I haven't tried, and those I have rated.
This particular page is a listing of nearly every tobacco blend I have heard of. I have another page that lists every tobacco I have or have ever had in my possession. I also have one a list of what's in my meager cellar, when it was made (if I can read the coding) and when it was placed into the cellar.
Vabriar, welcome to the forum.
The posts by rotnh, philobeddo and Lawrence give you excellent advice and cover all the bases. There is little to add to what they said.
What types of blends did you try? Were they all aromatics or a combination of aromatics, English blends, VaPers, straight Virginias and Burley blends? Try them all, if you haven't already. The more you smoke, the more your taste will develop and change over time.
To give you my personal experience; I recently ordered some Patterson's Mixture, one of my favorites since the 1960's, and Harkness Tower from the Zak Photakis at the Owl Shop in Worcester, MA. I now prefer Harkness Tower, although I still like Patterson's. By the way, I highly recommend The Owl Shop of Worcester. They blend their own and Zak is the third generation in the business.
Forum members and a knowledgeable tobbaconist can make recommendations, based on your dislikes and dislikes.
One of the great things about pipe smoking is that you will never run out of blends to try.
I
The posts by rotnh, philobeddo and Lawrence give you excellent advice and cover all the bases. There is little to add to what they said.
What types of blends did you try? Were they all aromatics or a combination of aromatics, English blends, VaPers, straight Virginias and Burley blends? Try them all, if you haven't already. The more you smoke, the more your taste will develop and change over time.
To give you my personal experience; I recently ordered some Patterson's Mixture, one of my favorites since the 1960's, and Harkness Tower from the Zak Photakis at the Owl Shop in Worcester, MA. I now prefer Harkness Tower, although I still like Patterson's. By the way, I highly recommend The Owl Shop of Worcester. They blend their own and Zak is the third generation in the business.
Forum members and a knowledgeable tobbaconist can make recommendations, based on your dislikes and dislikes.
One of the great things about pipe smoking is that you will never run out of blends to try.
I
Lawrence I have wondered how many blends there are out there. Some would be duplicates of one actual blend, such as B&M's putting their label on 1Q. How many blends are in your data base?
I currently have 123.
Starting with 1Q and ending with Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Flake.
To paraphrase Clubber Lang: "They be a lotta mo."
As a matter of fact I have about 6 or 8 more to list.
:
:
Starting with 1Q and ending with Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Flake.
To paraphrase Clubber Lang: "They be a lotta mo."
As a matter of fact I have about 6 or 8 more to list.
:
:
I'd say don't give up. I've sampled many many many many tobaccoes until I found 2-3 that I really love. And then again they are bound to be smoked in the right pipe with the right age and drying/moisture to get the wonderful experience.
Secondly, don't put too much into other's reviews like you'd find on tobaccoreviews.com. Taste is too subjective a thing to let oneself be biased by myriads of opinions, especially when half of them come from "gretins" ;-)
One of my favourite baccys, McBaren Navy Flake and Mixture Scottish I did only buy because of an article on this website (some famous guy traveled to Germany and didn't bring any tobacco), I'd never tried them just based on online reviews.
Secondly, don't put too much into other's reviews like you'd find on tobaccoreviews.com. Taste is too subjective a thing to let oneself be biased by myriads of opinions, especially when half of them come from "gretins" ;-)
One of my favourite baccys, McBaren Navy Flake and Mixture Scottish I did only buy because of an article on this website (some famous guy traveled to Germany and didn't bring any tobacco), I'd never tried them just based on online reviews.
That's a good catch.
On the other pages it is correct. I'll fix it.
Thanks Rothnh
To answer your question...
No. No special coding.
I just use color to make it easier to discern what's in a blend.
And, I use a lot of links, and inserted comments.
On the other pages it is correct. I'll fix it.
Thanks Rothnh
To answer your question...
No. No special coding.
I just use color to make it easier to discern what's in a blend.
And, I use a lot of links, and inserted comments.
Well, I found some light in this tunnel last night. I popped a tin of Gettysburg from Old Va Tobacco and really enjoyed it. When I get some time I'll post in the tobacco reviews section. I am however a little disappointed with some of my recent order from Boswells but there are worse problems to have 
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