Oh-Oh, the Retrohale

judcasper · Feb 10, 2019

I really feel as though my pipe smoking is slowly becoming part of me, and as I'm sure you'll all remember it's a wonderful feeling. When I started out I was so caught up in trying to look like a pipe smoker (puff-puff) that I was forgetting to enjoy it. Now, I'm finding so many little things that make it so much more enjoyable, such as playing the tip of the stem around my lips, almost like a lollypop, and the way I seal my lips around the stem to get a better draw. Breathing through the nose (my own take on breathe smoking).
However, I'm now at a stage where I want to be tasting the tobacco to its fullest, and that I believe means using the retrohale. Problem is I just can't get the hang of it. I've watched a few videos but they all say the same thing, i.e. that it's very hard to explain, verbally, how to do it.
I take the smoke into my mouth, keep my mouth close and breathe out through my nose... and nothing. I open my mouth and the smoke billows out.
Any tips or pointers as to how I get that smoke circulating from the mouth and into the nasal passage would be much appreciated.

mso489 · Feb 10, 2019

For some, retrohale is central to their enjoyment, but I suspect for most, it isn't even done. I don't disparage those who enjoy it, but I'd posit that you don't have do this to get full enjoyment out of blends. Just to say.

judcasper · Feb 10, 2019

I don't disparage those who enjoy it, but I'd posit that you don't have do this to get full enjoyment out of blends. Just to say.

Well, as always, I bow to the better knowledge of those here. I say what I say about better tasting the tobacco because it seems to be the main point being made in the videos I've watched about the technique.

seanv · Feb 10, 2019

I retrohale almost every puff. I don't know how to explain the process. I just exhale from my nose. Maybe try using more force?

Chasing Embers · Feb 10, 2019

Draw smoke into your mouth like drinking with a straw, not using your inhale to do it. When exhaling, press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to force the smoke into your throat and out your nose with the exhaled air. I do it all of the time too. I've actually only known one other person that doesn't do it. I can't taste anything in the smoke without doing it.

mechanic · Feb 10, 2019

I do it off and on during a smoke its hard to explain how to do it embers is good explanation maybe closing your mouth till get the hang of it will help also. I notice it makes quicker nic quenching effect also maybe something to do with capilaries in sinuses absorbing more of the nic?

npod · Feb 10, 2019

IMHO, You are doing everything right @judcasper. You learned to slow down and then slow down some more. The rest is just time spent smoking and enjoying. The retrohale, or snork, is key. No trick really. But best enjoyed with a slow smoke and an occasional blow through the sinuses. Flavor bomb!

judcasper · Feb 10, 2019

IMHO, You are doing everything right @judcasper. You learned to slow down and then slow down some more. The rest is just time spent smoking and enjoying.

Well thank you for the encouragement. Dominating my pipe, rather than the other way around, has been somewhat of a revelation.

Draw smoke into your mouth like drinking with a straw, not using your inhale to do it. When exhaling, press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to force the smoke into your throat and out your nose with the exhaled air. I do it all of the time too. I've actually only known one other person that doesn't do it. I can't taste anything in the smoke without doing it.

I shall try this with my next bowl. Thanks.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

dare66 · Feb 10, 2019

I can retro hale but I'm still at the point where I'm still learning to become a pipe smoker. If that makes any sense.

charf · Feb 11, 2019

Keep practicing Judcasper. I’m smoking some Balkan Sasieni right now. It’s pretty mellow and I think the retrohale really enhances the experience. However with some stronger blends it will burn your sinuses.

robcapp · Feb 11, 2019

I retrohale every puff... but a little different to how I've seen others do it.
For a start, I dont do it while clenching, and find it almost impossible...

The way I do it is to draw the smoke into your moith.... start to exhale thay breath through your mouth... then close your mouth while still exhaling.... and continue to exhale that breath through your nose.
Like Duane, I can't taste the full flavour and body of the smoke if I dont exhale, and I suggest practising until you do. It's worth the effort!

anthonyrosenthal74 · Feb 11, 2019

I get plenty of flavor without retrohale. In fact, I rarely retrohale because I normally can't. If I try 20 times in a row, I might actually accomplish it once or twice. And I don't notice any difference in flavor when I do. I suspect it's different from one person to the next. Some may find it enhance the flavor of the smoke, while others get nothing much from it. I suppose I'm in the latter. I say work at it until you accomplish it a few times, and if it works for you, and you gain more enjoyment from it, then keep at it. But don't let it take away from your enjoyment overall.

judcasper · Feb 11, 2019

The way I do it is to draw the smoke into your moith.... start to exhale thay breath through your mouth... then close your mouth while still exhaling.... and continue to exhale that breath through your nose.

I watched a video where a guy was demonstrating this very thing. At first I couldn't even do this. As soon as I closed my mouth it was like a valve had been closed in my nasal passage too. Now when I try it I can do it. I find if I flare my nostrils after I close my mouth, the air comes down my nose. I've yet to try this with a pipe, but we'll see.

And I don't notice any difference in flavor when I do.

Could well be how I find it, too, but I'd like to give it a try at least.

However with some stronger blends it will burn your sinuses.

I shall bear that in mind.

rdavid · Feb 11, 2019

No way could I enjoy pipes by just exhaling through my mouth. I’m one of those that absolutely requires a retrohale to get any good flavors/scents from tobacco.
I actually exhale through my mouth and nose at the same time. ( I do not inhale the smoke) Also, be aware that sometimes you might get a peppery or slight stinging sensation in your sinuses during a retrohale. Best example I can think of is like horseradish or wasabi, especially with stronger tobaccos but most of the time I get a wonderful taste/scent combination.
I find it rather strange that some people struggle with this as it just seems to happen naturally. Inhale the smoke into my mouth, exhale it through my nose and/or mouth. Really adds to the experience and I probably wouldn’t enjoy pipes nearly as much if I couldn’t retrohale.
Definitely worth trying in my opinion. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

judcasper · Feb 11, 2019

Definitely worth trying in my opinion. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Will do.
I've been thinking about the logic and science behind this belief the tobacco taste is better when retrohaling, but it doesn't entirely make sense to me.
All the videos I've watched on this say that more taste is detected when retrohaling because our sense of taste relies so heavily on smell. To further back this logic up I've heard a couple of people use the apple/onion analogy, saying that if you're blindfolded and have a peg clamped to your nose, you wouldn't be able to identify which was which when taking a bite. I can testify to this being true as I've tried it. If you hold your nose, your sense of taste becomes literally non-existent.
But none of that proves that retrohaling allows you to taste the tobacco more. After all, we don't taste food by regurgitating it from our mouth and out of our nose. We put it in our mouth and that, combined with the smell going UP our nostrils, allows us to taste. Now when you consider that as we smoke a pipe, we're also smelling it as the smoke finds its way up our nose, why should exhaling the smoke FROM our nostrils be any different?

celticbrewer · Feb 11, 2019

I feel like retrohaling and smelling will give you the same flavor but the retrohale is much more concentrated then just smelling the smoke. I also get a much heaver nic hit when retro-haling and will be more conservative with nicotine heavier blends. Just my 2 cents.

judcasper · Feb 11, 2019

Well I just wasted a bowl trying to do this, and couldn't get so much as a wisp to come down my nose.
I think I'll just go back to enjoying me pipe :D

rdavid · Feb 11, 2019

Also, I’m not sure if tobacco smoke has the same affect on taste receptors as food does. We chew food and it mixes with saliva creating a slurry if you will, that envelops the tongue. Of course saliva immediately starts breaking down sugars, protiens, salts etc. The sinuses use a totally different kind of receptor and are very well adapted to smoke. How many times have you smelled wood smoke or the neighbors barbecue? Can you taste those too? Probably not.
Of course I can taste some of the tobacco smoke with my tastebuds, especially the sweet ones or latakia/balkans but in order the really pick out the nuances of the more complex blends, I personally must retrohale. Especially the combination of exhaling through the mouth and nose at the same time. In addition, I’ll close my eyes if I’m really trying to concentrate on a blend and this actually helps quite a bit. By removing one sense (vision) it allows me to more easily concentrate on the tobacco. I am still a newbie so my palate is finally starting to really tune in to different tobaccos and blends. Exciting times for sure!

olkofri · Feb 11, 2019

I think I'll just go back to enjoying me pipe

Smart choice.
When I used to smoke cigarettes, I was able to perform a muscular motion that would bring the smoke into my pharynx without inhaling it, and I could then exhale it either through my nose or my mouth: my choice. After I picked up the pipe, for reasons unknown, I lost the ability to perform said motion, with either cigarette or pipe, which resulted in me inhaling cigarette smoke whenever I tried it. Thus, I now smoke cigarettes –in those rare occasions in which I do– like I do cigars, just pull the smoke into my mouth, swirl it around in my mouth to taste it, and puff it out.
Every now and then, I accidentally/incidentally pull the smoke in a way that makes me snork it, but I don't know how to accurately control that, so I just keep it in my mouth and puff it out. If I end up snorking, OK, if not, no big deal.
Besides, since I have sinus issues, I should avoid snorking anyway.

luigi · Feb 11, 2019

Many tips how to do it have already been posted so I won't try to be smart.

I retrohale very often but I wish I could stop it at least partially. Being an ex cigarette smoker retrohaling is a routine for me but I prefer a clean schnoz to "broken-in" sinuses. I believe it does improve how one tastes tobacco though.

I suggest you to relax and to do it your way, it's more important that you enjoy your smokes than to follow certain rules. As long as there is some smoke coming out of your pipe you are a real pipe smoker, be it puffing, retrohaling or (hopefully not) inhaling.

Oh-Oh, the Retrohale

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