Psychology of Pipe Puffing

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boudreaux

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 7, 2013
676
1
Have been thinking about this, and no doubt that it will bring a variety of opinions - among them mine.
I'm curious as to how many of you will open up a tin of tobacco, which has gotten many rave reviews, and on taking a sniff of it, wanted to close it up and not even try it, based on what you've smelled.
After seeing many plaudits for Dunhill's London Mixture, I bought a tin at my local B & M. When I opened it, my first reaction was immediately, "Not for me - maybe a former ciggy smoker."
Incidentally, I did smoke a bowl of it, but I just did not like it. Most other recommended on here - based on what I'm discovering as my own personal preferences - have been good or at worst, have left me neutral, but this one? (I recently wanted to give it a second shot, but when I opened the tin, I changed my mind.
What has been your experience in this regard?

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
boudreaux, I've never given up just by opening a tin, though I have certainly had a wide range

of reactions, from a glow that made me just want to sit there and inhale the fragrance for a

while before advancing to the smoking itself, to a puzzled skeptical reaction hoping something

good might unfold when the tobacco was lit. I would age the Dunhill's for a week or two.

Sometimes when the initial strength wears off a bit, subtleties emerge. If that doesn't result

in a pleasing smoke, I'd age it another month or so. After that you can either seal it in a canning

jar for a year and hope for the best, or pass it along to a pipe smoking friend to see if it is more

to their liking. You might even get an equal quantity of tobacco you like better in trade.

Good luck. I've tried several Dunhill's blends, and though I like some better than others, none

have been a total wash. My favorites are Mixture 965 and Nightcap. I have a tin of Royal Yacht,

unopened; that's one that gets mixed reviews from ecstasy to "no thank you."

 

spartan

Lifer
Aug 14, 2011
2,963
7
My experience has been...
Even if the smell of the unlit tobacco does not agree with me (Has not happened yet) I will always try it a couple of times.
I have never judged a tobacco's burning flavor and character solely on its tin note. This will most likely only work for folks that already know that they do not like latakia, cavendish, etc. But for someone that likes a bit of everything it's impossible to be so dismissive.
The worse it smells the better it is :)

 

kashmir

Lifer
May 17, 2011
2,712
63
Northern New Jersey
The smell of a tobacco has no bearing on the quality of smoke delivered. One has only to look at many aromatics, which promise heaven, based on bouquet, but are sorely lacking in taste and tobacco complexity. Good tobaccos are like cheeses. The proof lies in their imbibation.

 

boudreaux

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 7, 2013
676
1
Maybe I just happened to buy a tin of Limberger? :D
Probably asked on here somewhere, but is there a way of identifying when this tin of London Mixture was packaged? Besides the bar code, I see a smaller numeric notation, the last four numbers of which are 2008.
Could that be the year, or just coincidence?

 

philip

Lifer
Oct 13, 2011
1,705
6
Puget Sound
The tin note is the least reliable way of judging a tobacco.
Some tobaccos I will like right away and others I need to try several times in different pipes and under different conditions to be sure. But I would never decide that I didn't like a tobacco without trying it at least a few times.

 

latbomber

Part of the Furniture Now
May 10, 2013
570
4
London Mix is one of my top blends, but I typically dont like the first few bowls from a new tin. Throw it in a jar and let it sit for a couple weeks, also be sure to thoroughly dry it out before smoking. It will be much better!

 

easterntraveler

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 29, 2012
805
11
I did this with Mcellands personal reserve Blackwoods flake. I smelled it and have not touched it since. It had a weird soy sauce/ketchup smell to it.

 

locopony

Part of the Furniture Now
Jun 7, 2011
710
3
I smell what you are steppin in bro. As I have never been let down by me nose yet, I have began trusting it more and more. In the past however I gave it a good honest try even if the nose said no. Dunhill 965 for example smells like piss and tastes precisely as expected. I let my goat eat that stuff, being that I thought there was no yrading on here anymore.

 

plateauguy

Lifer
Mar 19, 2013
2,412
18
I have to admit, after opening C&D's Evening Rise it instantly went into the "give my friends" sack. So far this is the only one I wouldn't try.

 

ciderguy

Can't Leave
May 30, 2013
302
3
+ 1 kashmir.
I like a little bit of everything, and I don't worry too much about the tin note. If I'm at a club meeting and have the opportunity to sample among some blends else that others have brought with them I will often allow the tin note to influence what I want to try and the order I'll try them in. For example, I know I'm not going to be able to truly enjoy a straight or heavy Va blend right after a bowl of a high Latakia. My favorite tin note of all time is GLP Cairo.

 
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