Rambling Intro and Odd Metallic Taste with Carter Hall!

Hello y'all,

I am a brand-new pipe smoker, but have been a cigar and hookah smoker for ~15 years (honestly, more of a hobbyist collector than anything.... I maybe burn 1 or 2 a month MAX and probably have ~200 assorted sticks, and I only ever bust out my hookahs for rare large parties)
Oddly enough, I am absolutely appalled by cigarettes and don't care much for nicotine.... Go figure.
So far, I have about 8 Missouri Meerschaum cob and hardwood pipes, and have tried maybe a half a dozen or so "recommended starter tobaccos". I have one odd observation I am curious about. I started with Carter Hall, as it seem to be very popular, highly recommended, and cheap enough for me to use as a training aid to practice my technique. I did not have the most pleasant first few puffs, but once I slowed way down it did get better, but not what I would call "pleasurable". One odd thing was I had a long lasting strange metallic aftertaste. No pain or bite, but I still picked up some of the requisite Biotene mouthwash. It does help some. After the fact, I did determine that it was a bit wet out of the pouch, so I dried it until the moisture content looked and felt like what all the YouTube videos describe….

I moved on and have limited myself to smoking one small bowl a day just to be safe. I went on to:

Lane 1Q- Ok, nothing monumental. I think I need to revisit this once my technique gets better.

Pipa Cherry- Did not particularly care for it. Way too wet, maybe? Butt-load of PG?

Lane Very Cherry - I liked this pretty well!

C'est La Vie - My second favorite so far, and my first really pleasurable smoke! First pipe tobbaco that I tried retrohaling. It was nice.

Lane RLP-6 - My favorite so far. I think I am having a preference for aromatics with more Black Cavendish? Less nicotine, too! Retrohaling was great!

Peter Stokkebye #306 - Probably a bit much for me to fully appreciate just yet, but it seemed like a good, well behaved smoke. People don't joke when they say you can taste pepper from just a little bit a Latakia!

Erin Go Bragh- I had pretty high hopes for this, but it just wasn't a good smoke for me. Maybe I just don't like tobbacos with much burley? I think this one has a good portion of it. Another one that I think I need to revisit.

Carter Hall, round 2- After drying a bit, and slowing wayyyy down, the smoking portion was much better. It's still gives me a weird, lingering metallic aftertaste. Also, retrohaling was downright irritating!!! I think with this being burley, it has more nicotine than I care to tolerate!
I rotated pipes, and each got a good, thorough cleaning and couple of day rest afterwards. I have found that I seem to prefer smoking with a fresh paper filter with each smoke & my bent shaft Legend cob pipe is my favorite so far.... but the jury is still out on that. I have high hopes for my Ozarks once I break them in! I sip coffee and water while smoking. I am avoiding alcohol, just to be safe. I have read that it is not the best thing to drink while you are actually smoking.
Overall, I am enjoying the trial and error, and relaxing experience of the pleasurable smokes I have had. I have a few more black Cavendish heavy and flue cured tobaccos on the way, and I still have a few of the OTC "codger" blends on hand to get through.... honestly though, if Carter Hall is regarded as one of the better ones, I don't have the highest of hopes for them. Off the top of my head, I know I still have a pouch each of:

Half and Half

Velvet

Prince Albert

Captain Black White

Sir Walter Raleigh
I am storing all of my tobacco in a dark, cool pantry. Each is stored separately in brand-new short 16oz Ball jars.
Overall, I think I have a pretty good handle on the basics of pipe smoking, and (when everything goes right) they are a treat that blow cigars out of the water. I have been reading everything I can find on the topic. Yet, I am still puzzled as to why my experience with Carter Hall has been this way. I appreciate any comments, insight, recommendations or general guidance that can be offered on the subject.
Thanks for your time, and sorry for grammar and typos due to posting from an iPhone!!
Logan

<p>All I'll say is you will never see me and Batman in the same place at the same time.....

Thanks!

That's what's so puzzling. Everywhere I read that Carter Hall is everyone's "old faithful standby" that they can always fall back to. I certainly didn't get a nic buzz, but I am very curious about the long lasting funky taste that I have only gotten from it. I believe I have read that Prince Albert is said to be very similar to Carter Hall, so I will give that a go and compare. I will keep revisiting CH and see if it changes over time!

Thanks for the feedback y'all. I do think my best OTC bet will be Half and Half and Captain Black White. Although my understanding is that CBW is just pouched 1Q with extra PG added?
PipeSmokingingTom- I currently have more varieties on hand then I can sample as is, with another 10 or so on the way in the mail! But I may take you up on your offer in a few weeks once I learn a bit more of my tastes! Thanks!
NewBroom- I do think that my occasional cigar smoking has me in a better situation to appreciate pipe smoking, but I know I have a long way to go still. Also, I think the fact that I have never smoked a single cigarette in my life has kept me from picking up any bad habits that a lot of "transition" smokers have.
FrozenChurchWar- I do have some mild oriental blends on hand, as well as some Petter Stokkebye #313 straight oriental to experiment mixing with. I hear that this stuff is pretty overpowering though, and a little goes a long way.
AldeCaker- noted, I believe it and half-and-half are both aromatics that I mistakenly chalked up as over-the-counter Burleys
Andy- is this a bad time to say I used to enjoy the occasional PBR before the hipsters ruined it for me? Probably the same reason I like to smoke my pipes in private…
Shutterbug- speaking from personal experience, are we? Lol

Ok, tonight I continued with a revisit to PS 306 English Oriental Supreme. Remembering it was a bit potent in the taste category for a newb like me, I elected to just do a Missouri Meerschaum Short Stop load. I drew that little bowl out about 30 minutes, and drank plenty of water. I think the moisture of this particular sample is spot on out of the bag. It smoked very well. There is defiantly a mild spice to it, and I got a tiny odd sour taste, too. Reminded me of the kitchen's smell when my mom would cook with lemon pepper. Also, I could taste a light sweetness on my lips. I know others say it has a smokiness, but I didn't pick that up. One other observation, it burned very clean, and my pipe still smelled good afterwards. No significant ash smell. I tried retrohaling this once, bit I am not on that level yet..... The curious part is that there was absolutely no unpleasant aftertaste like my bag of Carter Hall continues to give me. I seriously think it's the added humectants.
DrWatson- interesting observation, I am overdue for a cleaning, so this might be in order…
Andy - I am not bound to OTC tobacco. I was just hoping I would find something convenient that I enjoy. I have been able to locate one pipe shop here in Jacksonville, Florida. I will take a trip to it in the future for sure
FrozenChurchWarden- I will order some Latakia at some point and report back!
Paulie- I think you are spot on with your assessment