"Real" Tobacco

Too true, Captain Black and other OTC's have been around for a long time for a reason. One major reason being that many many people enjoy them as much if not more than higher dollar blends. Smoke what you got and most importantly smoke what you enjoy!

I smoked Captain Black White from around 1982 to 2001. Along with Prince Albert, both in pipe and as roll ups. I still smoke both on ocassion, preferring other blends now. But I certainly don't look askance at anyone's choice of tobacco. Or for that matter, pipes. Or cars, or women, or how they like their steak cooked ... The only hostility I harbor is against those who try to curtail my freedoms. Like telling me I can't smoke my pipe in a public park. That's why I stay home pretty much these days. If I can't smoke where I'm going, then why am I going there? Work is different. They pay me not to smoke there. Which is something I can live with. LOL.

Well said Numbersix

As one who posted on that thread, I meant it more as an achievement of trying, IMO, higher quality baccy. As if to say that he is no longer smoking just what he can locally find. Making your first online/B&M tobacco order is an achievement as far as I'm concerned. My great grandpa smoked PA for 60+ years, but he also didn't have access to the selections we do today. Everybody has their own tastes, I was just commenting on broadening his horizons. I smoked CB when I started, and it is most definitely tobacco. And I do NOT think less of anyone who smokes it. I wish I liked it, Id save a boatload in shipping lol.If anyone took offence to what I said, I am truly sorry. Thanks for calling out what you thought was wrong six. We need more of that.

Well done, gents.

Six, I appreciate this concern and I wouldn't want to alienate anyone based on their means or preferences. But I don't believe that it's "all good". There are some magnificent pipes and tobaccos out there, and there are some truly awful ones as well. Some of this is a matter of preference, some is a matter of intrinsic quality. Poor wood drilled haphazardly and carved and finished indifferently will not yield a high quality pipe. Low grade leaf mixed with artificial flavors and preservatives will not yield a high quality tobacco. Sure, some may enjoy it, just as some enjoy a cheap McDonald's cheeseburger. But if, on a forum about food and drink, I say that I've gone from McD's cheeseburgers to appreciating a dry-aged filet that's been expertly prepared, and someone congratulated me on stepping up to "real food", that wouldn't be the gravest of insults, would it?
And to continue my cheeseburger analogy, McD's cheeseburgers have been around for decades and are very popular around the world. But that's not a testament to their QUALITY, but to their affordability and availability. Just because something is popular does NOT mean it's of good quality. In my experience, the two are often mutually exclusive.
But I agree with you, Six, that all are welcome. But if, in my opinion, someone who has been satisfied with the mundane tries something extraordinary, I feel comfortable giving him an "atta boy". However I shall try do do so as "sensitively" as possible.

This forum is great because it is for all pipe smokers. Occasionally, it is right and appropriate to be reminded. I hope that everyone who read the thread in question would be of a mind with both Six and Bigvan on this. After all, most every post is an opinion. Plenty of room here for me to love Carter Hall 8) and Frog Morton's Cellar. Or not.

While you have hit upon a good analogy, bigvan, the one problem I find with it is that if you were on a food and drink forum, it would be understood (or probably stated outright) that the forum was for connoisseur discussion. It would be rather pointless to have a forum to discuss all food considering we all eat it. Pipe smoking is not something everyone does and I didn't think that this was a forum for discussion of only high-end blends, pipes, tampers, etc.
With that said, what else is there to say about Prince Albert, Carter Hall, CBW that hasn't been said? It doesn't warrant much discussion and I believe that was the point you were making, bigvan, and I believe you are right. Anytime someone does bring it up, the thread starts off with someone stating 'I just tried X blend and I love/hate it' followed by everyone on the forum saying 'I also love/hate it' and we don't generate any new discussion.
Six, I think you're right too. There is no point in alienating anyone since we are all in this together and this forum needs everyone, from the OTC codgers to the connoisseur who can quantify flavor down into pie chart on an initial smoke and can taste the difference between blends on a year to year basis strictly in the varying amounts of rainfall.
In end, we are all putting fire to leaf. That's why were here. In regards to what someone else thinks is real tobacco, smoke what you like and don't smoke what you don't like. Take advice that seems right to you, take recommendations that appeal to you, and reciprocate with advice and recommendations when you can.

I say smoke 'em if you got 'em. I don't normally smoke OTC but mainly because I haven't found one with enough strength to tide me over (I only smoke two bowls a day). I certainly don't look down my nose at someone who does.
My dad smoked Carter Hall and Captain Black my entire childhood. It is the memories of those aromas that led me to quit cigarettes and switch to a pipe several years ago and I find it much more rewarding. Light 'em up!

Six, bigvan and reich, you have all made great points and I agree with each one of you.
I started many years ago with captain black sail and Borglum riff and loved them for years. There is nothing wrong with enjoying them if you like them
One if the great things about this forum is hearing about others experiences in the pipe and tobacco world and expanding our own world with experimentation and new adventures that maybe we would not have tried otherwise
If it turns out that a change to va or English expands our horizons , well, great

If not, at least we gave it a try,
Of course, the same with pipes
No harm intended I'm sure with anyone posting their experiences, right?
Allan

I'm glad no one has accused me of making value judgments.
BTW, I'm running a special this week on Official PipesMagazine.com Twin Canister Sets.

Cortez! :rofl:

One should smoke what they like and like what they smoke. However, one should never be intimidated or closed-minded when another points out that there is a vast difference between Columbia Crest and a Grand Cru --- and many, many classes of difference in between. There are many simple, inexpensive, and straightforward tobacco blends that I enjoy (and a few that were brought to my attention on this forum -- thank you, oh thank you, Roth, for PS Turkish). But that hasn't stopped me, nor should it stop anyone, from exploring the wide world of pipe tobacco. Ironically, despite all the laws, regulations, and taxes of the modern world, we are truly living in the Golden Age of pipe tobacco variety. So if one has an affinity for Captain Black (or, for that matter, Balkan Sobraine) have at it. But don't wall yourself off from the great, wide world of flavor that awaits you in the world of pipe smoking. Open-mindedness and the spirit of discovery cut both ways.

Great thread numbersix and comments guys!

Southron
Absolutely
Allan

sallow wrote:

I say smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Click to expand...

That about sums it up. I wouldn't have ever started this great hobby without the enticement of aromatics. I am now having a great time trying the great varieties available. I enjoy the total spectrum.

If anyone took offense at the mention of Captain Black, please notice that nearly everyone on Forums

has some over-the-counter tobacco they enjoy. There are probably a minority who don't smoke any,

but not many. Granger is my favorite OTC, along with Half-and-Half, PA, and Carter Hall. I do a little

Borkum Riff and Captain Black now and then. On the higher end, there are so many delectable tobaccos

and blends to try, and sometimes blends to improvise, it makes the head spin. But from time to time,

an OTC can just hit the spot. This July 4, to celebrate our Independence, I smoked an English blend

in an English pipe in the morning, and am enjoying a purely U.S. blend (Granger, Kentucky Burley) in

a U.S. pipe, an Iwan Ries made by Benton in Texas, this afternoon. And it tastes real fine.