St. James Woods, aka what's the point?
- Thread starter jmagen
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Jmagen, which tobaccos do you regularly smoke and enjoy? Also, are you fairly new to pipe smoking or are you just trying to branch out and explore new blends?
beefeater: I bought three tins of new stuff to try (ok not 6 oz but close). It was wishful thinking.
Philobeddoe: I love latakia blends, and I've been enjoying burley-ish/ Perique-ish stuff like Bayou Morning and Old Joe. This is the tail end of my first year, recently started enjoying anything non-english.
I understand other people enjoy these types of blends, and I don't mean to offend. But coming from almost anything else to these is like smoking toilet paper. Just wondering if there was something I was missing. I even aged the St. James Woods a month in a jar like someone suggested in a review (or here?).
Philobeddoe: I love latakia blends, and I've been enjoying burley-ish/ Perique-ish stuff like Bayou Morning and Old Joe. This is the tail end of my first year, recently started enjoying anything non-english.
I understand other people enjoy these types of blends, and I don't mean to offend. But coming from almost anything else to these is like smoking toilet paper. Just wondering if there was something I was missing. I even aged the St. James Woods a month in a jar like someone suggested in a review (or here?).
I'll trade you some English/Balkan/Oriental stuff for your unwanted VaPers. 8)
I have no idea what you're missing, honestly. I guess just some palettes are different. I can't get enough of the simple sweet/spicy of perique mixed in with the best Virginia has to offer.
I have no idea what you're missing, honestly. I guess just some palettes are different. I can't get enough of the simple sweet/spicy of perique mixed in with the best Virginia has to offer.
In my experience, for my first couple years I also liked almost anything with Latakia in it. I started getting slowly into Virginias after that and love them now. I have to say, you don't sound like a very patient guy and that's not a good thing with pipe smoking.
mcitinner1: I'm not patient, but I really enjoy the pipe, hence trying new tobaccos. Every couple of orders I get something new to try (hence, I also have ALOT of aros waaaaay at the back of the stack). Some things I liked when I came back to them after a first try (965, Old Joe). I used that experience when trying the St James Woods after the first two VaPers let me down so much. This is a consistent let down so far though.
I would put those tins at the back of the shelf and revisit them after a few years. They will have changed, and maybe your palate will have changed too! If not, well-aged SJW is easy to sell/trade.
^^^ Yep, jar anything you're not liking now, and come back to it in a year or two or three. :wink:
Good thing is that tobacco is as good as cash around here, so at the end of all things if you end up not liking Virgnias, you'll have little to no trouble offloading it.
Nothing wrong with having a stash of Virginias aging in the back of your cellar. One day you my regret not having put away more.
I also find it hard to find any sort of flavor with Virginia's and Va/Per's. I took a break from Latakia and have been smoking exclusively Va and Va/Per to see if I can develop a taste for them.
Some definitely have a sweetness to them but most it's like hot air.
I think you should try Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake. It's a VA but with a very light topping that smells/tastes like coconut and vanilla to me.
Some definitely have a sweetness to them but most it's like hot air.
I think you should try Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake. It's a VA but with a very light topping that smells/tastes like coconut and vanilla to me.
I primarily smoked English and Balkan/Oriental blends for many years. There's no question that these blends are more pungent and more forgiving than the Virginia side of the spectrum. But eventually I hit Latakia burnout to the point that the mere thought of that flavor gave me the heaves.
When I started with Virginias and Va/Pers, I too thought that there was little to no "there" there. But I've since discovered the myriad splendors of these blends as my palate has adjusted to the finer and more delicate flavors they offer. To get there I needed to learn how to smoke these blends. You don't need much technique to smoke an English blend any more than an OTC, but Virginias will school you. Smoked too moist, too quickly, they burn hot and deliver little flavor. Allowed to dry almost bone dry and smoked very, very slowly, these blends can deliver a wide range of flavors.
I've since regained my taste for Latakia though on a much more modest scale, so now I get to enjoy a wider range of tobacco blends than ever before.
It's a little like getting rid of salt in your food. At the beginning everything tastes bland and tasteless. Then as your palate adjusts and recovers from all that salt, the actual flavors of food come through.
When I started with Virginias and Va/Pers, I too thought that there was little to no "there" there. But I've since discovered the myriad splendors of these blends as my palate has adjusted to the finer and more delicate flavors they offer. To get there I needed to learn how to smoke these blends. You don't need much technique to smoke an English blend any more than an OTC, but Virginias will school you. Smoked too moist, too quickly, they burn hot and deliver little flavor. Allowed to dry almost bone dry and smoked very, very slowly, these blends can deliver a wide range of flavors.
I've since regained my taste for Latakia though on a much more modest scale, so now I get to enjoy a wider range of tobacco blends than ever before.
It's a little like getting rid of salt in your food. At the beginning everything tastes bland and tasteless. Then as your palate adjusts and recovers from all that salt, the actual flavors of food come through.
Ive only been smoking a pipe since November 2016, and not nearly as much as I would like. I started out with Christmas blends as they fit the season watching White Christmas. I initially fell in love with Corn Cob Pipe and Button Nose, and still love it. Then I tried Christmas Cheer 2016 and it was awful. Since then I have gone to big time English, Balkans, Burleys and now, with recent purchases, I have found I love Lakeland. To be sure the big flavors are easily enjoyed as they do not give you any chance to NOT taste them. however, I recently went back to the Christmas cheer. It is still a pain to keep lit for me but my recent sampling was a totally different experience. I think the VA's take more skill and patience to bring the most out of them. I still haven't found the hay or grassy flavor but it was still much better than the first try. I haven't delved into spicy VaPers yet but I expect a similar entrance to those. I would tough it out, go at it once a week maybe and see where you end up. Or perhaps, for whatever reason, I am lucky and do not have a single preference.
I would definitely hang in there. I find that my palate changes frequently and I find myself craving something that I previously did not care for. Also, as mentioned above smoke as slowly as possible to bring out all of the flavor. Take your time with it. The flavors are there for you to puzzle out but you won't get punched in the face by them like with most English blends.
Virginias require a different approach and attitude for sure. Englishes are generally as forgiving as aromatics most times and don't make you work too hard to get all kindsa flavor a billowy plumes of smoke etc. etc.
I get the best flavor out of Virginias when they are on the verge of going out. Sometimes they do and I have to relight, but I do it by just a very light pass over the bowl with the flame. You sort of have to change your expectations when you smoke Virginias, I find.
I get the best flavor out of Virginias when they are on the verge of going out. Sometimes they do and I have to relight, but I do it by just a very light pass over the bowl with the flame. You sort of have to change your expectations when you smoke Virginias, I find.
I enjoy virginias in a clay tavern pipe smoked slow. I find that virginia and VaPers are my favorite after smoking english blends and latakia bombs for quite a while.
It can go the other way for some where latakia starts to taste like a petroleum oil fire, ha ha. Your palate might change, I agree with my superiors jar them and give it time to mature and for you to possibly crave some other flavors.
It can go the other way for some where latakia starts to taste like a petroleum oil fire, ha ha. Your palate might change, I agree with my superiors jar them and give it time to mature and for you to possibly crave some other flavors.
Most tobaccos need a bit of drying out to get the most flavor from them. I can't stress this enough. Christmas Cheer is no exception. Dry it for an hour, then pack, not too firmly, and smoke slowly. If it's at the proper moisture level it won't be difficult to keep lit. Also, slowly blow the smoke out through your nose. You have more flavor receptors there.
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