Tasting the Tobacco

4dotsasieni · Apr 27, 2013

From time to time, there have been discussions on this forum as to how best to get the full flavour of your tobacco. One technique often mentioned is that of puffing slowly, and taking smaller draughts.
I am here to attest that this indeed works. When I acquire a new tobacco, especially an aromatic, I'm inclined to puff away like a locomotive, the equivalent of wolfing down food. But that's not how you enjoy the taste. Slow down, savour each puff - it really makes a huge difference. Especially with aro's, which tend to burn hot, puffing too quickly just burns the flavourings right out of the tobacco before it can reach your mouth.
So, for those of you who, like me, wondered what the dickens all the reviewers were talking about when they described heavenly hints of plum, or vanilla, or whatever, slow down and enjoy. Let the flavour come through.
(btw, I apologise for my mixing of British and U.S. spellings -- I'm Canadian born, educated partly in Britain, living in the U.S. So I get a bit mixed up.) :roll:

brian64 · Apr 27, 2013

I couldn’t agree more, and like many other things, have had to learn this the hard way. Unfortunately for me, my sense of smell has never been very acute (which can be a real blessing at times) so it is especially challenging for me to really “get” some of the more subtle characteristics of many blends...because I believe taste and smell are intricately interdependent.

kashmir · Apr 27, 2013

The slower the smoke, why the more flavorful the smoke. No doubt about it. That's how the pipe teaches you patience, and how to slow down your life. Is it ever a wonder that the greatest men of the 20th Century were all ardent pipe smokers? And how hard pressed you are to find but a handful of these men today? I'm thinking of the great writers and philosophers. But many others as well. And when you slow down, so does your resting heart rate, and the tranquil thoughts come a pouring.

boudreaux · Apr 27, 2013

I'm unafraid to say that I've still not mastered the sip, as you all call it, because if I just sip, the inevitable relight will soon be coming. Have followed packing rules. Seems to be more a factor of which tobacco, as you've stated here.
Someday, maybe I'll reach nirvana... :roll:
Have yet to try drying the tobacco - reluctant, because I am worried that may make it bite more and burn "hot." I do get a brief time when I can sip and sense the flavor, but it doesn't last long, and then I have to take longer steady draws to get the tobacco burning again - or relight.

brian64 · Apr 27, 2013

Have yet to try drying the tobacco - reluctant, because I am worried that may make it bite more and burn "hot." I do get a brief time when I can sip and sense the flavor, but it doesn't last long, and then I have to take longer steady draws to get the tobacco burning again - or relight.

I know it may seem counterintuitive, but in my experience, drying the tobacco actually helps it burn cooler...for 2 reasons I think: 1) you don’t need to puff as hard to keep it lit. 2) the chemical effect of tongue bite from certain blends seems to also be reduced by drying (don’t know for sure if this is technically accurate, but it seems that way to me).

john218 · Apr 27, 2013

I think the two most important things new smokers have to learn is how to pack a pipe and to slow down.
I would put it this way for new smokers; pipe smoking is like a walkathon, not a sprint.
It seems to me that cigar smokers have an easier time adjusting to the slower tempo of pipe smoking than cigarette smokers.

boudreaux · Apr 28, 2013

@brian64

Going to have to try that and will post my experience here. Fingers crossed...

cortezattic · Apr 28, 2013

I almost always dry my tobacco (with a low velocity blower). I think it improves the taste because there is less steam produced;

and IMO steam washes-out the flavor of the smoke, and the easier burn facilitates sipping.

oldredbeard · Apr 28, 2013

The hardest thing for me to do smoking a pipe is to slow down, I didn't really learn to sip until I started clenching. Then it seemed to be natural to just sip. At that point I found a whole new would of taste and enjoyment, but it took months. I also found that a couple of pipes and tobaccos I thought I didn't like were very good. LOL
Thanks to all of you for being so helpful on this journey, it just keeps getting better and better.

murf · Apr 28, 2013

I enjoy long, slow draughts for aros, seems to change up the flavor a bit. I'll mix it up with a few sips in between

kashmir · Apr 28, 2013

Oldredbeard - You have just said what has been on my mind for years. But I was unable to verbalize it. Until now. Clenching is spot on. When you clench, your piping cadence develops naturally with your breath. You then sip for flavor. An added bonus is the pipe rarely goes out. Another bonus to clenching is that piping then becomes mindless, in the Zen sense of the word. And, for me, the less thought put into a smoke, why the more transcendent the smoke. Yes indeedy, piping sure teaches a hell of a lot more than just how to smoke a pipe. I think clenching, snorking, and gently sipping to maintain a barely burning smoulder is key!

mrenglish · Apr 28, 2013

Huh, now that you guys mentioned it. I clench and now that you guys mentioned it, I do tend to sip more than puff away.

Wellington · Apr 28, 2013

Good to hear this emphasized, something I've recently finally started learning. Now I know that I'll probably never have a the ability to detect acute tastes, I've never had acute taste buds. I grew up on wild meat, its the only meat I ever ate unless I ate out at a restaurant, so this wild meat included deer, moose and elk mostly. Unless I had all three meats at once, I couldn't tell the difference (maybe elk a bit more). Same with turkey and chicken, there is no way I could ever tell any difference, even if I had them side by side.
Its just the way I am, but I have started to take smaller puffs here and there and not so fast and I've been getting real flavour a lot more often, its really nice.

pipeastronomer · Apr 28, 2013

I didn't really learn to sip until I started clenching

Hmmm. I will have to try this technique. I have tried clenching just a little bit but I haven't mastered it by any means. When clenching your pipe do you just leave it in your mouth for long periods of time? And if so do you have to remove it when you take a swallow?
Just wondering how you all cope... I am still on my journey to get that nirvana moment, but I have had fleeting moments of great taste. But not entire bowl-fulls yet.

boudreaux · Apr 28, 2013

I am reluctant to clench. For me it causes me, for some reason, to release saliva into the stem, and if I draw after that, I get that God-awful bitter taste that would cause anyone to run from the hobby.
So I guess I will have to go the drying route to see if that helps.
Interesting viewpoints and counterpoints, as usual - all informative.

tonguebitepipecleaner · Apr 28, 2013

I learned clenching from cigar smoking and yes it definitely helps with savouring. As kashmir said, it flows better and each puff is smaller because of the smaller volume your mouth can physically draw in when clenched (try flexing your mouth to full draw with your teeth clenched, fairly hard to do as well as amusing lol).

kashmir · Apr 28, 2013

Old school pipe smokers all clenched. You see this in old movies, and news clips from the era. Piping was a hands free operation. Piping wasn't a "hobby" - it was a life style. Many men smoked from dawn to dusk and lived lives significantly longer than many do today. After the Charing light and dicking around with the tamper a bit, the first and final light is lit. The pipe stays in more or less till it's done. I'd venture a guess that clenchers have a far shorter learning curve than hand holders. At least that how I see it.

Wellington · Apr 28, 2013

For me it causes me, for some reason, to release saliva into the stem,

I have the same problem when I clench, therefore I don't do it much.

kashmir · Apr 28, 2013

I also salivate to a certain extent while clenching, and so periodically remove my pipe, and dry the bit on my shirt or pants before proceeding. By clenching I don't mean to say the pipe is clenched for the duration, just for most of the smoke. And by clenched, I ask don't mean held firmly between one's teeth. It's more of a question of ballancing the pipe gently between one's teeth. When I'm piping on the hoof, I'll like to use a thin ring of surgical Tygon tubing as a bit protector, simply because I can hold on to the pipe better that way without fear of leaving chatter on the bit. This ring comes off when the pipe is cleaned and racked. So, when the pipe is clenched, hands free for typing, driving or reading, or what have you, I can better control the smoke to get the most flavorwise from the leaf. Also, like I said before, its less apt to go out, and, since you're taking short sips, overheating and tongue bite never comes onto play. Just a thought.

Tasting the Tobacco

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