The Aromatic Majority; Who Are They?

Change happens slowly sometimes. Aromatics represented the most popular form of pipe tobacco for the past 100 or more years and while there seems to be a renaissance going on right now (thanks in part to forums like these), old habits die slowly.
So I would say that there are many people in the U.S. and around the world that are still getting their tobacco from drug stores - and aromatics are currently what is most easily found in these places. I would bet that if our hobby wasn't under imminent threat from the powers that be, aromatics would begin to be in the decline over the next 10-15 years. Takes time.

These days I primarily smoke non-aros, but at one time aros were what I smoked almost exclusively. I still go on aro kicks from time to time, my last one was about five or six months ago, and I still have several pounds of good aro cellared away. That being said, I haven't bought much in the way of aros here lately, except for a tin of Molto Dolce.

I am a predominantly aromatic smoker but I do dabble in non-aros when the mood strikes me.

Aro-smoker signing in. I will dip my foot into non-aro waters here in there as well but I generally enjoy the aroma too much to consider smoking non-aro tobacco every day.

With regard to forum membership vs. the general pipe-smoking community, you're looking at two things:

1. the subset of pipe smokers who are also computer literate and internet-connected, and

2. the subset of pipe smokers who are interested enough in the subject of pipe smoking to find and join a forum, as opposed to just smoking their pipes in isolation or with a local group of pipe smokers.
These two groups are not mutually exclusive, of course, but they are self-selected, and internet presence is not the same thing as actual numbers - ask any pollster why internet polls don't always reflect reality.

I too am a predominately aromatic smoker. I do have some VAs and a few English blends. And to answer one of your questions: I smoke Lanes Black Raspberry. :D But I also smoke FrogMorton and EMP.
I think most (not all) people start off by smoking aromatics. I think it benefits the seller to have a large selection of aromatics.

With regard to forum membership vs. the general pipe-smoking community, you're looking at two things:

1. the subset of pipe smokers who are also computer literate and internet-connected, and

2. the subset of pipe smokers who are interested enough in the subject of pipe smoking to find and join a forum, as opposed to just smoking their pipes in isolation or with a local group of pipe smokers.
These two groups are not mutually exclusive, of course, but they are self-selected, and internet presence is not the same thing as actual numbers - ask any pollster why internet polls don't always reflect reality.

Click to expand...

Phred's nailed it.
Don't smoke aros - don't wanna smoke aros. You guys are more than welcome to my share. :D

I've heard in interviews that most tobacco sales are in aromatics (can't remember the specifics). So, I would assume that the members in this forum are not a good representation of the general population of pipe smokers. That our "sample population" is skewed in some way. Perhaps the types of pipe smokers who actually seek out forums like these, are the types of pipe smokers who prefer VA or Latakia blends, with only the occasional indulgence into aros. There are exceptions to this, as always, like blue eye dog above.
Perhaps pipe smokers who prefer aros simply buy what sounds good to them, smoke it, and that's the end of that. If they like it, they buy it again, if not, they don't. They aren't searching for that "perfect" flake or English blend. This is all conjecture, of course, but I think back to my grandfather who would just buy his pipe tobacco at the drug store, smoke it til it was gone, and then buy more. The stuff he liked, he kept smoking.
Anyway, I think it's fairly reasonable to say that aro smokers aren't on these types of forums as much, and perhaps they get "turned off" by all the talk of non-aro tobaccos. Maybe aro smokers are just simpler kinds of pipe smokers, and don't have as many questions as the rest of us.

I have no idea who these "aromatic" people are, but I know what car they drive:

http://youtu.be/4GL1T-JVpgQ
All 4:

http://www.youtube.com/user/harvestfilms/search?query=mediocrity

I'd imagine most pipe smokers start off on Aro's, and migrate over to the non aros after a while.
Plus, I guess there are a lot of people who pick up a pipe, test a couple of aromatic tobaccos recommended by their local tobacconist but for whatever reason, don't get on with pipes. So just from that you'll get a lot more aromatic stuff sold.
As a personal preference - Aromatics all the way. But then, I am fairly new at this game...

@woodsroad seriously? There are plenty of aromatic blends that are great. Let's not turn this tread into a bash aro thread...

phred

With regard to forum membership vs. the general pipe-smoking community, you're looking at two things:

1. the subset of pipe smokers who are also computer literate and internet-connected, and

2. the subset of pipe smokers who are interested enough in the subject of pipe smoking to find and join a forum, as opposed to just smoking their pipes in isolation or with a local group of pipe smokers.
These two groups are not mutually exclusive, of course, but they are self-selected, and internet presence is not the same thing as actual numbers - ask any pollster why internet polls don't always reflect reality.

Click to expand...

Yep, exactly this. I myself smoke them all nowadays, vapers, burleys, aros, and also from time to time a bit latakia.
When I go to town in a shop that sells more than just 3 sorts of pouch tobaccos that were sitting on the shelf for probably a few years, (which, sadly, isn't easy where I live, especially because I can't order tobacco online {it's pretty much illegal}, and I'm quite a bit jealous of your great stores in the US), I see about 70-80% of those pipe tobaccos being aros, and alas also again 70-80% of them are mediocre at best.

If you'd ask for a recommendation, or something that sells well, it's always one of them, and most of the time something really, really bad, that nearly ensures that the new guy probably will get heavy tongue bite and quits, if he or she doesn't search for help on the internet or someone they now.

I wonder if many of aromatic smokers are like I am. I don't consider myself a serious aromtic smoker. I always keep a few aros on hand that I really enjoy. Variety is the spice of life. I have no problem starting the day with a virginia oriental then a nice burley mid afternoon and finishing the day with either a smooth english / latikia blend, or a favorite aromatic.

Oddly enough, my choice of drink reflects my pipe habit. Coffee morning, tea afternoon, beer/ wine/ scotch for a nightcap.

I also keep several aros for when a few friends drop by and they don't enjoy the flavor of my other blends.

The people like us who spend time on sites like this and discuss our favorite blends is such a minuscule number in comparison to all the other pipe smokers out there. You really cannot judge the numbers of us who smoke aromatics to all the pipe smokers who never posts on sites like this. It is the same thing with cigars, the number of premium cigars smokers is nothing in comparison to all the cigar guys who smoke the machine made Swisher sweets and cigars of that ilk. We are a tiny fraction of the pipe smokers out there which is why OTC's out sell all of the premium tobacco blends combined. I am sure that any one from Lane or Sutliff will confirm how small a group we really are. This is why aromatics out sell all the other types of tobacco's by miles and will continue to do so.

I'll also say - our local B&M carries only a couple non-aromatic blends.

Could we look to the craft beer movement for ways to improve the overall taste of consumers? Most people who buy beer don't give a damn about quality -- they want familiarity, and the side-effects. But a growing number of people do care about quality, and want an enjoyable experience, not just an alcohol hit. Sound familiar?
I think you win this battle in the long run with new pipe smokers. You need to introduce people to natural tobaccos right off the bat. Which natural tobaccos are cooler-smoking, enjoyable, and bite-resistant? The internet should be screaming with its own alternative "better" conventional wisdom for starting new smokers off right. I don't think we have, yet.

This is a really good line of questioning, thanks for bringing the subject up.
I haven't really ever given it much thought, but just now reading this, it spurred me to wonder when the American pipesmokers palate shifted toward the aromatic side, even though Latakia is aromatic I don't classify it as such, nor St. Bruno Condor Lakelands or any of the other UK OTC stuff, when I read aromatic, I take it in the sense of the more candy-like or fruity goopy stuff that somehow became popular in the USA, maybe the trend started in Denmark, I dunno.
But it sent me looking, briefly to try and see, because many of the early American tins I've come across are mostly all natural tobaccos, many of them "kitchen sink" blends full of lat per havana turkish etc etc --- and it seems the shift may have occurred in the 40's possibly, I can't really say but I'd be grateful if anyone can fill in the blanks.
Wally Frank catalogs seemed to be a good place to get a feeling for the times and the 1939 edition shows more naturals than aros.
Dig this Sarrapia aka Dipteryx Punctata, more commonly known as Tonka bean, and it actually came with a Tonka bean packed in the tin!

A Wally Frank Lakeland!


...also available was Attar of Roses (a traditional snuff flavoring, Lakelandesque) made in Ireland.
And look here, curlie cut from England and Blarney Twist from Ireland!

http://pipepages.com/pics/wftp5.jpg
...and a whole page of plugs!

http://pipepages.com/pics/wftp8.jpg
1941 catalog has a great range of different blends...

http://pipepages.com/4112
The description for Brown Jug Tobakker is priceless.

Also noteworthy, the real he-man's smoke, Canadian Woodsman's Plug !
Apologies if this has veered off topic, but I became curious about exactly when grape and apricot and chocolate and vanilla and cherry and anything and everything else over-flavored became the American standard pipe tobacco.

Aro guy here! I just like the taste better. But I to will have a good english every now and then.