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bulletsnbriars

bulletsnbriars

Can't Leave
Nov 9, 2013
323
1
Nashville/Williston
Hello everyone,
I'd like to take a moment to say hello and thanks. Without even posting my questions, you have all answered them thanks to a search bar and a healthy bit of lurking. This place is an amazing resource! I dont know where I'd be without ya'll and I look forward to being a more active part of the community. I'm a young piper, received my first pipe as my 18th birthday present back in December, a Peterson Rhodesian which I dedicated to Latakia blends. I work in the Bakken oil field but reside near the lovely Nashville Tennessee. I look forward to getting to meet you all.
Now, on to my question. The first blend I ever tried was Karl Erik no. 20, which is a lat bomb. I was intrigued by the idea of lat and decided to dive in head on. I was not dissappointed. I started acquiring other lat blends, Boswell's Northwoods and Countryside, Frog Morton In the Cellar, McClelland Vintage Syrian, all sorts. Most of them I loved, and I could taste subtle differences between them. I also smoked Aros out of an MM Cob. They didnt leave as big of an impression, but I enjoyed them. Those two blends were all I smoked. And then, a nasty cheap cherry OTC left me turned off to all aros, even my good ones. Shortly after that, all my English Lats starting tasting the same, and very boring. So I decided to dive head first into Burley and ordered Five Brothers. I loved it! I have a new Peterson P lip on the way along with three burley blends. It will be dedicated to them.
So my question is, is this normal for a new piper to go through stages? Have you ever just got tired of an old favorite? Did you ever return them, or were you pretty much always turned off?
Also, suggestions for Burley Blends are appreciated.
Thanks in advance,

-Travis

 
andrew

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,043
402
I find my tastes change with the seasons, like in the hot summer I can't really think of smoking a lat blend, but in the winter it's all I smoke. In the summer it's mainly Va's and VaPers. I find it's best to have a good rotation going of different tobacco's and dedicated pipes to those kinds of blends ie lat english pipe, va pipe, vaper pipe. I would say it's pretty common when you're starting out, some of the blends I loved I don't care for anymore, and some of the blends I didn't care for starting out I love now.

 
dottiewarden

dottiewarden

Lifer
Mar 25, 2014
3,053
57
Toronto
My tendency is to smoke a few bowls of something in a row and then switch to another. Unfortunately, I don't yet have access to as much variety as you guys up in the States. But one thing for sure is, trying different tobaccos and blends is all part of this adventure.
I personally would have to classify myself as an Orientals guy for the moment, but I would rather have a few options always at the ready. There are also several stand alone blends that would be worth trying such as Peterson's Irish Oak or Exclusiv Royal. I also recently read about a custom made blend " Rincón de la Pipa" made by 4noggins for a Spanish pipe smoking community, but available to every one. The Seattle Pipe Club blends get some pretty good reviews, although I've never tried them myself.
Happy smoking and welcome to this forum bulletsnbriars!

 
rmbittner

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,995
Bullets:
First, welcome! That's some serious lurking you've been doing: Just three posts since November! :) But glad you've been able to get the info you needed as a newcomer to the hobby just from reading the wealth of stuff here. (Definitely an approach I'd suggest to others who are new here.)
I haven't noticed that my tastes change seasonally. But I definitely go through periods when something that I had loved the last time I smoked it suddenly fails to satisfy. There are so many reasons this can happen: My mood, the weather, the pipe, how I'm feeling on that particular day. . . I don't worry about this too much, though. If the first bowl of a particular blend doesn't "hit" me like it usually does, then I switch to something else for the next pipe. Or I'll try it in a different pipe.
It may help that I constantly keep 5-6 open jars of tobacco going at any one time -- all different styles. (Whenever I pull a tin from my cellar, I put it in a glass jar for smoking in my current rotation. Otherwise, all of my cellared tobaccos are in their sealed tins.) Among English, Balkan, straight VA, VA/burley flakes, Penzance, Lakeland flakes, and an aromatic, I have more than enough variety to keep me interested.
I'd just encourage you to give yourself time to figure out what approaches work for you as you continue with your pipe smoking.
Bob

 
L

larrylegend

Lurker
Jan 3, 2014
47
0
I have been smoking a pipe for a bit over a year now. I started smoking with one pipe and mainly expensive aro blends (Peterson and others). I then decided to try many other types and blends of tobacco. I found that my tastes have evolved and also change with the season. It find that tobacco is similar to beer in that I enjoy some blends all the time and some during a certain season.
The blends I smoke on a regular basis include 1Q, Frog Morton on the Bayou, Frog Morton on the Town and Presbyterian mixture.

 
murf

murf

Can't Leave
Mar 1, 2013
446
1
Most of what I've been smoking recently has been leftovers from Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake and Escudo, mixed with some Captain Black White, and a light latakia blend with some orientals in it. So, I have a bit of everything going on in just that one blend
Always nice to see a fellow young piper. Welcome!
I tend to get "burnt out" on certain types of tobacco. I'll smoke nothing but Latakia blends for a few weeks, then switch to VA or VA/Per, and then to aromatic. I haven't had a good aro in awhile, so that's coming up soon. I also just smoke whatever strikes my fancy at the moment, like if I'm on a VA kick, but really want a latakia blend one day, then back to VA.
But, with the change in season and the weather getting stirred up, it's affecting my sinuses and allergies, so I haven't been smoking much lately.
Just have fun experimenting. You might go through a half a tin of something really quick, grow weary of it, switch to something else, and then come back to the first one after awhile and you remember why you were so enthralled with it in the first place. It happens.

 
murf

murf

Can't Leave
Mar 1, 2013
446
1
I will also add that lately, I'll smoke one bowl of a blend, love it, and smoke it the next day and not be as impressed. Could be due to any number of factors. Maybe I didn't let the pipe rest long enough. Or I needed a bowl of a "palate cleanser" inbetween. Something like a Dunhill Flake, or other straight VA that's on the lighter/brighter side.

 
derfargin

derfargin

Lifer
Mar 3, 2014
2,028
28
Kennesaw, GA
I've been at this for a solid 8 months now, and I can tell you, your tastes will change. Keep stuff around to try that you feel like you've grown tired of. On the other spectrum, give things a try you think you wouldn't like. You may surprise yourself.
I find that English blends tend to be more of a cool weather smoke, so I'm trying to take advantage of the cooler nights right now to sample some the blends I haven't tried before it gets too hot.
I've found myself smoking a lot more Carter Hall these days, mostly because I can just puff away and not think too much about it. I'm sure a few weeks/months will pass, and I'll find something else to latch on to. The great thing about this hobby is that there are lots of tobacco out there, the journey really is the best part. And if/when you think you're finished? You can start all over again and rediscover old favorites.
(With the exception of MacB's VA #1 that $#!7 can die in a grease fire.)

 
crazypipe

crazypipe

Lifer
Sep 23, 2012
3,484
0
As for me I'm all over the place with blends that I smoke. But some day's I just dip all day. :puffy:

 
sparrowhawk

sparrowhawk

Lifer
Jul 24, 2013
2,941
219
Like Teddy, I'm everywhere with baccys. However, this can be a bit expensive, and I do like to keep things simple, so eventually, after experimenting, I've settled on !Q as my standard go-to tobacco, and for variety other aros like Molto Dulce, Maple Street, Early Morning Pipe. If I want even more variety, I try bags of blends offered by some stores, and these can last a long time. Most, I think, are aros. Don't forget to try an occasional flake! (And to your original question, at least for me, I would think it's normal to go through stages of trying different blends.)

 
cigrmaster

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
When I first began smoking a pipe I used to enjoy a number of different English and Oriental blends. I moved to Florida( from R.I) in 2003 and my taste for these began to wane. I took a few years off from the pipe in 2009 and when I came back in 2012 I detested the taste of my English and Orientals so I began smoking VA, Vaper and Vabur flakes exclusively. My tastes definitely changed and I have no problem with it. I smoke what I like and that is all that matters. I know plenty of guys whose tastes have evolved over the years and it is no big deal. You can always give away, trade or sell blends you no longer enjoy.

 
murf

murf

Can't Leave
Mar 1, 2013
446
1
Lestrout has told me the best time to smoke latakia is in the winter. Harris, since Florida doesn't really have much of a winter (compared to Rhode Island), could that be why your tastes have changed? Come back north for a winter and see! :puffy:

 
bulletsnbriars

bulletsnbriars

Can't Leave
Nov 9, 2013
323
1
Nashville/Williston
Well I'm glad to know I'm not crazy. My load of burley blends just came in, with a new peterson to dedicate to them! Sadly I iust ran out of 5 brothers but I've got Double Fantasy, Irish Flake, Plumcake and Bald Headed Teacher to replace them.
I feel a bit duped though, I totally thought Plumcake was a burly forward flakd for some reason. Look before you leap, as they say. Oh well, I hear it's a fantastic blend.

 
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