Where Are The Holes

You are way ahead of me, but I would highly recommend MacBaren HH Old Dark Fired and Warhorse in the dark fired department. Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake ain't no slouch either, so a good lead in to more Virginias. I like Orlik Golden Slice as well, grassy and citrus flavors it seems to be further down the continuum from FVF. I'll defer to the more experienced members in these matters. Good Luck!
Edit- We have the best avatars ever !!

You seem very well versed I would suggest Full Virginia Flake and Best Brown Flake from Samuel Gawith and Red & Black and Dark Star from McClelland to experience some top of the line straight Virginia tobacco blends. Otherwise you've got it pretty well covered and just need to keep trying new blends every time you order. I will never get to a point to where I stop looking for new blends. Lately I've been interested in tobaccos that I can't find here in the states but that gets mighty expensive!

VA/Per: Irish Oak
Burley: Irish Flake, Old Joe Krantz
...drum roll...
Straight VA: Royal Yacht!

How about a codger blend or two?

Billkay. That's just not something I would ever dream of doing. I love variety and I love trying new things, that's part of the fun of it for me. Don't get me wrong, I have my everyday smokes but I also have (I really don't know how many) a lot of different blends to choose from when I get a hankering for something different. To me, when a pipe smoker has one blend and one blend only, it sounds more like a habbit/addiction than that of a hobby or something one is passionate about. When I smoked cigarettes, yes, I found one style I liked and stuck with them.

Are people afraid that they might be missing something ?

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That would seem to be the case. I’ve got more than my share of various blends, although I’m sure not as near as many others, and some of the blends I’ll probably never smoke again. I’ve given up on ‘gotta try this or gotta that’, and haven’t purchased any tobacco in over 6 months. Then again, I’ve never really thought of pipe smoking as a ‘hobby’, so I think I’ll survive OK. Besides, it gives me more money to spend on beer and occasionally some good cigars.

If you want to get adventurous think about trying some plugs. Peterson Perfect Plug is a very rich smoke nd is easy to get in the USA. More difficult, and costly, are the plugs from Ireland and UK: Revor, Velvan Warrior and Mick McQuaid.

They take some time with prep but the smoke is rewarding.

I'm starting to suspect it's classic crowd psychology as LeBon outlined it.
A crowd assembles (in cyberspace), somebody yells, "Get ________!" providing it with direction, and the stampede is on.
It's certainly disrupted a few supply chains. [:rofl:]
Can it really be that simple ?

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Seems to be a lot of truth to that. I certainly notice a lot of it - people raving over the currently trendy 'baccy, while others get ignored. There also seems to be the mindset that one has to try everything. I don't know if both of those are enhanced by the fact that so many new pipe smokers are found on forums; but it's definitely something I've noticed.

It's THIS forum! So many of us all posting our new acquisitions of pipes and tobacco and raving about their unique and sensational qualities that playing along becomes part of the game.

Before I came HERE, I'd never heard of PAD, TAD, or Escudo, etc.

Learning is a YUUGE part of the enjoyment of this past time for me, so, tasting all the genres and as many blends as is reasonable (?) is enticing.

I must have tried dozens and dozens of different blend in this, my first two years of pipe smoking.

My curiosity has been piqued and satisfied and I am now mostly just bringing in blending tobacco from C&D or McClellan, and mixing my own.

One thing I believe is that time improves my mixtures. I guess the tobacco has to honeymoon a bit before it settles into its true identity.

Thank God for the internet... If I only had the blends available at my local B&M I wouldn't still be smoking. It's such an amazing thing that us pipe smokers can congregate here on these forums and share our findings with each-other and expand our horizons.

Interesting thread! I'm involved in a similar world tour myself.

There also seems to be the mindset that one has to try everything.

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I suppose I simply enjoy variety. It is part of what drew me to pipe smoking. It's just like with cuisine: I know very few people that only visit one restaurant, and no others; I don't know many who eat the exact same thing for three meals a day without change (though I do know a few people who almost do that). Most enjoy trying different places, eating different food. Variety is the spice of life as some people say.
It's not so much that I'm afraid I'm missing something, to reference an earlier post. I think that's projecting the "few favorite blend" mindset onto others. It is true that for those afraid to try new things, it's possible that their favorite blend of all time would actually have been one that they never tried. But that's still keeping that "I'm looking for my favorite blend" mindset...
I don't think that's what motivates me--I'm not afraid I'm missing something, and I'm also not looking for a favorite blends, though I will, of course, inevitably find one. Instead, it's that I'm not afraid to try something new. In fact, I think fear is what prevents people from trying new things: the idea that maybe they're wasting a few bucks or a few minutes on a smoke that's not in their comfort zone. I'm 99% sure from smelling the bag of Ennerdale I just received that it won't be a favorite blend, and probably not even a top 10! That said, I will smoke it, and will probably enjoy it.
Ultimately I just have to say, "De gustibus non est disputandum!"
That said, I think once I have toured around the pipe tobacco world and tried many of the general varieties, I probably will settle into a more "few favorite blends" mode of smoking.

If you liked Dark Star as a straight Virginia and like VaPers I'd reccomend McClelland's St. James Woods. I rotate between that and Bayou morning for my everyday smoke now.
For a straight Virginia I like FVF and Newminster Superior Navy Flake.

Last week we had a nice thread that loosely applies to this subject.

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/essay-a-new-tobacco-a-great-little-read
I remember asking something similar a while back. The basic answer is "yes, you have all the basics covered, and no, you're never going to be finished". You just have to be satisfied with knowing that you'll never know everything.

Very good post Beastinview! I absolutely agree with you.
Did ya get your Dark Flake yet? After you mentioned it in reference to Earl Grey, I had to go out and try some of it (Earl Grey) again. I love it, too! I find that it is the beverage equivalent to my beloved Dark Flake and they make a wonderful pair. Dark Flake is an everyday smoke for me and While I love Ennerdale Flake, it's more of a 'once and a while' smoke for me, but I applaud you for giving it a try, I'll try most everything at least once.