Recomend Tobacco to a Two-month Newb

[phdaemon]

This is entirely subjective, Begnal Slices was one of my first English blends and I loved it, turned me onto more English and other pipe blends.

Indeed it is. I gave my experience. And prefixed it as such. Not sure why you're using a combative tone lol.

Dudes two months in smoking Gold Brick, Red Rap... I think he's got a good start.

That's the point I made literally in the same post you quoted me.

go back to posting on PSD imo

What exactly do you mean by this. Are you taking to the OP or me?

 

[Peter Turbo]

Indeed it is. I gave my experience. And prefixed it as such. Not sure why you're using a combative tone lol.


That's the point I made literally in the same post you quoted me.


What exactly do you mean by this. Are you taking to the OP or me?

I dont see what the issue is , talking about OP in that last part.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

...

On another note (not one you made but I've seen others have this sentiment, in both the pipe tobacco world and the cigar world) -- I don't think newbies need to "cut their teeth" on "bad" or "common" blends to appreciate the "good" / "rare" ones. I say, let them start off with the best we have to offer, so that they may stick around in the hobby.

I think the sentiment here from the oldheads is that A) you don't need to spend $$$ chasing McClellands and super aged virginias to get into the hobby; and B) it takes some technique and a frame of reference to appreciate some of the "better" blends.

So it is probably helpful to start with something more "common" (which I wouldn't so quickly associate with "bad") I read *it more as "readily available".

 

[Briarcutter]

it takes some technique and a frame of reference to appreciate some of the "better" blends.

When I stared out,I was a Captain Black type smoker. I remember in the mid 1980's I was at a rest stop on the turn pike. I seen some tins of tobacco on display.I purchased Scottish Three Nuns and English Capstan blue. I opened the tins and marveled at the incredible aroma. Smoked them, tried and tried, just wasn't for me at that time. Now I cringe at the thought that I tossed them out.

 

[phdaemon]

I think the sentiment here from the oldheads is that A) you don't need to spend $$$ chasing McClellands and super aged virginias to get into the hobby; and B) it takes some technique and a frame of reference to appreciate some of the "better" blends.

So it is probably helpful to start with something more "common" (which I wouldn't so quickly associate with "bad") I read *it more as "readily available".

Yeah, that's a fine opinion to have, and I agree completely with sentiment A.


I just don't agree specifically with "B", but that's OK. I don't think there is a single way to approach this hobby.
A metaphor to explain, I can enjoy hotdogs, burgers and steaks all the same. But I don't think many people would tell someone not to eat a steak until they've eaten a hot dog. For me, I would go for a cheese burger over a steak most days, but really do love a good steak every once in a while (screw hot dogs though).

The point is, everyone starts out different and may have different points of view already (e.g. coming from cigars like I did, most people don't go for some aro like captain black or amphora...they might, but generally that's not the case).

So that's why the oldheads telling people to only go for that stuff and come back when they've done that seems a bit dismissive at the very least.

I don't think anyone is recommending McClelland to this guy just yet .

For me specifically, since he liked the Golden Block/Brick, I personally haven't found anything offered by GL Pease or most C&D sourced offerings to hit the spot the same way for straight VAs. But I do find that I very much enjoy other K&K virginias.

Since ErnieQs SR and R&B are limited blends (I know these aren't K&K but they are top tier), I didn't recommend those. Hogshead may become regular production if C&D picks it up and that's why i mentioned that one.

So it is probably helpful to start with something more "common" (which I wouldn't so quickly associate with "bad") I read *it more as "readily available".

I think most things I recommended are "common". Most are in stock in a bunch of different shops online right now. Even ABF is in stock online at the moment on Estervals. Dark flake, Gold Brick, CVP are also in stock at this very moment (Nova has them in stock at MSRP).

Thinking about this tho, there's a couple more I'd like to add to the list:

Peretti Ampersand Flake
Peretti Boston Slices

Unfortunately Newminster 400 is gone and I don't think that PS has a flake that is actually similar to it (even though they claim luxury flake is it)

 

[GKChesterton]

Thank you everybody for weighing in. A variety of Pease and Gawith bacs, also Meistermischung No 88 are in the cart. After those I'll grab County Squire's sampler.

 

[HeadMisfit]

Even though I think the OP is actually a sock puppet fo rthe black frigate,,,,,,

Ill take a gander, If he is actually smoking red repparee, hes going to be unhappy on most other blends. Sure he COULD get off his ass and order up a tin od Jocks Mixture, but the flavor may just be too much for him to handle.

As someone else suggested, those burley flakes, sound good, but.. again may be to much for him to handle.


Hell id just say


get a pouch of borkum riff and learn to smoke it.

 

[Benedict Munsinger]

If you liked Balkan Supreme, you'd probably like Balkan Saiseni even more. (Balkans are one of my favorite blends).

Other english/balkan blends:

SG Squadron Leader
SG Perfection
GL Pease Quiet Nights


On the VA front, since you loved the Wessex Gold Block (These are on the same level as difficulty as the Golden Block):

F&T Cut Virginia Plug
Meistermischung No 88
Wessex Campaign Dark Flake
Wessex Golden Slice

If you wanna try out some Burley blends, I recommend:

Solani Aged Burley Flake
Wessex Burley Slice

If hogshead ever becomes available again (Seems like it will be produced using C&D sourced tobacco now) then you should grab some of that.

If you're into perique (I personally am not very much) then:

GL Pease Haddo's Delight (It's got a similar fig/raisin note like Esoterica Dunbar or Dorchester, but less refined)
Rattray's Marlin Flake

SG Squadron Leader and SG Perfection when you mention these blends, what years of release are you referring to? Are we talking pre-2015 stocks or more recent productions?

 

[Benedict Munsinger]

It's been a while and Arango Balken Supreme, Red Rapperee, and Wessex Gold block are all I've smoked. The first two are good, while the last was scrumptious. They have gotten a bit tedious. Some more variety would be appreciated.

What would you reccomend to expand a palate and what other blends would you recommend that are similar or tangential to the three above? What are your must try favorites?

Please don't talk about unicorn turds unless you're willing to share a bowl.

Thank you in advance!

Still, I’d recommend taking a closer look at the GL Pease blends mentioned by colleagues in the earlier posts—they might offer a solid alternative worth exploring.

 

[HeadMisfit]

just smoke anything rattrays blends youll be happy

 

[wyfbane]

For sure. I tend to think that if you favor a specific manufacturer you're going to enjoy other offerings with similar tobaccos (e.g. other K&K blends, etc). So i'm with you on this.

A couple of things stop me from recommending OTC blends to OP:

1. The guy has already gone into Wessex Golden Block (which is usually a chase blend). Going from that to carter hall is going to be rough.
2. I actually agree with Shane from Smoking Pipes and think that OTC blends are actually not great for new peeps:

• They tend to be slightly aromatic (and not everyone is into that)
• Due to the simplicity of the blend it may actually be underwhelming for a newbie (like, is this all there is to it?). They may not actually appreciate the simplicity of it.

An example, when I first started smoking pipes (I came from the cigar world) some people recommended to me Bengal Slices as my first english blend... IMO that was a horrible mistake. I hated it - and it put me off of english blends for a while. It wasn't until I tried some ASTB that I was like, huh, maybe I do like english blends after all.

I had a similar experience with Cater Hall. I found it to be not what I was looking for in a VaBur.

Years later, i went on to try Bengal Slices again and loved it.

So I think a lot of variables go into whether OTC blends should be recommended to a newbie or not.

I generally avoid them altogether at first, and recommend other easily accessible blends (GL Pease, C&D, K&K, etc). With this guy, Since he went with Gold Brick, I figured same level as that are other wessex blends and solani.

On another note (not one you made but I've seen others have this sentiment, in both the pipe tobacco world and the cigar world) -- I don't think newbies need to "cut their teeth" on "bad" or "common" blends to appreciate the "good" / "rare" ones. I say, let them start off with the best we have to offer, so that they may stick around in the hobby.

I completely agree with this. Having been blessed to come into pipe smoking during the tail end the the great years, I have had 13 years of smoking godlike tobaccos. And as my palate has matured I can now discern the good (however slight) in OTC tobaccos many mock. I just tried my first pouch od Paladin this week on a whim. It was fun, but would have definitely not impressed back when I was getting started.

 

[Benedict Munsinger]

just smoke anything rattrays blends youll be happy

Or I’d suggest trying Robert McConnell Marylebone — or something from their Heritage series, which shares a similar character and balance. This year I’ve mostly been smoking RMC blends myself, and honestly, they’ve proven to be a worthy successor to many of the legendary mixtures we used to rely on. Excellent craftsmanship, steady quality, and that unmistakable old-school English spirit.

 

[HeadMisfit]

Or I’d suggest trying Robert McConnell Marylebone — or something from their Heritage series, which shares a similar character and balance. This year I’ve mostly been smoking RMC blends myself, and honestly, they’ve proven to be a worthy successor to many of the legendary mixtures we used to rely on. Excellent craftsmanship, steady quality, and that unmistakable old-school English spirit.

SOme McConnel blends are direct repackages of Rattrays blends... the flakes at least.

Not to pee on the OP or some of the others, but 2 months into my pipe smoking journey I was happy with Prince Albert and Half and Half.

 

[Benedict Munsinger]

SOme McConnel blends are direct repackages of Rattrays blends... the flakes at least.

Not to pee on the OP or some of the others, but 2 months into my pipe smoking journey I was happy with Prince Albert and Half and Half.

That may be true for some of the flakes, but honestly, the quality hasn’t suffered because of it — at least I haven’t noticed any difference.

 

[phdaemon]

SG Squadron Leader and SG Perfection when you mention these blends, what years of release are you referring to? Are we talking pre-2015 stocks or more recent productions?

I've had both and I like both fine. For this guy, he's just starting. New productions are probably just fine. Besides, if he gets his own cellar going he'll be aging his own stuff. No need for him to chase older stuff that has had recipes changed and then he'll be looking for that version of it instead of the one that's currently available.

Balkan Sobranie is a good example of this. I like the new version just fine cause I never had the old "god like" blend.

 

[newbroom]

When I started, I immersed myself in all things pipes and pipe tobacco, trying to learn as much as I could as fast as i could.
I was rolling my own using OHM Bold and thinking, crap, these papers are causing me to have a cough and congestion. I'll go to Walgreen's and get a cob and smoke it that way.
It took me a couple of weeks or at least days of smoking that MM Legend ,(now 11 yrs old) like a cigarette, to find this forum and start to learn what's up.
Your journey is your own. Recommendations are opinions.
My palate developed or my brain discerned more as I gained experience.
At this point, I feel having pipe tobacco is essential, and that variety is the spice of life.
I did try most of the codger blends in 14 and 12 oz. tubs repeatedly over the yrs. I figured I'd try them to see why they're still being sold.

 

[renfield]

Looks like you’re off to a good start. Here are some easy to get blends to help you sort what kinds of blends you like. Easy stuff to get and fairly often on sale at Smoking Pipes.

C&D Pegasus, a fine representation of burley.
GL Pease Union Square, a nice Virginia benchmark.
GLP Chelsea Morning, a light, well balanced English.
GLP Gaslight, a heavy yet smooth English “Plug”
GLP Samarra, Oriental forward.

 

[Benedict Munsinger]

I've had both and I like both fine. For this guy, he's just starting. New productions are probably just fine. Besides, if he gets his own cellar going he'll be aging his own stuff. No need for him to chase older stuff that has had recipes changed and then he'll be looking for that version of it instead of the one that's currently available.

Balkan Sobranie is a good example of this. I like the new version just fine cause I never had the old "god like" blend.

Well, maybe you're right. Those who haven't tried the old blends probably don't care anymore. Personally, I miss Palace Gate, which I'll never see again.

 

[phdaemon]

Well, maybe you're right. Those who haven't tried the old blends probably don't care anymore. Personally, I miss Palace Gate, which I'll never see again.

Not gonna lie, there's a few tins of the old Balkan Sobranie up on the auction place which are tempting, but, the prices are pretty much mortgage payments and I am not gonna be doing that

Basically, I'll never miss what I didn't know

(I do have some other out of production stuff that I love though, tons of McClellands, etc - my cellar is very deep on that stuff, but nothing before mid - 90s)