A Pound of Hartwell's Evening Stroll

[Beowoulf]

Title edited per Jesse's suggestion.
And brevity!

I LOVE this tobacco, but it comes in such small tins. So I ordered a pound of it from Cup O' Joes. It arrived today. How it got thru Customs, I can't imagine. Next pound order will be C&D's Apricots and Cream. Y'know, I can actually taste a difference between the two.
All this time I thought you guys were making up all that talk about tasting the different flavors in a tobacco - maple, chocolate, licorice, vanilla, cherry, molasses, grassy, citrusy, lightly tangy dark fruit, earthy, woody, bready, floral, sugary, stewed fruity, mildly honeyish, etc. etc. etc. etc. Heh... I still don't believe people are actually tasting all that stuff, but I do have to admit that ES and A&C do have noticeable differences in taste. Imagine that!

 

[Chasing Embers]

I still don't believe people are actually tasting all that stuff

Retrohale

 

[cosmicfolklore]

If you think tobacco tasting notes are weird, you should see bourbon tasting notes… spearmint gum, peanut shells, old coffee grounds, chewed grass cud… ha ha… professional bourbon reviews. I kid you not.

But, at first everyone thinks these notes are made up, but they’re there. Stick with trying and it may come to you, or may not.
I went to coffee tastings and many many wine tastings and even several vinter’s classes.

To start getting some ideas on reaching these levels of tasting… smoke two pipes loaded with different but similar tobaccos, and smoke them at the same time but alternating between them. This will give you a baseline of flavor as you switch between the two.

I will also load a dozen pipes with a dozen different tobaccos the day before, and try to guess which is which tobacco as you smoke. It makes you focus your attention to specific flavors in each tobacco. Or have your wife load them so you can’t cheat.

It’s fun and might enhance your experience.

 

[sablebrush52]

You know, under certain circumstances, "A Pound Of Hartman's Evening Stroll" could be considered an unfortunate title for a thread.

 

[Coreios]

I agree with Chasing Embers. When I retro I pick up on so much more. I can pick out whats in a blend that I don't even know about. Same with a cigar. If it's not an aromatic it's more of what comes to you when you smell and taste it. Like everytime I smoke Bayou Mornings I get a lot of spicy, hay, grassy, notes which I love. Reminds me of a Nicaraguan, Dominican cigar. Gonna be buying bulk of that one. But yeah.

 

[Grangerous]

Cosmic is making a great suggestion. There’s no better way to differentiate blends than to smoke them alternately. I enjoy comparison smokes and do it often.

 

[judcole]

I didn't know the Hartwell blends were still around, I enjoy some Signature now and then; I've got 5 tins stashed, two of which will hit 10 years this summer.

 

[Beowoulf]

Can someone explain retrohaling to me? I did a search of the forum and couldn't find an explanation of what it is and how to do it.

 

[Beowoulf]

I googled retrohaling and found plenty of resources. No need to school me on it anymore. Thanks!

 

[PA Piper Mike]

Retrohale

Are there other smokers out here that can hardly taste the tobacco unless they do retrohale? I, for one, can barely taste a thing, whether I am smoking Pirate Kake or BCA...if I were to load 2 identical pipes with both of those, I really would have a difficult time trying to figure out what I was smoking unless I retrohaled. Are my tastebuds defective??? When I sip and release with no retro, it just hot air to me. I NEED to retro. Maybe I just need to spend a few more decades smoking...maybe time will tell.

 

[Beowoulf]

OMG! After a couple of instructional You Tube videos, I've just been retrohaling. It really does change the experience, doesn't it! Thanks @Chasing Embers for the suggestion.

 

[judcole]

I guess Signature must be gone - Evening Stroll is all that Cup O' Joe's sells.
I had picked up my last tin about a year ago, when I saw some at Iwan Ries. I recently picked up a tub of Lane Ready Rubbed from them, after seeing it on the web site.