About those Nirvana/Ultimate smokes…

[Dr Drago]

How many of you have experienced these with other various forms of tobacco?

Over three decades, I’ve used about every form of delivery available.
Cigarette smoker, cigar aficionado, snuff taker, vaper, snus, chew, nicotine patches, gum, etc.
None have ever affected me in the way that the pipe has the ability to.

For me, there is something very different about smoking my pipe and I’ve thought often about why that is.

 

[reloader]

I wouldn't say I've had that nirvana smoke yet, but have had really great smoking sessions a time or two. Its usually when everything is calm and I'm listening to some good music while sitting in my rocking chair on a warm day with a light breeze while sipping bourbon. The pipe is by far the ultimate delivery system. Serenity by the bowl.

 

[didimauw]

I've tried every form as well, and I know what you mean. I feel different after a pipe then I do any other form of tobacco. Happier and much more relaxed.

 

[TN Jed]

I smoked a Cohiba Behike this weekend that was magical. I enjoy cigars immensely but that transcendental smoke that a pipe can deliver is unmatched by any cigar I've smoked. All other forms of tobacco ingestion are just delivery methods with no real pleasure outside of the nicotine and habit ritual.

 

[Dr Drago]

I wouldn't say I've had that nirvana smoke yet, but have had really great smoking sessions a time or two. Its usually when everything is calm and I'm listening to some good music while sitting in my rocking chair on a warm day with a light breeze while sipping bourbon. The pipe is by far the ultimate delivery system. Serenity by the bowl.

Couldn’t have said it better.

 

[Dr Drago]

I've tried every form as well, and I know what you mean. I feel different after a pipe than I do any other form of tobacco. Happier and much more relaxed.

So true

 

[Dr Drago]

I smoked a Cohiba Behike this weekend that was magical. I enjoy cigars immensely but that transcendental smoke that a pipe can deliver is unmatched by any cigar I've smoked. All other forms of tobacco ingestion are just delivery methods with no real pleasure outside of the nicotine and habit ritual.

Agreed. I love my cigars and they’ve given me some magnificent smokes but nothing like what a great pipe delivers.

 

[bullet08]

Often enough. Today was amazing. Dozed off few times. Sun was shining, air was warm.. Nothing to complain about.

 

[boston]

At least a few times. Not a great batting average considering time and resources spent but I'm still swinging. First time, GLP Samara in the pipe. Remember it clearly. Frog has come close on more than one occasion. Opus x Churchill cigar. Maybe more than once. Completely different settings.

The mindset/mood does matter. Low stress; not easy to achieve for many,...and me. Pipe matters too. In my experience, some pipes have an affinity to some tobaccos, and vice versa. And the cigar must be age properly.

 

[Coreios]

I smoked cigars for over 20 years. When I switched to the pipe, I lost interest in them. I still occasionally smoke them, but not 7 a day like a used to. More like 1 a month or more. The flavor of the pipe is superior in my opinion and I have great cigars. Also the price is right. But I think controlling the ember in the pipe, combined with the joy of holding the pipe makes it a more relaxing experience. A cigar or cigarette is gone when burned out but that pipe is with you going forward. Some pipes mean more if you saved up or was on the look out for one out of stock and you finally got it.

 

[vosBghos]

I have only had a few WOW smokes with cigarettes whether Deligados or Gauloises and a German rolling Tabak I always forget the name of but since the Nic Level Laws all them smokes are gone.

With pipes, it's usually the first time smoking a blend I know will go into the rotation by knocking out a previous favorite.
Also when a blend I found fair to middling but then smoked in the right pipe becomes a WOW smoke.

Glad I found the pipe I thought all those experiences were gone with the last century.

 

[jeff540]

I think the setting and palate at the moment have a lot to do with enhancing the experience. Most of those Nirvana tobacco experience I've had in the last 20 years or so have been great cigars, but I've had a few with pipes.

Problem with pipes is I can't repeat those experiences with any sort of consistency. An extremely well-aged tin of SG Balkan flake once, sometimes Stonehaven, and most consistently Brighton or Dunar, but only when conditions are perfect. The most consistently great tobacco for me was Blackwoods Flake, but that's all just memory now.

 

[Briar Lee]

How many of you have experienced these with other various forms of tobacco?

Over three decades, I’ve used about every form of delivery available.
Cigarette smoker, cigar aficionado, snuff taker, vaper, snus, chew, nicotine patches, gum, etc.
None have ever affected me in the way that the pipe has the ability to.

For me, there is something very different about smoking my pipe and I’ve thought often about why that is.

Pipe smoking is the only form of tobacco use that requires a learned technique.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Cigarette smoker, cigar aficionado, snuff taker, vaper, snus, chew, nicotine patches, gum, etc.

Regularly use all listed excluding cigars, vapes, patches, and gum and thoroughly enjoy each one.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Pipe smoking is the only form of tobacco use that requires a learned technique.

So people are born knowing how to roll/ smoke cigarettes, packing a can and loading chew/dip into their jaw, apply just the right inhale for snuff, or cutting, lighting, and retrohaling cigars? I've found smoking a pipe needs less prep or attention than any other form of tobacco use. Scoop or drop tobacco into the chamber, light and go.

 

[TinCup]

My very best cigars have been in the company of friends over drinks and good conversation

With pipe smoking it’s a bit of the opposite, they’re (usually) still with a drink but mostly solo… & I really don’t need any chit-chat

Cigarettes were just an addiction

 

[pantsBoots]

I regularly get Nirvanaesque experiences with both pipes and cigars. As a matter of fact, it happens pretty reliably when I'm just sitting and smoking, not talking, watching the telly, or playing on my phone.

I had a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial from 2016 last week that I can still remember.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It is easier for me to get this Nirvana from a really good cigar. With pipes I just keep one lit and clenched all day... but occasionally I wil get a tobacco that makes me just set down and focus... not very often. But, it does happen.

 

[kcghost]

I get a much more enjoyable smoke from a topflight cigar. But the cost of these Nirvana moments is at least $10 and frequently more.

 

[trouttimes]

I don’t get these types of smoke all that often but it is what I strive for. It is what keeps me searching. I truly enjoy when it happens. I wish I could pin down what I do right when it happens but in 45 years of piping, I can’t.