About To Give Up On Non Aromatics

[oldguyoldpipes]

So fairly new to the hobby but have been trying every blend i can get my hands on. have acquired a handful of pipes i rotate and have really been focusing on my cadence and breathing. I feel like im really hitting my stride and sipping rather than puffing. Its all coming together. Whenever i see advice to new smokers its to not start with aromatics as tongue bite, etc can be an issue. I have yet to really suffer any tongue bite to be honest.
My big issue is taste. i loooove aromatics and have jars on jars that i rotate. i feel like my palate is gettin better at identify flavors and im happy after every bowl of aromatic. the flavors i am enjoying are why i came around to pipe smoking. Now when i try non aromatics, i seem to get the same bland "cigarette" taste. i dont get the "grassy" bright notes or any of the tasting notes i read about. Its hard to articulate, but i feel like theres a bit of pressure with the community to step up to non aros. ok maybe not pressure but the thought that "true" smokers focus more on non aros. Aros seem easy to identify and enjoy, but non aros require a more cultured palate. maybe Im on an island here but anyone else have this same feeling? any long time smokers gravitate mainly to aros? apologize for the rambling post.

Smoke what you like and to hell with anything else. I like aromatics, things with latakia, some perique now and again and I recently started trying flake. I had one recently that was listed as a straight Virginia and loved it. One flake was listed as a Virginia/Perique and I loved that one. There are two "Scottish" mixtures that when I smoke very slowly taste really good to me. It's all just trying different ones and discovering which ones ya like.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I like aromatics, things with latakia, some perique now and again and I recently started trying flake. I had one recently that was listed as a straight Virginia and loved it. One flake was listed as a Virginia/Perique and I loved that one. There are two "Scottish" mixtures that when I smoke very slowly taste really good to me.

But have you tried deertongue blends?

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

But have you tried deertongue blends?

No, not that I know of. I will have to look up what deer tongue is as I have heard about it, but have not delved into it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

No, not that I know of. I will have to look up what deer tongue is as I have heard about it, but have not delved into it.

It's an herb that has vanilla/cooking spice notes. So far I've loved every DT blend I've smoked.

Blends with DT:
Crooner-strong DT
Gentleman Caller-balanced DT
New Market-balanced DT
Mojo-balanced DT
Engine 382-mild DT

 

[oldguyoldpipes]

It's an herb that has vanilla/cooking spice notes. So far I've loved every DT blend I've smoked.

Blends with DT:
Crooner-strong DT
Gentleman Caller-balanced DT
New Market-balanced DT
Mojo-balanced DT
Engine 382-mild DT

Do you know if any of the LJ Peretti blends contain it? I am liking their flakes, especially Boston Slices and Cambridge Flake. I also like their Ebony and Midnight and their Blend 423, but none of their website descriptions list deer tongue. Thanks

 

[Chasing Embers]

Do you know if any of the LJ Peretti blends contain it? I am liking their flakes, especially Boston Slices and Cambridge Flake. I also like their Ebony and Midnight and their Blend 423, but none of their website descriptions list deer tongue. Thanks

As far as I've seen recently, C&D and 4noggins are the only ones. I think Hearth and Home had one but if fell into discontinuation.

 

[Lyon0oq]

As far as I've seen recently, C&D and 4noggins are the only ones. I think Hearth and Home had one but if fell into discontinuation.

Going to check out the deer tongue blends myself, thanks!

 

[indoeuro]

My idea of a good aromatic is Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic, not the regular, based in burley with Virginia as a condiment and flavored with three (!) liqueurs. Other good examples to my taste are Iwan Ries Three Star Blue and Edward G. Robinson. But these are just my choices. One or all of these may make you queasy.

We might be related.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Going to check out the deer tongue blends myself, thanks!

Always glad to help.?

 

[cosgringo]

I smoke a lot of the fancier and more expensive non-aromatic blends much of the time, but lately what I've been enjoying the most this past week or two is Sutliff Crème Brulee, an inexpensive oily goopy aromatic puf

While I'm confident most of the forum would agree with your point about the consensus that "true" smokers focus on non-aromatics, I think the negative view towards aromatics is changing a bit, at least to the point where aromatics aren't simply dismissed out of hand.

Too funny- I have 4 oz of the Creme as I heard it's about the same as Molto Dolce but off a tad. It works for me when I just want to type on a forum and puff away. Call me a neophyte but I like it too. I almost wish I had bought more of it on this order.

 

[psychpipes]

I was smoking aromatics almost exclusively for my first few years. Now, they are the last thing I go for (usually just to appease the wife's nose). Smoke what you like, not what people say you should. Don't worry about the brand, the artisanal nature of it, or whether you have a "developed" palate. Just smoke what you like. My Dad's been smoking 1Q and Captain Black exclusively for over 20 years. You like what you like.

Don't worry about long winded tobacco reviews telling you about some mystic flavor combination the reviewer is sipping. I honestly feel at least 30% of that is made up fluff from people trying to sound like they are some gourmet. Example: long winded narratives stating Erinmore tastes like pineapple...even though the company says specifically no pineapple and just uses the pineapple as a logo.

 

[curl]

Relying on your own taste buds is no way to go through life.
The correct way to know you’re not smoking swill is whether the blend is highly rated on tobaccoreviews by many many reviewers. In other words, better living through database analysis.

 

[Chasing Embers]

The correct way to know you’re not smoking swill is whether the blend is highly rated on tobaccoreviews by many many reviewers.

 

[diamondback]

Relying on your own taste buds is no way to go through life.
The correct way to know you’re not smoking swill is whether the blend is highly rated on tobaccoreviews by many many reviewers. In other words, better living through database analysis.

Agreed for the most part. For me, I find it’s more helpful as I’ve grown and already know pretty much what I like. To be honest it’s helped me to make final purchase decisions quite a few times.

Oh the other hand, Lakelands just don’t do it for me even if they get four stars on TR... yeah, I made that mistake.

@BROBS has convinced me to give Lakeland another try, so I’ll see.

 

[tokerpipes]

I say try them all. Store them all. Retry them all. Your taste changes and the stored tobacco changes. Some mellow out some get a richer flavor. And heck even try mixing a few to experience it all. Find what you are happy with but continue to experience everything you can stuff in your pipe. It’s what I’d do. Hey I like a sweet cherry blend real slow after a good filling meal, a whiskey blend when I do yard work, a Latakia blend when I am just sitting outside taking in the scenery. Try them every where. Some say different strokes for different folks, I think that’s wrong. It’s different tokes for every stroke of life. Not to be confused with having a stroke. Lol.

 

[sandollars]

Tobaccoreviews has helped me find a lot of amazing tobaccos.

True, make up your own mind. It never hurts to research to know you are headed in the right direction. Am I missing out on a few amazing blends due to poor reviews and ratings? Probably....

 

[krizzose]

So long as you're not drinking Hamms Lawdawg.
The other stuff okay maybe, but I draw the line at Hamms.

Well shit! If I happen to be drinking a domestic subpremium, it’s usually Hamm’s. You may not be aware, but it’s FROM THE LAND OF SKY BLUE WAAAAATERS!

 

[kola]

Ya might give GLP's Haddo's Delight a go-round. Or his English Chocolate.

 

[crawdad]

I started out with aros and when I joined a forum before finding this one the true smokers gave me this advice: smoke what you like. That's what I've been doing since.

 

[subsalac]

I think pipe smoking is a journey. Blends change. Tastes change. Pipes evolve, get broken in. It's all a long process of constant change. I would be surprised to hear of a pipe smoker who began on a given blend or even style of tobacco, and kept smoking that forever. Some people are of that sort, but I think for most people, tastes change, boredom sets in, palates refine, or just the blend itself will inevitably change with time. Enjoy the journey and experiment heavily, it can be a lot of fun.

Try the "hall of fame" blends that have been out for a long time now and get lots of positive reviews, and put some away to try again at a later date.