Advice Needed On Aromatics

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chopper

Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,324
Wow! I don’t think I would smoke a pipe if it cost that much! Where do you live?
Nanny State Australia.

Not that I pay that for baccy.
Last June the grubs that pass for politicians here made it illegal to import tobacco without a license [cigars are the exception - they know how to look after themselves]
Before then we were told by people 'in the know' that the new laws would only affect 'commercial quantity' but my gut told me different. I had a bad feeling.

So I bought as much tobacco as my limited income allowed before the deadline [I've since snuck in another five pounds] I'm also growing my own tobacco.
Hopefully I'll have enough to last my remaining days.
 

chopper

Lifer
Aug 24, 2019
1,480
3,324
I’d also like to throw out the recommendation of trying something from Dan Tobacco like Blue Note. It smells heavenly and it tastes great, comes dry and burns easy and smooth. Another good one is Autumn Evening from C&D (I like to cut it with a more stout tobacco) but this is a nice aromatic as well as far as wife pleasing aromatics are concerned.

If you’d like a list of wife repellent aromatics, I have a long list of those as well. puffy
While we're giving recommendations;

Butternut Burley is my favourite aro that smokes straight from the bag [the 4noggins version is better value than Scottys BB]
Thomas's Blend is another.
 

EvertonFC

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 5, 2020
253
485
Philadelphia
Air pocket pack! I use it for all my Aromatics to nip the goopy bottom tobacco in the bud by just leaving that space empty. You'll still get goop in the bottom of the bowl but you won't be smoking it mixed in with tobacco.

The con of it is that your bowls will last much shorter than regular packing methods, but if you've got a few bowls on hand to rotate it's not a problem.
I'm curious about this, as it seems to directly contradict (that which seems like) the common wisdom; pack looser. And idea why this works, when everyone else is saying to pack lighter? Thanks.
 

JPremo

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 22, 2020
119
283
Viva Las Vegas
I'm curious about this, as it seems to directly contradict (that which seems like) the common wisdom; pack looser.

The way I see it, you can only pack a pipe so loose before you're going to have trouble lighting it never mind keeping it lit. Plus, no matter how loosely a bowl is packed it's going to get compressed with tamping along the way. There's definitely more experienced smokers out there that can just stick a pipe into a bag of tobacco and come out with the perfect pack, but I'm not there yet!

Getting the tight plug into the top of the bowl while still having a good draw does take some practice with the APP method, but the entire bottom of the bowl stays empty for air circulation and moisture condensation. The function is somewhat comparable to how a Kirsten or H.Wiebe radiator pipe works, there's a regular briar bowl up top but a massive hollow internal shank/stem chamber where the smoke hits the metal sides of the pipe and condenses. This provides for a both a cooler and drier smoke by the time it reaches your mouth, ideally removing any hint of tongue bite no matter your cadence or tobacco moisture.

While the unpacked bottom of your bowl is nowhere near the size of a radiator pipe's internal chamber or as cool as metal (unless you're using a massive chimney pipe) I've found this packing method does prevent excess sizzling dottle at the end of a bowl and leaves a nice bit of moisture in the bottom of the pipe instead of in my mouth.

Plus, if you pack it a bit tight and are feeling too lazy to empty it out you can always gently poke a hole or two through the tobacco layer for added airflow, I do that with most folded flakes anyways. I'll stress GENTLY though because if you're not careful that's an easy way to put a hole through the tobacco and into the cake potentially gouging your bowl.
 
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cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,248
57,309
67
Sarasota Florida
hoosier. the next time you bring your wife over to the house I will have some molto dolce ready to be smoked and she will be so psyched at the smell, she will offer you any thing in the world if you can keep that smell going. She will be putty at your feet and will beg you to keep that smell going every time you light up. You will forever own her and once you see this live, I will let you know about my fees.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
16,857
31,612
46
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
Corn Cob Pipe and A Button Nose (by C&D) — Smokingpipes.com - https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipe-tobacco/cornell-diehl/Corn-Cob-Pipe-and-A-Button-Nose-2oz/product_id/204292 Kramer's Blend for Cary Grant | Smokingpipes.com - https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipe-tobacco/kramers/Blend-for-Cary-Grant-50g/product_id/225354 Mac Baren 7 Seas Regular 3.5oz | Buy Mac Baren Pipe Tobacco at Smokingpipes - https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipe-tobacco/mac-baren/7-Seas-Regular-3.5oz/product_id/70213 these might work. The first one is a decent burly with a hint of cocoa and a really nice room note and it's not wet and smokes well out of the tin. The second is a nice in between lots of tobacco taste but an aroma that's sure to please the wife. And the last one is a series of captain black imitations that beat the heck out of captain black.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
60,638
I think you can find aromatics other than "goopy" ones that have a pleasant aroma but also stay true to emphasizing quality tobacco. You have to find your own way to this compromise in terms of what you like, flavor-wise, and what base tobaccos you want to taste. Two examples that I like (you may not) are Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic (burley based, Virginia condiment, flavored with three liqueurs) and Planta 2012 flavored with marula fruit that when fermented makes elephants intoxicated. There are also quite a few first rate vanilla, whiskey, and others, depending on your taste, and your wife's taste in fragrance.
 
My wife and I totally agree that aromatics smell good while they are burning, but a few hours later, the room smells like old moldy newspapers and old farts.
However, a really good Virginia can leave a home smelling more homey and nice. Don't get all caught up in the aromatic hype. A really good tobacco will leave behind a really good aroma.

Latakias are hit and miss. I just don't smoke them inside, unless there's a fire going... in the dumpster.
 

EvertonFC

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 5, 2020
253
485
Philadelphia
The second is a nice in between lots of tobacco taste but an aroma that's sure to please the wife. And the last one is a series of captain black imitations that beat the heck out of captain black.

I've had no luck getting this to smoke well. Any suggestions on how you approach this tobacco, in terms of drying and packing? Thanks.
 
've had no luck getting this to smoke well. Any suggestions on how you approach this tobacco, in terms of drying and packing? Thanks.
I've smoked a lot of the Captain Blacks in the first year. You can either dry it, which makes it smoke easier, but takes away a lot of the taste.

Or, you can just concentrate on smoking slow. You will hear us say to "smoke slow" a lot on here. And, many have a problem with this, because they think they already smoke slow. Well, when you think you are going slow, slow down more... the problem is that as soon as you slow down, you'll get a whiff of the amazing aroma the tobacco is giving off, and then human instinct tells us to get more taste, puff harder... which then chases away the better flavors. The trick is to realize that as soon as you are getting those better flavors, back off, slow down, savor in it, don't chase it off.

I hope that helps. Sometimes, it's all about staying conscious on what you're doing.
 

EvertonFC

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 5, 2020
253
485
Philadelphia
I hope that helps. Sometimes, it's all about staying conscious on what you're doing.

I'm comfortable with slowing down. Hell, I'd be happy to puff every 2 minutes if that would lead to a more enjoyable pipe. However, I'm still chasing that balance between slowing down & relighting 1,000 times or smoking a bit faster & ending up with a less flavorful (and often wet) bowl. I'm also slowly growing convinced that no one here gets these things to smoke well and this forum, along with SmokingPipes.com and TobaccoReviews.com, is all part of some elaborate prank that's being perpetrated against me. ?
 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,812
I'm comfortable with slowing down. Hell, I'd be happy to puff every 2 minutes if that would lead to a more enjoyable pipe. However, I'm still chasing that balance between slowing down & relighting 1,000 times or smoking a bit faster & ending up with a less flavorful (and often wet) bowl. I'm also slowly growing convinced that no one here gets these things to smoke well and this forum, along with SmokingPipes.com and TobaccoReviews.com, is all part of some elaborate prank that's being perpetrated against me. ?

I rarely get through a bowl without at least a few relights, but I've had no problem keeping goopy aros (Molto Dolce) burning just as well as any other blend by using a very light pack. I basically just sprinkle it in there bit by bit until it's piled up above the rim, gently push it down so it's level with the rim, and then light up. It's barely packed, and you could probably turn it upside down and shake it all out if the stuff wasn't so goopy that it sticks together puffy
 
I'm still chasing that balance between slowing down & relighting 1,000 times
Think of it as smoking at the edge of letting it go out. Relights aren't inherently bad, but yeh, you have to keep a slow, smooth pull going, think of it as sipping the smoke. Thin wispy trails of smoke... It's really hard to translate pipes into words.