All These Years, Missing Out

[bannyc9]

When I first got into smoking a pipe around a decade ago, I tried Early Morning Pipe. I wasn't ready and really disliked it - because of it stayed away from other blends from them. This week I was decided to pick up a tin of My Mixture 965 and smoked my first bowl today. Lesson learned, this blend is amazing... Time to cellar a handful of tins and give EMP another chance.

My question is, what blends did you try in the past and for whatever reason didn't enjoy until later?

 

[PaulRVA]

Too many for me to list.
Sometimes my taste changes like the wind and what I enjoy today I’m burnt out on tomorrow . I might smoke a blend every day for months and then I change to another often revisiting an old blend I got tired of and boom I’m back on that blend again. Age, weather, nic content all play a part with me in some fashion. I smoke 5 or more blends in any given week and sometimes a day. I smoke what I feel like and when the mood strikes but always have 3 or 4 regulars I tend to utilize the most.
Part of the fun for me is returning to something and getting something different from it. Habana Daydream is one that I tend to get bored with quickly but get an urge for it and Keep it around and find something different from it every time I revisit it. As far as dislikes usually they are aromatics and I generally don’t go back to them unless I liked it right away. Autumn Evening would be an example of one I keep around.

 

[Hillcrest]

I liked all the sweet goopy aromatics until I didn't. I liked viginias until I didn't. I tried a bunch of blends then I found Lane 1-Q and Sutliff 507-C. 507-C is a regular for me. Lane 1-Q is an occasional treat as is Autumn Evening. I can handle a bowl or two and then I'm good for a while. I'm trying Sutliff Sweet Virginia now but not enamored. Tastes change fortunately. Variety is the spice of life they say !

 

[Hillcrest]

When I first got into smoking a pipe around a decade ago, I tried Early Morning Pipe. I wasn't ready and really disliked it - because of it stayed away from other blends from them. This week I was decided to pick up a tin of My Mixture 965 and smoked my first bowl today. Lesson learned, this blend is amazing... Time to cellar a handful of tins and give EMP another chance.

My question is, what blends did you try in the past and for whatever reason didn't enjoy until later?

I occasionally like the Sutliff Match Sunrise version of EMP too.

 

[captainsousie]

Honestly, 1Q. I was supposed to like it as a new pipe smoker but it was just hot and messy. Fast forward to the Milwaukee year and I was in a club with a guy who smoked nothing else. Tried it again and enjoyed it.

 

[kcghost]

I could go through a list of at least 100 pipe blends that I just didn't like. Finally realized I have a peculiar palate that for some reason just doesn't like most blends. Now I stick to just a few blends that I do like.

 

[mortonbriar]

Everything tasted better with age...not so much the aging of tobacco, but more the aging of my experience.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Even from early childhood things I disliked never improved. For example, Mac Baren's Navy Flake is a tobacco that I just couldn't finish a single pipe of decades ago. I still find it to be one of the nastiest tobaccos I've ever smoked.

 

[bullet08]

Capt. Black Royal.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

At first, blends with dark fired didn't click for me. Now they are some of my favorites.

 

[JOHN72]

Let's just say that the experience I have today makes smoking a real pleasure. I remember that being a perfect ignoramus, I was lucky enough to buy a little bit of everything. But I could have refined more, and had a good cellar with more variety of Virginia. Now I enjoy them as never before. But I am not willing to pay 25 euros for a tin of 50 grams.

 

[Sigmund]

My first round with a pipe back in 2009 I simply hated latakia. Now I love it. Still I guess it constitutes about a third of my smokes. Maybe half if you count the small sprinkles I put in other blends.

Im gathering what I can to build a bit of a cellar becuase prices are not gonna go down. That is for sure. The going rate for my blends is about 22 per 100 gram. I guess really about 25 when you consider shipping. Having learned to slow down thats a lot of pipe bowls. I aim for a 45-5- minute smoke. My scale is not accurate enough to be sure but I think a bowl is about 2g.

 

[dottlejockey]

C&D Exclusive. I never hated it, but the first time i tried it i thought it smelled like stinky feet and tasted distinctly odd. I now fully enjoy it and even sometimes will put a bit in other blends to add some pizazz.

 

[BayouGhost]

Old Joe Krantz. My first foray was on an empty stomach. I had a king sized billiard bowl full of if and nearly fainted and had to lay on the floor for an hour. I now make sure to consume an entire roast turkey and a vanilla milkshake before partaking.

 

[BlueMaxx]

Orlik….

 

[khiddy]

I occasionally like the Sutliff Match Sunrise version of EMP too.

I like the Sutliff match, but I also tried Hearth & Home's Daybreak, and found that when I mix the two 50:50, it's perfect. Daybreak is drier, almost too dry, whereas Sunrise is slightly too moist, so the two together make a lovely match when allowed to rest a few days.

 

[Hillcrest]

I like the Sutliff match, but I also tried Hearth & Home's Daybreak, and found that when I mix the two 50:50, it's perfect. Daybreak is drier, almost too dry, whereas Sunrise is slightly too moist, so the two together make a lovely match when allowed to rest a few days.

I'm discovering 'drying' Sutliff blends as they are quite moist 'from the bag'. !

 

[AroEnglish]

That's like me and Virginias. I gave away my 2011 Christmas Cheer a few years back because I thought I hated them. Turns out I just didn't know how to smoke. Oh well, a very deserving party was able to enjoy it.

 

[khiddy]

I recently received a package of 5 mixed open tins that a fella on Facebook had tried a bowl or two out of each and decided he didn't like, so he sold them off for cheap ($5 each): Escudo, Rattray's Old Gowrie, Peterson Sherlock Holmes, Peterson Irish Cask, and SPC Seattle Evening. An absolute steal, worth taking a risk on.

When I received the package, the tin contents were all suuuuuuuper moist, bordering on almost dripping. I looked at the return address on the package and realized that the seller is in Texas, where the humidity wouldn't have allowed him to dry out the tobacco to a reasonable smoking condition, which well could've contributed to his dislike of the blends, since there didn't seem otherwise to be any common characteristics among them.

I transferred everything to mason jars, dried out some of the Escudo (took about 3 hours!), and it smoked like a charm. The Old Gowrie is up next.

 

[Choatecav]

Many years ago, when I was young and stupid (you know......, before becoming suave and debonair. ) I bought a large package of Esoterica Tobacianna - Stonehaven. I did not have the palate and understanding to appreciate it so I thought it was a flop.

Fortunately, I did not toss it, but packaged it up and kept it. Now, I understand just how good that it is. After being aged probably 15 years, it is really something.