All tobacco taste the same?

[jerwynn]

I used to be frustrated, and even envious, when guys would describe their English/Balkan blend as tasting like savory steak grilled over mesquite and the like. When I took the very first few sips I took on a tobacco pipe in the late 70s I thought "so this is it????" It didn't "taste" like anything. I'd like to be able to tell you that I've had enlightenments and epiphanies of taste evolution in the intervening years, but it still doesn't really "taste" like anything to me. BUT, what I get in aromas, well, that is a horse of an entirely different color!!! (talk about mixing and murdering metaphors) Now when I approach pipe tobaccos, I can discern and identify maybe 25 or 30 distinctly different olfactory elements, I know which ones I don't just like, but positively lust over... and which ones might better be shared with local garbage incinerator. And cracking that tin or jar for the first time(even in the first time of a new session)... well, I can keep my nose just simply buried in it until the desperation for actual oxygen kicks in. I have a rather large and noble Roman nose... so about once a quarter my wife calls my son and says, "bring over your vice-grips and jaws-of-life... your father's got his nose stuck in a tobacco jar again!" Happy puffing!!!

 

[shirefolk]

Wow, lots of great advice here guys, thanks a million : ) many of you are spot on..because I'm new to smoking period, and haven nothing other than Youtube videos from which to learn from, I think my packing is ok, but you're right in that I'm not drying out my tobacco first...I didn't know I had to do that. Also, when lighting, I'm not 'puffing' but rather quickly drawing or sipping to get a burn going because I'm outside and often have to fight a breeze. And when smoking, I'm still taking long slow deep draws, not 'sipping' slowly. I also figured out on my own that since my MM Country Gent. cob is a 'bent' stem, that I need to actually let the pipe hang lower from my mouth so that the bit doesn't get smothered in my mouth at the wrong angle.

 

[shirefolk]

@Jerwynn ...lol.. glad to meet someone with a great sense of humor ; ) thanks for the advice!

 

[bigpond]

Someone has to be "that guy". So here I am.
Dude, just stop with the aromatics. Just. Stop. Set down your cherry tainted pipe and step away. Go buy a fresh cob and grab something that comes in a tin that doesn't have cavendish in the description and go to town. You might not like it, but you'll get a sense of what this pipe thing is all about.

 

[shutterbugg]

I'll lay odds you're smoking too fast. Try taking little sips, so there's just a wisp of smoke, and see if that improves things.
Also, most aromatic blends don't taste like what they're topped with, in fact it's lucky if the room note is anywhere near it. The majority of them only smell like the toppings in the tin.
And don't believe all the haughty bunk so-called connosieurs claim they taste. There are certain tobaccos and toppings that do impart a strong and distinctive taste, but half the "grassy-citrusy-woody-hay-figs-raisins-dates-marshmallow-whatever" stuff you read is mostly in the reviewer's head, just like wine afficionados who taste raspberries, chocolate, beef stew and whatever in a beverage made from 100% grapes.

 

[shirefolk]

@shutterbug ...I couldn't agree more about wine aficionados, lol..

 

[theosprey247]

Most importantly enjoy the journey

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Pipesmoking is largely a subtle experience.

My favorite Virginia Perique blend (or "VaPer" for short) usually tastes about the same as a glass of water with one or two cubes of sugar, this is not a "Doritos and Mountain Dew" kind of experience, though the flavor of a good VaPer is something that I've never experienced anywhere else. If you're looking for strong flavors then jumping straight into some Latakia blends will probably make that happen sooner than later. I love heavy Latakia blends.

Presbyterian is one of my favorite blends too, it's got some sour elements that you won't find in very many other blends, and the tobacco is generally quite well behaved.
(And dare I say it, if you're just looking for "an experience" even if that experience may be totally bizarre, I suggest getting some Ennerdale with a separate cob for it. That stuff can be great but it can also be frightening at first.)

 

[sablebrush52]

but half the "grassy-citrusy-woody-hay-figs-raisins-dates-marshmallow-whatever" stuff you read is mostly in the reviewer's head

I don't entirely agree with that. I do get those kind of notes with many of the blends that I smoke. Sometimes not so much or not at all. And sometimes the flavors remind me of something entirely different. I do experience mixtures of flavors. That comes from finding the right combination of pipe, tobacco prep, packing, and a slow light cadence. If I overheat the tobacco all I get is toasted oats or worse.

 

[deathmetal]

There are certain tobaccos and toppings that do impart a strong and distinctive taste, but half the "grassy-citrusy-woody-hay-figs-raisins-dates-marshmallow-whatever" stuff you read is mostly in the reviewer's head, just like wine afficionados who taste raspberries, chocolate, beef stew and whatever in a beverage made from 100% grapes.

Two issues I see there:
(1) Some are underconfident in their writing, and imitate what others have written that seemed popular. Tropes proliferate, including the "burned down to nothing but fine white ash" and some of the verbiage you note above. In these cases, I heartily agree with you -- and I note your use of the term "half" above, probably very accurately
(2) When used well, these terms are taste metaphors. I doubt there is cigar leaf or marzipan in Semois, but I get flavors like those and, not knowing the underlying constituent chemicals that produce them, use the metaphor to give readers an idea of what to expect.
The above is a second to both your comment and Sable's insightful exploration of the issue alike.

 

[jpmcwjr]

After all, flavors and scents of all manner of things have been synthesized from chemicals, so a Lat/Perique/Va/burley/Cavendish blend might give off hints of all sorts of food and other natural (and unnatural if poorly cased) matter. YMMV. And that's not to say some reviewers don't overdo the prose.

 

[drwatson]

but half the "grassy-citrusy-woody-hay-figs-raisins-dates-marshmallow-whatever" stuff you read is mostly in the reviewer's head, just like wine afficionados who taste raspberries, chocolate, beef stew and whatever in a beverage made from 100% grapes.

:rofl: Love It! I never understood the "grassy" or "hay" comparison. Why would someone want to smoke hay? I get the whole description thing but hay?

 

[warren]

I can sometimes taste the very subtle flavors in tobacco and wine. Not always and I have to be in the correct smoking mode to do so.
I know a person who is a well schooled sommelier. When he puts his mind and time into an infrequent attempt, he can get me tasting many of subtleties of some fine wines. I never belittle those who take the time, and it takes a lot of time and effort, to unravel blends or wines. But, subtle is not my style, I enjoy the pipe without needing to fully explore as some are driven to. I smoke a pipe as an adjunct to work or relaxation. The pipe itself is not that important to me.
But, you really should pay heed to those members with observations that lead in the direction you wish to follow. Not me though, I want big, full bodied tobaccos with an earthy taste. When a blend appears with a taste of newly mown hay and a room note of manure I'll have a new everyday smoke.
This is not to say that all amateur reviewers, as opposed to those who have spent years training their palate, should get a lot of your valuable time.
And, I've chewed many a stalk of fresh green hay. City boys probably don't get it. Or maybe I'm a bit bovine in my genes. I enjoy chewing different grasses in different parts of the world. I knew a guy in Ireland who is right many more times than naught in being able to tell you which part of Ireland a piece of beef came from by the taste. Different soils and grasses impart different tastes. Same with tobacco or anything else from the dirt.

 

[macaroon]

My very first few bowls of the local B&M's blend #17 aromatic tasted like warm air and ash. A few bowls later I thought it tasted like chocolate. A bowls after than that, I thought maybe it was vanilla or marshmallows. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually just rebranded Lane 1Q. But really this is all just to say that taste is an illusion and all pipe smokers are liars. :wink:

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

All I know is that coffee and BBQ sauce taste like tobacco now.
And when I start nearing the perfume department the first thought through my mind is "Did I just walk past the only other person in the country who likes Ennerdale?"

 

[shirefolk]

...funny, I've noticed that coffee has an aftertaste a lot like tobacco as well ; )

 

[deathmetal]

I knew a guy in Ireland who is right many more times than naught in being able to tell you which part of Ireland a piece of beef came from by the taste.

I know people who swear by this as well, from their native region. Makes sense: different pH and minerals in the soil(s).

 

[lotechjoe]

I also like the metaphor sipping hot chocolate through a straw. My current favorite blend to sip is Sutliff Private Stock Molto Dolce. A very aromatic blend of vanilla,caramel and honey. Tomorrow my favorite will probably be different.

 

[cigrmaster]

[/quote]..it ALL TASTES THE SAME TO ME! I know I have a poor sense of taste and smell (I'm almost always slightly congested in my sinuses all year long and living in Delaware doesn't help) and so i wonder if that's making everything taste the same.

Until you address your sinus condition, I fear you will never be able to fully appreciate the tobacco you choose to smoke. I dealt with serious sinus problems years ago and found that getting saline nasal spray and flushing my nose 10 or so times per day, it cured my problem. Now when ever I even have a hint of sinus issues, I go nuts flushing my nose. It has been almost 2 decades since my last bad sinus issue. I go to Walgreens to buy the spray.
If you really want to be able to taste all the nuances of any blend, your sinuses needs to be clear. When you are able to blow smoke through your nose and really taste a blend, I believe you will really get so much more out of your tobacco.

 

[cortezattic]

don't believe all the haughty bunk so-called connosieurs [sic] claim they taste

What I take from shutterbugg's somewhat peevishly worded comment is not so much that tobacco doesn't possess exotic, and sometimes even ineffable tastes, but that some reviewers frequently go "over the top" with embellished language and metaphors when trying to describe them. G.L. Pease's article, Don't Think A Purple Giraffe may be of some help here.
BTW, Harris is spot on here. Taste buds can only detect 5 tastes. Everything else comes from the sense of smell.
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