Am I Wrong ???

[capra]

Gentleman,

After an evening of serious conversation with my Sister about our life and our should I say our dysfunctional family. I headed home ( with my wife out of town pursuing her masters degree, fully supported by me ) looking for comfort in a pipe. I am a little over a year into this hobby and have enough tobacco and pipes to at least not be laughed at by this group. No mentors, simply this forum, reading opinions from you guys.

Staring at my cabinet I wanted something I could count on. I arrived at a Savanilli Lovatt and Carter Hall. And I was happy with this no arguments very few re lights and a peaceful sweet fig and something else smoke paired with a dram or two of Lagavullin.

With all of the talk of bans, deeming regs, ( my local Tobacconist being forced out of business CALIFORNIA).

Tell Me why I am wrong to simply defer to CH across the board.......?

I am an amateur by any measure. Honestly the English and Balkan blends have not settled well with me. I do like PS Twist Flake and CH. Some Aros are OK but they can't be too greasy or I'm out.

I'm open to any suggestions about what should be next as far as tobaccos or pipes. My basic thought here is that tonight I wanted something to relax with. No talking back just a relaxing smoke, CH and a billiard was it this evening. I have to wonder if that isn't the answer for a long time not just tonight.

 

[alaskanpiper]

For you it may well be. I’d give Chatham Manor a go before making that call though, haha.

For me variety is the spice of life, but those “comfort food” blends hold value as well. Some people (Like Tom’s dad) are happy with one blend and thats plenty for them.

I go where the wind takes me and try not to stress about it too much. If that wind takes you back to CH, i’d say go for it until you see fit to do anything different.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

If it came down to it I could make it work, I hope there's always a way to have some choices. If not I can smoke both PA and CH, the store a mile from my house sells those two.

 

[Magpiety]

I'm trying to pick a simple, cheap blend for exactly this reason. I don't want complexity in the pipe when it's hanging out of my mouth while i'm doing homestead chores like chasing one of the goats through the forest, shaking my fist at the government, or figuring put how I got poison ivy on the inside of my thighs.

I'm deeply cellaring 25 blends for complexity and enjoyment's sake, but i'm trying to decide on an OTC style tobacco to be my daily driver. Leaning towards Chatham Manor or Sir Walter Raleigh, but we'll see.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Tell Me why I am wrong to simply defer to CH across the board.......?

You're looking at it from the wrong angle. You can enjoy pipe smoking with one blend and one pipe for the rest of your days as many surely have. Smoke that pipe to please yourself, not everyone else. That being said, you might just be a burley smoker. Angler's Dream, Watch City Slices, and Pegasus may be to your liking, but you may just be a single blend kind of guy. I keep returning to Black Frigate even though I have over one hundred blends in my collection.

 

[madox07]

Hey don't let anyone influence your taste. What you like is what you like, and you cannot be wrong. At the end of the day, Carter Hall is not a bad blend, and this is coming from an European smoker that is used to a totally different selection than what you guys are across the pond. It's not your most sophisticated blend, sure, but again this whole pipe smoking business is not about proving anything or about making oneself more sophisticated.

In terms of what you should try, if you like burley, why don't you give prince albert a try? I had a couple of pouches and I would smoke it day in and day out if I had it available. A simple, satisfying, straight forward burley based.

 

[seldom]

Lagavulin is nice Scotch. As for Carter Hall, if you like it then that makes it a good tobacco for you. Tastes can change so what suites you now may, or may not, be different from what suites you in the years to come.

 

[gervais]

Smoke whatever you find comfort and enjoyment in. I'd be content with a straight Virginia for the rest of my days, if it came down to it. I enjoy a naturally sweet smoke, personally. I don't own alot of selection, but I'm OK with that. Glad you have found your perfect combo

 

[subsalac]

Have you had Luxury Bullseye? I like Twist very much, but when I want something a bit more smoother and less sweet(but still reasonably sweet), Bullseye is one of my favorites. I think choices are good. There's some psychology that says we're less satisfied when we have too many choices, but also left wanting and frustrated if we have no choices. So I say just explore as your budget, desire, and energy allows for. I personally like reading tobacco reviews and the "What are you smoking?" thread and have a list of stuff that sounds interesting to me. When I can afford it(or when I can't and act impulsively due to TAD), I order some and just enjoy the ephemeral journey of exploring pipe tobacco tin by tin or bag by bag. Some blends will change, some will die, new ones will come in, and as long as I'm around I'll be here to smoke them, but that's just me. You're certainly not wrong for just wanting to smoke Carter Hall forever if that's what satisfies you.

 

[logs]

Why have hamburger when you can have steak? That's my thinking.

 

[tbradsim1]

Like what you do and do what you like , the rest is Bull?!

 

[sablebrush52]

I am a little over a year into this hobby and have enough tobacco and pipes to at least not be laughed at by this group.

Don't be too sure on that score. We can laugh at anyone. You could have shelves lined with original Balkan Sobranie, Motzek Strang, real Three Nuns, real Dunill blends, etc, etc, cases filled with Bo Nordhs, and we could laugh at you. Actually, because of all of that we might feel somehow obligated to laugh at you.

I prefer Chatham Manor because it's Carter Hall without the chemical aftertaste. And Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic is a great blend.
Smoke what you like, like what you smoke, or we will laugh at you.

 

[wolflarsen]

I could go forever with Old Dark Fired and Potlatch.
Potlatch has a strong burley influence, so if you like Carter Hall you are likely to also enjoy Potlatch.
Old Dark Fired has a stronger flavor but is equally straightforward and easy going, particularly if you buy the ready rubbed version. I find both to be nearly as user friendly as Carter Hall and both are available in bulk (if you consider 8oz cans of Potlatch to be "bulk").
If Carter Hall is your thing then there's no shame in sticking with it but if I were going to be a 1-2 blend smoker I would go with these on the "burger vs. steak" argument.

 

[Bowie]

No, you're not wrong at all in my opinion. Some people enjoy sampling and a wide variety of tobaccos (or beers, or wine, or bourbon, or food, etc). "Variety is the spice of life." Some people gravitate to the same few choices in products. Maybe you're like me, in the latter camp.

To be honest, seeing the overwhelming number of choices of tobacco, and after not particularly liking some of the "better" blends, I've often thought a "screw it, I love Carter Hall; I'm just going to buy 10 tubs of it and call it a cellar."

But as noted above, you may have narrowed your tastes down to what you really like, in this case burley or burley dominant blends. I'd try a few and see if you find a good companion to CH, like Chatham Manor, Sutfliff's Ready Rubbed Match, and Peter Stokkebye's cube cut burley. I really like C&D Pegasus, and I agree with some of the reviews that say it is similar to CH.

I'd be a happy guy eating burgers every day, with a steak every once in awhile.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Why have hamburger when you can have steak? That's my thinking.

Well, yeah, but sometimes I prefer the burger over the steak.

OP: You are not wrong.

 

[Magpiety]

Why have hamburger when you can have steak? That's my thinking.

Because i'm driving lol

 

[shanez]

Tell Me why I am wrong to simply defer to CH across the board.......?

Are you asking if always turning to a particular blend is wrong or that the particular blend in this case is CH?

I enjoy a wide variety of blends but find myself always reaching for Sutliff Sweet VA as my "regular" smoke to relax with.

 

[didimauw]

Even though I hardly smoke Carter Hall anymore, I keep a lot of it on hand. It will be guaranteed to outlive the regulations, and possibly be one of the only tobacco's allowed to be sold someday! I'm glad I spent so much time enjoying it. The people who snub the otc's and smoke all the fancy new tobacco's, will be sad when all there is left is Carter Hall. Haha

 

[BROBS]

And Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic is a great blend.

absolutely.. probably one of the most under-rated OTC's IMO.

 

[Elric]

Carter Hall is a good blend. Truth be told, I could probably get by smoking nothing but it or BLWB. However, variety is the spice of life.