Aromatic Pipe Tobacco... Educate Me?

[ravenwolf]

When I first took up the pipe when I was 19, it was a heavily varnished Chinese made pipe made from some exotic (and apparently mildly toxic) wood, and some super chemically generic cherry tobacco.
I got online, discovered the plethora of other blends (and pipes), and never went back to the aromatics.
Then I joined the Army, where I picked up the cigarette habit... recently returning back to my pipes in hopes of snuffing the habit. So far, I have gone from a pack a day down to a pack a week, in a couple of weeks time.
However, with the spring season (somewhat) arriving... I find myself in the mood to try something sweeter than my normal pipe blends (latakia blends, burley kake, and Virginia flake.) I've done some research on aromatic reviews, and find myself thinking I was pretty ignorant to be so traumatized by that cherry stuff to never want to check out aromatics again. I can still taste the chemicals when I think of it - it was like smoking red plastic.
So, I could use a little help! What can I look into for an aromatic that is sweet, not chemically tasting, and a room note that will work a bit better for the girlfriend? I'm on a somewhat tight budget, too. Maybe one of the Lane blends?
I'm also unwilling, as of yet, to entertain anything cherry related. Sorry if there is a glorious cherry blend out there, but I'm still traumatized

 

[rmbittner]

I don't smoke many aromatics, but I do enjoy Stokkebye's Nougat and Sutliff's Man's Best Friend and Great Outdoors. None of these is a high-end blend or anything likely to blow you away with how incredible it is. But I find them all a nice change of pace from my usual English/Balkan/Virginia/Lakeland blends.
Bob

 

[fadingdaylight]

McClelland Vanilla Black tastes good, and the scent is one of the rare few my wife enjoys. I hear a mountain of good things about Molto Dolce, but have yet to try it.

 

[pruss]

Greetings. I am still dipping my toe into the world of aromatic tobaccos; having spent most of my return to the hobby playing with Latakia forward blends and various Va/VaBur/VaPer flakes. A few months ago, friends here encouraged me to try some of the better known crossover blends like Frog Morton Cellar, Haddo's Delight, and Two Friends English Chocolate. I've also sampled a few other more traditional aromatics which while offering a pleasing room note still had a nice tobacco taste, and body, and which delivered that 'natural' flavour which it sounds like you're looking for.
I'd highly recommend Trout Stream: http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/5567/4noggins-trout-stream
I think it delivers on your requirement for a pleasing room note, good depth, and is available bulk from 4 Noggins.
If you're looking for something closer to what you have been smoking, but with a light aromatic profile, then you can't go wrong with GLP's Haddo's Delight or Two Friends English Chocolate. Your $$ won't stretch as far with these two blends as they will with Trout Stream, but they are wonderful smokes.
Cheers,
-- Pat

 

[sailorjeremy]

I've heard good things about the 4noggins aro sampler. Can't go wrong with 5- 1oz bags for 20 bucks.I like ordering samplers. Try a few and if you like it get some more

 

[pylorns]

Blends I'd recomend:

Sutliff Private Stock Blends are great, like as mentioned Molto Dulce, also Molin Rouge.

Nording Labrador

Boswell's Christmas Cookie

4noggins Trout Stream

C&D Autumn Evening

Comoy Cask #9
Russ' Monthly blends:

Snow Drift

Cinnamon Roll

Cherry Cordial - just tried this last night - faint hint of Cherry -much better cherry blend than I've had before.

 

[homeguard95]

I would have to recommend Lane BCA. it's a very good aromatic,it's modestly sweet with hints of vanilla and almost a peanut taste and it's room note smells like someone is roasting marshmallows.

 

[mso489]

r'wolfe, welcome to Forums. Congratulations on weaning yourself from nails. Pipe smoking may not be health food,

but I think it is way better than cigarettes, especially if you can break the inhaling habit. You, sir, have happened

into the golden age of aromatic blends, I think, or maybe pipe tobacco bends in general. The selection is vast.

I rotate between English blends, Va/Pers and non-blended Va and burleys, and aromatics. A few pleasant and

pleasantly priced aromatics are Lanes Q1 and LL-7; Altadis Queen Anne's Revenge and Dark Obsession; Sutliff's

Great Outdoors; and Brebbias Calvados (French apple brandy). All of these are tobacco forward, skillfully

flavored, so you aren't contending with a glum aftertaste. But the selection is almost unending, as you will see

if you visit any of the Forums sponsor sites that offers tobacco. You might want to try 4noggins aro sampler, which

has the advantages of 1 oz. samples, so you don't get stuck with much of blends you like less, so you'll have money

to order blends you enjoy.

 

[petes03]

Here's what I've found myself reaching for when I'm in the mood for something slightly aromatic;
Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake

Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Flake

Mac Baren Mixture Flake

McClelland Frog Morton Cellar

H&H Mazatec

Fat Albert (a blend of my own making, 50% Prince Albert/ 50% black cavendish)

 

[chiefbroom]

I have very limited experience, but I'll share it FWIW.
I bought an estate pipe last year in a charity auction. The seller packaged the pipe with some samples, one of which was McClelland's Old Church (Ashton Revival). I liked it more than the other tobaccos that were included. But when I visited a local B&M not long after and mentioned that I'd tried and liked Old Church, I detected a bit of condescension focused on Old Church being an "aromatic". I didn't know what that meant, but got a clear impression that it's bad. So I bought some other tobaccos to try, one of those being McClelland's Frog Morton Across the Pond, which I also like. A lot.
Long story short, at the point when I'd smoked down to somewhat equal quantities of Old Church and Across the Pond, I combined what was left in a baggie and thoroughly mixed it. To my taste, 1 + 1 ended up being = to something >2. But when I mentioned that to a well respected pipeman I arranged to meet on the West Coast during a business trip, I again detected what I took as just a hint of "oh, my, you're smoking an aromatic."
That was enough to convince me I was off on a wrong path. So, being an Anglophile, I committed myself to English blends. That is, until about three hours ago, when I loaded up a bowl with my half & half Old Church / Across the Pond mix, and concluded that it's one of my three favorites so far, alongside Celebrated Sovereign and Old Dog. Truth be know, I think I may enjoy OC/AtP most of the three, although I don't think I'd want a steady diet of it.
So what does this mean? Do I need to find an exorcist?

 

[Perique]

I would recommend calling Carole at Pipeworks & Wilke. Outstanding, high quality aromatics. Google it.

 

[pruss]

I would recommend calling Carole at Pipeworks & Wilke. Outstanding, high quality aromatics. Google it.

+1 Perique
-- Pat

 

[drrock]

"What can I look into for an aromatic that is sweet, not chemically tasting, and a room note that will work a bit better for the girlfriend? I'm on a somewhat tight budget, too."
I'd suggest starting with bulk aromatics, which will be cheaper than the tinned ones. I'd suggest Lane 1-Q, Lane LL-7, Lane RLP-6 as starters. The Lane blends are very widely available.
If those work for you, I'd move on to Pipesandcigars,com Trout Stream, and Sutliff Buttered Rum.
Once you learn to appreciate those, you should graduate to the wonderful aromatics from Uhles, Milan Tobacconists, Peretti, Boswell, and vtpipes.com. All of these blends are of exceptional quality, very smokable, and really delicious!

 

[bphilli75]

+1 for Lane RLP 6. It has a nice, not overly sweet room note and a nice flavor.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I have to say you can't go wrong with Lane Limited. They're bulks so they're very affordable, we're talking under $30/pound, and they are flavored very nicely. Not over powering or chemically tasting. I've had 1Q, RLP-6, BCA, Black Raspberry, Hazelnut, TK-6, LL-7, and MV 1000 and loved them all.
Mac Baren's 7 Seas line is another one to look into. Again, bulk blends that can be tried for cheap and have a nice flavor.
There's also Vanilla Cream by Mac Baren. I know the loose cut is in bulk and I think the flake can be bought by the pound as well.
I'd also mention McClelland's Premium Aromatic line as far as tins go. I haven't had one of them yet that I didn't like. I think they typically run around $8-$10 a tin online.

 

[seanlamb63]

I second the MacBaren Vanilla Cream Flake, that has become one of my favorites. Another that I smoked recently, was the Nat Sherman no. 314, and it has become a favorite all day smoke. Both of these I will recommend to try out. For something that is aromatic, yet not heavily cased, I would recommend McClelland's Deep Hollow--this is one I still comeback to every now and then. All of these are Wife approved as well.

 

[ravenwolf]

I've been enjoying Lane 1Q for a while now - works for me! Would like to try Lane BCA sometime, maybe mix it 50/50 with Prince Albert.
I've been eyeballing the Boswell tobaccos pretty hard. I plan to give them a call when I can afford it, heh.
Many thanks for the help, everyone! It's fueled my research time quite well.

 

[numbersix]

I would recommend calling Carole at Pipeworks & Wilke. Outstanding, high quality aromatics. Google it.

These are the finest aromatics available today. I'd recommend Rumcake to start.
For those of us who are budget-minded, Newminster makes some fine aromatics. I enjoy Danish Black quite a lot (also has a bit of a nic hit too).

 

[doctorthoss]

There are a great many decent aromatics out there, and no small number of great ones. Autumn Evening and 1-Q are very popular, and for good reason -- they are excellent.

I would also recommend Classic Burley Kake and Shortcut to Mushrooms. They aren't your typical aromatics, but they each have devoted cult followings.

You might also want to branch out a bit from your "typical" American aromatic profile and check out some of the more offbeat offerings. The British Lakeland genre, for instance, is may be an acquired taste but for those of us who have acquired it they are truly a revelation. Kendal Flake, Ennerdale Flake and Bosun Cut Plug are three of the best examples, IMO.

Other options are some of the more high-octane quasi-aromatics from C&D and GL Pease. For instance, Pennington Gap and Exhausted Rooster are category-busting mixtures that I can't get enough of. Also, GLP's Haddo's Delight and Barbary Coast are extremely popular.

Anyhow, those are my recommendations. Good luck!

 

[teilhard]

As other's have said, Lane BCA is great. Sweet vanilla and a hint of licorice, it never disappoints and is very well priced. Also, Hearth and Home Trout Stream is the best smelling tobacco I have encountered and the taste isn't bad either.
I also would recommend Frog Morton Cellar, not a exactly a pure aromatic due to the latikia but always provides a sweet creamy smoke if you are looking for something different. If latakia isn't your thing try Hearth and Home Anniversary Kake, it's a sweet VaPer that tastes like figs to me.