Aromatics for Tobacco Lovers

[Sobrbiker]

Dan Devil’s Holiday, it’s like Lane Black Raspberry but for men

 

[LudwigB88]

Also, why are Northwoods, Boswell No Bite Delight, and some of the Pipeworks aromatics always singled out as great. Also Lane 1Q (why such a horrible name ?). Watch City ? What are so special about them ? Is the idea of aromatics better than the reality ?

 

[Skippy Piper]

I occasionally get a hankering for aromatic tobacco, then discard it in the trash after realizing that a flavored topping merely adds an aroma (thus the term aromatic). I believe I had a Uhle’s chocolate blend that I liked at the beginning of my pipe journey. So I’m curious, what is the deal with aromatics ? Is it just the room note ? Are they flavored naturally ? Could one conceivably top any blend with a flavoring ? Help me understand.

While everyone's taste buds are different, if you're not getting any flavor from aromatics that generally means you're smoking them too fast and too hot. The volatile compounds that impart flavor to the toppings in aromatics flash off very quickly if the tobacco gets burning too hot, leaving you with burnt ashy tasting smoke.

You really have to slow down and sip the smoke extra gently to keep the tobacco burning at a low temperature with a small smouldering ember to get good flavor from aromatics, which is why in spite of conventional wisdom I don't think most aromatics are a very good choice for newer pipe smokers. They do take a bit of finesse to smoke well!

 

[Servant King]

Good to revisit this thread. Naturally, Mac Baren Vanilla Roll Cake and Vanilla Flake are both out to pasture, and STG (unsurprisingly) botched the loose cut Vanilla Cream. What a difference two years can make, eh?

If you're lucky enough to be able to acquire some Sutliff Maple Shadows, leap at the opportunity. Granted, I just tried it for the first time this evening, but I can tell it'll be a keeper, in no uncertain terms.

Most others I'd recommend are also discontinued, like Sutliff 1M and Mac Baren Black Ambrosia. A very good one that's still in production is Ashton Winding Road. Ashton in general seems to fly under the radar, and this blend is no different.

Then there's SWRA. You'll find no unpleasant surprises with that one.

Never been a better time for the watchwords of the PipesMagazine forum...YMMV.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Was trying to explain to another member recently that 'aromatics' isn't so much a hard line yes/no categorization but a continuum of lighter to heavier flavoring; in that spirit, here are some of my controversial favorite 'aromatics':

McClelland Holiday Spirit
Solani Tropical Mango Flake
Frog Morton Cellar
Mac Baren Dark Twist
Samuel Gawith Lakeland Dark
Esoterica Dunbar/Dorchester

 

[Brad H]

Good to revisit this thread. Naturally, Mac Baren Vanilla Roll Cake and Vanilla Flake are both out to pasture, and STG (unsurprisingly) botched the loose cut Vanilla Cream. What a difference two years can make, eh?

If you're lucky enough to be able to acquire some Sutliff Maple Shadows, leap at the opportunity. Granted, I just tried it for the first time this evening, but I can tell it'll be a keeper, in no uncertain terms.

Most others I'd recommend are also discontinued, like Sutliff 1M and Mac Baren Black Ambrosia. A very good one that's still in production is Ashton Winding Road. Ashton in general seems to fly under the radar, and this blend is no different.

Then there's SWRA. You'll find no unpleasant surprises with that one.

Never been a better time for the watchwords of the PipesMagazine forum...YMMV.

We lost plumcake

 

[FLDRD]

Does Thanksgiving Day count in this category? I got my hands on some in a recent purchase, and I like it despite the description of it indicating I likely wouldn't.