Aromatics/ New Pipe Smoker

[Peterson314]

I am rookie pipe smoker and for example today I smoked Mac Baren Virginia flake and 4noggings three blind moose. The Virginia was sweet with subtle hay like flavor and tasted much better than the aromatic.

I have learned that at least I need to first learn to smoke Virginia and then move on to other types of pipe tobacco.

20 years in, and I still don’t “get” Virginias. I do love Green Georgia’s Dragon though.

 

[El Capitán]

Peter Stokkebye Vanilla has a wonderful flavor and room note.

 

[El Capitán]

I've tried slow smoking and still don't get much taste from aromatics. Other than the smell it's lost on me. I enjoy other non aromatics so I think I will stick with those instead and revisit aro's later. Thanks for all of the input.

Try retro inhaling. It provides the taste a little better.

 

[wernerat]

I've been smoking a pipe for 8 months so I'm pretty new to this.

I primarily smoke English blends which I love but I've also tried several different aromatic blends such as... Autumn Evening, MacBaren Vanilla Flake, Lane RLP6, Cult Blood Red Moon, and Apricots and Cream.

I don't find any aromatic to have much taste but the room/ tin notes are always pleasing. Are these mostly to please non smokers around you or have I not been smoking long enough to appreciate aromatics?

If you can get some aros from kohlhase & Kopp. Especially the limited yearly baccy is great.

As stated u got to let it dry out. An hour works for me. Also use a pipe with a filter. And the rest u heared it slow and steady.

If you do ir correct it tastes excatly as stated on the package.

It's way not as complex as natural tobacco. Let's compare it to wine and a jack Daniel's cola. With wine if you don't just drink it you taste it analyse it. If aged it will change.
Aros are jack cola. You don't have to analyse it but if you take time you taste the cola and also the nuances of whiskey.

There is nothing bad about aros. Why would you always have to go super complex. But they also have a bit complexity. And it is enjoyable.

 

[wernerat]

You

I smoke more English flake than anything else now but I don't mind aromatics. My issue are those that taste very artificial. Some cherry blends smell like sweets or sickly vaping fluid when you open the tin. It may be a bit of a generalisation but if I can't smell the tobacco in the tin I'll generally give them a miss.

Unfortunately I don't have access to the range of intruigeing sounding US blends mentioned on here. In the UK it's mostly English or European. But Willsons of Sharrow make some nice aros and I like some of the GH American-style blends but tend to find Dutch brands too sweet and dominated by vanilla. Borkum Riff Ruby, for example, I find sickly. It's very good quality but it's like a fine cup of tea that's had five sugars put in it.

There used to be an old tobacconist near me (now sadly gone the way of most high street tobacconists here) who never referred to aromatics. He had a shelf of them in jars but called them "house baccy" because they were the blend wives were mostly likely to allow husbands to smoke indoors.
His "shed baccy" were those you smoked for your own pleasure rather than other people's and these were the rich and strong flakes, plugs and twists.

My favourite tobacco is GH American coffee and caramel which is a black cavendish. It is top dressed but genuinely does taste of coffee and caramel. Tin smell is like Christmas pudding and it's a blend that seems to please the smoker and bystanders alike.

You got to differ over the counter brands like borkum riff and real aros. If you can buy it everywhere don't buy it
They just have the brand to sell it to the rare species of pipe smokers who want their kick. As soon as you go to a tobacco store in Europe you see if they got a clue about tobacco or not.
Ps: if the person just reads the label of the tobacco if you ask him for a flavour just walk out :D

 

[El Capitán]

You

You got to differ over the counter brands like borkum riff and real aros. If you can buy it everywhere don't buy it
They just have the brand to sell it to the rare species of pipe smokers who want their kick. As soon as you go to a tobacco store in Europe you see if they got a clue about tobacco or not.
Ps: if the person just reads the label of the tobacco if you ask him for a flavour just walk out :D

Old codger blends are everywhere for a reason: they are tried and true. You know what you're getting.

 

[PipeIT]

20 years in, and I still don’t “get” Virginias. I do love Green Georgia’s Dragon though.

Maybe it’s me, but I find with all the VAs I smoke, if you don’t treat them gently, they become one dimensional, not much going on.

Now, it could also be your palate, only you can say.

Dry them fairly crisp
Gently pack
Barely light, no big glowing ember
Slowly take a small sip or two
Now, like a wine taster, taste for flavors
Let the pipe go out and cool down
Now repeat

Maybe too, you just haven’t gotten accustomed to VAs. I find that VAs to be generally on the Lighter Spectrum of a leaf, that if you don’t go easy with them, the flavors don’t present themselves. It’s easy to over do VAs, with to much fire/heat and fast smoking.

 

[Gimlet]

You

You got to differ over the counter brands like borkum riff and real aros. If you can buy it everywhere don't buy it
They just have the brand to sell it to the rare species of pipe smokers who want their kick. As soon as you go to a tobacco store in Europe you see if they got a clue about tobacco or not.
Ps: if the person just reads the label of the tobacco if you ask him for a flavour just walk out :D

I very rarely buy pre-packaged tobacco. I tried Borkum Riff because it was there in my local tobacconist and they'd run out of the brand I wanted. Generally I buy loose tobacco and feel it and smell it in the jar myself beforehand if it's something I'm not familiar with. If they won't hand me the jar to check out for myself I won't buy.
But TBH most of my tobacco is bought online.

 

[PipeIT]

I very rarely buy pre-packaged tobacco. I tried Borkum Riff because it was there in my local tobacconist and they'd run out of the brand I wanted. Generally I buy loose tobacco and feel it and smell it in the jar myself beforehand if it's something I'm not familiar with. If they won't hand me the jar to check out for myself I won't buy.
But TBH most of my tobacco is bought online.

Granted, there is a lot of bulk tobacco out there in the world, but if you are also limiting yourself to buying only bulk, you are limiting yourself to a lot of blends out there, that are only in tins and packages.

I wouldn’t limit yourself like this, there’s no real reason to do so, unless a specific blender was putting a lot of nasty artificial flavors and chemicals in the blend.

I see you’re in England, but if you were able to buy there. G.L. Pease blends, he doesn’t use PG, and possibly about as pure as you can buy, as a prepackaged blender.

Many of the highly acclaimed blenders around the world, selling their blends packaged, many of them are probably, possibly even better quality, compared to many of the bulk blends you are buying.

It’s also harder for vendors to maintain the stability/moisture of bulk blends, compared to a vacuum sealed tin. So when buying in bulk, there is also a good probability of getting tobacco that hasn’t been well preserved and drier.

G. L. Pease - Preindustrial Tobaccos for the Contemporary Pipe Smoker

 

[wernerat]

Granted, there is a lot of bulk tobacco out there in the world, but if you are also limiting yourself to buying only bulk, you are limiting yourself to a lot of blends out there, that are only in tins and packages.

I wouldn’t limit yourself like this, there’s no real reason to do so, unless a specific blender was putting a lot of nasty artificial flavors and chemicals in the blend.

I see you’re in England, but if you were able to buy there. G.L. Pease blends, he doesn’t use PG, and possibly about as pure as you can buy, as a prepackaged blender.

Many of the highly acclaimed blenders around the world, selling their blends packaged, many of them are probably, possibly even better quality, compared to many of the bulk blends you are buying.

It’s also harder for vendors to maintain the stability/moisture of bulk blends, compared to a vacuum sealed tin. So when buying in bulk, there is also a good probability of getting tobacco that hasn’t been well preserved and drier.

G. L. Pease - Preindustrial Tobaccos for the Contemporary Pipe Smoker

Got to check that also out! Thanks.

 

[wernerat]

Maybe it’s me, but I find with all the VAs I smoke, if you don’t treat them gently, they become one dimensional, not much going on.

Now, it could also be your palate, only you can say.

Dry them fairly crisp
Gently pack
Barely light, no big glowing ember
Slowly take a small sip or two
Now, like a wine taster, taste for flavors
Let the pipe go out and cool down
Now repeat

Maybe too, you just haven’t gotten accustomed to VAs. I find that VAs to be generally on the Lighter Spectrum of a leaf, that if you don’t go easy with them, the flavors don’t present themselves. It’s easy to over do VAs, with to much fire/heat and fast smoking.

In my opinion as a rookie i think english mixtures are the easiest to smoke cool. Aros and virginias are not that easy to smoke cool. If not smoked cool not a good flavor

 

[PipeIT]

In my opinion as a rookie i think english mixtures are the easiest to smoke cool. Aros and virginias are not that easy to smoke cool. If not smoked cool not a good flavor

Yes I agree, and don’t forget Burley...

 

[Gimlet]

Granted, there is a lot of bulk tobacco out there in the world, but if you are also limiting yourself to buying only bulk, you are limiting yourself to a lot of blends out there, that are only in tins and packages.

I wouldn’t limit yourself like this, there’s no real reason to do so, unless a specific blender was putting a lot of nasty artificial flavors and chemicals in the blend.

I see you’re in England, but if you were able to buy there. G.L. Pease blends, he doesn’t use PG, and possibly about as pure as you can buy, as a prepackaged blender.

Many of the highly acclaimed blenders around the world, selling their blends packaged, many of them are probably, possibly even better quality, compared to many of the bulk blends you are buying.

It’s also harder for vendors to maintain the stability/moisture of bulk blends, compared to a vacuum sealed tin. So when buying in bulk, there is also a good probability of getting tobacco that hasn’t been well preserved and drier.

G. L. Pease - Preindustrial Tobaccos for the Contemporary Pipe Smoker

I do buy some of my English tobaccos in tins. It's all down to whether I can find them on the shelf. There's a local shop where I regularly buy GH Coffee and Caramel, Ennerdale and 1792 flake in tins, because it comes in prime condition. And who doesn't need a good collection of old tobacco tins in their shed.
Generally I dislike plastic vacuum sealed packs and try to avoid them.

I've tried a few Rattrays, Petersons and Charatan tinned blends (I particularly liked Charatan's Victorian mixture) but I've found most of them rather hot smoking. Maybe it was just the particular blends I tried but the GH and SG tinned blends are always very good, just like loose but in perfect condition.

 

[Jacob74]

My favorite all time aro is Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic. I find that its room/area note is good enough that people say things like "wow that smells really good", but the flavor calms down from a boozy aromatic to a sweet and slightly nutty burley by about 3/4ths through the bowl. It's easy to get hold of as well (at least where I live).
So far what I haven't appreciated very much are fruity aromatics. They are the ones that disappoint my palate, and tend to be the most risky for bite to me.

 

[Peterson314]

Maybe it’s me, but I find with all the VAs I smoke, if you don’t treat them gently, they become one dimensional, not much going on.

It's this. I often have a hard time finding the pocket in straight Virginias. I generally find them monotone. I like stoved Virginia though.

I'll keep trying. I have plenty of tins that I plan on keeping in the cellar for a looooong time.

 

[Gimlet]

Granted, there is a lot of bulk tobacco out there in the world, but if you are also limiting yourself to buying only bulk, you are limiting yourself to a lot of blends out there, that are only in tins and packages.

I wouldn’t limit yourself like this, there’s no real reason to do so, unless a specific blender was putting a lot of nasty artificial flavors and chemicals in the blend.

I see you’re in England, but if you were able to buy there. G.L. Pease blends, he doesn’t use PG, and possibly about as pure as you can buy, as a prepackaged blender.

Many of the highly acclaimed blenders around the world, selling their blends packaged, many of them are probably, possibly even better quality, compared to many of the bulk blends you are buying.

It’s also harder for vendors to maintain the stability/moisture of bulk blends, compared to a vacuum sealed tin. So when buying in bulk, there is also a good probability of getting tobacco that hasn’t been well preserved and drier.

G. L. Pease - Preindustrial Tobaccos for the Contemporary Pipe Smoker

I can buy Pease tobaccos in the UK. I've found this source: G. L. Pease Pipe Tobacco | Buy Cheap Tobacco Online - https://www.tobaccoonline.co.uk/Pipe-Tobacco/G.-L.-Pease/index.asp?pro=1

I notice latakia features in many of their blends and I'm not a fan of latakia unless used with care. I prefer perique, burleys, cavendish and darker, cool smoking tobaccos in general. Red virginias in moderation and I do like a bit of tonquin sweetness.
The Pease blends that most appeal from the description are Barbary Coast, Haddo's delight, Stonehenge, Cumberland, Maltese Falcon and Sixpence.
I'll try a selection of the above in 50g tins and see how I get on.

I should add, I'm not in any way dissatisfied with my mainstay Gawith Hoggarth/ Samuel Gawith English blends. I live only about an hour from the Kendal factory and they deliver direct to local retailers. Getting Kendal tobacco in prime condition is not difficult here. When I buy online in bulk it's from trusted suppliers who always maintain quality. My go-to online supplier is GQ tobaccos in London who are very reliable. When I buy bulk I keep the tobacco in sealed mason jars.

I used to buy a lot of 50g tins of different brands and blends to try from the Cuban Cigar shop tobacconist in Newcastle city centre, which is only about half an hour away. They keep an excellent range of loose GH, SG which they receive direct from the Kendal factory. Their tobaccos don't hang around long and they get weekly or fortnightly deliveries from the factory. It was a great place to pick up something new to try while I was getting my usuals, as they keep a lot of tins as well. Unfortunately Newcastle has declared itself a low emissions zone and I can't drive into the city anymore without getting stung.

I'd be a lot more adventurous on my choices if there were more high street tobacconists on the doorstep. But our politicians seem intent on closing them down, and when we get a change of government next year, there's a high chance they'll try and ban tobacco sales altogether.

 

[Mike N]

I've been smoking a pipe for 8 months so I'm pretty new to this.

I primarily smoke English blends which I love but I've also tried several different aromatic blends such as... Autumn Evening, MacBaren Vanilla Flake, Lane RLP6, Cult Blood Red Moon, and Apricots and Cream.

I don't find any aromatic to have much taste but the room/ tin notes are always pleasing. Are these mostly to please non smokers around you or have I not been smoking long enough to appreciate aromatics?

If you want aromatics with taste, try some of those blended by The Country Squire, especially Tombigbee. They are top-notch tobacconists.

Also, the pipe you use is very important to “tasting” a tobacco. I recommend a Savinelli in their Miele (honey) series. Always gives me a great smoke I can depend on.