Aromatics

[ghost]

My first ever meme!

Seriously though, aside from Black House I still smoke primarily aromatics. 1Q and RLP-6 taste just fine to me, and as it's said on these forums every day, part of the joy of pipes is sampling different tobaccos. If you like it, it doesn't suck.

 

[ohin3]

I like the concept of aromatic tobacco but the end product is rarely enjoyable. I think the masses are attracted to aromatic tobacco so like all things that lots of people like, they shifted over to the mass production paradigm. Mass production usually leads to a reduction in quality so that mass quantities can be produced cheaply and sell. The Lakeland tobaccos are a good example of high quality aromatic tobacco as are the Danish and Dutch varieties. I do like some of the W.O. Larsen aromatics and I do like Amphora. Both are high quality tobaccos with very nice tobacco tastes and smoking qualities that are lightly scented rather than steeped in some sort of sauce that is reminiscent of a glade plug in or a car air freshener. I do also from time to time take a high quality Virginia and blend in a third or less of some aromatic just because, again, I like the concept of aromatic tobacco but I want a high quality tobacco. As others have stated, however, I do agree with the idea that everyone should smoke what pleases them and don't give a frogs fat ass what others think.

 

[smokedragon]

Nothing at all "beginner" about aromatics. My Granddad smokes aros, and so does my father. Pipe smokers in this day and age tend to have a specific mentality of "I do what I want, and I don't care what anyone else thinks." Smoking, pipe-smoking in particular has shifted away from the mainstream. Likewise, this mentality should be applied to all aspects of the pipe-smoking way of life. Find what you enjoy smoking, and smoke it. This way of thought is why I don't read reviews for tobacco or pipes. I find out names, try things, keep what I like, and remove what I don't. No one has ever looked down on me for smoking aros, and if they don't like'em good more for me. /end soap box

 

[sjfine]

I am an aro-guy. And, I am new to pipes. And, I think that the issue is less about the neo-paleo dichotomy than it is about the ignorance-knowledge dichotomy. I smoked cigars for a long time. I found my way around, starting with Macanudo and Drew Estate Naturals (viewed by many as "beginner" brands) and finding my taste in several higher-end and a few Cuban brands.
When I first started smoking pipes, I started with English tobaccos because I thought that, given my taste in cigar brands, aromatics would turn me off. I was wrong.
Latakia and perique make me ill. And this isn't because I am a neophyte, it is because I do not like them. And, I can't understand how anyone could. Then again, I can't understand how anyone could eat calamari, or Marmite.
There are many cigar brands that make me ill as well. And, of them, few are viewed as "beginner" brands. I have tried a burley or two, and I didn't like them either. And, there are some aromatics that I despise.
This is not to say that I will not keep trying. As time goes by, I may find that my tastes change. But, in no way will my tastes be based in anything other than trial and more trial. Without stigma. Without judgment. (Although, I have to admit that when I smell someone smoking an Acid cigar, I do feel somewhat...homicidal. I suppose that's what impulse-control meds are for.)