That absolutely makes sense. You knew you didn't like it because you actually experienced the flavor vs just having a bad smoke due to technique.
Beginner Blend Progression
- Thread starter Ghines04
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BCA is quite good. I'm always adding a sprinkle to Pegasus or Haunted Bookshop to smooth things out. BCA mixed with C&D Dark Burley is a tasty treat, great for smoking in a new pipe if the pipe has some bite. I'll often smoke BCA straight if I need just one more smoke before bed.
An often overlooked codger/aromatic is Sutliff J4 burley. Very smooth, caramel and vanilla, no bite, even when you lean on it, as I did last night.
A terrific beginner English is Peter Stokkebye English Luxury. Not a lat bomb, got some black cavendish for roundness, just a great, easy-smoking English.
I would tell a beginning smoker to start out with a mild English. In time you can up the ante a bit to stronger English's. The you can dabble in Virginias and Va/Pers. The you have reached a point where you can consider aromatics. You can stop experimenting anytime.
I think this comes under the heading of choose your own adventure. Start with familiarizing yourself with the two most basic base tobaccos that are the predominant leaf(s) in most blends, a basic Virginia or Virginia blend, and a basic burley or blend of burleys, so you'll know those in most all of the other blends you will smoke.
After that, it is a matter of selecting small quantities of many genres and blends, only trying small quantities even when you find ones you really like. Your tastes will always change over time. You'll learn to like ones you don't like at all at first, and get tired of some you love.
But maybe most important, don't go crazy and think you have to try every known blend in the world. Keep track of what you like, so you can size up blends from the specifications without ordering two ounces of everything in the world.
Enjoyment is the point whether you've been smoking a pipe for three days or fifty years. Slow down and enjoy it, and pay attention and study it enough so you make sense of what you are sampling. But enjoy, enjoy.Take your time.
After that, it is a matter of selecting small quantities of many genres and blends, only trying small quantities even when you find ones you really like. Your tastes will always change over time. You'll learn to like ones you don't like at all at first, and get tired of some you love.
But maybe most important, don't go crazy and think you have to try every known blend in the world. Keep track of what you like, so you can size up blends from the specifications without ordering two ounces of everything in the world.
Enjoyment is the point whether you've been smoking a pipe for three days or fifty years. Slow down and enjoy it, and pay attention and study it enough so you make sense of what you are sampling. But enjoy, enjoy.Take your time.
I see why aros are a bad starting point. They can bite if you don't know what you're doing, and lack flavor if smoked too fast, which novice smokers often do. But, if you don't like what you're smoking you'll most likely quit. I say smoke what you like and learn to smoke it properly. Tongue bite is most likely going to happen to you early on no matter what you smoke. There are some aros that arent bitey and are forgiving. Autumn Evening is a good example. Not many, but just saying. To each his own path though.
Is this from the old Nightstalker days?!! Loved that show!
Anyone who gets the reference is officially an old codger.
+1
I would add a name - Presbyterian
What’s a good example of a mild English? I’ve tried MM965 but it seemed pretty bold to me.
If you want something toned down from 965, try Peterson's Early Morning Pipe, Presbyterian Mixture, C&D's Good Morning, or GL Pease Piccadilly.
Have you been playing StarCraft? There isn't build order in pipe smoking. You can smoke anything you like from the start. Good number of people start with aromatics since the possibility of cherry or chocolate sounds interesting. But new smokers won't pick up the nuance. Latakia become favorite if you happen to like it since it's easy to pick out. OTC are good because they are less expensive and easy to smoke and you won't notice the flavor anyway. Virginia isn't usually recommended since they burn hotter than others leading to tongue bite and hot bowl. So pick what you want and enjoy the journey.
For learning how to smoke a pipe, the old-style burleys - Prince Al, Carter Hall, etc - are hard to beat. They are consistent and easy to smoke - classic all-day smokes.
So tempted to just grab a tech tree, relabel everything, and do a bit about how, "Because the basic Protoss air unit is so bad, it's sub-optimal to go into Va/Pers until you're far enough down Va/Burs to build an Arbiter's Tribunal".
Not aromatics or not the bulk aromatics sold in large jars at traditional B&Ms? Given how hot some VAs burn, I would say an aromatic like Sillems Black is easier to smoke.
Eric Stokkebye 4th Generation Afternoon Melange is a very nice light English. The Morning Blend in that series is a much better than average aromatic as well. Not goopy at all. I like mixing these together so much that I just want ahead and combined them and pressed them into a puck. Lovely aromatic English.
That animated GIF is from A Christmas Story (1983), about eight years after The Night Stalker. I guess I am an old codger now.
Looking back perhaps a light English or mild Burley, maybe even a simple Dutch Cavendish style blend. Of course, many moons ago I went right into dime store aromatics and then into Virginia which was probably not the best course looking back.