Different Pipes for Different Tobaccos...?

[ScienceSmoker]

I never really bought into the idea that different pipes are better or worse suited to various tobaccos. I didn't really have different pipes for different blend types either...well, not really. I have pipes for aromatic blends only, and a few pipes that are mainly English blend pipes... but for the most part, I just used whatever pipe was handy at the time.
But... I may have become convinced. I rediscovered some 3+ year old Orcilla Mixture in my cellar, and *loved* how well it aged, even after just 3 years. So I went looking for any other tins I may have forgotten about. I found one tin of Dunhill Three Year Matured and one Dunhill Ready Rubbed, both from 2015 when they were re-released.

I was pretty "meh" about Three Year Matured originally, but I figured that ~6 years of age should improve any blend, so I tried it out. It was better, for sure, but still mostly "meh". Then this morning I tried it in my Georg Jensen 2002.

Wow, what a difference. It's almost like a chimney pipe, with a fairly thin but tall bowl. I don't know if that's what made the difference, but whatever it was, I could really appreciate this aged Three Year Matured now. It was smoother, more flavorful, just a much more enjoyable smoke.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the reasons why some tobaccos smoke better in some pipes rather than others? I'd love to know if there is real science there, or if it's just psychosomatic.

 

[mortonbriar]

I believe bowl dimensions and draw can make for a optimum pipe/blend combo, but I have not found it matters to the extent that there is a 'wrong' pipe in my collection for any given blend/genre.

 

[SBC]

I've long been interested in this notion, but have never really experienced it. I'm curious to see what others might offer.

 

[kcghost]

Most more than casual smokers devote pipes to smoke specific type of tobaccos. Most smokers have pipes for Englishes, pipes for VAPers, and some pipes for aromatics.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Ironically I just left the local tobacconist. He rememnbered I use Latakia. I was considering an aromatic and he said I should dedicate a non Latakia pipe, but I don't have one...LOL!!

 

[mso489]

The size and shape of the chamber and the draw of a pipe do have some bearing on how it smokes a particular blend, but I think it is a pipe-by-pipe matter, not generalized to all broad chamber pot shaped pipes, etc. And sometimes different pipes smoke a blend well, but differently. I recently culled three pipes for store credit, pipes that just didn't hit my sweet spot.

 

[ScienceSmoker]

Most more than casual smokers devote pipes to smoke specific type of tobaccos. Most smokers have pipes for Englishes, pipes for VAPers, and some pipes for aromatics.

I actually disagree. I see it as a modern pipe smoker invention. Old school smokers generally had few pipes, so they just used what they had. I smoke 8-10 pipes a day. For years. And I really only have certain pipes for aromatics. Most of the people I know who are really anal about their "va/per pipe" and "burley pipe" or whatever... they're relatively new smokers or "weekend smokers".
Of course, I'm sure there are exceptions, but just from my own experience and what I've seen, it seems like it's kind of a new thing. I could be wrong though.

 

[sablebrush52]

I know smokers who dedicate specific pipes to specific blends. By doing so, the pipe is "seasoned" with the residual flavors of the blend, which in turn reinforces each additional bowl.

Frankly, I'm just too lazy to deal with cleaning a dozen pipes a week. Maybe that's why I tend to commit to a blend or two for a few days before switching.

I've matched a few pipes with blends that smoke well in them, but never found a strict correlation between chamber shape and blend type.

 

[pipingfool]

I will say that in my experience there are just some tobaccos that sing in certain pipes. Not that they aren’t good in other pipes, but it seems that some pipe/tobacco combos always deliver a sublime smoke.

Is it psychosomatic? Possibly. But it seems pretty consistent for me. Also, factors such as current weather conditions (I smoke outside), what I’ve recently drank or eaten and just my overall being probably factor into the smoking experience.

So who knows. I’ll just continue to enjoy my pipe/tobacco combos and search for more that offer that ever elusive sublime smoking experience and savor those “good” smokes as well.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I am convinced the perfect way to smoke would be to dedicate a specific blend to a specific pipe. There is some slight amount of ghosting with every blend it just may not be enough to make it worth it in most cases. I do dedicate pipes to a blend genre pretty much without exception.

I'm also convinced bowl geometry affects the taste of the blends. I find tall conical bowls are best for Red Virginias. Smaller diameter bowls favor Virginia Flakes and Flake tobacco in general. More complex blends seem to shine in larger diameter bowls. I recently found a big difference with aged HOTW that seemed a bit bland in a smaller diameter bowl but it's superb in a larger diameter bowl.

Easy enough to experiment yourself if you care to assuming you have a number of pipes with varying bowl sizes and geometries. For example, take two pipes, smoke your favorite Virginia for ten bowls in one and a VaPer in another for 10 bowls each. Then smoke the Virginia back to back in each the 11th bowl and see if you can or cannot taste the Perique in the pipe that smoked 10 bowls of VaPer. Take 2 pipes with a bowl diameters of around 0.75" and 1" respectively, smoke 5 bowls of a more complex English blend in each. See if you can detect a difference.

No need to speculate, set up some experiments to determine the answers for yourself.

 

[bullet08]

Do notice Va tends to taste better in narrow, tall chamber and Lat in wide bowl, and I usually follow that. But I don't dedicate down to a blend. Too much work.