I was 25 years in when I finally figured them out. Love them now.
Do Aromatics Suck?
- Thread starter Richmond B. Funkenhouser
- Start date
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Since 90% of tobacco sales are for aromatics, clearly the majority of smokers like them.
And, it depends on the aromatic. Personally, I don’t like “goopers ”, but I enjoy semi aromatics, like many of the Esoterica and GH & Co. blends, which feature quality Virginias, and I also enjoy non aromatic blends, like the D&R Rimboche AP, an excellent Va/Per, that I’m smoking right now.
Aromatics are not a beginner’s blend, as getting the best from them, finding the optimal moisture balance, takes some practice.
English blends are much more forgiving.
And, it depends on the aromatic. Personally, I don’t like “goopers ”, but I enjoy semi aromatics, like many of the Esoterica and GH & Co. blends, which feature quality Virginias, and I also enjoy non aromatic blends, like the D&R Rimboche AP, an excellent Va/Per, that I’m smoking right now.
Aromatics are not a beginner’s blend, as getting the best from them, finding the optimal moisture balance, takes some practice.
English blends are much more forgiving.
I bet that many a new pipe smoker was run off by a dripping wet plastic bag of 1Q, or BCA.
I can smoke 'em but it's much easier to pack a pipe full of anything shag cut and go about my business.
I was on an aromatic kick a month or so ago. Heating up plates of tobacco in the microwave... Drying the blends in bowls all over the place.... My wife was complaining about all the dishes my pipe smoking was causing. I just gave up and put the jars back on the shelf.
It'll be a shame to throw away all of that tobacco, but those blends are only 40% tobacco anyway... The real weight is from the corn syrup and water they've added to weigh those goopy blends down.
Maybe I'll hold on to 'em and try again in 20 years.
I can smoke 'em but it's much easier to pack a pipe full of anything shag cut and go about my business.
I was on an aromatic kick a month or so ago. Heating up plates of tobacco in the microwave... Drying the blends in bowls all over the place.... My wife was complaining about all the dishes my pipe smoking was causing. I just gave up and put the jars back on the shelf.
It'll be a shame to throw away all of that tobacco, but those blends are only 40% tobacco anyway... The real weight is from the corn syrup and water they've added to weigh those goopy blends down.
Maybe I'll hold on to 'em and try again in 20 years.
A couple years back I lucked into a couple of tins of Esoterica And So To Bed. That was a good smoke. An aromatic for sure, but nothing like the goopy blends that make up the biggest part of the market.
Rimboche AP is one of my favorites, it will be missed.
Maybe aromatic is a too broad term... I guess should have specified by calling them "goopers."
I tend to agree that a lot of the (let's call them) American style, goopy aromatics don't do much for me, largely because I do enjoy nicotine, and many of those blends are pretty well neutered in that regard. Then again, many Latakia blends are light in nicotine as well, and I like those. Maybe it's because I came from cigarettes and cigars, but I enjoy more natural tasting blends.... I am certainly not anti-casing or anti-topping, and enjoy plenty of blends that have a bit of added flavor.
That said, aromatics do smell wonderful, and they're the best-selling blends for tobacco sellers, which basically allows the blenders to make the non-aromatic blends for geeks like us. If MacBaren didn't sell a ton of their Vanilla blend, they probably wouldn't bother making the HH Bold Kentucky I'm smoking right now. So, aside from the fact that being an elitist generally sucks, I say we salute our Cookies N' Cream smoking brothers/sisters for keeping the business going!
That said, aromatics do smell wonderful, and they're the best-selling blends for tobacco sellers, which basically allows the blenders to make the non-aromatic blends for geeks like us. If MacBaren didn't sell a ton of their Vanilla blend, they probably wouldn't bother making the HH Bold Kentucky I'm smoking right now. So, aside from the fact that being an elitist generally sucks, I say we salute our Cookies N' Cream smoking brothers/sisters for keeping the business going!
Hey man, my grandma smoked Virginia Slims, and they were pretty good smokes!Like Virginia Slims, Capris, and Eve cigarettes, they give the fairer sex something to bring them into the hobby. Oh, and Canadian Teddy bears. Let's not forget our grump Canadian friend. Oh, and kids.
I'm joking of course. There are also manly men who probably have smoked Virginia Slims also.
And a misnomer. Aromatic tobacco was originally Latakia and orientals. The topped blends were called flavored.
By definition, ALL tobacco blends are aromatic because the all have a please and distinctive smell.
I call them 'crowd pleasers'.
Most of my smoking is by myself, and I smoke tobacco forward blends for the most part...BUT...if I am out with my family or in a setting with more people I will smoke something sweetly/heavily topped with a fistful of black cavendish in it, this way people are usually quite positive about a smoker in their midst. Other times I will just leave the pipe behind, that works too.
Most of my smoking is by myself, and I smoke tobacco forward blends for the most part...BUT...if I am out with my family or in a setting with more people I will smoke something sweetly/heavily topped with a fistful of black cavendish in it, this way people are usually quite positive about a smoker in their midst. Other times I will just leave the pipe behind, that works too.
My answer is it depends on what you want out of a tobacco! If you're just looking for something pleasant tasting and smelling that doesn't deliver much in the way of nicotine, and you can live with the mechanics of smoking a wet goopy aromatic (many relights, the tobacco burning on the hot side, etc.), then yeah, they might be just the thing for you!
Personally I mostly smoke pure Virginias, dark fired Kentucky blends, and drier European style aromatics; but I do loves me a good pipeful of Sutliff Pumpkin Spice in the autumn! Cult Blood Red Moon and Captain Black Original are longtime favorites of mine as well.
Personally I mostly smoke pure Virginias, dark fired Kentucky blends, and drier European style aromatics; but I do loves me a good pipeful of Sutliff Pumpkin Spice in the autumn! Cult Blood Red Moon and Captain Black Original are longtime favorites of mine as well.
Only had much luck with C&D Autumn Evening and Amphora. Aros are so fussy to smoke and even then don't quite get the same taste as the tin note. I've had some wonderfully tasty Bread/Cream/Caramel tastes with Virginia's and now consider straight VAs "my cup of tea"
Get them down to wisps and not clouds and they'll reach that flavor.
Pack them light enough and they'll burn off the excessive moisture with one or two lights without the extra heat.
You can always strike a match and clear the john of any bad odor.
Many aromatics are subpar. But many aren't. I have enjoyed a couple from Ken Byron. I'm pretty sure 1792 is classified as an aromatic and I think it's one of the best blends out there. There was a time when 3-year matured from dunhill was amazing. And I still have some of those tins in my cellar. I'm pretty sure that's an aromatic too. The original frog on a log was classified by many had some aromatic Latakia crossover. That's a pretty impressive blend in my opinion. As some have said, some aromatics require some skill to smoke. That doesn't mean that you have to work terribly hard. In my opinion, you have to be in the right state of mind, not to huff and puff. The frog on the log can be fussy, if I am remotely stressed, the blend doesn't work. But if I'm in the right state of mind, it's Nirvana. 1792 works under almost any circumstance. So, I guess, I'm an aromatic fan. Even though I only smoke very few.
Once upon a time I went to college in Kansas City, and I was homesick beyond any ability to describe.
But after a few days in the dormitory I noticed that in the lobby was a piano and these outrageously beautiful girls from the Conservatory of Music would practice on it, sometimes dressed in long flowing gowns like they wore at recitals.
If there had been any goopy floral scented aromatics for sale at the 7/11 at the bottom of the hill below the dormitory I’d have bought some, but I had to settle for Pallidin’s Blackcherry.
It only tasted expensive, the package read.
But in a dorm full of loud mouthed and profane college boys, I’d load up some Pallidin’s in my Carey dress up nicely, and sit out in the lobby and smoke it, and bye and bye one of those girls playing the piano would complement how good it smelled.
I’d then complement her on how well she played the piano, and request a song my grandmother used to play.
They would always know Listen to the Mockingbird (it’s one of the first songs any piano player learns) but they’d never heard the words sung.
They are old grandmas today assuming they’re alive, but Candy and Madeline learned The Game of Triangles and we performed it for my dear mother when she came up for parent’s weekend.
Candy offered to sell her old guitar to my mother for twenty dollars, the same as they offered her at the music store for trade in.
I still have the cancelled check, that I gave her.
But Candy’s parents were wealthy, and they took Candy out for diner and poor Maddie’s parents were far away in New York.
I watched Mama have Maddie put new strings on Candy’s guitar, and let her play it.
Then she taught her Jealous Heart, the song she sang that always destroyed my Daddy.
I still have both the guitar Daddy bought my Mama and Candy’s in the attic.
A goopy aromatic might have worked quicker, but Pallidin’s worked well enough.