Down With Tin Note!

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RudyH

Might Stick Around
Sep 1, 2022
79
102
Wisconsin
I've watched quite a few youtube pipe tobacco reviews and most of them dwell on tin note. Why? It is no indication of whether the tobacco is good for smoking. If it doesn't taste good when smoked, then who cares whether tin note is any good?

Good example: Planta Presbyterian tin note is one of the most vile stenches I've encountered, yet the smoke is very different and I enjoy it very much.
 
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Reactions: OverMountain

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,248
57,309
67
Sarasota Florida
The only time I smell a blend is when I first get it and then I never do it again. I cannot remember the last time I put my nose in a tin. I learned that for me tin note means nothing. It has no correlation as to how well the blend will smoke and taste.

On the other had I never load a bowl of tobacco without first checking the humidity. It is far more important to me than smelling it. If something is a bit moist I will pack it looser and leave a little extra for the flake to grow in the bowl. If it is a tad try I will pack it tighter and so far my system has worked well for me.
 

RudyH

Might Stick Around
Sep 1, 2022
79
102
Wisconsin
The only time I smell a blend is when I first get it and then I never do it again. I cannot remember the last time I put my nose in a tin. I learned that for me tin note means nothing. It has no correlation as to how well the blend will smoke and taste.

On the other had I never load a bowl of tobacco without first checking the humidity. It is far more important to me than smelling it. If something is a bit moist I will pack it looser and leave a little extra for the flake to grow in the bowl. If it is a tad try I will pack it tighter and so far my system has worked well for me.

Quote: "On the other had I never load a bowl of tobacco without first checking the humidity."

Yes! That is a vital consideration. It makes all the difference. And usually, if I think it's dry enough, then it still should be dried more.
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,912
21,599
SE PA USA
The aroma of good tobacco is as enjoyable to me as the smell of fresh baked bread, a newly mown field or the invisible clouds of wonderfulness that occasionally waft over my house from the Blommer's Chocolate plant five miles away from my house. All of these aromas make me instantly, involuntarily happy. As OverMountain says, it's all part of the experience.

man-holding-bread-background-wheat-field-sky_347372-1414.jpg
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
60,637
With wine, they call that the "nose" of the wine. I think it is a pleasure not to be overlooked. I don't always sniff the tin or jar, but it is a pleasure when I do. Some excellent tasting blends have earthy deep barnyard smells. I find that true with Semois and others. I think giving the blend a sniff slows down the ritual and gives it another dimension. Don't overlook the little things.
 

RudyH

Might Stick Around
Sep 1, 2022
79
102
Wisconsin
The aroma of good tobacco is as enjoyable to me as the smell of fresh baked bread, a newly mown field or the invisible clouds of wonderfulness that occasionally waft over my house from the Blommer's Chocolate plant five miles away from my house. All of these aromas make me instantly, involuntarily happy. As OverMountain says, it's all part of the experience.

man-holding-bread-background-wheat-field-sky_347372-1414.jpg
There's a lot to that. Aromatherapy is a big deal in some circles and I can tell you from having been to such places that pipe tobacco generally smells much better.
 

canucklehead

Lifer
Aug 1, 2018
2,862
15,355
Alberta
I love the tin note of Presbyterian. I always smell the tobacco before I load a pipe, it has always been one of my favourite parts of pipe smoking, and I'd even go so far as to say it is why I use tobacco products.

When I was a little kid I had a stamp collection and I stored it in my dad's and uncle's empty tobacco tubs, the smell of old stamps and Drum or Player's tobacco mingled with the wood furnace and farm smells are a formative memory for me, and are probably why I enjoy Latakia and dark fired barnyard smelling blends and used to smoke Player's cigs (which I would always smell also, especially a freshly opened pack).
 

RudyH

Might Stick Around
Sep 1, 2022
79
102
Wisconsin
I love the tin note of Presbyterian. I always smell the tobacco before I load a pipe, it has always been one of my favourite parts of pipe smoking, and I'd even go so far as to say it is why I use tobacco products.

When I was a little kid I had a stamp collection and I stored it in my dad's and uncle's empty tobacco tubs, the smell of old stamps and Drum or Player's tobacco mingled with the wood furnace, and farm smells are a formative memory for me, and are probably why I enjoy Latakia and dark fired barnyard smelling blends and used to smoke Player's cigs (which I would always smell also, especially a freshly opened pack).

Do you like the tin note of Presbyterian because you also like the smell of southern style barbecued meat cooked in a smoker? That's what it smells like to me, and I don't like that smell at all, or the smell of just about anything smoked, like smoked salmon or bacon.
 

canucklehead

Lifer
Aug 1, 2018
2,862
15,355
Alberta
Do you like the tin note of Presbyterian because you also like the smell of southern style barbecued meat cooked in a smoker? That's what it smells like to me, and I don't like that smell at all, or the smell of just about anything smoked, like smoked salmon or bacon.
Some English blends smell like my childhood on the farm, hay, leather, woodsmoke, saddle soap, manure, BO, occasional hints of creosote and diesel, all wonderful. puffy
 

Steddy

Lifer
Sep 18, 2021
1,409
24,126
Western North Carolina
Pipe tobacco smells good. I count it as one of life’s simple pleasures. I enjoy smelling it. Some smells are very evocative of memories and feelings.

I don’t try to really equate tin aroma to the flavor in the pipe. I mean why would I expect something to taste like it smells after I light it on fire.

With that being said, of course some of the tin note transfers to the smoke, for me at least.

This reminds me of that Steve Miller song, “I’m a smeller, I’m a smoker, I’m a Check tool poker,”
 
Last edited:

HawkeyeLinus

Lifer
Oct 16, 2020
5,857
42,245
Iowa
Do you like the tin note of Presbyterian because you also like the smell of southern style barbecued meat cooked in a smoker? That's what it smells like to me, and I don't like that smell at all, or the smell of just about anything smoked, like smoked salmon or bacon.
So what?

I guess you learned that a tin note of Southern barbecue means you’ll enjoy the tobacco - so tin note does matter.
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,248
57,309
67
Sarasota Florida
Quote: "On the other had I never load a bowl of tobacco without first checking the humidity."

Yes! That is a vital consideration. It makes all the difference. And usually, if I think it's dry enough, then it still should be dried more.
Rudy, be careful of too dry. I would rather deal with a moist bowl as I can run a fluffy pipe cleaners to the bottom to dry it out.