Favorite First of the Day Smoke

[hoosierpipeguy]

Title edited: caps for important words only. -jpm

My favorite smoke of the day is the first. My palate is fresh, it's been hours since the last bowl, I'm drinking coffee...... everything in place to have an enjoyable smoking experience. For as long as I remember, I mostly start the day with a milder sweet blend and gradually increase in strength as the day progresses. I realize many people don't do this and even start the day with a very robust blend. There is no right or wrong, just personal preference.

My first of the day blends, in no particular order of preference, are as follows:

Mac Baren Vanilla Roll Cake
Vauen No 14 Virginia Flake
Wessex Gold Virginia Flake
Capstan Gold Navy Cut Yellow Flake or Ready Rubbed
Aylesbury Sir John's Flake Virginia

MB HH Pure Virginia could easily be on this list and occasionally gets first dibs but it's got a little more body and more often is the second smoke of the day. I think F&T Golden Mixture and SG Golden Glow could be on the list but for whatever reason, I haven't opened either for quite some time. I occasionally smoke Orlik Golden Sliced first. This blend is so versatile for me, I can enjoy it about any time of the day.

Were they still in production, Rotary Navy Cut and Klondike Gold would most certainly be on the list.

What's your morning favorites?

 

[WVOldFart]

Like you, I start mild in the morning, because my coffee is usually bold. I want the tobacco to enhance my coffee by giving it a smokey taste but not to overpower it. I usually go for Sutliff Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match, Hines Mixture Match or Holiday Match. Some mornings the codger blends call me, such as Velvet or Half N Half.

 

[Duck]

Like you I start mild and smoke progressively stronger as the day goes on. By evening I'm smoking dark plugs and twists, maybe dark bird's eye. Here's my first bowl rotation.

SG Golden Glow
DR Windsail Silver
Early Morning Pipe
Robert Lewis Orcilla Mixture
Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

First bowl of the day for me for the last yr or so has been Haunted Bookshop. This blend is an all day blend for me. And, something I reach for when I’m not sure what to smoke, or just don’t wanna think about it. The nuttiness of crushed walnuts supported by a subtle sweetness of the Virginias is always a welcome pleasure. Then the perique tap dances in and out throughout, but not in an obtrusive or overwhelming fashion for an occasional spice note. Served always with a heaping mug of hot, black ️ …total morning contentment.

This blend has many detractors. Some have even called it the C&D factory floor sweepings. Good! I hope folks continue to steer the pipe smoking public away from this blend. All the more for me. ?

 

[alan73]

Been time constrained of late , smoking small bowls of old joe krantz and dunhill 3 yr old with 5 years on it . Quick morning pipe with coffee and then on my computer at 8 am . Been smoking SG 1792 jarred up in 2016 and Condor from 2016 when I’ve had some more time .

 

[DanWil84]

I like something more bold in the morning, as a first smoke in the morning I smoke either a cuban cigar or a larger bowl of 965, Presbyterian, midnight ride (balkan with perique) or Golden Extra. I ramp down in the afternoon and smoke a Va(Per), in the evening and sometime night I ramp up again to a burley or a cigar again. But my smoking day hardly starts at a set time, sometimes I don't touch tobacco all day and start in the evening and sometimes I'm very early and stop smoking after 2 in the afternoon.

 

[FurCoat]

My morning smokes consist of codger blends SWR, SWRA, LLRR, Granger or EGR in my American codger pipes, Dr. Grabow, Royalton, Nob Hill, Weber and Medico.
My all time favorite, for now, is SWR in a Grand Duke.

 

[gamzultovah]

I’m following your lead lately with McB Vanilla Rollcake.

 

[JOHN72]

I like to start very early with. Among other rotations. Capstan Blue/Gold, Mixture Scottish Blend/Flake, St. Bruno, Veermaster Hamborger, Virginia Flake of MB. Lately some of Wessex, Tordenskjold Virginia Silces, With a good black coffee without sugar. Good choice of hoosier.......?

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

That first smoke of the day is a delight straight out of paradise.
For years my morning go to has been capstan blue, but just lately I turn more frequently to GH Kendal Scotch cake, a straight Virginia with little complexity and very easy going.

 

[warren]

Of the three usually on my desk, the first will always be whichever of the two I didn't finish with the night before. That's about as complicated I allow my pipe smoking to get.

 

[AlanH]

I have yet to start the morning with a pipe. I think if I did I would want a light Virginia ( I really want to try the Vanilla Roll Cake) followed later in the day with more Virginia and Vapors ?

 

[anotherbob]

don't really have one. I do find I prefer more natural in the afternoon and aros in the evening. But only and this is a very big only if I pay attention to trends. There a very slight but also real favoring of natural first and aro last. And that is considering aros are my least favorite style. But I almost never do them in the afternoon. My taste is more awake in the evening. Which means that things are more dimensional and I can taste more tobacco and topping too.

 

[Grangerous]

I’ve been taking Pegasus along with my morning coffee. Granger is sweeter. Crooner sometimes calls. I’ve recently been into an old pouch of Half and Half. But the mornings are my fav time of the day.

 

[Piping Abe]

My first smoke of the day fluctuates. Sometimes I want Latakia. Those blends would be: C&D Morning Drive Time or Early Morning Pipe. Other than that it could literally be anything because I may not get a bowl in until afternoon.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

My favorite morning smoke is usually vanilla based. For some reason, the sweetness of the vanilla goes really well with black coffee first thing in the morning. Maybe it's the silence and solitude, or maybe it's my rare sweet tooth; but regardless, it is my favorite combination in the morning.

The vanilla tobacco preference various, whether it be more tobacco driven, like Mac Baren's Vanilla Roll Cake, or more purely aromatic, like Lane's 1-Q or Sutliff's 1-M. I didn't necessarily care for Vanilla Roll Cake at first, but it's growing on me with each bowl.

However, my favorite vanilla tobacco is likely Arrowhead from Paul's Pipe Shop in Flint. It's their house blend that has a rich and tasty flavor that is deeper than typical aromatics and more than just vanilla.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Generally I don’t have a pipe until after 9, which on some days is 5 hours after getting up. That said, if I can sneak an early bowl in, and if the autumn/winter morning weather is crisp, it is my favourite time of the entire year to smoke Latakia

 

[ashauler]

I have quite a range in the morning, always with strong black coffee.
If I've got a busy and hectic morning I'll usually pick up Bayou Morning, 8 State Burley, or maybe Bijou for a good kick in the pants.

If I'm taking it pretty slow I'll reach for the MacB Vanilla Roll cake or WCC Viral Vanilla for some relaxed sipping.

 

[Toast]

At the weekend, Golden Glow - but I've found if I smoke it more often it stops being so magic.

So weekdays it's generally Kendal Gold (unflavoured, coconut, rum, or coffee) or something stronger to get me perked up for work.

The weekend Golden Glow smokes compete with Bold Kentucky, which is my go to before bed, as my favourite.

 

[Toast]

Haunted Bookshop

That & Semois are the two I most wish we had here in the UK - it sounds amazing & really different!