First Blend You "Got" (or: The Art of Opening Doors)

[cosmicfolklore]

Astley's 109! I had enjoyed various pipes with aros. I'd even tried a few other toboacco types, but as soon as I hit 109, my briars sang. I could taste those Virginas mingling with the aroma of the heated briar, and then I got it. I threw the cheap briars, cobs and Meers in a drawer, and I've been enjoying the Virginas and VaPers ever since. I still keep a tin of Astleys 109 open at all times to use as my benchmark.

 

[oldmannk]

To be honest I started with A sampler and got hooked on Lane 1Q and progressed from there.

 

[oldmannk]

To be honest I started with A sampler and got hooked on Lane 1Q and progressed from there.

 

[amiller]

MacBaren Mixture Flake. There had been many before it, but this is what turned me from a pipe-hobbyist to a pipe smoker. I am not a fan of MacBaren tobaccos to this day because they bite me horribly. But I will always have a special place in my heart for Mixture Flake, even if I never smoke it again, just because it made me realize pipe tobacco was sooooo much better than "Cookies and Cream" from my local B&M.

 

[saltedplug]

My memories of my early days of pipe smoking are very indistinct, but as I liked straight VA at the time, it was probably from that genre.

 

[phred]

I'd have to say it was Black House. I've only been smoking for about a year, and after hanging around in here for a couple of months, I was curious about the "secret society" of Black Bloods that seemed to exist. I ordered a tin at the same time I ordered my first tobacco sampler, and when I tried my first bowl, I was completely unprepared... the scent stayed with me for days, the nicotine buzz was new (remember, former non-smoker here), and the flavor was amazing.
And then when I smoked the second bowl, I had one of those transcendent smokes that was just effortless - the pipe basically smoked itself down to ash without relights and with minimal tamping, allowing me to simply enjoy and discover the subtleties of the blend. I was hooked.
I've had "Aha!" moments with a couple of other blends - Escudo, Luxury Bullseye Flake - but that one was the one that got me.