First-Year Pipe Smokers' Favorite Tobacco So Far

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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
We hear from new Forums members on their way in the door, and some are new to pipe smoking. If you are a "yearling," have smoked a pipe for less than a year, what is your favorite blend so far? And why do you like it? I think it is interesting what people enjoy on their way in, since we are always recommending blends. This might guide us on what to recommend.
 

Casual

Lifer
Oct 3, 2019
2,577
9,420
NL, CA
It’s changed as my palate developed. For quite some time it was Presbyterian because I could taste the flavour, but it didn’t overpower. It also didn’t take any expertise to prepare.

Now that I’m getting into Burley, I might choose something like Toasted Burley. But with the burley, I had to navigate proper drying and slower smoking to have a good experience.

So I’d still say Presbyterian for an easy good experience with few skills and a new palate.
 

docrameous

Can't Leave
May 6, 2019
368
993
Colorado
Tough question to answer because there are so many blends yet to explore! Budget, bandwidth to look and time are limiters!

I am going to go with Luxury Bullseye Flake. I really like the combo of Virginia, Perique and Cavendish - affordable, burns cool, has a nice set of tastes, while not being too complex for the new smoker and too overwhelming for new smoker’s family! A+++
 

Bowie

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 24, 2019
980
4,352
Minnesota
Good idea for a discussion thread. My choice is Sutliff Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match. I‘m gravitating towards burley and burley blends, and the Sutliff has just enough sweetness to satisfy me. It’s easy to keep lit and doesn’t bite. It’s just a comfortable and tasty smoke that I can think about and enjoy, or concentrate on other things while it’s in the pipe.

But the choice was a close call with Sutliff‘s Aromatic English. I guess I like Sutliff tobaccos.
 
Too many ... I like most of them. However a few hot favorites

  1. Reiner Long Golden Flake
  2. Dunhill London Mixture
  3. Dunhill Nightcap
  4. Smokers Haven Our Best Blend (& Esoterica Margate)
  5. Smokers Haven Exotique (& Arango Balkan Supreme)
Also ... the following two may become favorites... liked so far, but to smoke a lot more

6 Sutliff Match Victorian
7 Old Joe Krantz
Finally, I like Lakelands... just not sure which one to list (So I listen the one I have smoked the most so far

8. Coniston Cut Plug

And finally ... standing on its own, but I do need to smoke more ....

9. Tabac Manil Semois- I have smoked Las Brumeuse but I think I would like a finer cut more

Just to round up to 10, strongest I have smoked so far

10. Gawith Hoggarth & Co - Dark Flake (I smoked the Unscented version, but I think both will have a place in my cellar)
 

diamondback

Lifer
Feb 22, 2019
1,215
1,932
54
Rockvale, TN
Tough question to answer because there are so many blends yet to explore! Budget, bandwidth to look and time are limiters!

I am going to go with Luxury Bullseye Flake. I really like the combo of Virginia, Perique and Cavendish - affordable, burns cool, has a nice set of tastes, while not being too complex for the new smoker and too overwhelming for new smoker’s family! A+++

Be sure and set some of that LBF back to age and it should knock your socks off!
 
Dec 6, 2019
4,296
19,375
33
AL/GA
Personally I like them all and go through spells of liking this or that more.. The one thing I learned to ensure I will like a blend is to check and make sure there is some nicotine. As a former cigarette smoker I find I'm a little let down when i get to the end of a bowl of a weaker blend nicotine wise. So I have learned to lean towards burley blends.. I also like the GH ropes, those are Virginia, but they are not like most Virginias. The only pouch or tin I haven't finished is Presbyterian. Its just too low on the N but, I like the flavor and will eventually finish that tin too. The winner so far is Five Brothers.. Its easy to pack and smoke and has a good tobacco flavor, plenty of strength as well. Advice to other new smokers is to avoid the goopy aromatic stuff it will be hard to smoke and make your pipe stank.. at least dry that stuff out for a week if you must smoke it.
 

Ctbill

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 6, 2019
285
775
CT & VT
We hear from new Forums members on their way in the door, and some are new to pipe smoking. If you are a "yearling," have smoked a pipe for less than a year, what is your favorite blend so far? And why do you like it? I think it is interesting what people enjoy on their way in, since we are always recommending blends. This might guide us on what to recommend.
Well, I’m still a relatively new forum member, but not a new pipe smoker, so can’t weigh in. I would think there are at least 4 categories of new pipe smokers:
  1. Those coming over from or adding to cigarettes.
  2. Those coming over from or adding to cigars.
  3. Those coming over from or adding to snuff, chew, snus.
  4. Those starting fresh.

I would not be surprised that the preferences are quite different among the three. Would love to here replies based on where new pipe smokers are coming in from!
 

scloyd

Lifer
May 23, 2018
5,941
12,038
If you are a "yearling," have smoked a pipe for less than a year, what is your favorite blend so far?
Not a "yearling", I'm just under two years.
My first year would of been Molto Dolce. Now, my favorite would be John Cottons Smyrna with Presbyterian a close second. John Cottons Smyrna has a spicy incense like flavor that I like.
 

DedHed Piper

Might Stick Around
Dec 28, 2019
93
508
Sweden
About one year in (Not counting the year in my youth), but so far I’ve tried a good bunch of tobaccos. I have noticed I lean towards English blends, going from liking Straight Virginias early on.
I do have some favourites in other blend styles as well, but I have never gotten any taste for Aromatics.

Faves right now in Englishes are Squadron Leader, Maltese Falcon, Quiet Nights and Fayuum Kake and MM 965.
In Straight Virginias, Capstan Navy Flake is king with Full Virginia Flake as second.
Vapers: Directors Cut and Orlik Golden Slice.
With Burley: Makhuwa, Solani Silver Flake and Hal o The Wynd.

The Englishes are the ones rotating for daily smokes, the others are just guest performances.
 

pharmpiper

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 20, 2019
148
1,294
Not sure if I count as used to pipe long ago and then came back to it a bit over a year ago now.
I'd be hard pressed to just name one but HH WhiteKnight is incredibly good and I wasn't really expecting to be wowed by it.
 

chicagopiper74

Might Stick Around
Nov 17, 2019
54
180
Illinois
Great question! Been at it less than 6 months, not a prior smoker except for the occasional cigar.

I started out on Lane 1-Q and spent time in the Aro world for a few weeks (7 Seas Black, Wilke 191, Molto Dolce) but cast my net pretty wide after that, including Burleys, Virginias, VaPers, English, and Balkans. So far near 50 blends tried. Favorites today tend more towards non-Aros...

Balkans:
  • SPC Plum Pudding Special Reserve
  • Balkan Supreme
Virginias:
  • John Cotton Double Pressed Virginia
  • HH Pure Virginia
English
  • John Cotton #1
  • Rattray Red Rapparee
VaPer
  • Escudo
  • Savinelli Doblono d'Oro
Lots more to try though!

Best,
G
 

trubka2

Lifer
Feb 27, 2019
2,470
21,640
I dabbled in pipe-smoking for over a decade, but it's only been a bit more than a year since I ditched the cigs and started pipesmoking full time. Roughly 4000 bowls (that's a lowball estimate) of roughly 150 different blends later, I'm still just getting my bearings. Though maybe not my absolute favorites at the moment, the blends that have been a daily or near-daily smoke for at least the last six months are: Hal O The Wynd, GH Scotch Mixture, GH Brown Flake US, Pegasus. These are blends I start to miss if I got without them for more than a couple days. I'm getting really into sweeter burley blends and stronger flakes lately.
 

oldred

Might Stick Around
Dec 1, 2019
78
140
I was actually going to start a thread on something similar so I'll just post here instead. I feel like my tastes change on a weekly basis. I have gone form 965/Match 20 to Maltese Falcon to Escudo to LL7 to Molto Dolce and on and on and on being my favorite. I think I lean more toward English blends but still smoke everything. I haven't seen anyone else mention wildly varying taste like mine especially to start. Am I weird?
 

JR1296

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 22, 2019
161
845
Mississippi
I ready don't know yet. I've been all over the place in the last few months. I mostly reach for a English blend. I liked Arango's Balkan Supreme enough that I got a pound of it this week. Been trying some Virginia here lately. At first I didn't care for them, especially straight Virginia. John Marr was the first that I could enjoy, so I started trying some other Virginia based blends. I'm really enjoying Mac Baren Navy flake. I don't know why, but I just like it. Right now I'm smoking Comoy's Cask No.7 now and liking it. No telling what I'll be into next month.
 
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