Getting Ready to Try My First Non-Aromatic

[rmbittner]

rothnh wrote;

First of all, I disagree with rmbittner on some points,

Well, that just made me curious!
Bob

 

[cigrmaster]

I store my pipes in a certain way in my rack so I can keep track of which ones are Va flake pipes and Vaper flake pipes. The left side are my va and the right is vaper. If I didn't do this I would get confused. I have always dedicated my pipes into categories. It was recommended to me when I first began pipe smoking so I have just kept at it. I once experimented with dedicating a pipe to a specific blend. I tried it for a couple of weeks but it was more of a pain in the ass then it was worth. I had to write a list of which pipe I could smoke say Escudo and then another pipe for say Solani 633. I guess if I had over 100 pipes it would be easier, but with only 38-40 and 22 different blends, it was too much work. There were too many times when I wanted to smoke a certain pipe but didn't feel like smoking the corresponding tobacco. I have heard of people doing this and really enjoying it so maybe one day if I have more pipes, I will try it again. I honestly don't see myself with more than 40 pipes at any given time so who knows.

I have one pipe that I dedicated to Lakelands and it was ghosted so bad that I have not tried smoking it out. I will probably send it in for an ozone treatment.

 

[baronsamedi]

The only dedicated pipe I have is a Peterson dedicated to Black House. Everything else is pretty well random, though I typically only smoke English and Balkans in my Dunhill. That's because it's just a good pipe for those for some reason.
I really like HH Mature VA and the longer you let it sit in a jar, the better it tastes IMO.
If you want to experience ghosting, get a cob and smoke a couple of bowls of Condor in it. After that, you can name the cob "Casper" because everything you smoke in it will taste like Lakeland!

 

[yadan]

Two non-aromatics I would highly recommend - especially for first-timers, are Dunhill's Nighcap and Royal Yacht.

The former since it's a fairly gentle way to break into a Latakia blend, and the latter because it's simply a joy to smoke.

 

[zonomo]

I have decided to take everyone's advice here and smoke my new Mature Virginia in its own pipe. It arrives next Tues. I have decided to use a Corn Cob in case I hate it. THen i have little investment in the pipe and can trade/sell the tobacco.

 

[fitzy]

Let us know what you think of it. I'm thinking of trying it.

 

[haroldt]

This has been a very informative posting - I appreciate all of you who participated.

 

[pchitti]

Dont worry about wasting the cob. Even if you dont like the blend, that cob will be good to go for another one.

 

[badgercat]

Im not a Virginia fan...ive tried so hard to like Virginia tobacco but it never works out. Usually burns the crap out of my mouth. Ive tried every trick to make it work..no luck. Hope your experience is much better than mine.
BTW, if you are looking for a nice English, Squadron Leader is a pretty good blend.

 

[mso489]

zonomo, congratulations on branching out beyond aromatics. I'm one of those who believes that a good quality,

refined aromatic can be a beautiful thing, but I do most look forward to non-aros, just because they take you

right into the flavor of the leaf. Don't get discouraged if the first non-aro tobacco you try isn't one you like. It's

a toss of the coin, and as you see from Forums, people experience different blends in truly different ways. Your

idea about starting with a cob is good. Buy your new tobaccos in small quantities, and if possible in bulk (and

store the bulk in jars to keep it fresh) to spread your money around so you learn more for your buck (Euro, etc.).

Let us know how it goes. It is an adventure that never ends, as you read here.

 

[wyfbane]

I hope you enjoy the Va's. I have tried Aro's, English's, and Va's and the only one I haven't liked is that horrid SG 1792. I find that it totally broadens your whole smoking experience, once you are acquainted with all the different types.
Take care!