Had my first smoke today - need advice

[red1]

Hello all, (TL;DR at bottom)
Today I smoked my first pipe and I have a feeling there is a lot that I did wrong. I went to my local tobacconist and asked him to recommend a pipe tobacco for beginners. He recommended I get the "buttered rum" aromatic. So I went home with my newly purchased tobacco (still quite moist, I didn't dry it before smoking it). I used an old brier billiard I picked up from my local antique shop (the pipe in question is a Salivate Albatross 501). I had previously cleaned the pipe with many pipe cleaners and a little bit of vodka. I used a butter knife to scrape the inside of the bowl gently, there was very little build up inside the bowl.
So I packed the bowl using the "three layers" method, lit the top and tamped it down with a nail. The entire smoke lasted maybe 45 mins, and through the entire experience I only really caught a small taste of the tobacco twice. The rest of the time I tasted nothing but smoke. I did not inhale the smoke, I only brought it into my mouth and held for a short time, releasing it through my mouth and sometimes my nose.
TL;DR and questions for the more experienced - I smoked an aromatic today and could not taste it. Is this normal? Should I try a Virginia tobacco? Is there a technique I should know about?
Any and all help is greatly appreciated

 

[saltedplug]

In the beginning it can take some time to train the palate to recognize tobacco tastes, for me about a year. If you continue and smoke slowly, trying to taste the flavors, they will emerge. Learning to smoke with an apparatus called the "pipe" between your mouth and the tobacco is much more complex than cigarettes and cigars.
I'm not sure about tobacco choices, but to me aromatics confuse this process. smokingpipes has lists for their top 10 sellers both tinned and bulk. Last I checked both were 70% natural tobaccos.

 

[auburnfan]

The best advice I've been given is to lightly light the tobacco. Don't scorch it, instead draw the flame to the tobacco by lightly drawing in. Tamp down, let it sit a minute or two then relight in the same manner.

 

[mikethompson]

Well when I was starting out (way back in 2016) the best advice I got was to slow down and enjoy the experience.
While your pipe choice and blend will undoubtedly affect your experience, as you are just starting out you probably won't notice. My first bowl I was all over the place and worrying about relights!

 

[sumusfumus]

red1....
I urge you to watch all the many You-Tube tutorial videos showing not only how to light and smoke a pipe but also videos for comparing all popular tobacco blends including many aromatics, and other tobaccos. You-Tube is a great place to learn all the intricacies of pipe smoking.
Aromatics are generally tobacco blends for beginners. The aromas of all the different blends can be enticing, but these candy-ish flavors can be very disappointing when smoked. The pouch smell ain't what you taste. Sorry, that's just the way it is. I'm still waiting to be wafted away on the billowing clouds rising from the exotic essences of wild honey, burnt caramel, with some vanilla cherries as the topping. From my experiences, aromatics are a BS. There may be some good Aro's. out there but I haven't found them. Wholesale blenders and retail tobacconists will sell you all the sizzle, and not the steak.
Try smoking some premium blends made with unflavored tobaccos. Guys on this forum -who are far more experienced smokers than I will ever be- will recommend blends for beginners. Just ask and you'll get answers. You'll get to learn what unflavored, natural, tobaccos actually taste like, instead of learning what burnt, fake flavors taste like.
You'll do fine, and you'll learn to love pipe smoking when you experience all those relaxing hours of sweet solitude.
Good luck.
Frank

 

[Chasing Embers]

Flavored tobaccos "aromatics" are best enjoyed after gaining some experience. Get some Carter Hall, or another good burley blend to start working on packing, lighting, and smoking techniques, and proceed from there.

 

[warren]

Try another blend! Your palate is your palate is your palate. Tell your tobacconist what you told us and he'll suggest something different.
Here you will get lots of conflicting advice covering all aspects of pipe smoking. Probably all of the various suggestions worked for someone. You will simply have to work through what works for you and what doesn't.
Good luck! Try not to over think the process, unless your brain is wired that way. There is no one way to smoke a pipe. Keep your expectations reasonable. With respect to blends, you sometimes have to "tease" out the maximum flavor through drying, stuffing techniques, indeed some will advise the proper marriage of bowl (size and/or shape) and blend as the only way they have been able to maximize flavor.
Most all advise is given seriously, in good faith and is what the person giving the advice finds works for them. Just remember the pipe isn't supposed to frustrate you, there is a fairly simple learning curve and once you have the basics down ... you can really start to explore deeper, should you wish.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Aromatics are generally tobacco blends for beginners

I actually find the opposite to be true. It wasn't until I had improved in the art of smoking a pipe, that I was truly able enjoy aromatics as well as I do now. You can taste the flavors added to an aromatic if you smoke them correctly and train you pallet to pick them up. Otherwise, all those people who have reviewed aromatics and describe the tastes of the aromatics properties of those blends are lying. Which would mean I'm lying. That doesn't however mean that you're going to get a vanilla ice cream cherry drop Jolly Rancher flavor blast on your tongue. Far from it. But the flavor's there. In smoking aromatics, you have to smoke slowly, you have to have a lower temperature burn, and oftentimes you have to focus on those flavors to try and pick them up. That being said, I think new smokers should try aromatics, but know that if it's too wet, you need to let it dry, and you definitely don't want to force it to smoke. I think newer should smokers should try complex blends, like balkans and englishes, and try to pick up on the different flavors of the different component tobaccos... the virginias, the orientals, the latakia, etc. That also helps one distinguish the different flavors of an aromatic.

 

[olkofri]

If your tongue hurts, you're doing it wrong.
That's might be as wrong as smoking a pipe can get, if you ask me, a noob at this myself. I fully agree with Warren's statement that there is no set in stone, one-fits-all way to smoke a pipe. It's quite a personal thing.
I was sold an aromatic by my well-meaning tobacconist as a starter blend (maybe because it smells nice, has pleasant room note, and might be low in nicotine; who knows). Thing is, aromatics burn hotter due to their higher sugar content; considering that many of us beginners tend to burn our tongues through continuous re-lighting –not uncommonly paired with poor lighting techniques, like applying the head of the match directly to the tobacco, &c.—, puffing too hard and too fast... the list goes on, I think that aros are not the best tobaccos to start with. Based on my own (painful) experience, I would say that an English blend that burns cooler is best for learning. Added to that, according to some, the English blends are better to break in a pipe; if so, an English blend is a win-win, even though the tobacco tends to have a more burnt smell right off the tin.

 

[mayfair70]

Dry your tobacco first. A wet smoke is a bad smoke. Sip slowly and don't worry about having to re-light it. Keep your pipe clean. You may want to get some non-flavored tobacco for now and save the "buttered rum" for when you have more experience. I totally agree with Anthony on that point. From there, it just takes practice. Take your time. Smoke what you enjoy and enjoy what you smoke. There are tons of threads on this topic. Just type Pipesmagazine + your topic into google search and the appropriate links should pop up. This site's search function STINKS to high heaven, so, don't expect it to work. There are definitely many good Youtube videos and there are some bad ones too. Welcome aboard and remember, there no stupid questions. Have fun.
PS - Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Sweet Coconut Twist is the only aromatic I know of that tastes as wonderful as it smells.

 

[olkofri]

For youtube videos I've found Muttnchop Piper's the most helpful ones.

 

[bluegrasspipe]

Lots of good aadvice so far, also if your pipe gets pretty warm, too warm to touch your cheek with it, it is way too hot.

Chasingembers advice to get some carter hall is a good start, even though this may not be the most pleasing blend for a noob, it is totally forgiving and will stay lit, doesn't bite your tongue and you can pack it like an old codger stuffing it in the pouch or any other way and it will still smoke great.

Experiment and most of all, enjoy..

 

[red1]

Wow! So much great advice in such a short amount of time! This forum truly is fantastic thank you all.
I've started going through Muttnchop's YouTube videos and I am finding them very informative.
Some of you suggested I get an unflavoured tobacco to start out with, what is a good brand? Others suggested an English blend or Carter Hall, I will also look into these
I have also heard that Lane 1Q is a good tobacco, would any of you agree with this?

 

[ryeguy]

Red,
I could have written just about the same story about my first pipe; the smoke tasted nothing like the pouch.
Most of what pipers mean by 'flavor' seems to me to end up being smell. (A tobacconist once told me that cigarettes are about feel; cigars about flavor; pipes about smell--a simplification of course, but not far off.)
If you are trying to learn to appreciate the flavor of pipe tobacco, I recommend starting with your nose and literally smelling the side-stream. Try gently passing the pipe a few inches below your nose while gently inhaling through your nose. (Don't inhale sharply or try to smell visible wisps of smoke--it will hurt.) This has always given me the most intense and purest flavors from the tobacco. Once you know what's in there, you can start seeing if you can taste it.
Retrohaling can also bring our interesting flavors.

 

[warren]

red1: It's not about what I or some others like, it's about what you like. Once you find some tolerable tobaccos read what others say about them. Then you have a base reference of people who have similar palates to yours. I smoke only a small number of trusted blends, I'm happy with them. I'm not on a trip of exploration. Many others are, they smoke for the joy of discovery. I smoke a pipe because I smoke a pipe. I have have no other reason.
Why are you taking up the pipe? What do you hope accomplish? Smoking is a selfish decision. So, feel free to seek advice but, know your goal. It's not etched in stone of course. Your goal may change as you become more accustomed to the pipe.
Now, to answer your question: Many, many people love !Q. Perhaps a similar number wouldn't demean their pipe with the blend. Try it!

 

[txpiper07]

+1 for muttonchop pipers intro to smoking series on YouTube. I am new too, and I also started with aromatics and got nothing but bad tongue bite and a wet pipe. I got some Early Morning Pipe by dunhill and a orlik Golden Sliced and really enjoyed those. I find I enjoy the taste of the actual tocbacco a lot more than the flavor of the aromatics, and they are a lot easier for to smoke mechanically with by rookie piping ability. Muttonchops explanation of the breath method of smoking is great - it took me a lot of accidental inhales and coughing fits to figure it out but once I got it, the tocabbco flavors came alive; I occasionally have an Aromatic now and somewhat enjoy it, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be forever refining my technique - which is a lot of fun! As other more experienced members have said, you have to do what works for you and what YOU enjoy..

 

[craiginthecorn]

Having been through this stage in just the last couple of years, my experience is fresh in my mind. I had a devil of a time getting my pipe to stay lit. When it was lit, it seemed like I only got a few puffs with any real volume of smoke. Pipe gurgled. None of the aromatics tasted anything like they smelled. Usually, I got tongue bite trying to light the thing. It's remarkable I'm still at it, and definitely still learning. But I've come a long way.
Pipe:
Your pipe is probably not the problem. That said, I'd suggest that you spend $10 on a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob, preferably a straight or only slightly bent version. These are reliably good smokers. These take filters, but many choose not to use them. Pros and cons are numerous and I won't bother with them here. I started with a nice, professionally restored Comoy's prince, which had a relatively small, shallow bowl. It turns out that it wasn't a good pipe to start on. I had more success keeping my pipe lit after switching to the cob. Not leaps and bounds better, but better.
Tobacco:
My turning point was when I ditched the sticky, great smelling sweet tobacco for Carter Hall. Others have also recommended Carter Hall. To start, you want an easy-burning, not-to-wet, mild tasting blend with little chance of biting. Carter Hall. Another that would be a good starter is Lane Burley Lite, which most tobacconists sell in bulk by one made up name or another. A common name is Burley Lite Without a Bite. Sir Walter Raleigh would be OK, too. While I still occasionally smoke these tobaccos, they aren't among my favorites, but they're perfect for learning to smoke a pipe. The wet aromatics can make packing properly a lot more difficult, so stay away until you get the feel.
As for the methodology, I could write a thousand words on that, easy. I just read this quick set of rules on a page about corncob pipes on Pipedia.org's wiki. It's sound advice:

Dad’s Original Advice
[*]Dry your tobacco more than you think you need to.

Pack it looser than you think you need to.

Smoke it slower than you think you need to.

Tamp it less, and more lightly, than you think you need to. Clean your pipes after every smoke, using pipe spirits [high proof rum, for example] of some sort.

Don’t worry if you have a few relights.

And realize that becoming an accomplished pipe smoker will take time, patience, and trial and error.[/*]

To those, I’ll add a great tip I read on a forum several years ago, offered by DLT, or Nightcapper, dealing with the use of a tamper to help keep a pipe going. While I don’t tamp very often, I do place my tamper on top of the ash in my pipe bowl if the ember seems to be cooling. The weight of the metal tamper used while puffing will help revive a pipe that could be going out.

 

[newbroom]

The problem with aromatics and 'newbies' is expectation.

You might expect other than a burned tongue and hot, tasteless smoke, and most of us will have experienced some degree of both.

Why did that happen? Can I ever learn to enjoy this?

I have learned to smoke a pipe with more and more practice, encouraged by stories of heavenly transport to moments of bliss withheld from the non pipe smoker.

Most will say that they learn each day.

Each bowl offers an experience 'the likes of which you have never seen before'.

 

[sumusfumus]

red1....
You are a lucky man! Look at number of responses and suggestions that you generated by asking some simple questions. Remarkable. Every one of these helpful postings has suggestions worth noting. When I started smoking a pipe, none of this existed....and I had no one to ask. Just constantly made the same rookie mistakes for years and had no idea that different tobacco blend existed other than the cheap, "drugstore" aromatics.
Now, I have this forum and its members to thank. In just a little over one month, I have learned so much about the hows and whats of pipe smoking, and for the first time in decades, I am actually enjoying the smoking process. You will too. It takes a while before you get the hang of it. Hey, if was easy, everybody would be doing it.
Treat yourself to a good tobacco "sampler". Tobacconists sometimes offer small sample packets of various blends at a good discount. Then you can experience smoking many types of blends.
Sit back and enjoy the ride. It's fun trying to find that "perfect" blend.
Frank
Great reading through all the helpful responses that your problems generated. As usual, I learned a few more things from our experienced pipe-smokers.

 

[pappymac]

Red1 - Welcome to the forum.

If you can't find Carter Hall, try Prince Albert. Some old codgers I know will even recommend Half & Half for a new pipe smokers.

Warren's advice was right on the money also.
My recommendation is to find a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob pipe - I've recently saw a box of them in my local brick & mortar (B&M shop for $5.97 each. I have 3 or 4 of the Legends. I've also seen them in a couple of the local drugstores for around $10. If you can order a bag of seconds from Missouri Meerschaum online. The cobs don't really need a break-in but some claim you can taste a little sweetness from the cobs for the first couple of smokes.
As for tobacco choices, just keep trying different types. You will probably find that your taste will change. Many of us smoke all the different types depending on what we feel like smoking at the time. Fair warning though, you may eventually light up something you absolutely hate and it may make you want to quit completely. A Lakeland Blend did this to me back in 1976 and it was almost a year before I picked up the pipe again. (Lakeland Blends are those made in the Lakeland region of England. Some claim they have an aroma and aftertaste of a grandmother's bar soap. They remind me of walking into a store and smelling something sickly sweet and overpowering and then finding some old lady who took a bath in cheap perfume. Funny thing is, I found a couple that I like to smoke occasionally now.)
In addition to youtube pipe shows, listen to some of the good podcasts available. I subscribe to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show and Country Squire Radio podcasts.