Happy Wife, Happy Life...Trying to keep it that way!

[grimshader]

We have all heard it from someone...or seen it on their faces, the "EWW" look...the waving the hand in front of the face...You get the picture. Got that for years with my non-smoking family, but when i put down cigarettes for a pipe, that changed for me (at least with the only one that really mattered) my dear wife. I happen to have a preference for mildly sweet vanilla blends, and the best part is, so does my wife. She loves the room note of good tobacco and vanilla! (score one for me) However, here is the conundrum: Most vanilla blends are quite frankly cheap, burn like hellfire, and seldom have a decent room note. So i am looking for a good quality, cool smoking vanilla with a very pleasant room note. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. To save some time have Boswell Vanilla Cream on order. After years of being told to go use mouthwash after smoking or being pushed away (gently but emphatically) by my wonderful other, it is so nice to have her enjoy the aroma, and even bury her face in my chest to enjoy the scent! Even if you don't usually smoke vanillas, might be worth it, just for that reason...who knows, give it a try...

 

[winton]

Grimshader, Welcome!
If you have a B&M (brick & mortar) near you, take your wife there and sniff their options.

 

[michiganlover]

It's hard to give suggestions without knowing what you've already tried and disliked. Lane 1Q is the aromatic I compare everything else against. It's a great starting point as just about everyone has tried it at some point.
The absolute best vanilla I've ever had is Arrowhead From Pauls Pipe Shop of Flint, Michigan.

 

[hawky454]

You may want to check out Sutliff Molto Dolce. It seems to be a very popular aromatic but it is HEAVILY cased and sizzles when you smoke it.
Blue Note by Dan Tobacco was one of my favorites when I started. The tin note actually translates to taste!

Shortcut to Mushrooms is a crossover, it's a vanilla black Cavendish with added Latakia.
Mac Baren has a Vanilla Cream Flake and Gl. Pease has a new one called Virginia Cream, I think these two would be exactly what you're looking for. They are more mildly cased aromatics and they give off a wonderful roomnote but also provide the smoker with a good quality leaf.

 

[music4cash]

I wonder if you could just buy vanilla beans, grind them up and mix them into a non-aromatic blend. Or maybe just put a bean in a mason jar with some tobacco, and let it all age together.

 

[cossackjack]

Try 4noggins Britt's Balkan:

A true Balkan with the main note being Orientals, a nice proportion of Latakia with Turkish on a base of Red, Bright & Flake Virginias, with a slight hint of Vanilla

A tasty Balkan with medium-to-full body, & medium-plus nicotine.
Its the only Balkan/English style tobacco with a room note that my family tolerates & even likes the aroma.

 

[philobeddoe]

Try Samuel Gawiths' blend Perfection, tasty stuff!

 

[johnnyiii]

Go go smokingpipes.com and search vanilla. some of my great smelling faves are drew eat central park strole, a bulk sweet blk cav mixed with burley ribbon cut, Peterson st pats day looks promising. Have some coming tuesday.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Grimshader (that is a super awesome name), it sounds like you live in a Molto Dolce advertisement.

Maybe Sutliff wasn't exaggerating?
If she likes the smell of Vanilla blends but you want to try other things, buy some of the target blend you'd like to switch to and slowly, ever so gradually, start increasing the alternate content in your tobacco. I'd say increasing by 1% a week would be a good pace, but she has to have a strong exposure to each increment. As long as she doesn't notice any individual change and continues to have positive associations, you could probably be smoking Pirate Kake in a year or so.

People really don't care what a smell is as long as they're having a good time, as soon as the positive associations are built then that smell becomes a good thing.
(Of course this is a terrible idea and she would catch on eventually, and probably send you to the doghouse for a month. But it would be funny to see someone try.)

 

[hawky454]

^^^Haha... I like the way you think!

 

[grimshader]

You all are awesome! I appreciate all the commentary and suggestions! Truly a pleasure to find a group as passionate as I am and ready to help a new guy out. I am admittedly fairly personally inexperienced with pipe smoking (as you could probably tell by my choice of tobacco) despite being around it for most of my life. Thanks again, and I will endeavor to keep you all informed as I embark on this new and exciting journey.

 

[homewaters]

Hi Grimshader. I am mainly a virginia smoker but once a while during the summer I enjoy a vanilla aromatic. I have tried a few and although I love vanilla, I can't stand the taste of fake vanilla (same concept applies for maple, for example maple ice cream vs real maple syrup). In my opinion, given what I have tried so far, the best vanilla aromatic is Dan Tobacco Sweet Vanilla Honeydew. Despite the 2.8/5 ranking on tobaccoreviews, I find the vanilla tastes like real vanilla and the virginia used in the blend is of good quality and occasionally shines through. It pairs perfectly with an ice cold Coca-Cola! It's worth a try!

 

[jkrug]

The absolute best vanilla I've ever had is Arrowhead From Pauls Pipe Shop of Flint, Michigan.

I've tried a few vanilla blends. Most have been pretty good. Arrowhead Pipe Club Mixture is by far the best I have tried as well. They will ship tobacco so give 'em a call and get you some.
Welcome to the forum. ::

 

[grimshader]

Thanks to all who suggested getting some Arrowhead Pipe Club! Finally got my order in and had a chance to try it. It truly is a flavorful and relaxing smoke. I can well see this as being a pleasant addition to my "daily smoke" collection. And just in case you were wondering, the wifey likes it too! Ain't life grand!

 

[mig19]

My wife has the same reaction as yours. Sounds like a keeper!

 

[shawnofthedead]

I recommend this as I recommend to anyone who wants an aromatic blend: Tsuge The Mystery of Autumn. It's got more than vanilla note though, if any aromatic tobacco smells good in the air, then this will.

 

[stoker]

try Pipeworks & Wilke Wilke No. 191