Have all of you (or almost all) started on cheap aros?

[ashdigger]

I had some Captain Black and a Cherry Blend that tasted like cough drops and a few others with local branded names.
But the one that changed everything was Lane RLP-6. It was branded "Monks" by the Sanctuary Tobacco Shop. It had flavor and smelled great. I still smoke it every few weeks.
Currently I'm doing a lot of Velvet, Granger and PA smoking.

 

[davet]

I've never tried Granger but I think I have a pouch of Velvet put away. Next on my list if I can find it.

 

[npod]

I went against the grain. Started with Vapers and just recently began to enjoy Aromatic tobacco.

 

[mrmachado]

I've heard that there are some great aromatics. I've heard good things about some and would love to try them.
I was actually talking about cheap aromatics like Borkum Riff and its friends. Some are very bad, some are acceptable, some are even cool, but I have yet to find a cheap drugstore tobacco that is really good...

 

[davet]

I have yet to find a cheap drugstore tobacco that is really good...

You're still a new pipe smoker and your taste and preferences will change. What you don't get much from today may really "sing" to you after some time and experience. Tastes change over time but when starting out tastes may be really muted, give it some time and enjoy what appeals to you in the moment ::

 

[mrmachado]

You're still a new pipe smoker and your taste and preferences will change. What you don't get much from today may really "sing" to you after some time and experience. Tastes change over time but when starting out tastes may be really muted, give it some time and enjoy what appeals to you in the moment

I agree, but would you recommend me a cheaper aromatic of a better quality though?
I don't mean "acceptable"... I mean of really nice quality.
I know it's subjective, but I'd enjoy hearing your opinion. I enjoy Seven Seas on a regular basis, but I don't find anything really special about it at all.

 

[davet]

I enjoy Seven Seas on a regular basis, but I don't find anything really special about it at all.

That should come with time, give it some time and it may be a whole new experience. If I were to choose something to recommend it would be Carter Hall, Amphora Original or Sail Regular. These may be easier to obtain for you and are nice easy to smoke, trouble free blends. Take your time, enjoy and don't over think ::

 

[mrmachado]

If I were to choose something to recommend it would be Carter Hall, Amphora Original or Sail Regular. These may be easier to obtain for you and are nice easy to smoke, trouble free blends. Take your time, enjoy and don't over think

I'll look into those! For now I'm leaving overthinking behind and trying to concentrate on good tobacco to enjoy nice smokes. Oh, if I had some more money spare... I'd surely think only about spending as much as I could. :lol:
Going to delve in reviews on those you mentioned and choose the one that seems the most pleasing.

 

[olkofri]

I guess I did: Lane 1-Q. I was steered away from Craptain Black, Corkum Riff, and OTCs in general right on my first visit to the local tobacconist.
What I did, though, was to immediately start buying all kinds of blends. Way before that 1 oz of 1-Q was finished, I had bought some HGL, MB Navy Flake, SG Navy Flake, 7 Seas Royal, Wessex Brigade, St. Bruno, Early Morning Pipe... So, I started trying all kinds before I could really taste anything.

 

[davet]

I started trying all kinds before I could really taste anything.

Bingo !, A little bit of time makes a big difference :!:

 

[olkofri]

Bingo !, A little bit of time makes a big difference [:!:]

You bet, and that's one reason I don't think it matters much what kind of tobacco one starts with (well, there's the issue of tongue bite, of course, which makes it advisable to begin with something that burns cool, and English blends trump aros in that regard, in general): no real flavour, much less nuances of flavour, will be perceived during the initial smokes.

 

[theosprey247]

Smoker’s Pride Vanilla. I still smoke it time to time.

 

[pipehunter]

I started with two aromatics, but they weren't so cheap (more average for tobacco shop prices). First I tried house blend aromatic cavendish the tobacconist at Leavitt & Pierce recommended (this was in the late 80s). I think they weren't really house blends but made by Ehrlich. Anyway, that was pretty good. When I asked for something less cavendish-y, they turned me on to Troost Slices, which I really liked and still do (although the new version isn't much less subtle than the original). It was a few years before I moved mostly to English blends.

 

[cigrmaster]

I never tried an aromatic until I had been smoking for over a decade. The first ones I tried were a few Boswell aromatics in the summer of 2012. The only OTC I ever tried was Carter Hall and that was in 2013 or so. I smoked it a few times but that was it. I think I still have that original pouch somewhere in my cellar.
The first blends I tried back in the late 90's was a couple of Ashton blends. I quickly found Escudo and some Dunhill English blends plus Elizabethan and smoked those in the beginning. I was buying my tobacco from my buddies tobacco store and he didn't carry that many blends.

 

[ugh457]

I started with my Brigham pipe(my avatar), and a few Peterson tobaccos. Connoisseurs Choice, Luxury Blend, and MacBaren Vanilla.

 

[lochinvar]

I started with GatlinBurley, a Gatlinburlier Burley/Latakia blend. That same week I picked up a tin of Rattray's Highland Targe (picked up solely for the tin art). I took it to the Gatlinburlier to share with my friend Richard, and he gave me three half tins of his to try. They were Three Nuns, Bengal Slices and Sobrane White (little did I know they were on the way out already). I did not try any OTC until relatively recently.

 

[JimInks]

I agree with DaveT's list, but I would add Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic.
I started out with Borkum Riff products back in the 1970s at age 13, but gravitated toward non-aros within a couple of years. I smoke a wide range of blends these days in a wide variety of genres. Every blend is somebody's favorite, and if you're happy with what you smoke, that's all that matters.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Aromatics really don't start to shine until you've been smoking for awhile. Good packing and cadence will make an air shine. I started with Prince Albert Soft Vanilla and still often smoke it.

 

[mechanic]

Rebranded lane 1q from a local shop was my first blend.

 

[instymp]

Yes, but then I fell for VAs. no more aro's.

Until someone recommended Uhles Black Stoker.

Is great, sorta like a slice of pie for dessert.