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Jan 30, 2020
1,995
6,566
New Jersey
I think it's really the smoking background I came to pipes from. I've been a RYO cigarette smoker for a couple decades, and after trying every RYO variety I could get my hands on I found a mix I liked the best and just smoked that for ages (2 parts Daughters & Ryan Three Sails mixed with 1 part Daughters & Ryan Ryback, for anyone curious). I was also a hookah smoker for much of my life and even after trying probably over a hundred hookah blends nothing could compare to my love of Nakhla Strawberry and Nakhla Single Apple, I just smoked those two nearly every day for more than a decade.

But, I've come to a point in my life where I'd like to quit smoking cigarettes and I lost my enthusiasm for the hookah after the company who made my two preferred blends went out of business, so I'd like to just smoke a pipe instead and went into this hobby with the assumption that after trying enough blends I'd probably find 1 or 2 I especially liked and could smoke every day; as I did with cigarettes and the hookah.

Thus far those mythical blends have eluded me, but even if I never find them I still get a lot of enjoyment and relaxation out of pipe smoking. I imagine I'll figure out what I really like best in due time though. I've only been smoking pipes for a year now, which is a drop in the bucket compared to how long many folks here have been smoking and how long I smoked other forms of tobacco, so I'm fine with being patient and giving it time. The days are long but the years are short, as they say. puffy
Well now I’m curious, why not your 3 sails/Ryback mixture in the pipe if you enjoyed it? Many enjoy Daughters and Ryan around here, myself included until they discontinued TAPS VIP and changed the recipe for Rowland Gold before also discontinuing it after the company sale.

For me, yes I’ve found a few that are always a pleasure. I still have a cupboard of tins to get through though that I accumulated to find those few.
 
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Mar 1, 2014
3,651
4,929

RookieGuy80

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 6, 2023
615
1,861
Maryland, United States
I'm somewhere in between. I haven't found my one and only before all else desert island this and no other blend. And I'm not sure I want to. I absolutely love the wonderful variation in tobacco blends. I love that I can buy 100 different [genre] blends and they'll all be slightly different. I'd never wasn't that to go away.

I haven't found that perfect Rookie's Only blend. But I have found a couple that I'll never run out of. A few that I'll get a half pound or pound with every order. But even they are in the rotation with others.
 
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PaulRVA

Lifer
May 29, 2023
3,406
55,125
“Tobacco Row “Richmond Virginia USA
I’ve got several that I love like OJK, Autumn Evening, Nightcap etc and several I wish were still in production like Frog Morton Frog on a Log.
As far as the just one Holy Grail of tobacco? I don’t think that exists in my experience as Ill still chase the dragon regardless of what I find.
I think for me the variety is what makes the TAD affliction an actual addiction if not a compulsive disorder. Im the same way with cigars and wine as well.
 
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AroEnglish

Lifer
Jan 7, 2020
4,125
12,473
Midwest
I’ve got my 3 "AroEnglish Blends" (literally) after years of trying tobaccos. I think I've tried over 100 before realizing what I like. As you go on, note what parts of a blend you like and what you don't like and then post your thoughts here. Guy will be able to pick apart the tobaccos and flavors that you like and can help you get further down the road.

I think OJK and HB are both burley blends so it sounds like you don't like burleys, at least not in a way that dominates a blend. It also sounds like you enjoy blends that have a topping but also have the tobacco coming through. I’m sure there are some guys here who can recommend some blends in that category.

It could be that you’re just like many of the guys who have posted here who just can't be satisfied with one blend, and that’s also ok.
 
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NomadOrb

(Nomadorb)
Feb 20, 2020
1,674
13,663
SoCal
I've found my favorite blend types, which is what I prefer over singular blends as those come and go.

Even still, I appreciate most blends, I can't really think of a tobacco that is truly terrible. If I was stuck on an island with crappy tobacco, I would be happily filling my pipe.
 

FLDRD

Lifer
Oct 13, 2021
1,819
6,906
Arkansas
I personally feel that variety helps prevent palate fatigue for my experience. Even the most delightful of tastes eventually wears out it's welcome in my world. I continue my exploration without expecting to narrow it down too much, other than to some that I preferred more, and thus come back to now and again.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,500
I am unlikely to find my blend, more likely my blend of the month. August/September was SG&Co. Squadron Leader special edition with Perique, now all gone. Now I've returned to Esoterica Tilbury, Virginia based with burley as condiment. Others open and active are C&D Mountain Camp and Bayou Night, 965 Match, Newminster English Luxury, C&D Tuggle Hall, and so on. It's just the way I roll. I have unopened tubs of Granger, SWR, SWR Aromatic, Edward G. Robinson, SPC Potlatch, and on and on. Royal Yacht, still in the unopened Dunhill brand tin. I'm looking forward to getting back to GLP Barbary Coast based in cube cut burley.
 

tmcg81

Part of the Furniture Now
May 8, 2020
969
15,034
NJ
I have 2 or 3 blends that if every other blend disappeared, I'd be content to smoke forever, but I do like switching it up, which is odd because as a cigarette smoker I smoke one type of cigarette and when I was in bars 8 nights a week, I basically only drank one kind of beer.
 

krizzose

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,169
18,770
Michigan
I never wanted one blend only. I like variety, and I have enough solid favorites of various genres that I’m not trying to find anything to fill holes in my rotation. That’s not to say I don’t try things here and there (both established blends I haven’t tried yet or new releases which appeal to me), but that’s more simple curiosity than a tobacco quest.
 
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Skippy B. Coyote

Can't Leave
Jun 19, 2023
316
3,788
St. Paul, MN
Thank you for all the replies everyone! They really helped give me perspective and come to the conclusion that it's totally fine if I don't have one favorite blend. I already have a rotation of pipes where I smoke a different pipe each day of the week, and while I do have my favorite pipes out of the bunch I still enjoy smoking the others quite a bit too.

With that in mind I think I'll just keep trying new blends for variety and when I've found enough of them that I especially enjoy to set up a rotation then I'll figure out a blend rotation as well. I already know that I never want to be without Autumn Evening, Blood Red Moon, Ennerdale Flake, and Father Dempsey; so that seems like a good place to start.puffy
 

John_B

Might Stick Around
May 11, 2023
92
284
Thank you for all the replies everyone! They really helped give me perspective and come to the conclusion that it's totally fine if I don't have one favorite blend. I already have a rotation of pipes where I smoke a different pipe each day of the week, and while I do have my favorite pipes out of the bunch I still enjoy smoking the others quite a bit too.

With that in mind I think I'll just keep trying new blends for variety and when I've found enough of them that I especially enjoy to set up a rotation then I'll figure out a blend rotation as well. I already know that I never want to be without Autumn Evening, Blood Red Moon, Ennerdale Flake, and Father Dempsey; so that seems like a good place to start.puffy
Glad to see that you are finding your way through the considerable ammount of available tobaccos out there. I'm sure that you are getting to know a few blends very well. It is also very important to establish what you don't like, be it a genre or brand of tobacco. I am unable to tolerate Burley in any quantity as it is somewhat caustic to my mouth. I have learnt to avoid it as it can seriously spoil my enjoyment of this hobby. Its a shame as I like the taste but it doesn't like me. Good luck on your journey and enjoy what you like, not just what others recommend.
 
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