Help me choose some tobacco (UK)

[welshpiper]

Hey all,
I've recently got my first briar pipe, and I'm getting to grips with smoking it - to varied success so far! I need to experiment with packing etc, but I'm enjoying it so far. Lots of useful advice on here.
At the moment, the only tobacco I have is Erinmore Mixture (not many good tobaccos available OTC in UK supermarkets).
However, next week, I'm planning to make a trip into my nearest city (Cardiff, Wales) which has a pretty good cigar/pipe shop. Would be grateful if you guys would like to take a look on their site and recommend a few good choices for me as a beginner. I have read some of the other regular recommendations you make, but a lot of these don't appear to be widely available here.
Selections available here: http://www.havanahouse.co.uk/Product.php?ID=1050
Thanks in advance - I look forward to your recommendations! :D

 

[james80]

It's not the greatest selection I have seen. As above, I use Smoke-King. They have an excellent selection and you can buy samples and test out what appeals to you. To answer your question, one of the first blends I tried was Dunhill Early Morning pipe. It's an excellent reference point for Oriental/Lat blends. I also found enjoyment early in my pipe smoking hobby in Peterson Irish Oak.
If you e-mail smoke king and ask them them to put together a starter sample pack I'm sure they will help.

 

[condorlover1]

There are several OTC blends you might enjoy such as Mellow Virginia, Gold Block as well as St Bruno. I would leave either of the Condor blends well alone until you have tried at least half a dozen other blends.

 

[mcluvinmypipe]

Dunhill the Royal Yacht is a nice blend.