How did you all experiment?

[npod]

Like others I had tons of mason jars filled with various blends at first. Luckily, I had been smoking and ageing cigars for a long while before switching to pipe tobacco, so I kinda knew how to taste tobacco and I had a strong feeling for what I would like. Interestingly, I wanted badly to be a latakia guy since I like stronger bolder cigars. But eventually VaPers and Virginia and especially flakes grabbed me. Since then, I prefer more Dominican and medium bodies cigars.

 

[pipeanddrum]

I started by trying many different tobaccos, buying single ounces of those blends that received favorable reviews when I was able to find them in bulk. I also purchased tins of tobacco that seemed to be the 'standards' like Orlik Golden Sliced, Solani Aged Burley Flake, and Dunhill EMP + Nightcap. I also found people to trade a few bowls worth of different blends with so that I didn't have to invest too much to get a good sampling of many varieties. I'd jump from one blend to the next and still never smoke the same tobacco twice in a row. Over three years into the hobby and after trying 50+ more blends at this point, I feel I have a good sense of my preferences. I seem to favor strong burley blends and dark flakes. That being said, I'm still on the pursuit of that next sublime tobacco. Take your time and happy hunting.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

My first tobacco was a Turkish/Virginia pipe tobacco RYO. I was switching from cigarettes to the pipe. After I finished the bag, I picked up some Captain Black. That was when I started having problems with smoking too fast and too hot. I did much better once I switched back to a non-aromatic. I tried an oz of a few things, but when you are switching back and forth in the same pipe, you're never really going to be able to get a good idea of what a particular blend tastes like. I started really enjoying smoking a pipe when I got three pipes, an aro pipe, a Virginia, and a latakia pipe. But, it gets even better when you get over 100 pipes, then you can really sample a lot more blends. ::
I don't think that we are meant to be one blend guys. It's kind of silly to narrow what you smoke, and it doesn't make someone seem smarter or cooler. I still enjoy bouncing around different blends. I even enjoy an occasional pouch of Captain Black. The more open-minded you are, the more things you will have to explore, and the happier you will be. Just have fun with it.

 

[lawdawg]

You simply can't go wrong smoking a pipe in the manner which pleases you.

+1

Get a tub or a bag of a decent grade burley blend like SWR, or CH and smoke it until you sense that you have discovered how to taste its flavors.

Learn to smoke the pipe.

Excellent advice! I would recommend the same approach. It doesn't really matter much how good your tobacco is if you haven't learned how to smoke it yet, and as a result you end up with a hot tongue-burning, ashy hot air experience. The "CH" newbroom mentioned is Carter Hall, a classic American "over the counter" burley blend, and it's still one of my favorite smokes, and a great place to start. Carter Hall is a very forgiving tobacco that smokes well even if you pack it a bit too tight, a bit too loose, or smoke it too fast.
As for smoking different blends, you can move around from bowl to bowl without any issue. Last night I smoked a bowl of Virginia when I got home from work, a latakia blend after dinner, and an aromatic later while watching a Halloween movie.

 

[pipeanddrum]

Cosmic, I'm with you 100% and feel that variety is the spice of life but do want to mention that I met a fellow pipe smoker in my neighborhood whose go-to blend is Captain Black white. He's in his late 60's and told me that after years of trying different tobaccos, he settled on CB ('only in the white tub') and is perfectly content with it. It hits all the notes for him. I can't help but appreciate that he's found that perfect smoke and is happy to enjoy it every time. Makes me wonder if, when I reach my late 60's, I'll have settled on my 'hits all the notes' blend. At the moment the short list includes: Tabac Manil Semois, Pease Gaslight, Revor Plug, Irish Flake, OJK, McConnell's Latakia Flake - just to name a few 8)

 

[saltedplug]

It does the heart good to read the different approaches you are taking to enjoy the pipe.
In the beginning I played around with blending with burley, latakia and rope. If I'd stayed with it I more than probably could have made something I liked, but I gave up after perhaps six weeks, feeling like a failure. I made up my mind to let the blenders blend.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have an elderly friend that I check in on daily that has only one pipe and Prince Albert. He is too mean to die, and for a decrepit little guy, he can spin up a thunderstorm of rage if you get him on his bad side.
If you mention pipe rotations, trying new blends, or even want to talk pipesmoking or about the forum, he'll just shut you down with a few well placed insults of precision. To smoke anything else or have more than one pipe is ludicrous... and a few other well chosen insults.
But, he enjoys it, and I never even mention pipes or tobacco any more. The pipe is always in his mouth, so it is like talking about his nose or his eyes. So, I just drop in and make sure he is alive, drop off his sundries, and get the Hell out of there. Ha ha. ::
But, I prefer the variety.

 

[saltedplug]

I admire both your helping out an elderly neighbor and knowing how to leave before serious injury.

 

[mso489]

My dad was my role model, and he smoked Granger for fifty years. Instead, I stuck with an aromatic or two from Tinder Box, probably 1-Q renamed and another similar aro not bought for a year or two later. I wasn't a daily smoker, and the tobacco was pleasant, except for some aftertaste. I wasn't ambitious about sampling to say the least. I had a long hiatus from pipe smoking in solidarity with my late wife quitting cigarettes. Only in the past eight years or so have I gotten promiscuous with blends, and since I'm a moderate smoker, this is a slow process, but I've tried probably about sixty by now, but all somewhat randomly. I've focused on non-aromatics, but came back to aromatics a little, and on stronger blends, but also include mild blends now. I'm extra easygoing about it. It's not a quest. I browse; I graze; I invite my spirit. Cosmic, I do admire your feisty friend, and especially your part in looking after him. It requires real perspective and patience, not to mention insight and imagination, to see beyond his cranky veneer. I had an amazing very elderly friend, a retired orchardman from the Syracuse area who, as a child, had seen Teddy Roosevelt in person; it was a great experience knowing him, and I still tell his stories.

 

[techie]

Like many others, I picked up a number of blends to try, mostly English. I watched videos, read online articles and threads on these forums. One very helpful thing I did was buy several straight tobaccos (often named "blending" tobaccos) which included a couple of virginias, a burley, a cavendish, latakia, and a Turkish (Izmir). I spent time smelling them and smoking them to pick out each of their unique aromas and tastes. This helped me to learn to pick out their scents and tastes while smoking blends.

 

[workman]

I tried all I could get my hands on. Still do, only slower, cause now I also want to smoke something I know I like. I have started cellaring, but I always purchase a tin or two of something new when I order tobacco. For variety, for the excitement of unknown territory and to educate myself.

 

[blackadderlxx]

Agree with the suggestion above about going slow and then trying things you hear about on the forums. One of the things I ended up trying (and still do) is this.
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/search?Rating=Highly+Recommended&ReviewCount=100&Production=Currently+available
I look through the highly recommended blends on TR that also have over a hundred reviews and are currently in production. I objectively think of this as what the favorites are, due to the search criteria. Whenever I have a desire to try something new and can't figure what, it's a good place to look for ideas.

 

[sablebrush52]

Pretty much as has been said, try some samples from the different genres, aromatic, Virginia, OTC, English, etc. I started with a few different blends that had been recommended to me by my local tobacconist and branched out from there. If you have a tobacconist close to you, try some of their bulk offerings to start.
It's also important to know how to smoke so that you can enjoy the flavors along the way. For me that means drying out my tobacco until it is almost bone dry. Too much moisture masks the flavors.
For much of my smoking life I only smoked one or two blends. Playing the field didn't appeal, and I disliked about 90% of what I tried. Now I've stocked up several dozen blends that I enjoy. The search was fun. It's a bit like dating. At the beginning it's a lot of excitement, not much in the way of standards, and a lot of fumbling around. Later on you come to appreciate the fine points.

 

[bnichols23]

The more open-minded you are, the more things you will have to explore, and the happier you will be. Just have fun with it.

Amen, Michael. Your cranky acquaintance can be happy with his limited focus, & that's cool for him. Me, in *my* late 60s, I'm still capable of enjoying more than peanut butter sandwiches for every meal. It's how I choose more than a couple of favorite brands of pipe (say, Caminetto, Sav, Nording), it's how I came here, & it's how I found Black Frigate (which I'm still in Duane's debt for). One-trick-pony dosn't work for me & never has. Like my father used to say, "What's next?" The more different stuff I do, the more fun I have. And fun is good. (Bill's Mantra # 11A)

 

[stevecourtright]

* went to a pipe show - everyone wanted to give me samples - which I accepted

* whenever I buy tobacco at my local B&M, they give me a bit of whatever is open

* I read JimInks reviews

* buy a tin of something new about once a month

* swap records (the vinyl stuff) and tobacco with a musician friend

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I'm a proponent of only smoking the blend you're sampling for the first time for all of the 50 gram or 2oz tin or 2oz bulk sample. It forces you to try it at different times of the day which can affect the flavor. I also am big on only drinking water with the blend when getting to know it. Maybe after 4 or 5 bowls then try and pair it with a beer or spirit or tea or coffee whatever. Early on water only helps you get more acquainted with the actual flavors of the blend.

 

[newbroom]

I started off w/o any knowledge of the subject and a bag of inexpensive shag I had already.

Once I found this forum, I was off to the races!

I did find that I had to deal with all the usual problems of a newbie, and reading about them here was encouraging and informative,

I made a deal with one of the members here to trade a sample each of what I had accumulated about a year or so in, and got to try out some classics in that deal.

I think repetitive smoking of at least one blend within your selections, say, 50% of the time, at least until you feel you have a grasp of that primary blend, and then maybe change that one to another. I did that with a lot of the codgers, a couple of English/Latakia blends, and also with some of the flakes and coins...

Repetition is practice, variety is contrast, and if you are still learning to taste, practice makes perfect.

 

[bullet08]

dunhill. lol. yeah. i had to get some.

 

[kiltedpiper]

Honestly, I got fairly lucky once I got serious in that one of the tobaccanists in town had a smoking room and they have a rack of tobacco tins that they let folks sample out of. The fact that you get to stick your snoz into the tins and get a feel for them helped a lot in deciding which tins to get first.
since then, I've been starting to work my way through different manufacturers. Everything from interesting tin art and fun names from just rummaging shelf full of random Cornel and Diehl tins that the B&M has and just grabbing one at random to try is the run for now. The harder bit is to just figure out how I'm going to keep my notes on which I enjoyed and which curled my nose hairs.

 

[mrmachado]

I started by buying a cheap Imbuia pipe and the cheapest tobacco at the store.
It wasn't great but I kept insisting and bought a Savinelli and some more "acceptable" tobaccos. Then it became a pleasurable experience for me.