How do you Choose What to Smoke?

[TheWhale13]

This is probably not the question for the people that have 2 and only 2 tobaccos at hand all the time, but more for the folks that have a larger amount of different tobaccos.

How do you decide just what to smoke? With my cellar getting larger I am also finding it increasingly harder to choose what to smoke. Do you have any tips or thoughts?

 

[bullet08]

Get up, take a poop and see what rings the bell.

 

[TheWhale13]

Get up, take a poop and see what rings the bell.

Will do!

 

[DanWil84]

That's completely personal, some like a kick in the nuts before breakfast, others take it a little bit slower. I sometimes get comments how I can stomach a non-Connecticut wrapped cigar in the morning, I just do it. It is all about how you tolerate certain flavors and nicotine levels at what time a day

When I pick a pipe and tobacco in the morning I pick an english, in the afternoon a Va(Per) and after diner a burley or dfk.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

This is probably not the question for the people that have 2 and only 2 tobaccos at hand all the time, but more for the folks that have a larger amount of different tobaccos.

How do you decide just what to smoke? With my cellar getting larger I am also finding it increasingly harder to choose what to smoke. Do you have any tips or thoughts?

No cellar for me. I have a local tobacconists. He mixes up a couple of English blends that I have been switching back and forth. THe blend I am using now has a higher Latakia content., but I might like the other better since it has a sweet taste.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have my morning smokes usually a nice mild Virginia from 2012 something like Rotary Navy Cut or Wessex Gold Virginia Flake to get the taste buds going. Next is usually a darker Virginia like 2012 Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake or 2012 Wessex Brown Virginia Flake. 2012 Astleys no 44 or even 2013 Brigham Klondike Gold is a nice time of day for that. For a third smoke I will sometimes go Escudo or Solani 633 or maybe Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls. After that I could go with a 2005 Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky or a 2007 Stonehaven or the original Mac Baren Old Dark Fired from 2012. Get the right pipe and that stuff is magical. I have been smoking my ODF out of my Rad Davis Zulu from the get go and it is a perfect match. For my tastes nothing but the ODF comes close to aged Stonehaven.

I have been on this particular rotation for a month or more and I am really enjoying it. In another few weeks to a month I will finish a bunch of tins and then start smoking through others. I have some serious smoking to do as I think I have over 30 tins open which for me is a few more than normal. I usually keep 20-25 tins open at the same time. I just love my variety, what can I say. I have eclectic tastes that is the envy of the entire pipe world. Anyone who wants lessons just feel free to ask.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Lately I’ve been delving between my Haunted Bookshop & an open tin of OGS. Most of the time I open my cabinet take 30 seconds to grab a jar, then snag a pipe. There is really no rhyme or reason other than what influences me in that 30 second time frame. Most of the time, my choice was spot on. ?️

 

[anotherbob]

lately been putting a weeks worth of tobacco in the pouch and go from there.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I mostly smoke Virginia Flake blends and also do it in order from milder/sweeter to progressively stronger throughout the day. When I finish a tin of Vauen No 14 (first of the day smoke with coffee), I may open a tin of Wessex Gold Virginia Flake to be my next first of the day smoke. I roughly have the variety of Flake blends categorized strength wise in my head and I choose based on that and having a bit of variety. Do the same thing for my late in the day VaPer, VaOr and Burley choices. This helps me avoid having 30 tins open as well.

 

[warren]

I keep smoking as simple as possible and simply grab whatever's handy on my desk, in my pocket, or first comes to hand as I rifle my gear bag.

 

[Grangerous]

I have trouble choosing between two blends! I liked it better when I just had one! I find myself often loading two bowls and alternating them.

And now having to remember which pipe I last smoked which blend. It’s complicated my life.

I’m glad to keep life simple. ?

 

[kcghost]

It's whatever happens to cross my mind at the time. I open three tins of tobacco and I smoke them until they gone and then I open another three tins.

 

[mso489]

I can't over-think what to smoke or it will take all day. It is an exercise in impulsivity. I bounce around among the twenty or thirty open tins or jars and then I pounce. I'm usually happy with the randomness of it, finishing off a sample, mixing the dregs of two blends, going back to a robust old favorite, packing an aromatic for a change of pace, or popping open a tin for a new adventure. If I think I've made a mistake, it is sometimes instead the highlight of my pipe-smoking week.

 

[WVOldFart]

I like to decide the night before what I want to smoke the next day and lay some out to dry overnight. Seldom do I change from what I lay out.

 

[ray47]

It's kind of hard to put into words. Best way to explain it is, it's a feeling.

 

[That Guy]

Sometimes I'll know exactly what I have a taste for and when I don't I'll randomly grab four or five open jars and give them a sniff and whichever tickles my fancy I'll load up and smoke. I don't typically have certain blends I only smoke in the morning, afternoon, or evening. I just go with whatever I have a taste for at that moment. It's not uncommon for me to wake up and on an empty stomach reach for HH bold Kentucky and load up a big bowl.

 

[Servant King]

I'm surprised no one has said that they draw names out of a hat yet. The trouble there is deciding on which hat to use, so upon closer examination, the reticence is understandable.

 

[Chasing Embers]

No rhyme or reason. Sometimes just because it's the easiest to get to.

 

[lochinvar]

Most of the time I have a taste for something specific and go from there. Some days....a lot of days, I want dark, deep Virginias. Or I may have a taste for some Oriental incense. On deep winter days, I seem to like something like Bengal Slices. Its the same as what Scotch I want, it's not a conscious choice. Some days you want an easy drinking Highland like Edradour, some days you want something like Talisker that will punch you in the face.

 

[Talon]

I tend to pick up the less complex tobaccos in the morning and lately it has been Capstan Blue. In the evenings I'll dive into something a bit heavier or perhaps a tad more complex such as Stormfront or SPC's plum pudding.