How does one develop ones pallet for tasting different tabacos?
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Give it time. Soon your taste will develop so that things become amazing. One of those AHA! moments!
Nuances are a tricky thing . Some people like me have it , and some people never do .It can be a blessing and a curse . The best thing to do is find some one who likes the same blends as you do and copy them . Sure saves a lot of money . One can gleem alot from the What are you smoking forum . It also helps when someone lists thier cellar content and you have a lot of the same blends . You could try some Carter hall that is mostly burly then try a straight Virgina . That might help .Most people like blends and there are more blends than straight mixtures . If you were to try straight Orientals or Perique I doubt you would like them .Yet they add great depth to many blends . Smokey or BBQ is often used to describe Latika . You will often hear the term ,like smoking hot air for Virgina blends , Escudo comes to mind . Lakeland reminds me and may others of soap .I would worry more about what you like and just have fun . Most B@M stores will let you sample and try to help you find a blend that works for you .
Hebel, you may not know what you are looking for. (metaphorically speaking)
One thing that comes with experience; is the ability to understand and detect what those differences really are.
This link is to Reviews Without Tears may give you a hint or two as to what it is you are looking for.
Also, doing a Wikipedia search for Virginia Tobaccos, Latakia, Cavendish, and Burley, will enlighten you as to what the "basic" differences in those tobaccos really are, as do Greag Pease and Russ Ouellette's writings.
I hope that the above will provide you with a hint or two that is helpful.
Once your knowledge has grown, you will know your own palate and what you prefer.
It... (as UncleArthur sort of said)... takes some time.
One thing that comes with experience; is the ability to understand and detect what those differences really are.
This link is to Reviews Without Tears may give you a hint or two as to what it is you are looking for.
Also, doing a Wikipedia search for Virginia Tobaccos, Latakia, Cavendish, and Burley, will enlighten you as to what the "basic" differences in those tobaccos really are, as do Greag Pease and Russ Ouellette's writings.
I hope that the above will provide you with a hint or two that is helpful.
Once your knowledge has grown, you will know your own palate and what you prefer.
It... (as UncleArthur sort of said)... takes some time.
I agree with igloo, in that you might want to try straight, or mostly straight, blends. That way you'll learn what each individual type of tobacco tastes like. For example, my own Quadruple Virginia, available from 4noggins, is nothing but a mixture of four different Virginias. It's drier than most blends by design, but is nothing but Virginia. Search out other similar blends, or even buy samplers of various blending tobacco to taste the component tobacco that goes into blends.
If, after a few months of smoking, you still can't taste any difference in tobacco flavors,
then smoke the cheapest crap you can find and consider it a blessing. :rofl:
then smoke the cheapest crap you can find and consider it a blessing. :rofl:
On a more serious note ♪♫ , of all the foregoing suggestions, which I think provide excellent advice, I think
John Patton's (tiltjlp) suggestion to compare straight blends will prove to be most fruitful.
You may also consider purchasing small quantities of condiment, or blending leaf to see how they influence
the basic tobacco you are studying (yes, studying!)
To that end, you might find G.L. Pease's article, Don't Think Of A Purple Giraffe, very beneficial.
It will also help enormously if you strive to develop a vocabulary of tastes and flavors.
So the Flavor And Aroma Chart posted at The Virtual Smoking Lounge.com will be very helpful also.
Lastly, read reviews of the tobaccos you are currently smoking to see if you can relate to what
the reviewer is describing. Good luck. :
:
John Patton's (tiltjlp) suggestion to compare straight blends will prove to be most fruitful.
You may also consider purchasing small quantities of condiment, or blending leaf to see how they influence
the basic tobacco you are studying (yes, studying!)
To that end, you might find G.L. Pease's article, Don't Think Of A Purple Giraffe, very beneficial.
It will also help enormously if you strive to develop a vocabulary of tastes and flavors.
So the Flavor And Aroma Chart posted at The Virtual Smoking Lounge.com will be very helpful also.
Lastly, read reviews of the tobaccos you are currently smoking to see if you can relate to what
the reviewer is describing. Good luck. :
:
Wow! Great thread. My tastes have changed over the years, a few tobaccos I turned my nose up to have become regulars in my rotation.
I guess it's kinda like whiskey and vodka....first time I tasted them I wondered what the hell grownups were thinking!
Beer was a different story, I liked it right off the bat!
I guess it's kinda like whiskey and vodka....first time I tasted them I wondered what the hell grownups were thinking!
Beer was a different story, I liked it right off the bat!
Thank you soooo much, nmbigfoot02! I was hoping for a better image, and you came through! :clap:
Tommy, why do I believe that really is a picture of you?! :lol:
Tommy, why do I believe that really is a picture of you?! :lol:
I am still trying to sort things out, myself.
I like the taste of latakia. That smoky, woodsy, oriental taste of it in Ruins of Isengard, for example.
Lame Eye Q is also good, for me, for being very mellow that I have to work to find the tastes of vanilla in it. it is so slight, for me, and elusive that when i "get it", I feel happy.
I like the taste of latakia. That smoky, woodsy, oriental taste of it in Ruins of Isengard, for example.
Lame Eye Q is also good, for me, for being very mellow that I have to work to find the tastes of vanilla in it. it is so slight, for me, and elusive that when i "get it", I feel happy.
To develop your palate - keep trying different tobaccos. Also don't be so quick to toss things if at first you don't like them. Sometimes you need to sit a couple of days (at least!) to fully grok/appreciate a tobacco blend. Also you might find in 6 months or more you suddenly go back to something and absolutely love it. That's why I have a little chest with just samples in it. I periodically go back and try things later down the road.
OMG! (I've been waiting to use that :D ) Hebel,
My bad for completely overlooking the single most important pipe smoking nostrum and probable cause of your
inability to discern distinct flavors in tobacco. [Drum roll...] Inappropriate packing of the pipe bowl. Heat and
the attendant moisture generated by laboriously puffing on an overly tight packing will result in washed-out flavor.
With only a couple of months of experience, this may very well be the source of the problem you're experiencing.
As John (tiltjlp) alluded above in describing his tobacco(s) as drier than you'd expect, the moisture
level of the tobacco you're smoking can also be the culprit (as well as tending to pack more tightly).
In time, I think you'll discover why most experienced pipesters like to dry out their tobaccos before lighting up.
In the left hand column of this page are links to two articles by Bob Tate on packing techniques.
My bad for completely overlooking the single most important pipe smoking nostrum and probable cause of your
inability to discern distinct flavors in tobacco. [Drum roll...] Inappropriate packing of the pipe bowl. Heat and
the attendant moisture generated by laboriously puffing on an overly tight packing will result in washed-out flavor.
With only a couple of months of experience, this may very well be the source of the problem you're experiencing.
As John (tiltjlp) alluded above in describing his tobacco(s) as drier than you'd expect, the moisture
level of the tobacco you're smoking can also be the culprit (as well as tending to pack more tightly).
In time, I think you'll discover why most experienced pipesters like to dry out their tobaccos before lighting up.
In the left hand column of this page are links to two articles by Bob Tate on packing techniques.
I'm really just starting to notice the nuances of some blends. It definitely does take time. Also, I'm in the process of re-learning how to smoke my pipes. I was smoking mostly on the highway to and from work, where I'm finding I'm smoking more and more at home, in a much more relaxed area and setting, causing me to slow down significantly.
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