Hello, I am new to this forum and to smoking pipes in general. I just bought a cheap briar pipe and some smoke shop tobacco (Super-Value). Now, I've seen a lot of opinions regarding the quality and price point of different tobaccos. It seems that people are on extreme sides about this. Either it has to be top notch, or the cheap stuff isn't that much worse than the expensive. I don't enjoy this cheap stuff much but I have a tight budget in my current financial situation. Is the taste really that much better in the expensive stuff? I've seen a lot of really helpful people on here and I feel like I can trust your opinions. Thank you in advance.
How important is the tobacco quality?
- Thread starter smalltownrob
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"I don't enjoy this cheap stuff much but I have a tight budget in my current financial situation."
There are some great deals out there. If you know what you like and specify it, then the members here will get you some great suggestions. Missouri Meerschaums cobs are great for a budget.
There are some great deals out there. If you know what you like and specify it, then the members here will get you some great suggestions. Missouri Meerschaums cobs are great for a budget.
1. There is no EXPENSIVE pipe tobacco. The prices vary, but even $15.00 for a tin isn't "expensive".
2. Cheap tobacco is exactly that. Cheap. As in... Cheap. Not INexpensive. Cheap. As in: "Those cheap bastards."
Find yourself some good quality tobacco, that's inexpensive, and be happy.
Dunhill Flake
McClelland's 5100 Red Cake
Dunhill 965
Peter Stokkebye's blends (Luxury Navy Flake/Luxury Twist Flake/English Oriental Supreme/etc.)
MacBaren's blends
There's a world of inexpensive, high-quality tobacco out there, my friend. Get out of the cigarette stores.
2. Cheap tobacco is exactly that. Cheap. As in... Cheap. Not INexpensive. Cheap. As in: "Those cheap bastards."
Find yourself some good quality tobacco, that's inexpensive, and be happy.
Dunhill Flake
McClelland's 5100 Red Cake
Dunhill 965
Peter Stokkebye's blends (Luxury Navy Flake/Luxury Twist Flake/English Oriental Supreme/etc.)
MacBaren's blends
There's a world of inexpensive, high-quality tobacco out there, my friend. Get out of the cigarette stores.
I do enjoy the high end stuff, but Carter Hall and a cup of coffee is very hard to beat. Also keep your eye out for sales. You don't have to pay premium prices for the good stuff. SPC has a 20% off sale on their Cornell & Diehl tobaccos until the end of September.
http://m.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/cornell-diehl/bulk/
http://m.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/cornell-diehl/bulk/
Rather than focussing on cost, perhaps type of tobacco would be more helpful. Some people have bad reactions to burley, or aromatics, or latakia, etc. A bunch can depend on how you smoke- too fast or too wet can produce an ugly outcome. No need to go for the really expensive and often hard to find tobaccos, but some solid blends would be the way I'd go.
What type of tobacco is that? You also may find that buying in some quantity online is cheaper than your local smoke shop, at least in some areas.
What type of tobacco is that? You also may find that buying in some quantity online is cheaper than your local smoke shop, at least in some areas.
What chasingembers said. Try out some Carter Hall, and or Prince Albert and other bulk blends. Also, getting some tobacco sampler packages from Pipes & Cigars or Smoking Pipes is a great idea before you spend money on one particular you might not possibly care for.
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Maybe $15.00 for a tin of tobacco is not expensive to you, but it's obviously expensive to the OP and I can fully appreciate his concern. After all, not everyone has disposable cash for something they've never tried, and for something that isn't really all that necessary in ones life, in the whole grand scheme of things, when money is tight.
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/brand/840/super-value
What kind of super value tobacco did you get? It doesn't get very good reviews. Just like with whiskey, there's bottom shelf, middle shelf and top shelf, and are priced accordingly, and will usually have pretty dramatic differences in smoothness, quality, refinement, etc... Luckily with pipe tobacco there's alot of really good tobacco at the low-mid priced level in bulk. I would suggest getting bulk tobacco and getting an ounce or two of each to try. Brands like C&D you can get at around 36$ a pound, or at a couple dollars an ounce, same with Peter Stokkebye, and it's going to be much better than supervalue brand and not that much more expensive. Now if you want to feel better about tobacco prices, I live up north where a pound of tobacco is going to be minimum 250$, a 50gram tin or pouch is 40$, so really you're probably at a much better starting point then I was.
What kind of super value tobacco did you get? It doesn't get very good reviews. Just like with whiskey, there's bottom shelf, middle shelf and top shelf, and are priced accordingly, and will usually have pretty dramatic differences in smoothness, quality, refinement, etc... Luckily with pipe tobacco there's alot of really good tobacco at the low-mid priced level in bulk. I would suggest getting bulk tobacco and getting an ounce or two of each to try. Brands like C&D you can get at around 36$ a pound, or at a couple dollars an ounce, same with Peter Stokkebye, and it's going to be much better than supervalue brand and not that much more expensive. Now if you want to feel better about tobacco prices, I live up north where a pound of tobacco is going to be minimum 250$, a 50gram tin or pouch is 40$, so really you're probably at a much better starting point then I was.
Also.....all these things (pipes, cigars, whiskey, cars, blah, blah..) follow the law of diminishing returns. Meaning that paying more at the low end gives noticeable benefits but paying more at the high end gives very little extra benefit and sometimes nothing.
A good MM cob and some PS bulk and you are 90% of the way to the top! You could then pay $100s more for pipes and vintage aged tobaccos. Many of us do it! It's a hobby and it's fun. Some of the people here are genuine conisours and those few can tell the differences. Most of us would fail at double blind testing for what is better at the high end.
A good MM cob and some PS bulk and you are 90% of the way to the top! You could then pay $100s more for pipes and vintage aged tobaccos. Many of us do it! It's a hobby and it's fun. Some of the people here are genuine conisours and those few can tell the differences. Most of us would fail at double blind testing for what is better at the high end.
As a new pipe smoker, I assume you aren't smoking all day, or even more than a bowl or two a day, if that. So you aren't likely to go broke stepping up slightly from pouch or tub tobacco, and actually you can get some good tobacco in those forms too, but you have to know what you're doing. First, buy tobacco in bulk, which means not in tins but in plastic bags, and buy it in small quantities, an ounce or two. Even if you like a blend a lot, stay with small quantities. Your tastes will change and develop quickly, especially at the start. Don't buy a half pound or pound of anything. Put your tobacco in canning jars, like Mason or Ball brand, to keep it from drying out. Many of the suggested blends in earlier posts are offered in bulk -- Dunhill My Mixture 965, McClelland's Red Virginia 5100, Nightcap, Lane's 1-Q and LL-7 (aromatics) and many, many others. Bulk isn't a beginner's thing; everyone who wants a price break buys that way. Go to our sponsor online retailers, and look at bulk tobacco blends, and read about them. They're rated for strength, room note (smell inside), and taste, and the listings tell you which tobaccos (Virginia, burley, Kentucky, Kentucky Dark Fired, Latakia, Perique, Turkish, Oriental, etc.) and which flavorings if any, like rum, whiskey, vanilla, cherry, Cognac, fruits, and so on. There's a lot to learn, but most of us think that's much of the fun. Just take your time and enjoy the journey.
Do you have a local B&M? If so, skip the online vendors and go there. You likely won't be ordering enough to take advantage of free shipping deals. Samplers are okay although you will end up not liking about 1/3 of them.
When you go to the B&M, ask questions are really narrow down your choices to 2-3 blends that you think you might like, and get an ounce of each. That will last you at least 15 smokes, and should be for around $10 depending on where you live.
Write down/keep track of the blends you do like and don't like. Don't try to remember them, write them down. Take the list to the B&M next time and tell the tobacconist there which blends you liked and why. He will be able to refine and narrow down the selection, which will keep you from blindly "sampling" a bunch of stuff you wouldn't like.
The trouble is that Samuel Gawith St. James Flake is one of the best blends in existence and it's also available in large boxes.
Those old British blenders really know how to keep a customer happy.
Those old British blenders really know how to keep a customer happy.
Really the only place you can go from smoking super value brand is upwards. If I were focused on cost I'd take advantage of that C&D bulk sale, 2 ounces for 4.37, just go by the descriptions and check out tobacco reviews of the blends that interest you, if you have to pay for shipping you're still saving alot of money in the end.
Even if you're enjoying the tobacco you've been smoking, try something recommended here. There is a difference. About a month ago, I didn't smoke anything but Carter Hall and Prince Albert. I did that for almost three weeks. I don't mind those: they're over the counter (OTC) blends that are available everywhere that sells pipe tobacco. But once I got back to smoking the "good stuff" that I can only get online, the difference was very evident. There's much more flavor to the smoke. OTC brands often have a chemical taste to them that isn't there in better tobacco. A lot of people here like Carter Hall and Prince Albert. Try those if you want to stick with OTC tobacco for a while.
Right now SmokingPipes.com has all C&D bulk tobacco at 20% off until the end of September. This would be a good opportunity to buy a bunch of 1oz samples and see what you like.
I'm going to put.up another vote for Peter Stokkebye bulk and a cob or 2. I have, and occasionally enjoy something like Half & Half and Prince Albert, but in my opinion PS tobaccos are much better.
That being said, YMMV and taste is a very subjective thing.
That being said, YMMV and taste is a very subjective thing.
Like you said, smalltownrob- You're not enjoying the Super Value brand, which leaves you with two options: give the Burley forward OTCs a shot, or try some inexpensive bulk from C&D, Peter Stokkebye, McClelland, etc. If you're a cigarette smoker, either option will be cheaper than the nails. If you're not a smoker of any kind, and "high quality" tobacco really seems that "expensive" to you- maybe think about another hobby. If, however, you're serious about becoming a smoker (of pipes) for the first time, as a way to unwind at the end of the day, smoking only one or two bowls a day (or less), then tobacco REAAAALLY will be cheap for you, and you owe it to yourself to try some of the really good stuff.
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