How Many Bowls are Sufficient to "Try" a New (to You) Blend?

[sablebrush52]

A puff or two will be enough if the blend is something I find truly horrid. The rest goes in the trash and the pipe gets a thorough cleaning, and possibly virgin sacrifice to exorcise any ghosts. If I'm on the fence I'll give it a few tries to see which way it goes with me. I've had a few blends that I initially didn't really like, but found something in the flavor that was promising, and after time grew to like quite a lot.

 

[jewman22]

3, In 3 different shaped pipes.
If I like it I will then start changing bowl size to determine the best pipe in which to consume said blend.
If I'm not overly fond, I may give it a chance again after a few months in a jar.
If I hate it, it comes to work with me to be hand rolled into cigarettes to get rid of.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Probably 3 or 4 bowls although Ennerdale was an exception. The first couple of bowls I wasn't that impressed but by the time I finished the 15g sample I loved the stuff and I ordered more straight away. Now I'm never without it and it's in my top 3 tobaccos. I find aging it in a jar for a couple of years really improves it, the flake goes nice and dark and the flavours marry together.
I made the mistake of smelling the pouch a lot before I smoked it and it honestly put me off even trying it. Now I love the way it smells?.

 

[beezer]

I usually want to smoke through half a tin of a new blend before reaching a conclusion.

I'm smoking through my second bowl of Warped Scarecrow as I type this and I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I like it. Once it airs out more and I smoke through another five bowls or so I'll know with certainty whether I'm a fan or a hater.

Cigars on the other hand I'll know at first stick whether I will ever smoke another.

 

[crashthegrey]

For me, honestly, the whole tin. I've loved the first few bowls of some and then been over it by the end, and vice versa. New tobacco tends to excite me, but then I change how I feel about it with regular exposure.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

half a pouch is enough to make up my mind, however I have found many blends shall improve quite significantly after being left for some extensive time in jars

 

[Infantry23]

I think for me I have a pretty good idea by bowl three or four. However, since I'm a skinflint I don't throw away tobacco! If I don't like a blend I keep it in hopes that a) I'll like it later down the road or b) a friend might like to try some and I can gift it

 

[JOHN72]

I remember now. Of the first tobaccos that I tried. 7 Seas Regular Blend. A very pleasant aroma of cocoa and vanilla. But it didn't taste like tobacco. Too aromatic for me. It is very cheap, but it is not a tobacco for my rotation or my cellar. This tobacco made me hesitate to continue smoking a pipe. But it's just my personal experience.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I still have pounds of Virginia #1 in my cellar. I bought five without even a second guess, because 1) it was a Virginia and the #1 Virginia at that, and 2) even 9-10 years ago people were talking about how tobaccos were all going to be going away soon, so I was buying 20 tins at a time and 5 pound bags of everything (and I'm glad I did).
But, the first smoke was like a mouth full of pissed off yellowjackets.
So, I jarred them, thinking that age would take out some of that sting. Nope, 9-10 years latter, Bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzz sting sting sting!
I mean, it tastes alright. it is a a light Virginia with a honey casing. Still every now and then I am like... taking a jar out of the cellar, breathing in the aged aromas. And, then packing a pipe, thinking, "Fuck it, I'll just gargle some aloe vera juice latter." It is always a good way to keep yourself from drinking too many sodas, just fuck your mouth up with some Virginia #1 and you'll not eat or drink for a few hours. Hey, this could be a new form of eating disorder; instead of a taco, I'll just swish some yellowjackets around in my mouth for a while.

 

[lawdawg]

For me, honestly, the whole tin. I've loved the first few bowls of some and then been over it by the end, and vice versa. New tobacco tends to excite me, but then I change how I feel about it with regular exposure.

Agreed. I've had the same experience where I really enjoy the first few bowls, then as I smoke more, I recognize something in the blend that causes me not to like it as much as I initially did. I've found the same thing with scotch and bourbon. I've never loved a blend on first puff only to dislike it later, but I've had some I loved at first that I ended up only liking okay later on.

half a pouch is enough to make up my mind, however I have found many blends shall improve quite significantly after being left for some extensive time in jars

For whatever reason, I seem to enjoy most blends better after the tin has been open for a few weeks. I've never opened a tin and thought that the tobacco got worse over the following weeks. To my taste, it's always either improved or stayed the same. And certainly many blends benefit from long-term aging in jars (or tins).

I still have pounds of Virginia #1 in my cellar. I bought five without even a second guess, because 1) it was a Virginia and the #1 Virginia at that, and 2) even 9-10 years ago people were talking about how tobaccos were all going to be going away soon, so I was buying 20 tins at a time and 5 pound bags of everything (and I'm glad I did).

I'm trying to avoid cellaring blends I don't smoke, yet somehow, it seems inevitable.

Back before Peterson picked up the Dunhill blends, when we all thought that the Dunhill blends might disappear, I bought about 5 pounds of Nightcap, mostly bulk, but some tins as well. Then I discovered Quiet Nights, which to me is an infinitely better take on the same flavor profile. Now, I don't really even smoke Nightcap. When I feel like having a heavy lat bomb with perique, it's Quiet Nights.

I did dig out a jar of Nightcap so I can compare a few bowls to C&D's From Beyond, just for fun. Nightcap is a good lat bomb benchmark, so I'm sure I'll smoke it to compare to other blends, if nothing else.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

First thing is to let a newly opened tin breathe for at least two weeks. Also need to dry the tobacco near perfectly to best taste it. I think you can tell if you're going to dislike the blend in one or two bowls. May take a few tins to determine if it's something you want to cellar.