I Can't Believe I Was Hesitant

[desrtrat68]

Nearly everybody seems to start with aros (yeah, me too). I was lucky & had a real tobacconist introduce me to Englishes early on & was amazed at the difference. I did & do still do a lot of aromatics, but I might not have if it hadn't been for Jack Kirk.

Bill

I haven't given up on the Aromatics yet, but think I need to develop my palette and work on my technique more. I sure hope I can get to a point where I can taste all the great flavors their supposed to have.

 

[desrtrat68]

Like you, I started with Aro’s but was left mostly frustrated and unfulfilled. Most Aro’s need Burley in order to really shine and unbeknownst to me, my pallet can’t handle the alkalinity of Burley tobacco. Smoking Aro’s masked this problem for many years. It wasn’t until I made the decision to smoke only natural tobacco that the world of pipe smoking really opened up to me. I started with PS Proper English and worked my way up to stronger, more complex blends like Quiet Nights, Meridian, Plum Pudding and Royalty. Once my palette matured on Latakia, I moved cautiously into Straight Virginia, VaPer’s and VaOr...I also moved into straight Burley and that’s when I learned not to smoke it or any variant of it. This came as a great relief to me.

Pipe smoking is quite the journey and I would highly recommend to any new pipe smoker reading this post to start with a light Latakia blend, you and your palette won’t regret it in the long run.

wow that's terrible that a whole category is eliminated for you. It's good that you figured it out though. So far I haven't been a huge fan of the straight burleys, they're ok, but maybe I could mix it with something else. I was really surprised at how much I liked Latakia. I'm a nerd and have been keeping a spread sheet of all the tobaccos I try including the types of tobaccos that are in them, the cut, general notes etc.. so I can get a better feel of what I like/don't like.

 

[desrtrat68]

Take your time so you find how one or several blends develop over time, and jar blends you don't like and try them in about a year, since your tastes will change.

Thank you! Yes, I know I've seen you post this advice before so I've been doing just that. Starting to get quite a collection haha. Bad thing is I need to get more jars now.

 

[desrtrat68]

Gaslight is what did it for me. I tried Quiet Nights later and indeed it is another very full flavored blend.

Interesting thing is I know I did try an "English" blend from my local tobacconist in my first month of pipe smoking, but I cannot remember tasting anything of significance at all from that blend. It's impossible for me to say if it was the blend or if it was me, so at this point I still can't say with full confidence that throwing a top quality G.L. Pease blend at any random newbie would still give the same effect.

Give it three months smoking one bowl a week of ordinary burley or virginia blends, and after that anybody should readily taste the greatness of a good Latakia blend.

Thanks Frozenchurchwarden! I think I'll try your suggestion and take another run at the burleys, and get some virginias.

 

[gamzultovah]

wow that's terrible that a whole category is eliminated for you. It's good that you figured it out though. So far I haven't been a huge fan of the straight burleys, they're ok, but maybe I could mix it with something else. I was really surprised at how much I liked Latakia. I'm a nerd and have been keeping a spread sheet of all the tobaccos I try including the types of tobaccos that are in them, the cut, general notes etc.. so I can get a better feel of what I like/don't like.

I can do Burley in small doses (content and bowl size) such as Reiner’s Golden Flake, but I don’t do it often. It’s good that you’re keeping a diary of sorts as the sooner you start analyzing the hobby, the faster you can truly enjoy it. Have a fun journey, my friend.

 

[bnichols23]

I haven't given up on the Aromatics yet, but think I need to develop my palette and work on my technique more. I sure hope I can get to a point where I can taste all the great flavors their supposed to have.

You probably will if you stick with it long enough! One of the turnoffs a lot of people have is they expect it to smoke like it smells in the tin. Smoking flavor is almost always different from the room and tin notes.

I've got one real favorite called Chimney Smoke that I get from a shop in Gatlinburg. All the aromas (including flavor) are different, but all pleasing. My wife loves the room note. Then again, she also likes the smell of latakia, so go figure on that one!

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Thanks Frozenchurchwarden! I think I'll try your suggestion and take another run at the burleys, and get some virginias.

Just to be clear I'm not saying there's anything special about Burley or Virginia blends.

The main point is the same thing as getting past the ethanol flavor in Whiskey or the spice of Curry.
When a person starts Pipe Smoking it introduces their tastebuds to a totally new genre of flavor, and it takes some time to get past that base flavor and begin to distinguish between the characteristics of individual blends within the overarching category of "Tobacco Smoke".