If You Smoke Aromatics Is It The Tobacco You're Enjoying ?

[telescopes]

For decades I smoked primarily BCA with a bit of Sutliff Nougat. Now, I have blends of everything. However, my comfort tobacco when I don’t want to think about anything is still my old mainstay from years gone by. Think of it as Coors Light. After 8 hours in the saddle when touring on my bike, a cold Coors Light hits the spot at the bar next to the hotel.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It bothers me not what someone else puts in their pipes. What happens in your pipe is your business, but…. one of the mist ironic sites I’ve ever seen was this huge guy, arms the size of whole hams, towering 6’ 10”, smelling like gasoline and napalm, clad in leather that looked burned to his flesh, hair and beard that looked like his head had caught on fire and someone put it out with a hammer, and a big patch over one eye… come into the smoking lounge and light up some dainty Blackberry blend that made the room smell like a scratch and sniff Smurf cootchy. Needless to say, no one gave him any grief.

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

It bothers me not what someone else puts in their pipes. What happens in your pipe is your business, but…. one of the mist ironic sites I’ve ever seen was this huge guy, arms the size of whole hams, towering 6’ 10”, smelling like gasoline and napalm, clad in leather that looked burned to his flesh, hair and beard that looked like his head had caught on fire and someone put it out with a hammer, and a big patch over one eye… come into the smoking lounge and light up some dainty Blackberry blend that made the room smell like a scratch and sniff Smurf cootchy. Needless to say, no one gave him any grief.

pappa smurf gon' lick my a$$h**** - you know that meme?

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

That’s the beauty of it all, stick it in a jar and come back to it later when you get a hankering for it, because it will happen.

But @Morrison Jeremiah what tobacco forward flavour are you looking for? Virginia, Burley, Oriental etc etc ?

Just curious if you have a preference.

Speaking of aromatic’s, I think the greatest aroma in the world is from a good quality straight Virginia.

Hi, my preference is for Virginia: Capstan Navy Cut ready rubbed, HH Virginia flake, SG Full Virginia plug, SG Best Brown. At the moment I mostly smoke the Capstan, because it looks and tastes somewhat like the Golden Virginia rolling tobacco which I gave up 14 years ago. What can I say, old habits die hard, but I'm not going back to cigarettes.

 

[sablebrush52]

It's great to see that aro bashing, like Sutliff bashing, both popular amongst the truly ignorant, is waning. As has been pointed out, aros make up about 90% of sales. Some of the most sought after tobaccos, like much of the Esoterica line up, are aros, to my thinking, with their pronounced apricot and other toppings.

And what, exactly, is an aromatic tobacco? Almost every blend in release is flavored in some way or another and not all of them are in the chocolate cherry bend over category. I just received a few tins of Meistermischung #88, which had been described to me as an excellent Virginia blend. With its Geranium and possibly coumarin topping it's clearly an aro. Fortunately I like Geranium, but that was a surprise.

Why isn't Capstan Blue classified as an aro? It has a distinctive topping that is not sublimated by the tobaccos. Neither is St Bruno, for that matter.

And historically, all English and Oriental blends were classified as aromatics, because the leaves were aromatic. What could possibly be more aromatic than Latakia? Latakia will ghost a pipe like nothing else.

As for your thinking about focusing more on non aromatic tobaccos, why not? Most of us go through changes in what we feel like smoking. I've smoked plenty of every genre and after a certain length of time I get the urge for a change. Pretty much every tobacco I've smoked has flavorings, just in amounts that are very subtle, like a little seasoning.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

pappa smurf gon' lick my a$$h**** - you know that meme?

I…. I Googled it. I think I may now be on some weird NSA watchlist.

 

[burleybreath]

If you eat smoked brisket, is it the meat you're enjoying?

 

[sablebrush52]

If you eat smoked brisket, is it the meat you're enjoying?

View attachment 91582

Yeah, which includes the smoke and the spice.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yes, like my briskets, I prefer my baked potatoes smothered in goopy strawberry syrup and crushed Jolly Ranchers.

 

[burleybreath]

Yes, like my briskets, I prefer my baked potatoes smothered in goopy strawberry syrup and crushed Jolly Ranchers.

Each to his/her/its taste. And analogy. (For the record, I find 99% of aromatics a bore and a disappointment. Other than that, they rock! Sniff.)

 

[fireground_piper]

I'm about 50/50 aro to non-aro smoker. There's certainly some aros that I've tossed after the first bowl because it was just so overpowering but the ones that have really clicked with me, I'll pick up even if outside smoking alone where aroma means much less. The taste of the blend as a whole is satisfying (for me that's Vanilla Flake/loose/roll cake and Two Friends English Chocolate primarily that I have pounds of). They will also still age nicely if kept in proper environments and depending on the blend. Most of mine are virginia based which makes sense since I enjoy virginia blends the most.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I've been asking myself this question, and have decided to lay off Aromatics for a few months or maybe for good.

Enjoyment is what pipe smoking is all about and, hey, I'm not here here to stop anyone from enjoying what they like. I just thought well, I like a good plain tobacco, what's all this aromatic business in aid of ? Yes I know all tobacco has some form of casing added to it.
I may be quite new to the forum but I've been piping for 14 years, so I'm not asking for suggestions such as - You may think you don't like Aromatics, but have you tried this one?
Just would like to know your opinion that's all. Myself I was enjoying Aromatics but now I want to focus on good old baccy.

Just remember to follow through properly you'd have to stop smoking any Latakia or Dark Fired blends.
The processing of that tobacco falls into the same category as "Aromatics".

 

[hauntedmyst]

I don't smoke Aromatics a lot but think they are great. You are enjoying them for the tobacco, not just the wonderful room notes. After all, if that were the case, a scented candle or a can of air freshener would do you just fine and you wouldn't need to smoke at all.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Also Perique is processed enough I would cast doubt on whether or not it's legitimate "Tobacco" flavoring.

It does sound like a good idea to limit your palate to base components for a while and become deeply familiar with each variety and enhance your enjoyment of complex blends.

Eliminating Aromatics from your rotation because of some ideal of purity is just pretentious.
Whiskey is nothing but Vodka with wood flavorings added, unless it's finished in Sherry Cask, in which case it's as good as being pre-mixed with Fanta. People's ideas of purity can be very strange.

 

[bassbug]

this huge guy....come into the smoking lounge...no one gave him any grief.

I see you've met the captain Black grape sales rep...I suspect that when he says "why don't you try a pouch?" The most common reply is "I'll take 6 please"

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Whiskey is nothing but Vodka with wood flavorings added,

This is where you lost me. If you have no idea what liquors are or how they’re made, it’s probably better not to use it as an example.

Pretentious, ye ye yah, gotcha.

 

[trouttimes]

I mostly an English guy but from time to time I like to get in touch with my feminine side and I light up a bowl of Old Toby or Trout Stream. I’m secure in so bite me.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

(I kid because the post feels like a Ken M level master troll).

Hello, I'm a person, not some online stereotype.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I think that when push comes to shove, almost everyone has some form of aromatic that we like. But, for most of us, the term “aromatic” brings the first reaction of goopy fruit flavored glazes, with no tobacco taste and no nicotine content. But, not all aromatics are the same.
But, it’s all in good fun to poke a little fun at those who self-label as aromatic fans. I mean, come on. Aromatics are a benefit to the whole tobacco community. There’s no shame in it. It brings in new pipesmokers. And one day…. they’ll get hair on their balls and then they can smoke tobacco like the rest of us. So stop all pf this aro bashing. It’s disgusting! Get woke…. Like me.

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

Just remember to follow through properly you'd have to stop smoking any Latakia or Dark Fired blends.
The processing of that tobacco falls into the same category as "Aromatics".

Latakia and dark fired blends, especially ODF are palate destroyers for me. I can't taste tobacco properly for two days after smoking those. I gave them up ages ago. Not sure how to class Revor plug, is it an aromatic. Dark fired, what? But I'm not giving that beauty up, that's for sure.