Just Popped the Third Straight Tin I Didn't Like

[matchstickman]

So I popped a tin of Hearth and Home Classic Burley Kake about a week ago, and I really didnt care much for it. It isnt really aromatic enough to qualify for an aro, and it doesnt have enough flavor to warrant being a straight tobacco, and aside from that, the broken up cakes yielded really small pieces and it burned too hot for my liking. I had put aside my tin of Frenchys Sunzabitches thinking that it was giving me throat irritation, but it turned out I was getting a nasty cold. I pulled the tin back out and smoked a bowl only to find that having it open for a while made it too bland and too harsh as it lost that little bit of bourbon top flavor in the short time that I had it open. Then, 3 days ago, I popped a tin of Peterson 3P, and this was the worst of all three. Pain in the ass to cut correctly, rub out, takes way too long to dry, and once I got it smokeable it didn't have nearly the flavor I thought it would. Burned slow, burned cool with no bite, but it just doesnt have enough character of flavor to keep me interested. Its a little frustrating popping three straight tins that I dont really like and Im starting to worry that Im getting too picky about my tobacco preferences. Anyone else ever have this happen? Do you ever get a run of tobaccos you just dont care for and just wont smoke?

 

[okrent]

Hey Pipe Novelist

Sorry about the losing streak. I'm in total agreement with you on 3P's, it is too much a pain in the ass for mediocre flavor. I'm sure you have been smoking for a lot longer than I have, so I don't have any sage advice handy. However, I do wonder what is wrong with only smoking one or two favorite blends for months or years at a time?

 

[matchstickman]

However, I do wonder what is wrong with only smoking one or two favorite blends for months or years at a time

My tastes are still evolving, and I have yet to find more than probably 6 or 7 tobaccos that I would be willing to smoke day in and day out, and most of them only come in tin variety, so buying them in large quantities wouldnt be very cost effective. I have plenty of tobacco to last me, its just kind of a bummer to me that the last three tins I popped dont do much for me. It doesnt help that the forum lost its tobacco trade feature either, otherwise I would just trade the stuff off.

 

[judcole]

I do wonder what is wrong with only smoking one or two favorite blends for months or years at a time?

Nothing's wrong with it, but why restrict yourself? I enjoy different flavors at different times. There are some blends I enjoy very much, and smoke a lot of, but I wouldn't want to smoke any of them 3 or 4 times a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. How boring. ::

 

[thesmokindragon]

I think it happens to us all brother...give'em the old "back to the jar" for awhile and after that if you still don't like, share with other brothers of briar...some of my good friends always benefit from this and happen to find their new favs thanks to me

 

[wnghanglow]

Well if you know your going to hate it have fun and experiment! Get a cob and mix all three together and see what happens, as Bob always says write it down! Never know what will come of it. After that jar it up and be lucky you ha e an excuse for some new TAD :p

 

[andrew]

Just be glad you don't pay 35$ plus for a tin that you don't like is my advice.

 

[mrenglish]

There could be a number of things causing the issue. I would recommend to put them up for awhile and revisit them at a later date. Sometimes that is all it takes to enjoy a blend.

 

[cortezattic]

It happens to me all the time; hence I have many jars of tobacco waiting to be sampled after some aging

-- the aging of the tobacco and my taste preferences. In my never ending quest to find an aromatic

that I enjoy as much as a natural blend I have sampled aromatics that will never make it to even the deep

rotation, and those I give to others so they don't make the same $10 mistake. It's a journey, for sure. :D

 

[mrenglish]

Also, tastes can change back and forth. Awhile back I was smoking a lot of Pelican and it was sublime. Went back to it after a month or so off and it was harsh and had bite to it. Bite is something I had never experienced in smoking this. Laid off it for a few months, went back and had a bowl and it was back to the sublime experience. Same batch, so it was me for some reason.

 

[jah76]

Yeah I took a swing at some Kajun Kake and whiffed. Then some Hyde Park and gagged. Then I popped a tin of Fillmore and scratched my head.
There's something in that Fillmore. I just haven't found it yet. The Kajun Kake starts out well but after five minutes I feel like I'm smoking ground up cigars. I shelved it and will revist it.
Hyde Park...I'm torturing the Lakeland essence out of it.

 

[ohin3]

It certainly does happen. Took me a lot of years to find favourites. I do know that I have tried to like burley blends but they do seem to irritate my mouth and throat.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Sorry for the bad luck. I'd say go back to some blends you know you enjoy and enjoy them for a bit before cracking a tin of a new blend. You can always hang on to the tins for a later retry or post them up on briarbid.
Lately I've been on a huge 1Q kick. I usually have two bowls of it a day with a bowl of an opened tin thrown in as my usual third smoke. I don't see anything wrong with smoking one or two blends you really enjoy on a daily basis. Back in the day some smokers would only smoke whatever was available at the store that day they stopped in. It's all personal preference. Smoke whatever you enjoy.

 

[mustanggt]

As for me I have struck out a few times also. I revisit it a little while later and my second impression usually gives me a better education. I've done it with Royal Yacht, some aged McC Va. #27 and there are some others. They all are very nice now that I got the hang of it. The only one would be G&H bright CR flake. It was not supposed to be with the "essence" but it sure tasted like women's cheap perfume and G&H black irish twist. Yuk. Gave it to a friend and he really liked it. Maybe I'll give it to my friend and he'll smoke it. That's a good deal.

 

[dhizzy]

Try them in two weeks bro. I recently picked up a tin of Petersen and Sorensen Tradition. It is a Va flake and I had never heard of it. Just saw it and thought ah, what the heck. So I took it home, popped it and smoked a flake. Bleck!!! Put it up for two or three weeks, tried it again and it is a very tasty smoke. Maybe you've already done this, but if you haven't maybe it would help. I too miss the trade function.

 

[matchstickman]

Well its good to see Im not the only one thats had this issue. In between blends I didnt like, Ive been revisiting Escudo, which is way tasty, and Villiger 1888 After Dinner, which is a very unique flake, the only problem is I don't have much of the Villiger left. I gots plenty of Escudo though! Might just have to settle on that for a while.

 

[numbersix]

There could be a number of things causing the issue. I would recommend to put them up for awhile and revisit them at a later date. Sometimes that is all it takes to enjoy a blend.

+1
I've had tobacco I didn't like the first item, then returned to it months later to find that I developed a taste for it.

 

[cigrmaster]

Pipe, the 3p's is a blend that I think needs some age but also needs a certain type of pipe and a certain prep. I cut off a hunk and then cube cut it and then smoke it in a group 4 Dublin,Billiard or Apple. I think it has some nice flavors that will only get better with age. I remember the first time I tried Mac Baren Old Dark Fired. I did not like it at all, but I put it away for a few months which dried it out and then I fell in love with it. I found the right pipes and cube cut it exclusively and I have loads in my cellar. When I am testing a new blend, I try and give it a fair shot with numerous bowls in different pipes for an extended period of time. There are so many outside variables that can affect one smoke, so I always take that into account. I know it can be frustrating when you open a tin and expect it to be great from the get go, but it may be you will love these down the road.

 

[kashmir]

I guess that we should consider ourselves lucky that there are so many blends out there. And that, in the United States, they are still very affordable, as compared to other countries. Knock on wood. But sometimes one can spend quite a bit of coin finding out what you like. But once you do, stock up well is my advise. As someone here once said, tobacco will never be cheaper than it is today. Once you have a supply lagared in, then you'll feel more free to sample at your leisure, knowing that if this or that tin doesn't work out, no worries, as you've got pounds of the good stuff to come back to.

 

[pipinho]

it happens i couldn't tell you how many tins of tobacco ended up being noob samplers or as a pipe bomb for me. Then again some of my favorite blends were introduced to me via gifts/dumps/bombs. Thats the great thing about the brotherhood of the leaf you can always pay it foward. As Glynn Quelch said on one of his youtube videos "things go round and round you see".