Well, duh, who doesn't know that!
Latakia Reversal?
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The value of art over time is pure speculation. A gamble to assert social dominance.
If we're going to talk about taste objectively, the endorphin hit of a person eating a Big Mac can easily surpass whatever a "conissour" feels eating a $300 steak. The attitude of the eater is everything, the arrangement of the protein on the plate is practically meaningless.
It would be interesting to see a study on the chemical enjoyment of different hamburgers, but I'm confident the results would be mostly favorable for McDonald's.
I've only tried MM965 out of the above. Not what Latakia fiends would call Lat-forward but it's more than obvious. [I quite liked it as a change of pace but could not smoke it all day]
Latakia is a rather strong flavour that I enjoy most when it does not dominate. [Too much Latakia is like those who douse their food with tomato sauce where that's all that one can taste]
Have you tried a blend where the Latakia is used lightly?
EMP [I've only tried the EMP Match - nice stuff] or Count Pulaski for example?
One of my favourite non-aro's is 4noggins Jesses Own - Virginia, Maryland, Oriental/Turkish, Perique and Latakia - it's surprisingly mild [considering the leaf used] but very tasty and so well balanced. [I'm surprised that I've not ever seen it mentioned on any pipe forum]
If you make an order at 4noggins, ask for a sample of Jesses Own.
Some pipe smokers stick to the one genre or just one blend for that matter. Nothing wrong with that [smoke what ya enjoy most I say] but that often leads to a fatigued palate - not just Latakia. I went off aromatics for a time when that was all I had - it's just that I consider variety is the spice of life so I'm rather glad that I found a level of Latakia in blends that I really enjoy.
What made me like smoked loose tea (Lapsang Souchong) is Latakia. Ha!
For fear of going off topic [it's Frozens fault
] before I became vegetarian [no, not vegan. Those guys are anaemic fanatics who are in need of a good steak and a few lamb chops] when hankering for a juicy hamburger I'd buy a decent one that's made with fresh products from a local take-away with lettuce, tomato and grilled onion and a patty that's recognisably minced beef.Mcdonalds is overly processed flavourless crap that's so soaked in preservatives that a McBurger left out for a year will not grow a speck of mould [for those who don't believe that then check out you-tube]
Shit, comparing Mcdonalds to a $300 steak [$300 steak? Is the animal serenaded by the Three Tenors as it's being massaged by hot chicks on it's way to slaughter?] is a bit like comparing a grilled cockroach to a boiled lobster.
. . . come to think of it, since grilled cockroach is considered a delicacy in certain Asian countries, your comparison may have some validity. There's simply no accounting for taste I guess. Where were we? Oh right, Latakia; smells like burnt rubber, asphalt and butt, tastes like a campfire.
No I haven’t, a friend of mine recommended I try SPC Plum Pudding so I grabbed a tin but haven’t tried it yet. I hope to try some this weekend. I couldn’t agree more about variety, I’m trying every style of tobac I can get so far lol.
I would say that subjective taste is paramount when it comes to pipe smoking in particular, and most things in general. While reality is objective it is experienced subjectively.
I cannot speak for art, however, I did take a few courses in art history. One demonstration that stuck with me to this very day was when the professor had us analyze a "Jackson Pollack Painting". We had only the context of a photograph to work with in this instance. The reality of the situation is that it was a close up photo of his own painting smock. Needless to say the reactions to the reveal were amusing--but I have a somewhat twisted sense of humor anyway.
Now, as an executive chef I can tell you from personal experience many so-called connoisseurs can't tell the difference between a ribeye or any other cut of beef except by looking at it; unless that cut is a hamburger (but I think that they can tell by mouth feel that the hamburger has been ground). The same is true for wine. At most someone well schooled in wine can tell the cultivar and maybe the terroir of grapes but little else.
Personally I take great pleasure in messing with those pretentious enough to go on and on about being a connoisseur in my restaurant, usually about wine, I've yet to meet a steak connoisseur.. There is a reason one is always advised to buy the bottle and not anything decanted, and restaurants run on about a 5-10% profit margin.
It seems to me that a great deal of what is "almost universally held in higher regard" is based entirely on hype. People should smoke what they like and not worry about what others think. Though for the record while I do love my cheaper stuff I am known to indulge in the higher end stuff too. However, I understand that a great deal of why it is considered higher end is because it has been hyped. One must separate out the hype from the subjective experience, which with pipe smoking is pretty much everything.
A less wordy way of where I was going my last post.
It is interesting you bring this up. I happen to enjoy Balkan blends best with a cup of Lapsang Sauchong. Teh Wikis
I would agree with this mostly. I like myself some VA and VA/Per blends, I like myself some burley blends too (most American Codgers seem to be burley forward). Both require good smoking technique. Burley being less cadence dependent than VAs in my experience.
But as I was pointing out earlier what is and is not the pinnacle of pipe smoking is inherently subjective to the pipe smoker. I go further and say that there are even more pinnacles of pipe smoking than pipe smokers. I try to have several of these pinnacles a day. Pipes unlike other forms of tobacco are pure luxury IMNSHO, while cigarette smokers crave the nicotine we get both the meditative practice of packing, puffing and tamping as well as the nicotine.
Perhaps this is why I can sometimes go eight or nine hours without a pipe, but more than two and my cigarette smoking front-of-house manager is ripping out her hair. Mind you I try to not go those eight or nine hours consciously if I can help it.
Would you be saying that even though many (myself included) would consider McDonald's essentially inedible they have managed to arrange the sugar, salt and fat content of their products to specifically trigger endorphin release? If so I could believe that.
For the record McDonald's only has one item that remotely interests me, the Big Mac and I would say my copy-cat version is better anyway but I completely digress.
I like Latakia in cooler weather, when the cold air dampens the taste buds, it’s overpowering in the heat
When I first started in early 2019, I began with MacBaren Original Choice. @AKinser79 reminded me of where my head was at back then--I was enamored with the idea of smoking something that matched up with my sweet tooth, to a fault. Pure tobacco taste? Couldn't have cared less. And cellaring? Forget about it! I'd buy a tin, go through it, and buy another. I had no intention of ever deviating from this method. That all changed about a year ago, when I bought a cellar purge from someone on the cheap. About a 70/30 split of aros to non, and it nudged me out of my comfort zone just enough to where I eventually tried every type of blend in the spectrum. Around that time was when I began to notice my infatuation with dessert-y blends began to wane. Not saying that I abandoned them entirely--to this day, CAO Moontrance is one of my favorite aros. But the introduction of new flavors into my smoking experience just gave me a whole new outlook on it, holistically speaking. Plus, a handful of bad experiences with the goopiest aros (yeah, I'm lookin' at you, Molto Dolce!) and a truly horrific bout of trauma when attempting to get through a bowl of C&D Autumn Evening changed my tastes from a superficial, one dimensional pipe smoker to one who is truly appreciative of all the options on the table...including latakia. Will I smoke Balkan Sasieni on an 85 degree summer day? No way. But what will I reach for on a blustery evening in December? Probably not an aro or a VA. It's amazing what can change just a year and a half into the journey.
Wow, did I really write all that? Hey, does latakia help with carpal tunnel perchance?
Wow, did I really write all that? Hey, does latakia help with carpal tunnel perchance?
Plum Pudding is really good but I could not smoke it all day.
If an English blend is too strong Latakia wise, the simplest solution is to mix in a straight Virginia or Burley [or a bit of both] to suit ones taste. It's how I learned to enjoy Latakia.
I've also made some real tasty smokes mixing aromatics with a too strong English blend.
I've not got a refined palate but Latakia is such a strong flavour that using too much in a blend is like dousing food with too much chilli sauce that drowns out all other flavours.
It's why I really like Jesses Own where I can also taste the other leaf. [If you do get to try JO I would like to hear your opinion on it]
1. Latakia is good. If you are fatigued take a break
2. Eat what you like
3. Most people buy fine art as investments so groupthink/fad/herd behavior is the safe behavior. Once you have invested in art, it is in your best interest to recruit new members in group think so that your investment appreciates
4. Appreciation of anything is highly subjective (Includes art, food, tobacco, wine)
5. You cannot eat fine art or a vintage bottle of wine
2. Eat what you like
3. Most people buy fine art as investments so groupthink/fad/herd behavior is the safe behavior. Once you have invested in art, it is in your best interest to recruit new members in group think so that your investment appreciates
4. Appreciation of anything is highly subjective (Includes art, food, tobacco, wine)
5. You cannot eat fine art or a vintage bottle of wine
Tastes change. I find myself not enjoying many straight Virginias, unless it's a Virginia Cavendish of some kind. (Then I love it.) I started smoking some straight mature Red Virginia yesterday, which I used to enjoy, now I just kind of taste vinegar. Burley makes it all better. Va/Per, not my thing, Va/Bur/Per, great. Va/Bur, love.
Latakia, I love it, have to be in the mood, but I crave it at least once a week or so. Maybe more often in fall/winter.
But who knows, our palates change and we crave different things.
Latakia, I love it, have to be in the mood, but I crave it at least once a week or so. Maybe more often in fall/winter.
But who knows, our palates change and we crave different things.
Love my cast iron and my carbon steel. Carbon steel has been around forever, but is just now becoming more mainstream it seems. But I do like them.
My cast iron is pretty precious to me. I’ve got one that bought 25yrs ago and it is a joy to cook with, but I’ve also got my great-grandmothers pan that is 120yrs old that is just sublime.
Smoking meat is also a hobby that I enjoy. Talk about a process that doesn’t suffer fools!
I don’t know a ton about art, unfortunately. But I love going to museums when I’m in a city that has decent ones. It is a little awe-inspiring to be in a room surrounded by works by the greats. I can appreciate it even if I’m not all that educated about it.
And I 2nd the sentiment of “eat, drink and smoke what you like.”
I used to give wine & food pairing classes. And my opening statement was always, “It’s your money and your wine. If you want to drink a heavy Napa Cab with seared scallops, and you enjoy it, then have at it. I’m only here to give suggestions.”
I love how a conversation about Latakia has morphed into the subjective appreciation of other aspects of artistic expression.
6 pages!!!! I am not checking to see if this has been suggested already, but Edward G Robinson with its 1% Latakia is great for getting a hint of flavour but being able to taste the rest of the blend.
The word that makes this a false statement is the word "most." Most people buy art as a way to own something that they enjoy in some way or another. A very few top .02% of people who buy for investment are elites who probably have way better investments in their portfolio.
The gallery market that supported artists and turned them into profitable investments died in the 1980's. Now, galleries do not support and market a handful of elites. There are a few, very few that still market some top end art that has already stood the test of auction, but this is a very very rare thing nowadays.
And, the notion that an artist if accepted by the public with the right marketing strategy can make millions like Picasso or Dali is dead, a pipe dream, a fairytale. It just isn't going to happen. But, luckily enough, this has not been the motivator for 99.99% of artists. Most of keep making art for less material motivations. Hell, I barely charge what the materials are worth for my work. And, I make just enough for me to keep making more. Being an artists is the worst start to a bad business plan. Ha ha.
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