thank you. Yeah I like EMP. Haven't tried Elizabethan yet. I think 965 was not bad too.
Learning Different Styles/Blends
- Thread starter r4wk5t4r
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Keep puffin and keep reading. Smoke everything that piques your interest.
I too got overwhelmed early on. I was just buying tins like a mad man, popping em and trying em all.
Eventually I landed on a handful i really liked. I then read all i could find about those blends - what were all the components, any topping or casing, were the components special in any way? I then sought out blends with the same, or similar, components and toppings. Once you know what you like and don't like, it's alot easier to pick new blends to try. Id start with - do you prefer English, aro, or virginia blends? Whichever you like, what is it you like about em? Maybe the Orientals in an English blend, maybe a sweet topping on a virginia flake, etc. Then dive into that style of blend and read about the blends as you smoke them to learn what your tasting. It helps to taste individual components too. Make some perique, smoke some Red VA, dark fired, etc.
Best of luck man. Some great threads on this topic and great advice here for it.
Eventually I landed on a handful i really liked. I then read all i could find about those blends - what were all the components, any topping or casing, were the components special in any way? I then sought out blends with the same, or similar, components and toppings. Once you know what you like and don't like, it's alot easier to pick new blends to try. Id start with - do you prefer English, aro, or virginia blends? Whichever you like, what is it you like about em? Maybe the Orientals in an English blend, maybe a sweet topping on a virginia flake, etc. Then dive into that style of blend and read about the blends as you smoke them to learn what your tasting. It helps to taste individual components too. Make some perique, smoke some Red VA, dark fired, etc.
Best of luck man. Some great threads on this topic and great advice here for it.
honestly keep at it and suddenly you'll notice that when something sounds good it actually turns out good. Kind of let it happen instead of trying to make it happen. Just try things that sound good or interesting. And worry more about you and how you smoke then what you're smoking. Well that's how I went about it.
I asked the same question in a different manner last year. I got some great advice, and roasted a bit for entertainment value. Enjoy going through this thread:
Scientific Approach to Tobacco Choice? :: Pipe Smoking Basics & Beginner Questions
I have been a very casual pipe smoker, and becoming more interested recently. I have difficulty choosing tobacco or knowing what I really like. Embarrassingly, I usually choose tobacco based upon name or appearance. My question is if anyone has made an algorithm or system approach to testing...
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Hi there! I haven't read all the replies. This may have been suggested already. There are companies, Sutliff comes to mind among others, that make blending tobacco. Single tobaccos of every type. The major ones, like Burley, Latakia, Virginias, Turkish, Perique. Maybe some others like cigar leaf, Cavendished versions of burley and Virginia's. Smoke them in a cob dedicated to that type. Even latakia. Some may argue a cob isn't the best for latakia but that isn't the point here. You're just getting a sense of flavor. You might not get through a bowl of some like perique. It's fine. Then after you get that sense here's what you do. Smoke pipe tobacco. Lots of different kinds you chose by reading about the process and how the blend was made and its components. Try to pick out the elements and decide if you like the blend. Decide where that blend fits into your style of smoking and taste. You will find the baseline that fits you. Everyone has different tastes. You wouldn't ask someone else to try on some shoes and ask if they will fit you. Or if a certain food they like, you will like too.. Same for tobacco. Its a personal experience meant only for you.
There are so many threads here, the beginner section is a great place to read not just ask questions, chances are you'll find 75% of what of what you're looking for there and there are new posts on the site every day that are worth reading that might even answer questions you didn't realize you had yet.
There are also several threads on "favorite virginias", "your top three virginias", "virginias for newbies", etc.,
I would also read all of the different storage threads, well worth reading!
There are also several threads on "favorite virginias", "your top three virginias", "virginias for newbies", etc.,
I would also read all of the different storage threads, well worth reading!
When I was just starting, I would tend to go with more "pure" blends to develop a taste for each variety, so that I would be able to pick it out later in mixtures - straight virginia, orientals. Can't necessarily do it with everything though. I think a good tip would be maybe to take notes when you're smoking it, a log book - noting what you like and what the flavours you're picking up are. I do that with wine - helps me to fine tune my taste.
just reporting my own experience here, but i had a virginia relatively early in my journey - i think the 4th or 5th tin - and i absolutely loved it. then again, i liked most tobaccos i tried so far, except heavily aromaticised ones, so i might be an outlier.
great tips anyways!
My own experience is similar. I think that cigarette and cigar smokers take to Virginias much easier. But, from scratch, non-smoker to pipe smoker, I think that trying Virginias too early “can” lead to complaints of ashy taste and hot pipes.
There’s nothing absolute about pipes. Any rule has an outlier, and any opinion has its complete and opposite out there.
I came back to pipes after 15 years of smoking cigars exclusively
I found Virginias lacking in taste and "too cigarette-like"
A friend gave me a few samples of English (Latakia) and Oriental blends and I loved them immediately.
They are full-flavoured blends - you don't have to "chase" the flavour.
And are generally more "forgiving" to smoke - they stay lit easily and don't bite (as much)
Now that I have been smoking pipes for a while, my tastes are changing and I find that I enjoy the nuances of Virginias and Virginia-Perique blends more
And I find I am enjoying aromatics much more now that my technique has improved.
One thing that has not been mentioned is the cut of the tobacco
The finest cuts eg shag are much easier to keep lit and require less re-lights
Ribbon cut (thicker strands) require a bit more effort than shag
While most will tell you that flakes are more flavoursome, I am still experimenting with cube cutting vs rubbing out (really well) to see which gives the better smoke. I find that folding and stuffing rarely works for me.
Something to look at when buying.
That is good advice, but for me it would take the fun out of smoking and make it a chore.
Like I said, there’s no rules. Everyone has different tastes. It’s awesome that you found yours. I still love a good latakia and a taste of scotch from tine to time. McConnel’s Oriental and GLP’s Ashbury are always kept front and center in my cellar. I really like what Latakia does with some age.