Why do people say to match your pipe with your tobacco? Can’t I just smoke any blend on whatever shaped tobacco?
Matching tobacco and pipe
- Thread starter Samuel Perez
- Start date
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Two completely "schools" of thought on this. I'd suggest experimenting so that you can find out on your own if shallow and wide bowls really are the thing for English blends.
Like with wine, whiskey, coffee, food and other taste-based hobbies, you can burrow into the nuances and subtleties or you can keep it simple. Either way is valid and enjoyable, but forums like this are a font of information if you want to go deeper.
I agree with @olkofri that its all a matter of personal preference. I have found that certain blends taste and smoke better in a certain shape. Other blends, however, I can get the same results no matter what pipe I use. Try every combination and see what you enjoy. Some people's palates are more advanced than mine and they can pick out flavor much better than I. In that case they will have a better understanding of what shapes bring out the most from each blend.
I really don’t see people on this forum being dogmatic about what other people smoke in certain style pipes. Maybe folks do on other forums. I mean, I have styles that I link to different styles of pipes, but I do not inflect my style on others. Nor, do I really see others do that, but maybe I’m just not seeing threads like that.
Just smoke whatever you want in whatever style pipe you like. Maybe you’ll start to categorize chamber styles to tobaccos, or maybe you won’t. We have a diverse bunch here doing all sorts of different things.
Just smoke whatever you want in whatever style pipe you like. Maybe you’ll start to categorize chamber styles to tobaccos, or maybe you won’t. We have a diverse bunch here doing all sorts of different things.
A few personal thoughts....
English Blends: Castello, Ser Jacopo, Caminetto, Mastro, etc.
Aromatics and SWR, Savinelli filters pipes, meerschaums and misc.
English/Balkan blends smoke best in the high grade Italians.
Savinelli balsa filter pipes are good with anything that smokes a little wetter... like aromatics. But I don't like the way they smoke English blends
And almost anything smokes good in a meerschaum
English Blends: Castello, Ser Jacopo, Caminetto, Mastro, etc.
Aromatics and SWR, Savinelli filters pipes, meerschaums and misc.
English/Balkan blends smoke best in the high grade Italians.
Savinelli balsa filter pipes are good with anything that smokes a little wetter... like aromatics. But I don't like the way they smoke English blends
And almost anything smokes good in a meerschaum
Individual preference though some newer smokers call it the gospel because a youtuber said so. If I do it, it's totally out of whimsy and because the pipe reminds me of the tobacco.
Yep
I find it fun to match tobaccos and pipes in terms of brands: Barclay-Rex tobacco in a Barclay-Rex pipe; Wilke tobacco in a Wilke pipe; Blatter & Blatter tobacco in a Blatter & Blatter pipe, etc.
But, mostly, it is whatever in whatever, but, usually sorted by a genre of tobacco in a pipe broadly assigned to that genre.
But, mostly, it is whatever in whatever, but, usually sorted by a genre of tobacco in a pipe broadly assigned to that genre.
For me I have noticed some tobaccos smoke better in different pipes. Just try different blends in yours and see what works for you. You may find you don't care that much.
I only smoke aromatics in my meerschaum pipes because they bring out the flavors better than anything else and aromatics seem to help better with bowl coloring.
Plenty of great advice as expected. Speaking from personal experience different pipes DO change the characteristics of many blends. It's definitely worth mixing up yours blends and mouth furniture, you may hit on an amazing combination.
Alternatively you can do as you please, whatever makes you happy.
Alternatively you can do as you please, whatever makes you happy.
I find aromatics and heavily cased tobacco tastes much the same in different pipes. Minimally cased/topped tobaccos can transform pretty dramatically in different pipes.
Sometimes I dedicate just because a pipe makes me think of a blend, sometimes because it just tastes right in that pipe, sometimes by size, and some are not dedicated at all. It's all up to you.
Some people are naturally anal. Nothing wrong with that. Early potty training, or so they say. The idea is to use a pipe that goes better with a given blend. Some are sensitive enough to notice the difference in certain notes and do not want to mix that with other. Me? I like things mixed up just fine. Otherwise how can you expect people to enjoy dishes like Jamaican Sampler or Gumbo or Brunswick Stew?
I don’t smoke Aros so I don’t worry much about pipe and tobacco pairings.
For me, chamber volume and shape influences what pipe goes best with which blend. Basically, I'm not going to smoke something like G&H Dark Flake in a wide chambered deep bowl because that will give me too much nicotine half way down and I'll start getting the hiccups. Chamber dimensions have some impact on which blend best suits a given pipe IMO. Some people say a wide chamber is better for Balkans or English blends because the wider ember allows the different constituent tobaccos to blend into a harmonious smoke. The bottom line is, none of that matters because you'll find what works for you the more you smoke. In general, any pipe will work with any blend. There's also the matter of ghosting. It's probably good to have three or four briars to dedicate to Latakia, Virginia, Aromatic etc. Then there's Orientals. Lakelands. American English blends. Perique heavy blends. Etc. If you care about tasting the blends in their purest form, and resting your pipes between smokes, you can see how it's good to own 10 to 20 pipes, and why some people end up accumulating 100 and up.
I've never tried to match tobaccos to pipes. I've only had one tobacco that I reserved for only one pipe.
Funny thing here.
I Used to be stubborn and insist you dont need a lot of pipes and you can smoke whatever you want in any pipe.
Now i own 14 pipes.
I have a foot locker packed full of jarred tobaccos.
Got fed up with all my tobacco and went on the hunt for New Tobacco Because my tobaccos simply were not tasting good any more.
I even bought 2 more pipes that i had been wanting.
My new pipes tasted crappy and was not enjoying them.
Said All That To Say This
I cleaned all my pipes thoroughly and began to think about things.
So i tried different tobaccos in different pipes.
Quickly Learned:
Its not the tobacco
Its not the pipes.
Certain pipes smoked certain tobacco best.
Now i am enjoying ALL my tobacco and pipes.
As i said i used to be stubborn so i quickly tried to smoke whatever in whichever. FAIL BIGTIME.
Cleaned pipes and decided to listen to my pipes.
Now i match certain pipes with certain tobacco and get a relaxing, rewarding and enjoyable smoke.
Pipes i didn't care for are now something i grab frequently and so forth.
Can not stress enough that sometimes one must simply get quiet and listen.
Is it a rule set in stone? NO
However it simply works better.
Happy Piping
That could also be attributed to improved technique over time. Individual subjectivity also plays a role.
Opinions vary and you will find what truly works for you. There is no right or wrong way to smoke a pipe….. unless you put the wrong end in your mouth I suppose. Starting out I was overthinking it way too much. Just enjoy the smoke and relax. Life is too short to agonize over whether you grabbed the right tobacco for the right pipe.