Mia culpa - I prefer aromatics

[aldecaker]

Thank God my post didn't make the list of vicious slanderizin', but generally I try not to do that anyway. I could be very badly mistaken through faulty memory, but Bond Street was an OTC, was not aromatic, and was also not what I would call "good".

 

[cosmicfolklore]

If someone doesn't like Captain Black they have every right to express that, but to imply that it is universally terrible for everyone is slanderous. Not very many people actually go that far, the rest just seem to be jumping to conclusions.

+1 this goes for everything, IMO, even those godaweful Peterson pipes. :wink:

 

[deathmetal]

So we have a duality:
(1) Do what you like

(2) This does NOT make you immune from criticism
Seems fair... and real... like really real, you know?

 

[hawky454]

What about the Lakeland haters? I used to be one but now that I love them, all the hate talk has me curled up in a corner and I can't stop crying! Someone please police these people. :nana:

 

[jefff]

No...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When you say that you "prefer" aromatics, that really means that you hate Virginias, and that makes me cry.

 

[fafnir]

Well good to see my original post instigated (not on purpose) such passion, which is a good thing as I am here to learn and tryout as much blends and aromatics as I possibly can, mild to medium of course

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Good for you Fafnir, it's great that you acclimated to our humors.

I'm really a dabbler. I try all of the genres, and have pipes dedicated to them all also. I've recently been enjoying some Solani Mango Flake. You might want to give some Condor or Warrior plug a try for a full bodied aromatic experience. I love them plugs. Also, Modern Virginia by MacBarons is a good aromatic hybrid if you want a soft step into Virginias.

 

[ophiuchus]

:laugh at: -Boy, these aro threads ...
Well, ya know, I started with aromatics. Then I got tired of scorching my tongue and graduated to English/Latakia blends. Then I got tired of being smell-blinded and graduated to Virginia flakes and Virginia/Perique rolls. Then I got sick of having to work so hard at the right ember temperature and graduated to Zwares and Halfzwares and Kentucky/Orientals. Then I got sick of the straight tobacco monotony and graduated to aromatics.
:twisted: -Heh heh! (For the record, I really started with menthol cigarettes!)
My tastes change pretty consistently with the seasons; it seems like I break out aros late spring and early fall. Merely my quirk, and I barely hold myself to it. It's not my place to tell people they're wrong for not liking tomatoes or broccoli heads; I just pass the damn mashed potatoes and enjoy my salad.

 

[ophiuchus]

By the way ... every fall for years, I buy a pouch of Middleton Apple. I like Middleton Apple. It's not phenomenal, but it's familiar, tastes okay if smoked slow and dry and smells good. And back in the day when I spent more time on such things as blending tobaccos and top sauces, I made an apple brandy mix that was pretty awesome.
So, then I see this:

It's only the guys who smoke apple flavors that make me angry. The audacity of those guys. It makes me want to punch them right in the face. All the rtest are OK, but... jeesh, those apple guys... can't stand them.

I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries.
:nana:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Leave my hamster mom out of this. Ha ha!

 

[cigrmaster]

frozen, anyone who cannot take a bowl of Capstan Blue Flake or Brigham Klondike Gold or Dunhill Flake or a myriad of great tasting flakes and smoke the entire bowl with just a few relights should just take their pipes, shove them up their arses and give it up. Now when it comes to SG Flakes like St James, all you need to do is cube them into very small cubes, dry for about an hour and then put said cubes into a group 4 Dublin, Rhodesian or Apple and smoke away like it is just another pipe full of tobacco. It is not that hard. If you want to fly me out to you and have me demonstrate it to you in person, I would be more than happy to give you lessons.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

anyone who cannot take a bowl of Capstan Blue Flake or Brigham Klondike Gold or Dunhill Flake or a myriad of great tasting flakes and smoke the entire bowl with just a few relights should just take their pipes, shove them up their arses and give it up

I've considered it many times.
I still need to explore what it's like using a really narrow bowl for flakes though, I hadn't heard about the disadvantage of slow air flow in wide bowls until recently (a 1/2" wide opening has 4x less surface area than a 1" opening, so for a given volume of air movement, the tobacco in a 1/2" chamber will be receiving 4x as much air, and all I've been collecting over the last year is extra wide bowls).

People on the radio show sometimes comment about old pipes with cake built up to the point of using a pencil for a tamper, that sort of concept should help a lot with slow burning blends, it's not necessarily a matter of frugality. I still have some normal size pipes so I'll try layering up the cake on those.

 

[cigrmaster]

My flake pipes all have a inside bowl diameter of .75 to .82. I cube cut most of my flakes and when I am done packing I have some resistance so the pipe will not smoke too hot. I also rarely dry my flakes except for the SG ones as the rest come ready to smoke for my tastes. I would rather smoke something moist than dry. I never smoke a flake in a bowl that has a 1" wide inside bowl interior. Give some of these suggestions a try and see if it helps.

 

[krizzose]

This has been amply covered by the responses here, but I'll throw in my 2 cents. There is no "natural progression" or "graduating" to certain types of tobacco, there is only you finding what you like (and what you don't like). One of the great things about this hobby is that there are so many types of tobacco and so many blends that you'll never run out of new things to try, and no reason whatsoever to leave behind blends you like.

 

[rigmedic1]

As I write this, I am enjoying a bowl of Lane BCA in a pipe that I broke in on Aromatics in 1981: an Edwards Algerian Briar, Skipper series bent billiard. It smokes as smooth as silk, gliding across my tongue in a monotone vanilla/whiskey sort of taste, mellowing out a distinct nuttiness in the background. If my first aromatic was like this, then I too would have been hooked on this stuff. Now, I love VaPer's, Virginias, and English blends of all sorts, but sometimes I want something a little less robust.

The first tobacco I ever tried was Middleton's Cherry Blend. After I recovered use of my tongue, a friend turned me on to Buccaneer, which I smoked exclusively for about 5 years, until I discovered Goedewaagen, which I have since discovered was McClelland Tastemaster. These were my go-to blends until I tasted Dunhill 965, which was in 2005. My biggest regret was not sampling everything else out there in the 23 years in between. But at least I loved my pipe and pipe smoking, and did my part to keep the faith.

I would never disparage someone for preferring Kool-Aid to Scotch, or hamburger to Kobi steak. Smoke what you like! I would be happy to join you.

 

[madmurdoc]

I'm pretty sure I type the words "Trout Stream" more than any other word on this forum. It's a staple, along with Nightcap.

 

[cigrmaster]

Ok here is the last word on this thread. I was just kidding, aromatic smokers are the scourge of the pipe smoking world. If you smoke them, stay in the closet and never come out. We don't want to hear one damn word about your candy tasting vagina's, you are pussies for smoking them.
By the way, where did I put my vagina?

 

[bigpond]

.....and order is restored.