New to pipe smoking, What blends to get?

[rjdonascimento]

Today I purchased super value, black and gold (which is quite good, at least I think) and was told that then 4 aces mild was just cigarette tobacco cut in a different way and not actual pipe tobacco.
So I just wanted to get some feedback as to what blends or types of tobacco I should try/can also buy in bulk (12-16oz.+) for relatively cheap (no more than 20-30 dollars) and which brands I should avoid, such as the 4 aces.

 

[spartan]

Such a hard question to answer...
You should browse our sponsors:
4noggins

BnB Tobacco.

Cup O' Joes

Pipes and Cigars

Pipe Tobacco

Smoking Pipes
As far as I know all of these sponsors sell pipe tobacco.
Now for which blends to choose... I refuse to help you there lol
What I will do is tell you some companies that are worth a look.
In no particular order:
G.L.Pease

Cornell & Diehl (C&D)

Butera

Gawith & Hogarth (G&H)

Hearth & Home (H&H)

MacBaren

McClelland

Sam Gawith (SG)

Seattle Pipe Club

Captain Black

Peter Stokkebye

 

[mluyckx]

RJ first of all, welcome !
Which tobacco, that is a very difficult question. You also mention a pretty large quantity. 12 oz is a lot of tobacco. And I mean a lot ! If you don't know what you like yet, I would start with 2 to 4 Oz samples until you know what you like.
As far as bulk is concerned, here's some good companies to check.
Lane Limited: 1-Q and MV-1000 are my favorites

AC Peterson: Mark Twain is really good

Pipes and Cigars: their home brand is Heart and Home. Try the anniversary kake, grandma's kitchen and Louisiana Red. People here also like steamroller, but I personally am not a fan of Latakia, so I can't speak for it.

Cornell and Diehl: I love their autumn evening in bulk. Outside of that, I like their tinned blends more than their bulks.
But above all, read up, check out tobaccoreviews.com and buy a variety of mixtures until you find something you like. The world of tobacco's is a wide one and what one person likes is not necessarily what someone else likes.
Good luck, and remember, sit down, relax and enjoy the ride ;-)

 

[mluyckx]

RJ: I just remembered this: Hearth and Home sells a sampler pack where you can pick 6 of their blends for $30. 2 Oz of each. That'll give you those 12 Oz. for $30, but not limited to one blend you may not like.
http://pipesandcigars.com/heandhosa.html

 

[judcole]

The best advice I can give you is to take that $30 and spend it on samplers of various name bulks. Avoid the RYO tobaccos which have been relabeled to avoid taxes, and avoid the really low-end stuff - like Super Value.

I would suggest buying bulks from pipesandcigars.com. You can buy as little as 1 oz for relatively low prices. You might not get 12 oz for $30, but you can try different things, find out what you do like, and then invest in larger amounts of better quality blends. C&D, McClelland's, Mac Baren's, the Hearth & Home series are all worth exploring - I can speak from personal experience. Many people also like Lane's and Peter Stokkebye. And don't forget the American Classics like Prince Al.

I will close with my constant advice to new smokers - smoke the best stuff you can afford. Enjoy the journey. ::
edit to add: Although you've had some great advice here, try calling up the store, and asking them what you asked us. They can help guide you towards something that you might like - and help you avoid the pitfalls.

 

[winton]

At the top of this website it a selection of pipe events. This will list the pipe shows scattered around the country. Any of these would provide a world of advice and opportunity to try plenty of different blends. Warning. Beware of PAD and TAD (pipe accquistion disorder and tobacco accquistion disorder).
Winton

 

[nsfisher]

Welcome mate. Best thing you can do is try the Hearth & Home sampler pack from Pipes&Cigars
http://pipesandcigars.com/samplers.html

 

[docrx]

I'm smoking a sample of Super Value Amaretto now and its just fine.

 

[cortezattic]

A newbie can be overwhelmed and confused by the amazing variety of tobaccos. I suggest taking an organized approach.

Go to Luxury Tobacco Reviews and check out the left hand column labeled "Tobacco Categories".

Scan some reviews in each category and buy small tins to learn exactly what type of blend, or genre, you like.

 

[snewton]

I find petersons nutty cut to be more flavoursome than most and would thoroughly recommend it

 

[marmal4de]

All of them.

 

[hobie1dog]

With 3500 blends out there, just order some of the above mentioned samplers.

 

[baronsamedi]

Baron sez "Smoke 'em All!" If I were to reccommend four, It would be 1-Q, Black House, Magnum Opus and CAO Cherry Bomb. That way you would have a solid go-to aro, a complex English, a great and solid Balkan, and a strong Cherry with an awesome room note.

 

[buster]

Welcome RJ. There are so any flavors to try its hard to narrow it down. As others have said order some samples and enjoy the journey. 4 noggins sells sample sizes even of OTC brands I enjoy sugar barrel and itis inexpensive. A jump in quality would be, Mac Baren seven seas blends and Lanes 1Q. Since you are new give thefree samples a shot also they are the rite price. Google sterling tobacco and send them an email. Altadis tobacco also will send you a free tin!

 

[hnryclay]

I would recommend smoking Virginia, and Virgina Perique blends. Specifically Rattray's Hal O' The Wynd, and Escudo. No one else recommended any Viginias, so I threw these two out there just in case you were so inclined. In my opinion Virginia blends are some of the most satisfying tobaccos produced. They smoke hot, and are produced to be savored, try them and enjoy.

 

[smokey422]

Cornell and Diehl, Pipes and Cigars (in their Hearth and Home blends), Pipeworks and Wilke, L.J. Peretti, and Boswell Tobaccos will all sell you tobacco assortments for about $30 or a little more. Explain your situation that you are a new pipe smoker and would like to try a variety of blends. I smoke tobaccos from all these companies and they make fine blends.
Smokey

 

[zanthal]

+1 to Spartan's list, and yes, don't forget Lane Limited