Newbie needs some advice.

[gaetano]

Hi all, I am a newbie to the pipe smoking community. I started in May of 2014. I purchased a Capri briar wood pipe from a local shop and a pouch of inexpensive tobacco. I love the feel and taste. Can anyone recommend some good tobacco and a better pipe? I like sweet tobacco. There are so many brands out there that it is difficult for a newbie to pick from.

Thanks for your help.

PS if there is anything else I should know, I would appreciate it.

 

[mso489]

If you want a good name brand briar pipe, but still at a budget price, Pipesandcigars.com has Stanwell

Brush Black and Brushed Brown pipes in a good variety of shapes at $49.95, just for one example. Many

other possibilities, and of course there are always Missouri Meerschaum corncob pipes, which are pretty

popular on Forums. For really sweet tobacco, which I don't use, Forums people seem to like (spelling)

Molto Dolce from Sutliff's, which is really sweet but tasty if you like sweet. A somewhat more refined

aromatic that I like is Queen Anne's Revenge from Altadis, which is burley, Virginia, Cavendish and rum

flavor, and is named after Blackbeard's flagship. It tastes good and has a pretty good room note (smell).

Welcome to Forums.

 

[agnosticpipe]

Hey gaetano, welcome to the forums. First of all you'll find many choices for pipes and tobacco from any of the site sponsors listed at the left. But I'm curious, did the shop you bought you pipe from help you with your selection and give you any information about pipes, tobacco, and how to load and smoke a pipe? If not, they may not know, or care about pipes. Meantime, you should be able to find out a lot here on this site. A lot of first time smokers buy a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob to use. They're cheap, and they smoke very good in spite of their rustic backwoods looks. Many on the forums here smoke them regularly. Spend a little more and find a reasonable priced Savinelli, or Stanwell pipe from one of the vendors. I've never had a bad one.

For sweet tobacco, Lane 1-Q is a nice well balanced vanilla type aromatic tobacco that is a good starting point. Many here like some of the Sutliff tobaccos, like Molto Dolce. Some good reviews on the new Drew Estate tins too, like Harvest on Hudson, or Grand Central. You're probably going to go crazy trying to figure out what you like, so just take your time, and try small amounts of different tobaccos. Make sure you learn how to pack a pipe, light a pipe, and smoke slowly too, or you'll get some tongue bite.
Good luck, and have fun! ::

 

[thesmokingtexan]

Welcome I would recommended the MM cobs. They are very inexpensive and smoke better than some of my briars also Brigham pipes are very good dry smoke but you have to by their replaceable maple wood insert that work similar to a filter. However it is one of the best pipes I have and we'll worth it. The Scott's milk and honey is good and a good price.

 

[gaetano]

Thank you all for your advice. There is a large amount of variety out there but you guys have provided some excellent info for me. Will do some looking into all the suggested products. Fyi, the shop i purchased the pipe from had very limited pipe products. seems like pipes are not very popular with them. thanks again, got some homework to do.

 

[goinslow]

The sweetest and best tasting I have tried when talking aromatics.... www.boswellpipes.com try the tabacco "cupcake" you wont be dissapointed a sweet smooth cool smoke with excellent room note.

 

[macabra11]

I will second the suggestions for getting a Missouri Meerschaum cob and some Molto Dolce tobacco. The combination will make you a very happy piper!

 

[mso489]

To build on tobacco recommendations, someone suggested Lanes 1Q, but its sweetness is pretty subtle;

you may prefer Lanes LL-7, another Lanes bulk tobacco widely available at modest prices. LL-7 is a little

sweeter than 1Q and might be more to your liking. It's somewhat overlooked, but a good aromatic too.

 

[rangerearthpig]

I know not everyone would agree, but I have had excellent results with purchasing estate pipes. If you do your shopping right, you can walk away with some top of the line pipes at very affordable prices. This also makes it easier to build up a rotation of different bowl and shank shapes so you can find the type that fits you best.
I also would echo the suggestions of Sutliff Molto Dolce to fit the description you requested.
Welcome to the site. You'll learn a lot here.

 

[hiplainsdrifter]

I recommend a Stanwell or Savinelli pipe (they both have huge catalogs), and Dan Tobacco's Blue Note for an aromatic- this is a good one to train your technique and palate for finer tobaccos like Virginia flakes or English blends.

 

[gaetano]

Just received my order from pipes and cigars of my Meerschaum cob pipe (Washington with bent stem) and a tin of the Molto Dolce tobacco. Gonna be a good week! I also picked up a small heavy duty case to store my pipes and accessories for easy travel.

Gary

 

[numbersix]

Welcome Gary and congrats on your new pipe and tobacco purchases!
I will add that choosing a tobacco is a very personal thing. You will find people here who will swear that one tobacco is the greatest and others who can't stand it.
When I started out, I purchased many different tobaccos in very small amts (smallest allowable). I decided on which ones to try using this forum and tobaccoreviews.com as a backup check.
Now, FWIW, if you like aromatics (I do too), here's some of my favorites:
Rumcake by Pipeworks & Wilke (in my opinion and many others, the best aro there is)
Danish Black by Newminster. This is a budget aro that has a nice nic kick, great flavor and awesome smell for those around you (I've gotten many compliments on it)
Frog Morton Cellar. Some say this is an aro, others disagree. Either way, it smells like a campefire and tastes awesome.
Finally, as for pipes, I would recommend Stanwell, Savinelli and Peterson (in that order). And be prepared to spend over $100.
Enjoy the ride and post often!