OK...I Get It Now.

[briarbuck]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

What is the classic blend that your tried to like... but couldn't. You gave the tobacco a good sampling, but never could "get it". With disappointment, you give up and put it away for another time. Then...one day you pick it up and there's that "ah ha" moment when you say to yourself, OK I get it now.

For me it's Doblone D'oro. Took me about 5 years, but now I look at it as a staple classic in my rotation.

 

[ashdigger]

I have blends and pipes that work better after time. Sometimes it’s just me and matching the blend to the right pipe.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Presbyterian Blend... When I first tried it, I had no experience with latakia, so when I returned to it after a few Lat Bombs, it clicked with me.

 

[karam]

I don't have enough time to return to blends I don't like, and patience to finish another 50g of hot air, so I'll never get Capstan blue for example. More pure Virginia for the rest of you, let me have my DFK, Lakelands, Latakia and Perique

 

[STP]

The first time I smoked Escudo Navy Deluxe... yuk! I couldn’t understand the hype and almost through the tin into the garbage. Glad that I didn’t... Taste, tobacco, etc., certainly evolves in this sport ?

 

[Country Bladesmith]

The closest approximation that I have to that scenario is my experience with SG Black XX Twist. But it was only a turnaround time of two bowls, so I don’t think that’s really the same thing.
There’s only been one blend that I’ve tried and hated. I’ve revisited it a couple times, and I still think it tastes bad.

 

[bullet08]

I'm an equal opportunity tobacco lover. Never smoked tobacco I didn't like. Well, there was that 10 year aged Va I finally dumped, but a very rare case.

 

[mso489]

I wish I could site some super esteemed premium blend, and actually I've gone through a learning curve on a couple of those. But my memorable moment was with good old Iwan Ries Three Star Blue. The first pouch seemed on the verge of harsh -- a few flavors in there, but not a blend to savor. I left it alone for several years, and then on some whim, I ordered another pouch, and bingo, it settled right down as the harmonious all-day blend it is. I'm not sure if I got a better batch or just figured it out between samples.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Captain Black.

 

[timt]

Once upon a time, early in my blend exploration, I got this ridiculous idea that VaPers weren't for me. I use to be a cigarette smoker and hadn't used any tobacco for 20 years. I loaded a big bowl of Elizabethan and french inhaled much of it. Needless to say I got a little green around the gills. It didn't have anything to do with the blend, just my recklessness. VaPers occupy much of my cellar now.

 

[lestrout]

Presbyterian Blend... When I first tried it, I had no experience with latakia, so when I returned to it after a few Lat Bombs, it clicked with me.

Yo cos - funny about Presby. My experience was the same, but coming from the other direction. I am a lover of Latbombs, and I do like mild Lats to start the day. The first half tin of Presby was meh to me, and I thought I had crossed it off the rebuy list. Then, around the end of the tin, something clicked. Now it's high on my Top300 Cellar list, maybe even Top 5 or 10. Funny that in almost all the other 1500 or so blends that I have puffed, I pretty much can tell from the first half bowl how I am going to like or not like it.

hp
les

 

[workman]

My first tin of Dunhill Navy Rolls just tasted sour to me.
It doesn't anymore. It's a great blend.
Come to think of it, SG BBF and Astley's 44 were underwhelming. Maybe I should revisit them...

 

[litup]

I don't know if it qualifies as a "classic blend" yet, but years ago I received a sample of Gaslight from SPC (back when it was legal for them to do so). It was a dark hunk of pungent garbage. Or so I thought. I'm not sure what convinced me to buy a full tin later on but I'm glad I did.

 

[kcghost]

I rarely try again a blend that I don't like. Why bother?? But, tastes do change over time.

 

[elasmo]

I suppose for me I had to smoke most of the 100g of McClelland Grey Havens before I warmed up to burleys.

 

[pantsBoots]

English & Balkan blends in general, for me. Got a few to sample in the first 2 months of smoking and thought they were little more than campfire. Hell, the tin of Sobranie I popped puzzled me as to why is smelled and tasted musty like a basement. Then it clicked. Now, I have Virginia-heavy days and Latakia-heavy days. Even in Va-heavy days, I'll still usually have a bowl of a Balkan at the end of the day.

Saw Presbyterian mentioned a couple times, but that one has always clicked for me, even when I was still figuring out Latakia as there's such a small amount in the blend.

 

[NomadOrb]

I was biased against Virginias for 3-4 years. Figured out it was more my technique than anything else. Va/Per/Or blends may be my favorite now.

 

[anotherbob]

I've never had that. I hate a blend I still hate it. I have had blends go from o.k. to great.

 

[Casual]

I did a tour of well-rated blends as I was learning the basics, so this has happened to me forty times while revisiting every blend from my first six months.

 

[mtwaller]

Bengal Slices. The first time I tried it, it tasted like dirt. I came back to it 7-8 months later (after decanting in a mason jar) and it was a joyous licorice explosion all up in my mouth and sinuses.