I bought a tin of Peterson my mixture 965 back in the spring of this year after hearing rave reviews about this blend. I am a fan of English blends so I assumed this one would be better than your average English, upon opening the tin the smell was great smoky, leathery and a creamy...needless to say I was excited to try it out. Almost instantly the blend was bitter and harsh and it seemed for absolutely no reason. I was so disappointed I can’t even articulate the feeling but hearing from others to jar a blend up and let it rest for some time if it didn’t appeal right away. Well tonight after sitting jarred for some seven months it is like night and day. Today this blend smoked and tasted just like the first tin note smelled delicious Smokey and smooth. So I can attest first hand if you don’t initially like a blend for some reason jar it up and let it think about what it has done to your pallet and in my case with this particular blend it can and did here return a smooth well behaved smoke that I will be acquiring more of in the future.
Pipe Tobacco You Don’t Initially Like?
- Thread starter Etipton
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I’ve lost track of how many tobacco blends I didn’t like at first try. Then I put them aside for a couple months and liked them.
The only pipe tobacco I hated more is Haddos Delight. It tasted like smoking a decomposed and barbecued hippie that was marinated in Hawaiian Tropic
The only pipe tobacco I hated more is Haddos Delight. It tasted like smoking a decomposed and barbecued hippie that was marinated in Hawaiian Tropic
Out of the 30ish blends I've tried I've only ever liked 6. Out of those I really only smoke 2 these days.
Orlik Golden Sliced. Didn't like it much the first few smokes or so. Didn't find anything special in it. But, somehow, it soon became a favorite; I think it's fantastic.
I second ashdigger on Haddos. It's like a way-too-hoppy IPA.
I second ashdigger on Haddos. It's like a way-too-hoppy IPA.
There are tobaccos I’ve really liked and over the course of time, lost interest.
Carter Hall, for example, is a fantastic blend, but I seldom reach for it. Tastes do change.
I’ve grown fond of very mild, lightly topped burley blends. More than slightly topped I don’t care for.
The closest I can come to the OP’s query would be Pegasus. I bought two ounces a year ago. I never disliked Pegasus but it wasn’t an instant favorite. —- I like it enough now that I purchased a pound.
On edit. MM965 was the first wow factor blend for me and I still appreciate it. But Latakia isn’t something I crave.
Carter Hall, for example, is a fantastic blend, but I seldom reach for it. Tastes do change.
I’ve grown fond of very mild, lightly topped burley blends. More than slightly topped I don’t care for.
The closest I can come to the OP’s query would be Pegasus. I bought two ounces a year ago. I never disliked Pegasus but it wasn’t an instant favorite. —- I like it enough now that I purchased a pound.
On edit. MM965 was the first wow factor blend for me and I still appreciate it. But Latakia isn’t something I crave.
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Sounds just like me. — Pegasus and Granger. I find myself craving either.
I have no shortage of choices. Close to 60 blends. — It’s just rare for me to want anything else.
Different strokes for different folks. I love Haddo's. It's nectar for the Gods.
On the other hand, my impression of Germain's version of Balkan Sobranie is that it smells and tastes like gasoline infused puppy farts. I've tried to like it, but I can't smoke more than a few puffs without longing for death. Yet, people are shelling out $40 to $50 bucks for a tin of this poo, which demonstrates the power of a famous name and badly reproduced tin art.
I also haven't warmed to Penznace. Oh well...
On the other hand, my impression of Germain's version of Balkan Sobranie is that it smells and tastes like gasoline infused puppy farts. I've tried to like it, but I can't smoke more than a few puffs without longing for death. Yet, people are shelling out $40 to $50 bucks for a tin of this poo, which demonstrates the power of a famous name and badly reproduced tin art.
I also haven't warmed to Penznace. Oh well...
The simple life is the best. Last night I threw all the blends I don't smoke in a tote and down to the basent it went. Taking up too much space. I get overwhelmed by too many options.
I did not like Virginia No. 1 and John Aylesbury Latakia Blend when I first tried them. They both bit me like crazy so I set them aside. I waited over 10 years and now they don't bite. I have no idea if it's because of changes to the leaf or to my tongue.
I also dislike Prince Albert because it reminds me too much of cigarettes. I've no interest in revisiting it.
I also dislike Prince Albert because it reminds me too much of cigarettes. I've no interest in revisiting it.
Usually I find that over time a tobacco falls out of favor with me. Hence the reason you should smoke a tin before doing a review.
I guess another part I wanted to add, is that if I didn't like a blend immediately, I've never liked it later on. It's all or nothing for me unfortunately.
C&D Night Train. Bought a brick of it at a Chicago show in the late 90s, but just didn't take to it. Put it in the the basement storage cooler where it sat until recently when I unearthed it and gave it another chance. Guess all it took was 20 years of age as I'm liking it now.
McClelland Christmas Cheer.
When I first tried CC twenty-five years ago it was a fresh off the line tin. I popped the lid, marveled at the “ketchup” smell and filled a Comoy billiard. It was difficult to keep lit and once I got going l wasn’t impressed, it burned hot and with little flavor.
I set the tin aside for a nearly year.
After some advice and encouragement from another pipe smoker I tried it again only this time I rubbed it out completely and let it dry 24hrs. then loaded a pipe.
With the tin having sat opened for quite awhile, and then completely drying it to crispy before smoking it slowly, it was sublime. I bought more, lots more.
When I first tried CC twenty-five years ago it was a fresh off the line tin. I popped the lid, marveled at the “ketchup” smell and filled a Comoy billiard. It was difficult to keep lit and once I got going l wasn’t impressed, it burned hot and with little flavor.
I set the tin aside for a nearly year.
After some advice and encouragement from another pipe smoker I tried it again only this time I rubbed it out completely and let it dry 24hrs. then loaded a pipe.
With the tin having sat opened for quite awhile, and then completely drying it to crispy before smoking it slowly, it was sublime. I bought more, lots more.
That's me. I'll never warm up to Stonehaven it tastes like that nasty black treacle cough syrup from the '70s. Haddo's Delight has been a favorite from the first smoke.
Jarring and then waiting 6 months or so can make a hell of a difference to a tobacco in my opinion. It being exposed to the air must change it in some way.
Pretty much all of them, but with a few years in the jar and more experience smoking different varieties, I don't think there is any such thing as "Bad Tobacco".
For me, a tobacco that makes me think "Wow! That's something!" when i first try it will often begin to bore me after a few bowls. Billy Budd, for example, was this way for me. Many blends that rely on a lot of bold flavored latakia, cigar leaf, perique, or for that matter aromatic elements, can be that way for me.
On the other hand, if a tobacco seems plain, boring, or one dimensional when I first try it, it's often because it is a tobacco I need to spend some time getting to know. I have learned to give tobaccos like these a chance. I may have to smoke many bowls before I begin to appreciate them, but the rewards are very much worth it. Dark birds eye, for me, is a tobacco like this. I'm now smoking C&D Dark Burley mainly--a tobacco I thought at first was dull but which I now find many-faceted and nuanced.
This is not always true though. I smoked almost an entire tin of Royal Yacht before I concluded I just didn't care for it. It was dull from beginning to end for me.
On the other hand, if a tobacco seems plain, boring, or one dimensional when I first try it, it's often because it is a tobacco I need to spend some time getting to know. I have learned to give tobaccos like these a chance. I may have to smoke many bowls before I begin to appreciate them, but the rewards are very much worth it. Dark birds eye, for me, is a tobacco like this. I'm now smoking C&D Dark Burley mainly--a tobacco I thought at first was dull but which I now find many-faceted and nuanced.
This is not always true though. I smoked almost an entire tin of Royal Yacht before I concluded I just didn't care for it. It was dull from beginning to end for me.
newminster 403 rounds. I really thought they were pretty awful when I first tried them but after three months in a jar they were delightful
I never just immediately jump to the conclusion that I hate something... except Mixture 79. I knew immediately that this blend would forever reap my wrath. A no amount of coddlwadding will make me like it, none!!
