You’re probably correct, the worst bite I ever had was after ribbon cut Virginias, now I primarily smoke flakes, plugs, ect except for English and old blends in my cellar…I’d like to weigh in as a newer smoker. I often find that the lighter colored virginias are what gives me tough bite. Especially when they haven’t been pressed in any way. From my experience in trying out new blends and from what I can gather online in my quest to educate myself about all things pipes and tobacco I’ve come to believe that anything pressed into a cake, flake, or plug is going to have less rough edges, will have more flavor, and will most likely cause less tongue bite. If I’m wrong in any way then maybe one of the more experienced Piping wizards here will chime in and tell me I’m wrong and why. This type of thread is exactly why I love being a member here. Great people on a quest to learn their own lessons asking great questions that warrant great responses. These get me thinking about my own experiences and inspire me to respond and hopefully get some feedback myself.
BigDragonfly I hope you find what it is your pallet prefers. It’s always interesting to me to hear what others experiences are. And I hope you don’t mind that I’ve sort of asked a question of my own in your thread. Happy piping sir!
- Also depends on how much Perique is in a blend. For a personal example, I find Sam Gawith's Cabbie's Mixture has too much for my palate, whereas Rattray's Hal O' The Wynd has about the right amount. As HeavyLeadBelly said, sampler packs are the way to go to broaden one's experience of different blends and avoid spending good money on a quantity of stuff you find you don't really like.
C&D and Gawith both have pure Kentucky available in bulk if you just want to experiment with it straight / as a condiment.
After I learned to enjoy english blends, I realized I knew how to taste aromatics.
I use piece of brokenclay pot. Soak in the water and drop in the jar for a day or two, depends how dry the tobacco is. Works fine for me
Regarding the suggestion for a novice to start with a filter pipe to lessen (but not eliminate?) tongue bite, that might work, anecdotally. I don’t normally use filters, but will do so every so often if the pipe I select takes a filter. Some Missouri Meerschaum-brand corn cob pipes come pre-loaded with a Medico-style 6mm paper filter. I just leave them in for the first several bowlfuls, until soiled then remove and dispose. On a couple of occasions, while in the US, when visiting long-distance family, I found I had forgotten to bring along my pipes and tobaccos. A quick trip to the nearest drugstore to pick up a MM Legend Rob Roy or 5th Avenue cob (with a filter) and something like a pouch of Captain Black. There was subsequently a lot more smoking and puffing than usual, sitting outside on warm summer evenings, socialising and laughing and smoking long into the night. Bowl after bowl. Therefore, more smoking of a drugstore aromatic in a short period of time, but no noticeable tongue bite discomfort the day after, which is contrary to what I expected. Maybe the temporary use of the filter did help? Then again, the filter does impede the draw somewhat, so one accommodates by drawing with a bit more force, no?
A salesman at a local b&m store that I visit told me that filters don't help prevent tongue bite at all. Perhaps that is just one man's experience, though.
I tried some of that about a month ago and thought it was pretty good at the time but then I tried some more just recently after having smoked several bowls of Prince Albert and prefer Prince Albert. Prince Albert is far from perfect but I think it's a pretty honest smoke. It tends to get bitter near the end of the bowl.
My suggestion is, buy one inexpensive con cob with a 6mm filter and try it for yoursenf.
Indeed! PA is very, very pleasant! I like both PA and SWR original and they are both mainstays for me.
I have found that mixing PA with SWR-A 2:1 yields a pleasant smoke - even moreso than either alone.
Codgers have there place for a reason. Easy packing, easy lighting, good flavor, and few complications. Pretty readily available too.
