Please Help. Tobacco Mixture Tastes Like Rotten Eggs.

[Law]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

Hello!

I’m new to pipe smoking and I love it. I have never smoked previously, nor cigarettes or regular cigars (only cigarillos a couple of times) so i have little to no experience in smoking in general.

Now to the problem. I have bought a Elizabethan mixture and Flake tobacco from a store that sold the dunhill‘s version which aged for about 4 years, I thought of myself quite lucky. As I started smoking the Elizabethan mixture, I grew liking it very much. I found the Perique to be quite tasty with a fresh lemonade and mint drink. I grew fond off it way more than my Dunhill flake tobacco, and started smoking the Elizabethan Mixture when I'm sitting and contemplating the flavors, and trying to be a better Tobacco connoisseur. All of a sudden, I remember I was halfway into the bowl, and I taste, the best way I can describe it, as a rotten egg taste. I thought for a second I tasted some ashes or something, but it kept happening. I couldn’t believe it so I had to quit the smoke, and thought that my pipe was bad or something. long and behold, I bought a new Savinelli smooth 601 pocket pipe and tried the mixture and see if it kept happening. Unfortunately, it did.

Can someone please help me with this problem?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Are you relighting your pipe with matches?

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

Yes, it happens - it's ammonia content in the tobacco - send some my way I'll try it. You can move it to bags and let it air out a bit. - Could be a high sulphur content in the leaf too.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I can sometimes taste a tad ammonia, which would be a sign that the tobacco hadn't been cured very well. But, it would be hard to confuse ammonia for rotten eggs. But, if it has the Dunhill name on the tin, it should have aged out a tad by now.
I'm not sure what to say about "sulfur content of the tobacco." I will definitely keep you in mind if I find some sulfur in mine.

 

[tomatamot]

Buy a tin of the present production by Peterson and smoke it again.
Anyway a warm welcome from Rotterdam.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I keep seeing folks refer to differences between Dunhill and Peterson labelled blends. It was my understanding that it is still made by the same people, same things, just a different name on the tins. Or, did I miss a memo? But, Dunhill and Peterson haven't actually been making any tobacco for a long time now.

 

[workman]

I can't recall tasting rotten eggs in a tobacco blend. I know Elizabethan Mixture fairly well, and IME it is very sensitive to overpuffing.
I get a metallic sharpness and an unpleasing flavor of burned oak or something that I can't recall exactly if I'm not extremely careful with my cadence.
Try smoking some other blends and return to it. Maybe you have perique overload, if that's a thing.

 

[Law]

Are you relighting your pipe with matches?

I’m using Bic Pipe Lighter

 

[Law]

Yes, it happens - it's ammonia content in the tobacco - send some my way I'll try it. You can move it to bags and let it air out a bit. - Could be a high sulphur content in the leaf too.

hmm, that sounds interesting. Ill read about what you just said. And ill try to move some to a bag, but should i dry it a bit? Right now it seems like a perfect smoke, don’t want it to dry too much.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

And ill try to move some to a bag,

Keep an eye out of little pieces of eggshell.

 

[Law]

Buy a tin of the present production by Peterson and smoke it again.
Anyway a warm welcome from Rotterdam.

Hey! Thanks for your suggestion. I fear buying another tin, which costs 30$ a tin (insane taxes on those things on where i live) but, if i have the guts, I’ll think of doing the courages act

 

[Law]

I can't recall tasting rotten eggs in a tobacco blend. I know Elizabethan Mixture fairly well, and IME it is very sensitive to overpuffing.
I get a metallic sharpness and an unpleasing flavor of burned oak or something that I can't recall exactly if I'm not extremely careful with my cadence.
Try smoking some other blends and return to it. Maybe you have perique overload, if that's a thing.

As I said, I’m fairly a novice in this art. The only thing I can describe with my untrained pallet is a background taste and smell of rotten eggs. It isn’t overwhelming, and i can sort of puff it slowly and the bacground notes will be less sharp, but i can’t smoke it for a long while. but i’ll try using a filter and puffing slowly this time, as sometimes I do smoke 3-4 puffs quickly, and I set the pipe down for a bit. never had problems previously, but it seems like there is something wrong with what I am doing.

 

[Law]

Keep an eye out of little pieces of eggshell.

Eyes wide open sir

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

hmm, that sounds interesting. Ill read about what you just said. And ill try to move some to a bag, but should i dry it a bit? Right now it seems like a perfect smoke, don’t want it to dry too much.

Exactly - let it air out - better drying it out and then rehumidifying it afterwards - I've always found that drier the better evn though dry smoke is lowsy- I've had egglike taste problems like this with cigars - and those are kept at 70-80 humidity in my case

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It isn’t overwhelming, and i can sort of puff it slowly and the bacground notes will be less sharp, but i can’t smoke it for a long while.

It sounds like you are doing great, and you are developing a good sense of taste. Smoking slow is the goal with pipes. It is especially a disadvantage for folks that didn't grow up around pipesmokers, but in my youth, you would never be able to see puffs of smoke coming up off of a pipesmoker. Maybe a thin wisp or two. But, the goal is to slowly savor it, and sometimes if you smoke it as if you are hiding the smoke from someone, you will get the hang of smoking your pipe on the verge of it going out. This will give you a more savory flavor, and might stop some of these "off" flavors from getting worked in from pushing it a little too hard. Now, this is all guessing from the evidence you've submitted. You may be the slowest smoker in the world, but I just want to help, and it seems like it might be a factor here.

 

[workman]

As I said, I’m fairly a novice in this art. The only thing I can describe with my untrained pallet is a background taste and smell of rotten eggs. It isn’t overwhelming, and i can sort of puff it slowly and the bacground notes will be less sharp, but i can’t smoke it for a long while. but i’ll try using a filter and puffing slowly this time, as sometimes I do smoke 3-4 puffs quickly, and I set the pipe down for a bit. never had problems previously, but it seems like there is something wrong with what I am doing.

Another thing is that the smell directly out of the chamber itself isn't as pleasing as the flavor and the room note from the cooled smoke that lingers in the air.
Come to think of it, that smell might be a little towards rotten eggs, especially with a va/per.
Maybe that's what you are smelling.

 

[briarbuck]

I would set that can down and try a different genre of tobacco, then you can revisit as you become more fluent. You just need to find your own taste's through trial and error like the rest of us did. The journey is more important than the final destination. There are several forum members that seem to have a very similar palate as I do, so I do tend to pay attention to their reviews and recommendations.

Hang around a while, 'you'll figure it out.

 

[Law]

Another thing is that the smell directly out of the chamber itself isn't as pleasing as the flavor and the room note from the cooled smoke that lingers in the air.
Come to think of it, that smell might be a little towards rotten eggs, especially with a va/per.
Maybe that's what you are smelling.

I just tried your technic and you are 100% right!!!!! I had this, i may call it A bad habit, of puffing 3-4 mini smokes rapidly so i overwhelm by taste buds, and that is probably why I had such a intense background note. Maybe. But something for sure is as soon as i tried your technic just now, all that Elizabethan goodness came back! I am very very grateful for your help. I’ll be making sure to smoke it slowly, savor it for a second, and treat it well. Thank you again and wish you the best!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Presbyterian Blend kept me perplexed for the longest in my first years. I was pushing it and not able to stop the kaleidoscope of flavors that where whirling about in my mouth long enough to ever get a grip on what I was tasting. Then, after trying some other blends, when I returned to it, I was able to pinpoint more exactly what I was tasting. It's a developed skill... you're doing great.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

i may call it A bad habit, of puffing 3-4 mini smokes rapidly so i overwhelm by taste buds,

I think I puff a bit when lighting my pipe, and sometimes when I feel the ember dulling. It's all a balancing act. The hardest part for me to overcome is this counter-intuitive method of getting a bit of flavor that I want more of, but if I puff harder to chase that flavor, it goes away because I have heated up the bowl, and killing the delicate nuances... but, you have to keep steady, and sometimes realize that you can't chase those flavors... relax and stay steady, and maybe it will revisit your tastebuds again. It's an art.