Howdy,
I read here a lot but don't post often because I feel people won't be interested and I am not experienced to give any sort of advice, but this is something I wanted to throw out there.
I have smoked English blends for my whole non-OTC aromatic pipe smoking, I could never find any taste in non-English blends. But times change and my palate has clearly improved.
This is a post of things clicking together, maybe it should be in the "new member" section, but it is a discussion on tobaccos.
I recently received, in the pipe tobacco desert that is Greece, two tins of nightcap and one tin of Deluxe Navy Rolls.
I also bought a pouch of straight Burley and a pouch of straight Virginia from a Greek company who are the only ones who make and supply great quality pipe tobacco (they are called Wolfway). I don't believe they're in it for the money, I bet their profit margin is pathetic, but they do put love and care in their work, and make exceptional products.
I tried the VA first, expecting it to have little flavour, and found plenty of it, and surprisingly (for my ignorance) plenty of body too!
Then I tried the straight Burley - no other tobacco, no added flavours, just Burley and loved it! I now know what Burley's taste is, and also know that I love it and it makes me crave it. I understand the "nuttiness" as well as the "chocolate note" when smelling the pouch. This particular tobacco - it is not even a blend! - could be my everyday smoke
Then today I cracked open the Deluxe Navy Roll tin, crumbled a roll and smoked it, it was sublime. The tin smell was sweeter and lighter - strong grass/fresh hay with something else - but the tobacco was full of flavour. I now know what "Virginia sweetness" means - it is not SWEET like eating a spoonful of sugar, but it does something that can be understood as sweetness, I can also pick out the Perique, and understand its contribution to the mix.
Then I smelled the Nightcap tin and was nearly put off by its strength - I now get that I will in the future prefer it as a...nightcap (the alcoholic variety) - something to end a day with, but not an all-day, everyday thing.
Coming back to the Navy Rolls, I really REALLY like this blend. The tin smell is divine, and the taste is even better. It is rich but not overpowering, light but not thin, complex enough but not difficult for a novice, even a novice who's been puffing Latakia for years. Another incredible benefit is that my wife does not find it offensive, she even said that she likes its room note and the smell it left on me afterwards. I may be able to smoke it indoors - my biggest barrier to pipe smoking - when the kids are away.
Feel like a whole new world opened up for me, and it is down to trying single varieties on their own to understand what they are, and what they bring to a mix.
So where do we go from here? As I said I live in a tobacco desert, there's a single company who make and sell good tobacco while "tobacconists" have just MacBaren, Captain Black aromatics and the occasional Davidoff Scottish mixture. I have some relatives in the US so I am going to buy some stuff to get sent to them, which they will then send on to me.
Here are my thoughts (based on answers I got here, reading, and my new found appreciation of what each tobacco variety brings to the table):
I want to try Cornell and Diehl's Old Joe Krantz, if I loved a VaPer, and a straight Burley I think I will love them twice as much combined.
I also want to try their Mississippi Mud, and Bayou Morning,
and some Solani 633...
... and some GL Pease JackKnife Plug...
Finally, I haven't given my country's feature products (e.g., Basma) any interest, I think I should.
Thanks for reading, I hope I did not piss anyone off!
I read here a lot but don't post often because I feel people won't be interested and I am not experienced to give any sort of advice, but this is something I wanted to throw out there.
I have smoked English blends for my whole non-OTC aromatic pipe smoking, I could never find any taste in non-English blends. But times change and my palate has clearly improved.
This is a post of things clicking together, maybe it should be in the "new member" section, but it is a discussion on tobaccos.
I recently received, in the pipe tobacco desert that is Greece, two tins of nightcap and one tin of Deluxe Navy Rolls.
I also bought a pouch of straight Burley and a pouch of straight Virginia from a Greek company who are the only ones who make and supply great quality pipe tobacco (they are called Wolfway). I don't believe they're in it for the money, I bet their profit margin is pathetic, but they do put love and care in their work, and make exceptional products.
I tried the VA first, expecting it to have little flavour, and found plenty of it, and surprisingly (for my ignorance) plenty of body too!
Then I tried the straight Burley - no other tobacco, no added flavours, just Burley and loved it! I now know what Burley's taste is, and also know that I love it and it makes me crave it. I understand the "nuttiness" as well as the "chocolate note" when smelling the pouch. This particular tobacco - it is not even a blend! - could be my everyday smoke
Then today I cracked open the Deluxe Navy Roll tin, crumbled a roll and smoked it, it was sublime. The tin smell was sweeter and lighter - strong grass/fresh hay with something else - but the tobacco was full of flavour. I now know what "Virginia sweetness" means - it is not SWEET like eating a spoonful of sugar, but it does something that can be understood as sweetness, I can also pick out the Perique, and understand its contribution to the mix.
Then I smelled the Nightcap tin and was nearly put off by its strength - I now get that I will in the future prefer it as a...nightcap (the alcoholic variety) - something to end a day with, but not an all-day, everyday thing.
Coming back to the Navy Rolls, I really REALLY like this blend. The tin smell is divine, and the taste is even better. It is rich but not overpowering, light but not thin, complex enough but not difficult for a novice, even a novice who's been puffing Latakia for years. Another incredible benefit is that my wife does not find it offensive, she even said that she likes its room note and the smell it left on me afterwards. I may be able to smoke it indoors - my biggest barrier to pipe smoking - when the kids are away.
Feel like a whole new world opened up for me, and it is down to trying single varieties on their own to understand what they are, and what they bring to a mix.
So where do we go from here? As I said I live in a tobacco desert, there's a single company who make and sell good tobacco while "tobacconists" have just MacBaren, Captain Black aromatics and the occasional Davidoff Scottish mixture. I have some relatives in the US so I am going to buy some stuff to get sent to them, which they will then send on to me.
Here are my thoughts (based on answers I got here, reading, and my new found appreciation of what each tobacco variety brings to the table):
I want to try Cornell and Diehl's Old Joe Krantz, if I loved a VaPer, and a straight Burley I think I will love them twice as much combined.
I also want to try their Mississippi Mud, and Bayou Morning,
and some Solani 633...
... and some GL Pease JackKnife Plug...
Finally, I haven't given my country's feature products (e.g., Basma) any interest, I think I should.
Thanks for reading, I hope I did not piss anyone off!
