Quiet Nights Help...

[Butter Side Down]

I picked up a tin of Quiet Nights last week, and I'm only three bowls in but so far, I'm having a hard time "getting it."

I'm not trying to knock the blend or the blender here. I'm neither a Pease worshipper or a hater. He's done some great stuff. But then he also made Haddo's Delight, for which may god have mercy on his immortal soul. Based on the reputation and the reviews, Quiet Nights should be one of the ones that's right in my wheelhouse, so I want to try all the angles before I give up on it.

I've tried it straight out of the tin, dried for 30 minutes, and dried for 3 hours, in 3 different pipes that are always reliable. None of it really made much difference. If I had to write a review based on my experience so far, it would go something like "A blend for people who want to say they enjoy latakia without being troubled by the displeasure of tasting any." I'm kidding. But also kinda not kidding. For instance, compared back to back with Meridian, which I unabashedly love, Meridian is a veritable explosion of complex smoky, sour and savory flavor and Quiet Nights so far has been a sort of flat experience that tastes vaguely of pipe smoke in a general sense. If you blindfolded me and gave me some, I don't think I could guess what what's in it or even what type of blend it is.

Is this one of those blends that has a secret you have to know to be able properly enjoy it? Like how you have to practically dessicate FVF or how you have to not crumble Penzance too much? Or maybe it's one of those blends you have to open and then completely forget about for four months before it gets good?

Or maybe the mistake is mine and I just misunderstood where it fits into the Pease latakia continuum. I thought Chelsea Morning was on the gentle whisper of latakia end of the spectrum and things like Odyssey and Abingdon were in the loud screaming blast of latakia end, with things like Westminster and QN somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, I don't know. What am I missing?

 

[PaulRVA]

The slower I smoke QN the more I enjoy it. I put it in the ball park of a Plum Pudding type of a smoke.
Mild for me and could be an all day smoke but I’d rather smoke something else.
Don’t get me wrong though I dig some Pease blends and think he does a fantastic job but for me it just doesn’t fit in anywhere.
Others swear by it and I don’t blame them because it’s a quality blend and very nicely done.

 

[The Novice Piper]

I haven't had Quiet Nights, but I have had the same experience with at least two other blends I can think of offhand. Namely, Jackknife Ready Rubbed and Pirate Kake. No matter what I do, each one of these strikes me as one-dimensional, flat, boring, generally flavorless, etc.

My fiance (who is wiser than me) says, "Maybe you just don't like them." Which is fine, but I want to understand why I don't like them. What drives me nuts is that nearly all other blends have demonstrated the ability to reveal something new when I really slow down and focus on them. I'd love to find at least one flavor in either of these two that defines them, even if it's a taste I hate, but all I get is...nothing.

Such is life?

 

[Sigmund]

I find it pretty complex and I get a lot of lat flavor. I am using a 9mm filter which I think makes latakia stand out more. Im not a Pease worshiper either. Tobacco is tobacco. I do think its pretty outstanding. Id take it before Plum Pudding anyday which I think just misses the boat. I hated Triple Play. I found it nearl tasteless. Just smoke with little interest or flavor.

 

[BingBong]

DId you try the Haddo's in a Dunny?

 

[Butter Side Down]

My fiance (who is wiser than me) says, "Maybe you just don't like them." Which is fine, but I want to understand why I don't like them.

Yeah, this perfectly describes where I'm at right now. Probably no. But WHY?

It sounds like other people are getting the Latakia in quiet nights. And what's weird to me is that I'm usually able to pick it up even in things where it's super light (like macbaren plumcake). So why can't I pick it up here?

Interesting that @Sigmund mentioned plum pudding... The tin aroma of QN is pretty similar to me. Also to Bengal slices white. I didn't really get those either, so maybe there is some ingredient overlap that just doesn't work for me. I'd say maybe it's the lat/perique combo, but I do like arango super balkan, so that's out.

Anyway, if something hasn't revealed it's charms to me by the sixth date, it usually gets put in the pile for the free table at pipe club, so QN gets three more chances. If anyone has any recommendations for how to get it to reveal its mysteries, I'm still listening.

 

[hoipolloiglasgow]

Quiet Nights took me a while to really enjoy it. You’ll find that a lot of Pease’s blends are like that. I’d say by my 7th bowl of it was when it really started to click. It doesn’t matter so much to me as to how it’s broken down, don’t put too much thought into it. Just do what you’d normally do with that style flake.

 

[BenMN]

Let it breathe for another week or two. Maybe jar it...

Sometimes you have to work for it. Laurel Heights took me nearly a whole tin before I "got" it. Wow is it ever good. Yeah I even get the grapefruit

This may be helpful:

Pease article on re-learning Latakia

 

[OzPiper]

I liked uQuiet Nights straight off the bat.

On a completely different note: Escudo really didn’t do it for me at the outset.
And the current iteration has been panned often,
My tin has been open a couple of years and I am down to the last 4 or 5 coins.
The last smoke I had was really good.
Go figure

 

[captpat]

I think QN is the best of its genre, no question hands down. Each of us reacts differently to blends, for example, I've tried some highly regarded blends that I find to be terrible. Life's too short to ponder why, too many factors interacting in complex ways to ever be completely sure. My recommendation is, to move on and smoke what you enjoy.

 

[The Algerian]

I agree that blends tend to be personal. They either work for you or they don't. QN is one that is almost good enough that I might buy another tin.

 

[BayouGhost]

I enjoy Spark Plug, Gaslight and Bankside better, but only tried Quiet Nights once. I put it back in the cellar and will crack it back out in a year to try it again. I also am in the 1% it seems in that I did not like Plum Pudding, which everyone loves. I feel that a lot of GLP blends are great right out of the tin but will really shine with some age on them, especially the ones with younger Virginias incorporated. I expect Bankside, which is already great, to be absolutely superb in a few years.

 

[burleybreath]

There are dangers in taking anyone's recommendations for anything--namely that you won't like it. I had to smoke a full tin of Pegasus (a highly touted blend on this site) before I "got it." Now I'm addicted. I find it laughable strange that anyone forms an "opinion" based on the first few exposures, especially with something as delicate as taste or olfactory sensations. As to why someone doesn't like this or that, dunno. Ask a little kid why he doesn't beef filet, and take notes. The description of Quiet Nights above makes me want to pop an 8-ouncer I've been sitting on for a while. I like subdued latakia--but I don't know why, and couldn't care less.

 

[damacene]

Quiet Nights took me a few bowls to appreciate. My theory is that it had so much going on, it was system overload for my taste buds which resulted in me tasting very little. That very well might be complete nonsense but as I've smoked it several times, I now get all of the complexity and depth people talk about. I tend to favor Gaslight, which I have heard on good authority is in fact mana from heaven, however I still smoke QN regularly.

 

[Manawydan]

Either you just don't like it, or you haven't given it enough time. I personally like it a lot -- it is a part of my English/Balkan rotation that includes Nightcap, Westminster, Northwoods, Mississippi River Rum Barrel Aged, My Mixture 965, Balkan Sasieni, Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged, and WhiteKnight.

I didn't get Haddos' Delight at all. But then I revisited after trying Elizabethan and Escudo and realized what it was trying to do. It's now one of my favorite VaPers. On the other hand, I tried really hard to like Old Gowrie and just never connected with it.

There's so many blends out there. Smoke what you like.

 

[kcghost]

QN was fine to me, but then I thought Haddo's Delight was quite good. Pease may not be for you. The Dark Lord send his regrets.

 

[mingc]

I'm a fan of Abingdon, Odyssey and Charing Cross. My notes for Quiet Nights are "Latakia, Orientals, Perique, Virginia. Pressed cake. No sweet. No bite. Insufficiently complex. No need to stock."

 

[ThermionicScott]

I've only smoked QN from a sample so far, but it seemed to have plenty of flavor. It was good enough that I went ahead and bought a tin. Perhaps it does need to breathe for a while to achieve its full potential. I won't know for a while because it's a few players down in my cellar's batting order.

 

[anotherbob]

I picked up a tin of Quiet Nights last week, and I'm only three bowls in but so far, I'm having a hard time "getting it."

I'm not trying to knock the blend or the blender here. I'm neither a Pease worshipper or a hater. He's done some great stuff. But then he also made Haddo's Delight, for which may god have mercy on his immortal soul. Based on the reputation and the reviews, Quiet Nights should be one of the ones that's right in my wheelhouse, so I want to try all the angles before I give up on it.

I've tried it straight out of the tin, dried for 30 minutes, and dried for 3 hours, in 3 different pipes that are always reliable. None of it really made much difference. If I had to write a review based on my experience so far, it would go something like "A blend for people who want to say they enjoy latakia without being troubled by the displeasure of tasting any." I'm kidding. But also kinda not kidding. For instance, compared back to back with Meridian, which I unabashedly love, Meridian is a veritable explosion of complex smoky, sour and savory flavor and Quiet Nights so far has been a sort of flat experience that tastes vaguely of pipe smoke in a general sense. If you blindfolded me and gave me some, I don't think I could guess what what's in it or even what type of blend it is.

Is this one of those blends that has a secret you have to know to be able properly enjoy it? Like how you have to practically dessicate FVF or how you have to not crumble Penzance too much? Or maybe it's one of those blends you have to open and then completely forget about for four months before it gets good?

Or maybe the mistake is mine and I just misunderstood where it fits into the Pease latakia continuum. I thought Chelsea Morning was on the gentle whisper of latakia end of the spectrum and things like Odyssey and Abingdon were in the loud screaming blast of latakia end, with things like Westminster and QN somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, I don't know. What am I missing?

high expectations can ruin a blend. I suggest putting it aside for a month or so or even forgetting you have it. Then try it again without feeling like it's in your wheelhouse. It's amazing how much of a difference that can make. Presbyterian was like that for me. And so was Cairo which is one of my freaking favorites. Both hit me as o.k. at best first couple smokes, when I came back a little latter not expecting as much they blew my socks off.

 

[OverMountain]

I enjoy it with a 9mm filter and adequate drying. My first experience was “wow- and what an apt name!”

Sometimes things hit different at different times. Consider aging it in a mason jar while you “shift fire” elsewhere.