Recommend Some Good Tobacco, Please

[poopinatwork]

Hi everybody!

I'm ready to level up from novice to journeyman in my pipe-smoking journey. I'm finding a wide variety of satisfaction in the tobacco tins that I'm choosing, I would like to hear some of what you recommend.

A little bit about what I like:

Dunhill Ready Rubbed: The green tin with the red diagonal. My first favorite, the first tin I finished even. Great tobacco flavor, nice aroma, it's exactly what I was hoping for when I started smoking a pipe.

Peterson My Mixture 965: Really good! When I first tried this, I found the flavor a little weak. I dug up the tin about 10 months later, and found it really nice and full-bodied. Is that a result of aging the tobacco or was I just paying better attention?

Peterson Irish Whiskey: My current favorite. I feel like the whiskey flavoring doesn't get in the way of the nice tobacco taste. The nicotine strength caught me by surprise the first time, so now I make sure I have something to eat before I fire up. Something about this blend seems to produce a whole lot of cool, white smoke. Any recommendations for more like this?

Some of what I don't like:

Wessex Burley Broadcut: Nothing special about this. Underwhelming flavor, too much aromatic and not enough tobacco. The best I can say about it is that it burns evenly.

Davidoff English Mixture: I was surprised that this one didn't impress me. I've had some really lovely Davidoff cigars, so I figured their high-quality tobacco reputation would make for a nice English mixture. If there are subtleties to the flavor, they're lost on me. It's all just sort of mild and unremarkable to me. Maybe I'll stick it in a drawer for a year and hope for the same thing that happend to my 965...



And at the risk of asking too many questions: How do you go about finding new stuff? What would you say you like or dislike about different blends?

 

[AJL67]

You know what’s awesome. There are lots of threads here like this but if you go to smokingpipes.com you can actually search on tobacco you like it will recommend tobacco that are like those tobacco or you can search on things in the tobacco lights you might like bright Virginia and you put that in and it recommend you blends with those types of tobacco. It’s really great. I’m not being a smart ass or anything. Much better at recommending something you might like rather than something someone else likes.

Pipe Tobacco - Best Online Selection | Smokingpipes.com

Shop the best online selection of pipe tobacco in the world. Great prices and free shipping on all US orders over $95!

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[dottlejockey]

The best bet is to try a wide range of things. To keep the price down you can try to find retailers willing to sell 1oz samples. Jot down which leaf is included in your favorite blends and look for more with said leaf inclusions. Searching things up on tobaccoreviews.com can be very helpful in this pursuit. I use it all the time for this purpose. It's a process and part of the fun of the hobby. Enjoy the journey!

 

[elvishrunes]

If you like 965, try Nightcap it’s like diving in the English deep end in terms of flavor. Orlik Golden sliced is a neutral classic Virginia, natural tobacco flavour. Anything by Gawith and Hoggarth, Samuel Gawith is considered top tier these days, Smokingpipes has all of it.

 

[proteus]

I've often wondered if there really are levels in pipe smoking. Maybe based upon one's getting used to the smoke itself which does take some getting used to if you've never before smoked anything. I think the levels people refer to are based upon the ability to detect nuanced flavors for any genre of tobacco. And that just takes time smoking. I would wager some flavors are easier to detect than others and so one starts with those so-called easier to access tobaccos to gain experience in detecting flavors.

The general way one goes about finding new tobaccos is to just read reviews and find a reviewer who seems to like the same things. If one finds agreement with those reviews, follow that reviewer.

To really gain experience and fully understand tobacco itself without blindly following someone, pick any single tobacco not a blend. I used to suggest a certain sequence but have moved away from that. I would pick single tobaccos that are called blending tobaccos. So pure Latakia pure perique etc. Then smoke it. Note what your impression is. CD makes tasting notebooks you could use or just use your own. Do you notice any flavors that others have noticed or haven't noticed? What is the smoke like? How does it affect your other senses? Really feel it.

Then pick out blends and genres with those tobaccos in them and see what the blender's process did to the flavors. Or what the combination does to the overall flavor. What changed? What do you like or dislike about it?

You have to study a single tobacco to understand it first and then study a blend to understand the combinations and the preparation of blends such what aging, or heat or pressure or fermentation does to a tobacco and the blend.

Same as cooking. Taste the ingredients first to understand the components and then make the dish and taste that too.

You can't understand or appreciate anything until you break it down and learn the components.

And no two people can taste the same things in the same way. Just take cilantro. Some say it tastes like soap and other say it's perfect.

Only you know what you like and that is because you took the time to study.

Now go out and buy some tobacco and start smoking.

 

[Auxsender]

Hi everybody!

I'm ready to level up from novice to journeyman in my pipe-smoking journey. I'm finding a wide variety of satisfaction in the tobacco tins that I'm choosing, I would like to hear some of what you recommend.

A little bit about what I like:

Dunhill Ready Rubbed: The green tin with the red diagonal. My first favorite, the first tin I finished even. Great tobacco flavor, nice aroma, it's exactly what I was hoping for when I started smoking a pipe.

Peterson My Mixture 965: Really good! When I first tried this, I found the flavor a little weak. I dug up the tin about 10 months later, and found it really nice and full-bodied. Is that a result of aging the tobacco or was I just paying better attention?

Peterson Irish Whiskey: My current favorite. I feel like the whiskey flavoring doesn't get in the way of the nice tobacco taste. The nicotine strength caught me by surprise the first time, so now I make sure I have something to eat before I fire up. Something about this blend seems to produce a whole lot of cool, white smoke. Any recommendations for more like this?

Some of what I don't like:

Wessex Burley Broadcut: Nothing special about this. Underwhelming flavor, too much aromatic and not enough tobacco. The best I can say about it is that it burns evenly.

Davidoff English Mixture: I was surprised that this one didn't impress me. I've had some really lovely Davidoff cigars, so I figured their high-quality tobacco reputation would make for a nice English mixture. If there are subtleties to the flavor, they're lost on me. It's all just sort of mild and unremarkable to me. Maybe I'll stick it in a drawer for a year and hope for the same thing that happend to my 965...



And at the risk of asking too many questions: How do you go about finding new stuff? What would you say you like or dislike about different blends?

Go to Smokingpipes.com. Go to their tobacco section and search for “Tinned best sellers” and “Bulk best sellers”. Buy some of those. That’ll keep you busy for month and months.

 

[kcghost]

Well, you have open any number of blends that we like. I would recommend the following:

Pease's Westminster
Pease's Six Pence
Pease's Stonehenge
Pease's Windjammer
C&D's Mad Fiddler

 

[proteus]

+1 on the Windjammer and Westminster. I enjoy those very much.

 

[Pooh-Bah]

Well, my go-to blends are-
War Horse Bar, which I initially tried because I saw it being the butt of jokes on this forum. Fairly strong, tin has notes of vanilla and raisins like from a restaurant's bread pudding.

Dreams of Kadath, a sort of... mildly aromatic Oriental plug? Also a bit strong, ages pretty well. Haven't been smoking it much lately cuz I want to clear some open tins before I open another.

I've also been sharing my Crooner fairly frequently - Burley and Deertongue, no discernable flavoring to my palate aside from the tobacco and flower.

 

[LongIslandPiper]

Hi everybody!

I'm ready to level up from novice to journeyman in my pipe-smoking journey. I'm finding a wide variety of satisfaction in the tobacco tins that I'm choosing, I would like to hear some of what you recommend.

A little bit about what I like:

Dunhill Ready Rubbed: The green tin with the red diagonal. My first favorite, the first tin I finished even. Great tobacco flavor, nice aroma, it's exactly what I was hoping for when I started smoking a pipe.

Peterson My Mixture 965: Really good! When I first tried this, I found the flavor a little weak. I dug up the tin about 10 months later, and found it really nice and full-bodied. Is that a result of aging the tobacco or was I just paying better attention?

Peterson Irish Whiskey: My current favorite. I feel like the whiskey flavoring doesn't get in the way of the nice tobacco taste. The nicotine strength caught me by surprise the first time, so now I make sure I have something to eat before I fire up. Something about this blend seems to produce a whole lot of cool, white smoke. Any recommendations for more like this?

Some of what I don't like:

Wessex Burley Broadcut: Nothing special about this. Underwhelming flavor, too much aromatic and not enough tobacco. The best I can say about it is that it burns evenly.

Davidoff English Mixture: I was surprised that this one didn't impress me. I've had some really lovely Davidoff cigars, so I figured their high-quality tobacco reputation would make for a nice English mixture. If there are subtleties to the flavor, they're lost on me. It's all just sort of mild and unremarkable to me. Maybe I'll stick it in a drawer for a year and hope for the same thing that happend to my 965...



And at the risk of asking too many questions: How do you go about finding new stuff? What would you say you like or dislike about different blends?

Well first off, your moniker is definitely pretty unique! Secondly great question and posed with sufficient context. I like context. @AJL67 mentioned a good alternative to finding new blends to smoke (through SP) but I suggest a local club meet-up if possible. Lots of members attending bring so many different blends to sample. Once the others get to know you they too can aid you in your blend journey. If that is not feasible then TobaccoReviews.com right here attached to the Pipesmagazine.com forum search might help with reviews.

Based on your examples I would say try some:
Peterson Irish flake
C&D Anthology
Samuel Gawith 1792 flake
Bell’s Three Nuns
Savinelli Donlone D’Oro
Drucquer & Sons the Merry Monk
GL Pease Quiet Nights

 

[elvishrunes]

Well first off, your moniker is definitely pretty unique! Secondly great question and posed with sufficient context. I like context. @AJL67 mentioned a good alternative to finding new blends to smoke (through SP) but I suggest a local club meet-up if possible. Lots of members attending bring so many different blends to sample. Once the others get to know you they too can aid you in your blend journey. If that is not feasible then TobaccoReviews.com right here attached to the Pipesmagazine.com forum search might help with reviews.

Based on your examples I would say try some:
Peterson Irish flake
C&D Anthology
Samuel Gawith 1792 flake
Bell’s Three Nuns
Savinelli Donlone D’Oro
Drucquer & Sons the Merry Monk
GL Pease Quiet Nights

I try and go before work, easier day,

 

[jbfrady]

Well first off, your moniker is definitely pretty unique!

Indeed! It serves as both Poopin' at Work as well as Poop & a Twerk.

 

[OzPiper]

Just reiterating what a few have already said.
Everyone has differing tastes.

When I got back to pipes a few years ago, I read and studied tasting notes from Smokingpipes, TobaccoReviews, etc
Duly bought a few blends based on those notes - mainly hits, but a couple of bad misses (both highly praised and recommended)

Also tastes change.
Prior to getting back to pipes, I'd been smoking cigars exclusively for 15 years
Starting back on pipes, I loved Latakia and Oriental blends, and smoked them 85-90% of the time.
Now a couple of years later, I find myself enjoying Virginia and Vapers more and more.
I have also rediscovered a love of aromatics (some).
I am also more open to exploring other blends eg burley and Cavendish

 

[captpat]

There are a myriad of threads here, and other forums on this topic, search is your friend. In addition to Smoking Pipes, check out the Tobacco Reviews website for other ideas.