Recommendations for Moving Away from Aromatics.

[The Amish Tyrant]

Figured I'd chime in with an update. I've smoked quite a bit of the samples that Servant King sent me. The Mac Baren Vanilla Roll Cake is probably the best tobacco I've ever smoked. I was a little intimidated with the process of rubbing it out and getting it ready to smoke - that actually made me hold off on it for a while. But I got around to it over the weekend and was blown away. I looked it up and it's pretty pricey, but I think I'll splurge around the holidays and get myself some!

My man, Mac Baren is 15% off right now at SPC.

Vanilla Roll Cake is my choice when I want a little more punch than an aromatic. I'm a fan of their rolls (Club, Dark Twist).

They have a vanilla cream and vanilla flake that you may want to try as well. I haven't had them, but some members like them more than Vanilla Roll Cake.

 

[Servant King]

My man, Mac Baren is 15% off right now at SPC.

Vanilla Roll Cake is my choice when I want a little more punch than an aromatic. I'm a fan of their rolls (Club, Dark Twist).

They have a vanilla cream and vanilla flake that you may want to try as well. I haven't had them, but some members like them more than Vanilla Roll Cake.

+1

@Sam Gamgee BTW, loose cut is cheaper than both flake and coin cut, but those VRC coins are super easy to rub out. Also, Vanilla Cream/Flake are absent dark-fired Kentucky, which helps to give VRC that unique quasi-spiciness. It's a trade-off.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

+1

@Sam Gamgee BTW, loose cut is cheaper than both flake and coin cut, but those VRC coins are super easy to rub out. Also, Vanilla Cream/Flake are absent dark-fired Kentucky, which helps to give VRC that unique quasi-spiciness. It's a trade-off.

Does the VRC come in loose cut?

 

[Servant King]

Does the VRC come in loose cut?

Negative. I would think that'd negate the "roll cake" part of the name.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Negative. I would think that'd negate the "roll cake" part of the name.

Ha! Right you are. I'm ever the novice when it comes to this stuff. I think I'll spring for some around Christmas as a gift for myself.

 

[Servant King]

Ha! Right you are. I'm ever the novice when it comes to this stuff. I think I'll spring for some around Christmas as a gift for myself.

Hey, it's all good. I'm not terribly hip about most of this stuff myself. It's been mostly trial and error for me (normal), with a good deal of help from this forum, of course. I used to be petrified of any non-loose cut, but after getting some samples of Escudo, Stokkebye Navy Flake etc. early on, I just muddled through it, and while I still prefer loose cut/ribbon/ready rubbed most of the time, I'm happy to sometimes fold up an OGS flake, stuff my Stefano (try saying that 3x as fast!) and go for it. VRC in particular is simply too delicious to resist!

I'm sure SPC will have a X-mas sale too, but $22.10 for a 3.5 oz. tin with their current sale is about as good as one can do on that one these days. All those coin/flake blends like Club Blend and Navy Flake will be more than $30 before you know it! This is Weimar Germany 2.0 after all...

 

[SBC]

I looked it up and it's pretty pricey

It's a 3.5 oz. tin - it's twice the price of standard tins because it's twice the size.

Make sure you transfer this one to a mason jar.

Also FWIW this one burns really well for me folded. No need to rub out. I stack 2 or 3 coins on top of each other (depending on the size of the bowl), and just roll them up and stuff them in. I fray the top a bit to help it get started. Probably the most convenient tobacco to pack and burn ever.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

It's a 3.5 oz. tin - it's twice the price of standard tins because it's twice the size.

Make sure you transfer this one to a mason jar.

Also FWIW this one burns really well for me folded. No need to rub out. I stack 2 or 3 coins on top of each other (depending on the size of the bowl), and just roll them up and stuff them in. I fray the top a bit to help it get started. Probably the most convenient tobacco to pack and burn ever.

Thanks for the tip. As far as price goes, I only ever buy bulk/loose tobacco, so those tin prices always make me wince. I seriously hesitate to even start buying them because my parsimony will flare up and bite me in the end. Always happens when I splurge.

 

[SBC]

Thanks for the tip. As far as price goes, I only ever buy bulk/loose tobacco, so those tin prices always make me wince. I seriously hesitate to even start buying them because my parsimony will flare up and bite me in the end. Always happens when I splurge.

Have you tried Newminster 400? If you like VRC you might like it, and it's an affordable bulk option.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Have you tried Newminster 400? If you like VRC you might like it, and it's an affordable bulk option.

I’ve not tried that. I only tried VRC because I was given a sample. Otherwise I’d have never known about it.

 

[Gimlet]

Thanks for the tip. As far as price goes, I only ever buy bulk/loose tobacco, so those tin prices always make me wince. I seriously hesitate to even start buying them because my parsimony will flare up and bite me in the end. Always happens when I splurge.

I'm quite enjoying a couple of Petersons non-aros at the moment, especially the Periques. Luxury blend and Elizabethan are going down particularly well at the moment. Wish you could get them in bulk rather than tins.
Unfortunately UK tobacco duty being what it is there's little saving to be had in bulk buying. But at least when a batch hits the sweet spot I could buy a kilo and jar it.

 

[samuelgawith01]

Hello! I've been quite content for the past 15+ years to smoke my aromatics, but lately they just don't taste the same. It seems like my taste is changing and I'd like to find some other tobaccos to enjoy.

To give you a hint of my palate, at least thus far, I have thoroughly enjoyed Captain Black Gold, Carter Hall, and Stokkebye's Nougat. I just got a new shipment of the Nougat and it's doing absolutely nothing for me. Not only does it not taste very good, it actually tastes bad. Maybe I got a bad batch?

Based on my past choices and how I enjoyed them, can you recommend some non-aromatics that I can move into? My taste longs for the hints of coffee, cocoa/chocolate, raisin, and almost "earthy" (dare I say soil-like?) flavors that I used to get from smoking these blends. I always enjoyed how those flavors would linger in my mouth for an hour or so after my pipe was done. Those sensations are exactly what I am after. Lately all I'm getting is a burned after taste.

Years ago I was trying all kinds of tobaccos in tins (Blue Note, Presbyterian, Frog Morton) and I didn't like anything about any of them. They were way too strong and the flavors were just too harsh. My mind still remembers those experiences and based on my memory I don't think I'd like them any better today. I have never understood the terms for different tobaccos and had no idea what I was buying. I think it's those black tobaccos that I dislike so much. I don't know the proper name for those.

Are there some "in-between" blends, something with the flavors I've descried that somewhat lends itself to aromatics while also ranging into new territory?

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

Try "Black Sea" by Capt. Black.This has some latakia in it.