Recommendations of Tobacco Blends for a New Pipe Smoker

[tobefrank]

Back in the day the most recommended beginners tobacco was McClelland Frog Morton if I recall correctly. Now that it is no longer available, I’m not sure what the go to recommendation would be.

I started out on Peterson Sherlock Holmes then Frog Morton and then onwards to Escudo, which I still greatly enjoy now. Another favourite is Peterson Irish Cask (formerly known as Irish Oak).

 

[mso489]

I'd sample various genres and blends within them, in small quantities, an ounce or two of bulk, one tin, or a pouch. Keep quantities small for two or three years, since your taste will develop and change. Keep track of what you sample, and know what the constituent tobaccos are. Peruse the online tobacco pages to see what is available, but don't over-buy. Jar what you don't like and try it in a year or two; again, your taste will change. Try some blends with burley and dark-fired, but only selected examples ... range around. That's better than me naming four or five blends. You want to find your own way and call your own shots, as part of the adventure.

 

[Seeker81]

For what it's worth, I am also a neophyte pipe smoker... I smoked cigarettes for a long time though and I found that Nightcap helps with the transition. I get a decent fix with Nightcap when I do my sneaky inhales... though I know this practice is usually not recommended.

 

[bnichols23]

Back in the day the most recommended beginners tobacco was McClelland Frog Morton if I recall correctly. Now that it is no longer available, I’m not sure what the go to recommendation would be.

I started out on Peterson Sherlock Holmes then Frog Morton and then onwards to Escudo, which I still greatly enjoy now. Another favourite is Peterson Irish Cask (formerly known as Irish Oak).

Black Frigate's good too. And Sir Walter Raleigh Aro or [gasp!] Carter Hall. Matter of fact, any decent aro/semi-aromatic that's NOT overly cased/flavored. Those therein contain disaster, a burned tongue, & hatred for pipes forever.

 

[BROBS]

I wouldn't suggest any Lane or Sutliff product to a new smoker.. or any of the crap OTC suggestions out there.
I personally found Prince Albert, Carter Hall and the like to be terrible.

try something that isn't loaded with humectant and chemicals IMO.

I would also wait on Mac Baren products until you get smoking cadence down or you will most likely burn the hell out of your mouth.

 

[diamondback]

Here are my suggestions :

Straight Virginia-try Mac Barren HH pure Virginia

English/balkan-try hearth&home Blackhouse OR GL pease Westminster

Aromatic-try Three blind moose by 4noggins

Ah! Westminster, yes!

That was my true ‘awakening’ tobacco. I learned predominantly on aros. It was Westminister that blew my socks off. I think I said it was Quiet Nights in another thread, but I remember QN coming out, so that couldn’t have been it. I’ve only got a pound of Westminster set back. I wish lat aged better.

That decides today’s post dinner bowl. ;-)

 

[Rebub24]

Sutliff: 507C Virginia Slices is a great beginner's Virginia

 

[dcicero]

Hello,
I am most open to any suggestions on the various tobacco blend categories to try, so as to learn what‘s out there.
Thank you!

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title

G&H Rum Flake

 

[lawdawg]

I have often seen posts recommending to new smokers blends beloved by experienced smokers. I am not sure that this is indeed the best path.

Agreed 100%. It seems as though many of us forget what a finnicky pain in the ass pipes can be The best blend for a new smoker is one that readily burns, is forgiving of bad packing / lighting / smoking technique, and has an inoffensive taste and room note. My recommendation is Carter Hall. I still smoke it as my all-around outdoors / yard / chore / truck tobacco.

I wouldn't suggest any Lane or Sutliff product to a new smoker.. or any of the crap OTC suggestions out there.
I personally found Prince Albert, Carter Hall and the like to be terrible.

try something that isn't loaded with humectant and chemicals IMO.

I would also wait on Mac Baren products until you get smoking cadence down or you will most likely burn the hell out of your mouth.

Pipe newbies are doing good just to successfully smoke a pipe at all, especially without burning their tongues trying to relight every other puff. A little "off" flavor which might be imparted by a humectant is a secondary concern at best. Nothing wrong at all with a classic OTC burley blend. I think of them as the domestic light beer of pipe tobacco. Sure there are lots of more refined options, but the difference between a German lager from Hofbrauhaus and a Miller Lite will probably be lost on someone drinking a beer for the first time. So it is with pipe tobacco as well.

 

[lawdawg]

Ah! Westminster, yes!

That was my true ‘awakening’ tobacco. I learned predominantly on aros. It was Westminister that blew my socks off. I think I said it was Quiet Nights in another thread, but I remember QN coming out, so that couldn’t have been it. I’ve only got a pound of Westminster set back. I wish lat aged better.

That decides today’s post dinner bowl. ;-)

+1

I love both Westminster and Quiet Nights. They are probably my favorite latakia blends, along with White Knight.

I fully expect that the "latakia will go flat" thing is way overstated. I've read reviews of guys smoking decades old tins of English blends and enjoying them immensely. Sure, the flavors will probably round out over time, but when you've got people still enjoying Balkan Sobranie from the 70's, I think it's fair to anticipate that latakia will cellar okay.

 

[docrameous]

Agreed 100%. It seems as though many of us forget what a finnicky pain in the ass pipes can be The best blend for a new smoker is one that readily burns, is forgiving of bad packing / lighting / smoking technique, and has an inoffensive taste and room note. My recommendation is Carter Hall. I still smoke it as my all-around outdoors / yard / chore / truck tobacco.

CH is not to everyone’s liking, but I agree. I find CH is low maintenance and therefore ideal to do chores with because it will practically smoke itself.

Also at least for me, CH has also been excellent for working on my technique.

This morning in fact I fired up some CH. I could have grabbed a ‘better tobacco’, but as I went for a low and slow burn, it sang. Fun to get relatively inexpensive tobacco to put out like that!

 

[minimaltom]

ELIZABETHAN MIXTURE

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I started off with a pound of Turkish Pipe cut RYO, which I still enjoy from time to time. Then I started just trying everything. There have been many epiphany moments for me, but I think I learned the most about different tobacco flavors and Virginias in particular by smoking my way through GLP's Fog City Selections. From one tin to the other, the consistent element in these are the Virginias, so you get the base, which makes determining the condiments so much easier. It is a like a series that seems almost meant to teach new smokers to taste and differentiate flavors in tobaccos.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Hello,
I am most open to any suggestions on the various tobacco blend categories to try, so as to learn what‘s out there.
Thank you!

What have you tried and liked or disliked?

You can put your location in your Profile—(please!—because people will forget!) That will save questions in the future as to where you live when you later mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos, wildfires, air quality, etc., etc..
Under your avatar, (top right, left most of three symbols) you choose "Account Details", which brings up "My Account". "My Location" is halfway down. Whatever you're comfortable with- town, city, county, state. Just country if you must.

 

[eugenepark]

AVOID the ones that are cigar brands.. Cohiba, CAO, etc.. that come in 50g tins. I'm not sure what these were meant to be, but they were excessively bland and not worth the money spent.

 

[mso489]

Cornell & Diehl blends Old Joe Krantz, Billy Budd, Stratfordshire, and Tuggle Hall, for a tour of burley blends. I think all of these can be sampled in an ounce or two in bulk. In a pouch, try Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic, burley base, Virginia condiment, favored with three liqueurs. Amphora makes five or six pouch blends that make a good sampler for not a lot of bucks. Take it slow, and save what you don't like to try again later, and remember to enjoy, which is the point.

 

[hairvise]

My suggestion would be to choose one or two blinds at the most to smoke. Although I now smoke mostly Virginia’s and Virginia periques , I would suggest a medium strength English like Westminster to learn from. Smoke 2 ounces of those two blends so that you can really see the difference in taste and burning ability as you try the tobaccos dryer or moister and packing it looser and tighter and varying your cadence. That’s what really helped me to become a much better smoker.

 

[sumusfumus]

Hello,
I am most open to any suggestions on the various tobacco blend categories to try, so as to learn what‘s out there.
Thank you!

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title

Buy sampler packets from all the big retailers that sell pipe tobacco. Buy bulk mixtures...so you can buy small amounts of blends you want to try.

Your preferences will quickly change, but you'll start to zero in on the types of mixtures that you enjoy smoking. Small sample packets will take you around the tobacco clock, quickly....and you won't have to spend a fortune on blends that are not to your liking.

Good luck with your quest.

 

[Mr.Pink]

Virginia- Peterson Flake/ Capstan's Blue/Yellow / Orlik Golden Sliced

English: Peterson early moring pipe/ GL pease Westminster
Then you can decide on what you have a taste for and move up the strength level.

 

[Rigidman]

Hello,
I am most open to any suggestions on the various tobacco blend categories to try, so as to learn what‘s out there.
Thank you!

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title

Buy "The Ultimate Pipe Book". Read, enjoy, smoke.