I'm going into my third year of pipe smoking this year, and I think the biggest thing I've learned along the way is that the road to finding the right pipe blends for me hasn't been a straight path down an open highway, it's been a long and winding trail through a forest that twists and turns; and doubles back on itself from time to time.
The beginning of my pipe smoking journey started with aromatics, Cult Blood Red Moon and a good dozen or so wet and goopy Sutliff and Peter Stokkebye bulk blends, as well as just as many less soaked aromatics from Mac Baren and Cornell & Diehl; but before too long I decided I wanted to smoke more natural tasting blends. For awhile I smoked a lot of Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia and Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices, Cornell & Diehl Pegasus and Haunted Bookshop, and Peterson Early Morning Pipe.
Then came the heavy hitting dark fired blends, my favorites being Gawith's 1792 Flake and Coniston Cut Plug, War Horse Bar and War Horse Green, Peterson Irish Flake and Nightcap too (though I suppose the latter isn't really a dark fired blend). I enjoyed the mellow sedation from the high nicotine content, but I always had to make sure I had eaten before smoking and could never smoke them for more than 15 or 20 minutes without getting nicotine sickness; and having to only smoke after eating and watch the clock the entire time you're smoking to make sure you don't smoke too long and get sick really takes away from the meditative relaxation aspect of pipe smoking. It was nice, but not quite what I wanted from an everyday smoke.
So, back to the Virginias, Burleys, and English blends I went. Eventually though I realized that natural unadulterated Virginias stung the roof of my mouth and the back of my sinuses, Burleys scratched up the back of my throat, and none of them were compatible with my habitual desire to retrohale. Twenty-seven years of cigarette and hookah smoking really got me accustomed to breathing the smoke out through my nose for maximum flavor and enjoyment, but trying to do that with the overwhelming majority of pipe blends just stings and burns the everliving daylights out of my sinuses and always leaves me with really sore nasal passages and a bit of a headache for hours after smoking. Using a pipe with a filter does smooth over the throat irritating qualities of Burley for me and helps reduce the retrohale sting somewhat, but still not enough to make it a comfortable smoking experience with my preferred Virginias, Burleys, or Englishes.
Being unable to break myself of my habitual retrohaling I felt rather disheartened and burnt out on pipe smoking for a few months, until one day on a whim I decided to try some wet and goopy aromatics again. I fired up a big Country Gentleman cob full of Captain Black Original and went for a walk, and it wasn't until about halfway through the pipe that I suddenly realized my sinuses didn't hurt. I was retrohaling every puff and it was perfectly comfortable, with no sting at all! As it turns out, those wet and heavily topped aromatics I was in such a hurry to get away from at the start of my pipe journey seem to be the only style of blend that doesn't irritate my sinuses when retrohaled, and they don't sting the roof of my mouth or scratch up the back of my throat either! They're a perfectly comfortable smoking experience for me.
Fast forward a couple months later and I'm back to more or less where I started, smoking Captain Black Original and Lane Very Cherry every day and enjoying relaxing with my pipe and retrohaling to my heart's content with a happy and comfortable noggin. My pipe journey started off just wanting to figure out how the heck to smoke a pipe without getting tongue bite, then once I got that down I wanted a natural tasting smoke, then a strong smoke, then back to a natural smoke, before finally deciding that what I really wanted most of all from my pipe smoking was just a comfortable smoke.
I still keep my favorite Virginias, Burleys, and English blends around in jars on the shelf to revisit now and again when I get sick of smoking sweet stuff, and I still dip into the 1792 Flake and Coniston Cut Plug from time to time when the mood is right, but what I really value most of all these days is just being able to relax and feel physically comfortable smoking a pipe the way I like to smoke it; which is retrohaling almost every puff.
A piper's journey of exploration never really ends though, so now I'm working my way through the whole catalog of Lane aromatics to see what I like and what I don't. C&D, Mac Baren, and Gawith's aromatics almost all light a fire in my sinuses when retrohaled, but Lane's have been by and large quite comfortable so that's what I'm exploring at the moment.
It's fun trying new blends, and even after all the twists and turns along the way I'm still really enjoying my pipe journey! It's a long and winding road, but wherever your pipe journey has taken you I hope that you're enjoying yours too!
Here's some Lane Very Cherry for the road:
The beginning of my pipe smoking journey started with aromatics, Cult Blood Red Moon and a good dozen or so wet and goopy Sutliff and Peter Stokkebye bulk blends, as well as just as many less soaked aromatics from Mac Baren and Cornell & Diehl; but before too long I decided I wanted to smoke more natural tasting blends. For awhile I smoked a lot of Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia and Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices, Cornell & Diehl Pegasus and Haunted Bookshop, and Peterson Early Morning Pipe.
Then came the heavy hitting dark fired blends, my favorites being Gawith's 1792 Flake and Coniston Cut Plug, War Horse Bar and War Horse Green, Peterson Irish Flake and Nightcap too (though I suppose the latter isn't really a dark fired blend). I enjoyed the mellow sedation from the high nicotine content, but I always had to make sure I had eaten before smoking and could never smoke them for more than 15 or 20 minutes without getting nicotine sickness; and having to only smoke after eating and watch the clock the entire time you're smoking to make sure you don't smoke too long and get sick really takes away from the meditative relaxation aspect of pipe smoking. It was nice, but not quite what I wanted from an everyday smoke.
So, back to the Virginias, Burleys, and English blends I went. Eventually though I realized that natural unadulterated Virginias stung the roof of my mouth and the back of my sinuses, Burleys scratched up the back of my throat, and none of them were compatible with my habitual desire to retrohale. Twenty-seven years of cigarette and hookah smoking really got me accustomed to breathing the smoke out through my nose for maximum flavor and enjoyment, but trying to do that with the overwhelming majority of pipe blends just stings and burns the everliving daylights out of my sinuses and always leaves me with really sore nasal passages and a bit of a headache for hours after smoking. Using a pipe with a filter does smooth over the throat irritating qualities of Burley for me and helps reduce the retrohale sting somewhat, but still not enough to make it a comfortable smoking experience with my preferred Virginias, Burleys, or Englishes.
Being unable to break myself of my habitual retrohaling I felt rather disheartened and burnt out on pipe smoking for a few months, until one day on a whim I decided to try some wet and goopy aromatics again. I fired up a big Country Gentleman cob full of Captain Black Original and went for a walk, and it wasn't until about halfway through the pipe that I suddenly realized my sinuses didn't hurt. I was retrohaling every puff and it was perfectly comfortable, with no sting at all! As it turns out, those wet and heavily topped aromatics I was in such a hurry to get away from at the start of my pipe journey seem to be the only style of blend that doesn't irritate my sinuses when retrohaled, and they don't sting the roof of my mouth or scratch up the back of my throat either! They're a perfectly comfortable smoking experience for me.
Fast forward a couple months later and I'm back to more or less where I started, smoking Captain Black Original and Lane Very Cherry every day and enjoying relaxing with my pipe and retrohaling to my heart's content with a happy and comfortable noggin. My pipe journey started off just wanting to figure out how the heck to smoke a pipe without getting tongue bite, then once I got that down I wanted a natural tasting smoke, then a strong smoke, then back to a natural smoke, before finally deciding that what I really wanted most of all from my pipe smoking was just a comfortable smoke.
I still keep my favorite Virginias, Burleys, and English blends around in jars on the shelf to revisit now and again when I get sick of smoking sweet stuff, and I still dip into the 1792 Flake and Coniston Cut Plug from time to time when the mood is right, but what I really value most of all these days is just being able to relax and feel physically comfortable smoking a pipe the way I like to smoke it; which is retrohaling almost every puff.
A piper's journey of exploration never really ends though, so now I'm working my way through the whole catalog of Lane aromatics to see what I like and what I don't. C&D, Mac Baren, and Gawith's aromatics almost all light a fire in my sinuses when retrohaled, but Lane's have been by and large quite comfortable so that's what I'm exploring at the moment.
It's fun trying new blends, and even after all the twists and turns along the way I'm still really enjoying my pipe journey! It's a long and winding road, but wherever your pipe journey has taken you I hope that you're enjoying yours too!
Here's some Lane Very Cherry for the road:
Last edited:
