Representative Examples of Classic Styles

[pipesmokingtom]

it is now the law that you cannot browse tobacco products. They are kept in a cupboard which they will not open so you have to ask for things by name.

Surely this isn't universal to all businesses. I imagine if you have a "tobacconist license" or some such that products can be displayed and browsed. Are these laws more geared towards shops whose main focus isn't pipe tobacco or cigars?

 

[retrogasm]

Sounds like you're having a hard time Chaffers, that sounds draconian. Still, you have so much more than what has traditionally been available for pipesmokers just starting out; you have the entirety of the internet. There are so many resources available for you here, you just need to sort the wheat from the chaff.
I'm sure you're on top of this already since you're posting here, but still:
Glynn Quelch, UK tobacco blender
TobaccoReviews.com
As someone who started out not too long ago myself, I recognize the difficulties in trying to get a 'baseline' on what the different kinds of tobaccos taste like, and I couldn't imagine trying to remedy that, blind, inside a tobaccconists.
With that in mind, I'm going to make a couple of suggestions based on what I think is available to you there. The european countries, at least the three where I've been activly chasing tobaccos, seem to have mostly the same brands available: Dunhill, MacBaren, Samuel Gawith, Solani and Rattray's. Other brands like Fribourg&Treyer, STG, Kohlhouse&Kopp or Holger Danske, may pop up depending on the store and location, but those first five are the big players and they are able to supply a full selection.
English:

Dunhill, Early Morning Pipe (mild)

Dunhill, Nightcap (strong)

Samuel Gawith, Squadron Leader
Oriental:

Samuel Gawith, Skiff Mixture

Dunhill, London Mixture
Straight Virginia:

Samuel Gawith, Full Virginia Flake

Dunhill, Flake
Virginia/Perique (VaPer):

MacBaren, HH Acadian Perique

Rattray's, Hal O' The Wynd

Rattray's, Marlin Flake

Dunhill, Elizabethan Mixture
Burley:

Solani, Aged Burley Flake
Aromatic:

MacBaren, Scottish Blend
At least that lets you rattle of a few names the next time you're in the shop. Check them out on TobaccoReviews, you'll have five people complaining about how hot the tobacco burns to every five people claiming it's like an ice cube in their pipe but there are some common characteristics that keep repeating through the reviews.
P.S. I'm in Sweden, send me a pm if you want some creative ways to get ahold of imports from the colonies.

 

[mso489]

Forums members, even the newcomers, tend to take their pipe tobacco seriously, whatever they are smoking at the moment. I think if you are hosting a group of new pipe smokers, or people who've been away from it for a long time, you want to lean toward the milder versions of the various types of blends. Also, you want to offer blends that are moderately priced, since some of the guys sampling may not like specific blends and empty the pipe and try something else, which is fair. You might offer Sutliff Westminster (not GL Pease which is a little pricier); the Sutliff is a very pleasant English, but mild. Or for a real treat that is ultra-affordable, P&C's Home and Hearth Midtown blend Chestnut -- six different tobacco's blended with the witching hand of the famous Russ -- won't thwart the beginner, but can please many experienced smokers too. I would go easy. One bad experience might turn off a potential pipe smoker for the foreseeable future. No C&D Big 'n Burley, Nightcap, or 1792 -- at least that's my suggestion. Nightcap maybe offer with fair warning, for the especially adventurous. My first bowl of Nightcap, in a great big pipe, for an hour, luckily happened later in the evening and allowed me to shuffle back indoors in a nicotine stupor, and so to bed. But I didn't have to drive home. Starting with a filling meal is a great idea.