Rookie Tobacco Questions

[Bulldog]

In the week that has elapsed since I bought my first pipe, I have found that I very much enjoy it and look forward to the peaceful moments that seem to accompany pipe smoking. As a somewhat experienced cigar smoker, I thought that I would simply wade into pipes with little problem, I was wrong. As enjoyable as pipes are, they require a rather daunting degree of knowledge. Thanks to these forums, I have at least set out with enough information to avoid setting myself on fire and smoking dog hair, but I have run into a few issues, mostly concerning the withering quantity of available tobacco.
1)Are tins of tobacco better, worse or merely different than buying it by the ounce from a tobacconist's shop?

2)Are aromatic blends always announced on the tin's cover, or do you more knowledgeable aficionados know the difference between English blends and aromatics from the tobacco's description?

3)Are there any tobacco buying rules of thumb?
I apologize for asking so many questions.

 

[philobeddoe]

Bulk tobacco is cheaper, as to flavor, that is very debatable and each will have their own opinion. As to your second point, an aromatic tobacco wil usually tell you what it is going to taste/ smell like, ergo vanilla, chocolate etc., but not always, as with Lakelands, which are somewhere in between. Most English mixtures will say English, Balkan, Latakia or Orientals on the tin. These are key words to look for, but there are exceptions to this as well. My best advise is to ask the tobacconist if you are at a B&M, or check tobaccoreviews.com for more info before laying out cash for something if you are unsure of its content.

 

[joshwolftree]

here's my attempt at an answer with a few months of cake built up in the bowls
1) depends on you. I personally like buying from my local B&M by the oz. Mostly because he makes some good blends and every time I walk in he suggests I load my pipe up with a blend he thinks I'll enjoy base on my selections from the weeks previous, then we sit in the front of the store with a cup of coffee smoke our pipes, and BS for half an hour to an hour depending on which pipe I brought that day. After that I generally grab a few ounces of my go to (sleepy Creek) and an ounce or two of other tobaccos I've liked.

I've only ever bought one tinned tobacco. I was out of town and stopped by a chain place(smoker friendly). It reeked of cigarettes and the girl working the counter was rude and harrying it may have just been a bad day for her, and I won't hold that against her or the shop, but the jars of by the ounce were all behind the counter and I just knew if I started asking to sniff at the tobaccos to make a selection I was gonna get an eyeroll. so I started checking out the tins. I found Villiger 1888 Cocktail Hour. I started reading the can script and it seemed like something I would enjoy. When I got to the bottom and read "made for Peter Stokkebye Tobbaksfbrik A/S", I remembered the Stokkebye name floating around this forum and decided to give it a whirl. The tobacco itself is wonderfull I smoke it most mornings with my coffee. The Cirmcumstances leading to me getting it left me wary of chain shops.
2) I will defer to my elders
3) you don't know what you like till you've smoked it
4) questions are good. I've been asking a bunch since I got on here and I have yet to have somebody point out what a bone head I am.

Keep on smoking

 

[loneredtree]

Welcome to the forum Bulldog.
#1. The bulk blends are prone to drying out. They usually have added humidity agents that I do not like. You can try an once of a bulk that you have in a tin and compare the two.
#3. In pipe smoking the only rule is there are no rules. Smoke what you like and like what you smoke. :crazy:

 

[judcole]

1. Some blends come only tinned, others come only in bulk, while still others are available both ways. For long term storage, I prefer tins - they are simply easier to store, and not liable to break.
2. Reading the tin description will usually - but not always - give you a pretty good idea of what's what. Sometimes you just have to know.
3. Tobacco buying rules of thumb - well, although there is not always a direct correlation between price and quality, it's probably safe to say that blends that come in 12 and 16 ounce bags do not have the highest quality leaf. This is especially true if said bags are purchased in a gas station, drug store, or convenience store. :P

 

[baronsamedi]

1)Purely personal preference. Some tobaccos are only available in tin form and some only in bulk form, though. Bulk is usually cheaper, but not always. I can buy an 8oz tin of H&H Louisiana Red online for the same price as 4oz of any bulk from my B&M. The B&M should be happy to let you sample a blend here and there so that they can sell you a few ounces of one or the other.
2)Sometimes, but not always. It pays to do a little research, like luxurytobaccoreviews.com or simply googling the name of the blend and seeing what the components are and what flavorings are used, if any.
3)Not really. Smoke what you like. If you are not sure what you like, try everything you can until you find out.

 

[Bulldog]

Thank you gentleman for the advice and the welcome.
Mr. joshwolftree - Interesting story about the Villager 1888 Cocktail Hour. My first experience in a shop where I was focusing on pipes instead of cirgars was a little odd and may have been similar to yours. It is a shop which focuses heavily on cigars (beautiful walk in humidor), however when I asked about the 'by the ounce' tobacco, the young men tending the shop stared at me as if my head was turning colors. I just picked one that sounded like something somone would smoke in a pipe and hurried out the door.

 

[jsiddle]

1)Are tins of tobacco better, worse or merely different than buying it by the ounce from a tobacconist's shop?
Some tobaccos only come in tins, but if you are asking about a quality of a same tobacco in tin vs bulk... I see none.
2)Are aromatic blends always announced on the tin's cover, or do you more knowledgeable aficionados know the difference between English blends and aromatics from the tobacco's description?
Aeromatics are not always labeled as such (picked up a tin of mine to verify) If it has a delicious sounding

description on the tin, that's your first giveaway (mine says irish cream + white chocolate truffles)
3)Are there any tobacco buying rules of thumb?
Buy as much as you want

 

[brassonly]

I have only been smoking pipes for about 3 months now & must say I am really enjoying it. There are no tobacco shops close to where I live . So far I have been totally depending on info I am getting from online sites for advice & help in this wonderful new hoby. I have only got to try 6 different tobacco blends so far. All of them are in tins & I am really loving trying new ones. Hopefully in the next few months I can add a few more blends to my collection. I find the vast variety of pipe tobacco quite amazing and am really thankful for the great tobacco sites online where I am ordering these new tobaccos.

 

[Bulldog]

Rothnh - thank you for the mason jar idea. I had no idea that an open tin of tobacco would perish after a month or so, and I had been wondering how long my open tins would last. I feel a littlebetter about opening multiple tins now.

 

[daytonsean]

1. My only difference with tin vs. bulk is that if I can buy it in bulk, I will. It's cheaper and I've yet to have a problem with it being too dry or too wet. But, like 95% of the stuff I smoke is tin only tobacco. Other than that I doubt you'll find much difference in like brands.
2. Jsiddle makes a good point about aro's; if it has some kind of non-tobacco flavoring on the tin or jar, it's probably an aro smoke. But again, if you're buying at a shop, just ask someone behind the counter, they should be able to tell you if it's an aro or not.
3. First rule about pipe club, "there is no pipe club." Also, most of the tobacco smoked in the U.S. are aro smokes. And no one can find the holy grail of smokes for you; only you can be assigned to that task.

 

[Bulldog]

After reading your responses, especially Jud, Jsiddle, and Daytonsean's, it would appear that the term "Aromatic" is as much a descriptive term given by the individual as it is an official title applied to the tobacco by the manufacturer.
Yesterday I tried Dunhill's London blend. I very much enjoyed this tobacco and wanted to get an idea how other pipe smokers characterize this variety. On tobaccoreviews.com, the first post identifies this blend as an "English" blend, a description that seems to make sense given what I have already read about the term "English". However, several posts into the thread a different individual refers to the same tobacco as an "English aromatic". This observation would seem to strengthen or support my opinion that the term "aromatic" is a subjective one, applied by the smoker not the grower or processor of the tobacco.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

1. I haven't noticed much difference from bulk/tins. I've ordered a number of blends that I tried in the tin first and like I said didn't notice much difference.
2. Aromatics aren't always announced on the tin description. Sometimes tins barely have a description of the tobacco at all. Case in point most of the 7 Seas tins from Mac Baren, which btw are all aromatics. As for English blends, that's a huge story. Some say if it's from England than it's an English blend and some say if it has Virginia, Latakia, and Oriental it's an English blend. Still others will say an English blend is merely a blend that doesn't have an added casing/top dressing. Good references are luxurytobaccoreviews.com or tobaccoreviews.com. There the descriptions give what leaf combination the blend is made of and list any flavorings that have been added.
3. Rules for buying tobacco online... use site sponsors lol. A lot of times I'll try and make my orders over $95 to get the free shipping. There aren't really any persay rules though. I will say it would be beneficial to try out sampler packs and since you're coming from cigars I'd say give some Latakia blends a try like Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe or McClelland's Frog Morton. Over the years spent here it seems a good number of cigar guys get into the Latakia blends more so than aromatics. Last of all ENJOY!

 

[lordofthepiperings]

The term aromatic generally means that the blend has been given a casing or top dressing added to the blend in the attempt of pleasing those around the smoker. Usually these blends smell sweeter and are more enjoyed by non-smokers one is smoking around. Often they can inpart some of that flavor in the smoke and be enjoyable for the smoker as well, case in point Lane Limited's 1Q.
Recently, it seems, blenders have been making "aromatic English" blends which are blends typically made up of a Virginia, Latakia, and Oriental leaf mixture that have had a casing or top dressing added to them, usually some form of rum or whiskey. GL Pease's Sextant and Mac Baren's Plumcake (which Plumcake has been around since the 50s though) come to mind. Those might be good as a crossover intro into Englsih blends from aromatics.

 

[ravkesef]

I've been smoking a pipe for 53 years, so that qualifies me to recognize a pipe when I see it, and perhaps a few other things I've learned along the way. The manufacturers say that there is no difference between a particular tobacco in bulk or in a tin, and a number of critical reviewers have confirmed this. My own experience bears this out. Joshwolftree said it best: "you don't know what you'll like until you've tried it out." Since you're relatively new, play the field. See what's out there. I smoked Balkan Sobranie for over 20 years--today there are other blends like I like as much and more. the bottom line for any tobacco is this: if you like it, it's a great smoke. It was put on earth by God, and the blender's hands have made it into something that may be wonderful--or not, but you have the right to be the sole judge.

We all suffer from TAD, and it's entirely possible that I have enough tobacco stockpiled to last longer than I will. the tins keep in their own special way, and the bulks I've learned to keep fresh and smokeable. buy two ounces of several tobaccos, English, aromatics, Virginias, etc., because you may find that on any given day you'll be smoking more than one tobacco, depending on your mood and taste of the moment. The tobacco you enjoyed so much on Tuesday morning may seem a bit flat on Tuesday evening. That's part of the joy of pipe smoking--you can play the field, and you're not a bad guy for doing so. This is really all about you, so light up, puff away, and enjoy.

By the way, the advice to patronize the site sponsors is excellent--they're reputable people who deal in quality merchandise. They stand behind their sales and I've never been disappointed. In fact, I can honestly say I've never had it so good. So welcome to the club, there's plenty of good advice to be had here, new friends to make, and a lifetime of puffing pleasure ahead of you.

 

[Bulldog]

Thank you all for the early advice. The gentlemen on this forum have made breaking into pipe smoking far easier that I initially thought it would be.

 

[robertelliott]

From my personal experience the tobacco that you purchase is important to your pipe smoking experience, however it's only part of it . Try to stay away from the moist black aromatic tobacco at first, they have a tendency to burn hot and through puffing drawing moisture into your mouth piece, resulting tongue bite ! I would purcase several 1 oz. samples from your tobacco shop. The key to your pipe smoking experience is patience. You will choose and smoke your favorite blends over a course in time, like all of us do, however I am willing to add another blend to my pipe tobacco reseme. Robert Elliott
"Happy mortal! He who knows pleasure which a pipe bastows"

Isaac Hawkins Browne