I really loved unfiltered Camels when I smoked cigs. Thought they tasted and smelled amazing, but my daily smoke were Pall Mall 100s. They didn’t taste good, but they tasted like satisfaction and that was all that mattered.
My girlfriend smokes yellow American Spirits, and my last cigarette was one of hers. I used to think they were really good, sweet, not chemical tasting etc...but I smoked one after going pipe-only for eight months and it tasted like burning plastic. I was kind of blown away by how unpleasant it was. Perhaps I was being too critical, but it made me realize that I was just used to the burning paper, inferior taste of cigarettes for so long that while I was a confirmed cig smoker, I was convinced I liked it.
Cigs vs pipes is not a fair comparison. It’s like comparing a McDouble to a dry-aged steak. One you scarf down in three seconds because you’re hungry, the other you savor.
Now, because I spent nearly 20 years of my life sucking down cigs and my blood was probably 43% nicotine for all waking hours, I do love and smoke a lot of strong pipe blends.