Tastes Burnt?

[SouthernGuy]

I'm very new to this, I'm a cigar smoker, but that's become expensive, plus I've always been interested in trying pipes.
My first few attempts have been horrible. I was trying to take my time, but it tasted burnt? I'll start over. So, I was bored and desperate with all this Covid-19 mess going on. I drove up to a tobacco store and went thru the drive thru and bought a pipe and some tobacco. I know, I'm crazy. I had no idea what I was doing, I just told the girl give me what they sell a lot of. Well, I ended up with a bag of Gambler pipe tobacco, regular flavor. I rushed home, put some in the pipe, tried not to pack it too much and lit up. OMG, this taste terrible! But wait, I smoke cigars, and I used to smoke cigarettes. I should be able to do this. At any rate, I went online an ordered some tobacco, so now I have the following:

Peter Stokkebye 38 Highland Whiskey
Stanwell Vanilla1.75 Ounce Tin
Sutliff Creme Brulee
Captain Black Original (Regular)

So far, the Stanwell is my favorite, although I'm still having trouble with a somewhat burnt taste sometimes. I can't for the life of me figure out what is too wet, or too dry, or if I'm packing too tight or not enough. I don't think I'm packing too tight. My pipe won't stay lit, so I have to constantly relight. This is so frustrating! But I'm determined to get through this!

Any suggestions???

Thanks in advance!

 

[BROBS]

You got cigarette tobacco originally.
the 4 you just got are goopers besides the Stanwell. Highland whiskey should be ok.

let the tobacco dry until it’s damn near crispy. It takes a long time.
also just let the tobacco trickle into the pipe until it’s full.. push it down VERY lightly only in the middle with your fingertip and top it off. When you char it.. take a few good draws where the flame goes deep into the tobacco and get it blackened all over the top. Then light it again but only lightly draw the flame right over the top of the tobacco without letting the flame touch it. Then get a good ember and smoke away. Get the ember going and let it cool down. Get it going and cool it down. Etc

you should only tamp a few times throughout the whole thing.

 

[Papamique]

You got cigarette tobacco originally.
the 4 you just got are goopers besides the Stanwell. Highland whiskey should be ok.

let the tobacco dry until it’s damn near crispy. It takes a long time.
also just let the tobacco trickle into the pipe until it’s full.. push it down VERY lightly only in the middle with your fingertip and top it off. When you char it.. take a few good draws where the flame goes deep into the tobacco and get it blackened all over the top. Then light it again but only lightly draw the flame right over the top of the tobacco without letting the flame touch it. Then get a good ember and smoke away. Get the ember going and let it cool down. Get it going and cool it down. Etc

you should only tamp a few times throughout the whole thing.

A pretty good instruction of one way to do it. Well done.

 

[SpookedPiper]

You got cigarette tobacco originally.
the 4 you just got are goopers besides the Stanwell. Highland whiskey should be ok.

let the tobacco dry until it’s damn near crispy. It takes a long time.
also just let the tobacco trickle into the pipe until it’s full.. push it down VERY lightly only in the middle with your fingertip and top it off. When you char it.. take a few good draws where the flame goes deep into the tobacco and get it blackened all over the top. Then light it again but only lightly draw the flame right over the top of the tobacco without letting the flame touch it. Then get a good ember and smoke away. Get the ember going and let it cool down. Get it going and cool it down. Etc

you should only tamp a few times throughout the whole thing.

Well said, well stated!

 

[SouthernGuy]

You got cigarette tobacco originally.
the 4 you just got are goopers besides the Stanwell. Highland whiskey should be ok.

let the tobacco dry until it’s damn near crispy. It takes a long time.
also just let the tobacco trickle into the pipe until it’s full.. push it down VERY lightly only in the middle with your fingertip and top it off. When you char it.. take a few good draws where the flame goes deep into the tobacco and get it blackened all over the top. Then light it again but only lightly draw the flame right over the top of the tobacco without letting the flame touch it. Then get a good ember and smoke away. Get the ember going and let it cool down. Get it going and cool it down. Etc

you should only tamp a few times throughout the whole thing.

Cigarette tobacco? It says Pipe tobacco on the bag. At any rate, I'm tossing it. It's horrible. Thanks for the response, and the good tips. My tobacco is not crispy by any means. Some of them are even sticky. What do you mean by "goopers"? Any suggestions for a good newbie tobacco?

Thanks Again!

 

[twoonefive]

Cigarette tobacco? It says Pipe tobacco on the bag.

That is a way for that manufacturer to sell RYO cigarette tobacco and skirt the tax laws in most states. It has caused some considerable problems for us in the pipe community.

 

[bullet08]

If you grab the tobacco between thumb and index finger and squeeze, you will feel cold dampness. Dry till it's no longer cold or damp but the tobacco is not crumbling and breaking apart. The edge of the tobacco might be crispy at this point. Depends on how wet your tobacco is, it might take 30-45 min to an overnight. If your place is very very humid, you might have to find another way to dry it like tea warmer.

 

[logs]

You may also be smoking too fast. Letting the pipe get too hot it can cause unpleasant flavors. If the bowl is hot to the touch where you can't handle it, probably you're smoking too fast and puffing too much. Plus the aromatics you're smoking don't like high heat. If you can pull back a bit it might help.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Some of them are even sticky. What do you mean by "goopers”?

You said it when you mentioned them being sticky. It’s usually a ton of propylene glycol. It’s a humectant. A lot of not-so-great aromatic blends are drowned in it and heavily topped with some artificial flavoring to mask the mediocre tobacco. I’m not writing off all aromatic blends though. There are plenty of good ones.

 

[Pipelady20]

I'm pretty new myself. You look like you have a good beginning stash. The experts will chime in but if you have time peruse YouTube videos. They've been a big help to me.

I'm very new to this, I'm a cigar smoker, but that's become expensive, plus I've always been interested in trying pipes.
My first few attempts have been horrible. I was trying to take my time, but it tasted burnt? I'll start over. So, I was bored and desperate with all this Covid-19 mess going on. I drove up to a tobacco store and went thru the drive thru and bought a pipe and some tobacco. I know, I'm crazy. I had no idea what I was doing, I just told the girl give me what they sell a lot of. Well, I ended up with a bag of Gambler pipe tobacco, regular flavor. I rushed home, put some in the pipe, tried not to pack it too much and lit up. OMG, this taste terrible! But wait, I smoke cigars, and I used to smoke cigarettes. I should be able to do this. At any rate, I went online an ordered some tobacco, so now I have the following:

Peter Stokkebye 38 Highland Whiskey
Stanwell Vanilla1.75 Ounce Tin
Sutliff Creme Brulee
Captain Black Original (Regular)

So far, the Stanwell is my favorite, although I'm still having trouble with a somewhat burnt taste sometimes. I can't for the life of me figure out what is too wet, or too dry, or if I'm packing too tight or not enough. I don't think I'm packing too tight. My pipe won't stay lit, so I have to constantly relight. This is so frustrating! But I'm determined to get through this!

Any suggestions???

Thanks in advance!

 

[twoonefive]

SmokingPipes has a sale on Sutliff right now -

Sutliff Pipe Tobacco

Smokingpipes is your one stop shop for Sutliff Pipe Tobacco and all your tobacco smoking needs. From new and estate tobacco pipes to tin pipe tobacco and bulk pipe tobacco, we have everything you need

www.smokingpipes.com

I also sent you a PM about samples if you are interested.

 

[BROBS]

Cigarette tobacco? It says Pipe tobacco on the bag. At any rate, I'm tossing it. It's horrible. Thanks for the response, and the good tips. My tobacco is not crispy by any means. Some of them are even sticky. What do you mean by "goopers"? Any suggestions for a good newbie tobacco?

Thanks Again!

Lots of roll your own cigarette tobacco is labeled as pipe tobacco to avoid tax. Very few actual pipe tobaccos come in bags at the store like that unless you’re buying 1lb bulks.

by goopers I mean aromatics really in general. Try something without flavoring like a Virginia/ Perique or an English blend. Also try Carter Hall or Prince Albert. Or Sir Walter Raleigh or even the aromatic of that one. I’d start there (VaPer, English, and Burley) and see which one or ones strike your fancy.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

BROBS speaks my experience too.
Coming from cigars myself, I can also tell you that I had better luck with non-aromatic blends when I first made the switch to pipes, FWIW. I wasn’t really feeling the toppings or the sweetened Cavendish. I was craving that natural tobacco taste and some nicotine that I was familiar with from my cigars. Peterson’s Irish Flake was the first blend I ever really had a good bowl with, and still like it a lot to this day. When you open the tin, you’ll know it’s not a “gooper.” ?
The flakes do come a bit damp though and need some drying time.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Yup, dry that stuff good and smoke it slow. I bet you could even make the ryo taste good, if you pack it right.

If it taste burnt, you're doing something right. Burning tobacco is the first step to smoking. Haha

 

[SouthernGuy]

Yup, dry that stuff good and smoke it slow. I bet you could even make the ryo taste good, if you pack it right.

If it taste burnt, you're doing something right. Burning tobacco is the first step to smoking. Haha

Ha, I'm tossing the RYO

 

[hauntedmyst]

You got cigarette tobacco originally.
the 4 you just got are goopers besides the Stanwell. Highland whiskey should be ok.

let the tobacco dry until it’s damn near crispy. It takes a long time.
also just let the tobacco trickle into the pipe until it’s full.. push it down VERY lightly only in the middle with your fingertip and top it off. When you char it.. take a few good draws where the flame goes deep into the tobacco and get it blackened all over the top. Then light it again but only lightly draw the flame right over the top of the tobacco without letting the flame touch it. Then get a good ember and smoke away. Get the ember going and let it cool down. Get it going and cool it down. Etc

you should only tamp a few times throughout the whole thing.

don't listen to Brobs, he drinks Zima. Instead do this,
let the tobacco dry until it’s damn near crispy. It takes a long time. also just let the tobacco trickle into the pipe until it’s full.. push it down VERY lightly only in the middle with your fingertip and top it off.

 

[didimauw]

don't listen to Brobs, he drinks Zima. Instead do this,
let the tobacco dry until it’s damn near crispy. It takes a long time. also just let the tobacco trickle into the pipe until it’s full.. push it down VERY lightly only in the middle with your fingertip and top it off.

Two totally different responses...how do we know which one is correct?????

 

[Chasing Embers]

Instead do this,
let the tobacco dry until it’s damn near crispy. It takes a long time. also just let the tobacco trickle into the pipe until it’s full.. push it down VERY lightly only in the middle with your fingertip and top it off.

This.

 

[anotherbob]

Cigarette tobacco? It says Pipe tobacco on the bag. At any rate, I'm tossing it. It's horrible. Thanks for the response, and the good tips. My tobacco is not crispy by any means. Some of them are even sticky. What do you mean by "goopers"? Any suggestions for a good newbie tobacco?

Thanks Again!

it's a tax dodge. I mean the labeling on the bag of gambler.

 

[Fiddlepiper]

As someone who is still fairly new to pipe smoking all I would say is to persevere!

Follow the advice given above, take your time and it’ll come. And when it does, boy is it worth it! Took me a good while of less than ideal tasting bowls to get a properly good one and even now I get a rubbish one sometimes.