The Explorer...Going All In for Adventure's Sake

[Marie]

Any others out there who like to cast their tobacco smoking net far for the sake of exploration? I was grateful for the STG thread yesterday:

Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S to acquire Mac Baren Tobacco Company A/S :: General Pipe Smoking Discussion

Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S to acquire Mac Baren Tobacco Company A/S

pipesmagazine.com

It made me think about the next bend in the road for my pipe smoking journey, and a bit of self-reflection. I prefer discovery for the sake of discovery to a large degree (I understand this is subjective). Yes I may find a blend that knocks my socks off...but then the the constant pressure to stock up with it to the hilt when I see other threads that talk about blenders blending for immediate enjoyment versus deep cellaring. Some of it an incredible experience 10 years down the road, others absolute dissapointment. There is a certain beauty (to me) in relishing something unique in the moment until it is gone and vanishes forever or ressurected but slightly different and never the same. This may change for me, I am open to that.

Until then, I want to journey through the small batch blenders, get a bit of the road less travelled by and wander off the beaten path. I have an order placed with KBV for some Moriarty 221B, Hand of Gotz and Dark Fired Cherry. I may find myself exhalted or crash into the firey depths of the underworld, yet I will be forever changed by the experience. As an explorer at heart, that is the nature of what I seek (provided I have some awareness if I can of the edges by those who have gone before me).

Are there any others out there in the forum that have a bit of the 'road less travelled' by running through their veins?

 

[didimauw]

I am the complete opposite. I have such a hard time with many tobaccos. I just stick to burleys, or burley/Virginia blends. I'm way to scared to try anything else these days. So I found 4 I like, and cellared deep!

Boring. I know I know...lol

 

[anotherbob]

I like taking the slow road. I have a few regulars and throw in something new or that I have not smoked in a while for a bit of variety. I find personally that there is actually more adventure in digging more deeply into a blend then jumping around a lot. I don't think you really get to know or experience a blend until you've smoked quite a bit of it. A lot of the best parts of a blend don't jump out at you, they kind of slowly reveal themselves. In a way it's a lot like people. You can have hundreds of friends and that's great and meet new people all the time, but it takes a while to really get to know someone.
Oh my gosh just noticed your signature. Wonderful and oddly in line with my philosophy on trying different blends, or more accurately digging into the same blends for a long time.

 

[Marie]

I like taking the slow road. I have a few regulars and throw in something new or that I have not smoked in a while for a bit of variety. I find personally that there is actually more adventure in digging more deeply into a blend then jumping around a lot. I don't think you really get to know or experience a blend until you've smoked quite a bit of it. A lot of the best parts of a blend don't jump out at you, they kind of slowly reveal themselves. In a way it's a lot like people. You can have hundreds of friends and that's great and meet new people all the time, but it takes a while to really get to know someone.
Oh my gosh just noticed your signature. Wonderful and oddly in line with my philosophy on trying different blends, or more accurately digging into the same blends for a long time.

I do share your sentiment about the getting to know a blend instead of darting around constantly. That is still part of my road. I also want to stretch in to new territory a bit as well at the same time. Toggle back and forth. A different kind of approach to palette cleansing.

 

[anotherbob]

I do share your sentiment about the getting to know a blend instead of darting around constantly. That is still part of my road. I also want to stretch in to new territory a bit as well at the same time. Toggle back and forth. A different kind of approach to palette cleansing.

heck yes

 

[BingBong]

I spent a couple of years "codgering" with one blend and then having one guest blend for a change of pace - a guest could be next year's codger, or I would buy a couple more tins for "later".

This year, I've been doing the same, but three codgers and twenty guests, more queued up kind of thing. And now I've fried my mouth and had to stop completely for a few days. I think I'll coast through the backlog for a bit when I start again... but best laid plans etc. And some blends, once I finish them, are either gone for good or so rare and irregular, they might as well be extinct.

But yes, I used to mix live sound in my younger days, could not stand studio work. I loved the immediacy, the risk, the uniqueness of each show, each was one chance to get right, give 100%, to savour in retrospect. I know your path!

 

[Cracklin' Tobaccy]

I wandered around for a few years until I settled into my taste in tobacco. These days I know what I like and my pipe smoking has become a comfortable routine. I still check out blends that look good to me but my main focus is keeping my old reliables in ample stock. With the 7 or 8 tobaccos I do maintain I can blend to suit my preferences of flavor and strength easily with no trouble. I think the hardest part for me has been realizing what does not suit my taste and moving on from it.

 

[Marie]

I wandered around for a few years until I settled into my taste in tobacco. These days I know what I like and my pipe smoking has become a comfortable routine. I still check out blends that look good to me but my main focus is keeping my old reliables in ample stock. With the 7 or 8 tobaccos I do maintain I can blend to suit my preferences of flavor and strength easily with no trouble. I think the hardest part for me has been realizing what does not suit my taste and moving on from it.

I have gotten to this place with black tea and flavored black tea. I know enough of the range that I blend myself according to what I have (which is what I like to have on hand for basic variety). I keep a good basic couple of black teas (strong robust english breakfast, scottish breakfast), then some earl grey with china leaves. From there I can change up the variety with smaller quantities of other flavors that I blend myself. Right now I am looking to order for the Summer/Fall - mango, coconut or berry flavored black, vanilla or chocolate, russian caravan as condiment blend-ins. I have a great masala spice blend recipe that I put in my grinder for the colder months that I add a malty irish or scottish blend to with milk and sugar, sometimes steeped with fresh mint leaves.

 

[Manawydan]

As a relatively new pipe smoker, I have been intentionally trying as many blends as I can afford and smoke. I read voraciously and use the reviews (esp JimInks) as a guideline for blends that are potentially worth pursuing, but then add to that my own interest. To date I have tried 26 different blends across the spectrum and have accumulated 54. My palette has been evolving even in the short time I've been smoking and I have also started to develop a bit of an understanding of some of the subtler notes. It has been a fun and rewarding experience so far.

The blends I have are from fifteen different brands. Some are large corporate but many are smaller boutiques. I do lean toward the smaller batch releases regardless -- they have been the most interesting to me so far -- but can appreciate an old standard that has survived decades and is still loved.

Lastly I must say that I agree with the sentiment of enjoying what's available in the moment. I find myself becoming concerned at times that a given blend is going to disappear and that leads to an impetus to stock up, but I try to temper that urge. New blends crop up all the time and there is a lot of creativity in the blenders out there. Unless pipe tobacco itself is banned, there will always be something to smoke.

We are rich with choice! Enjoy the journey!

 

[fireground_piper]

I have mostly settled into C&D. Most of my small blender purchases have gone in the garbage or been donated unfortunately so I have stopped buying.

 

[Scottmi]

Life's too short to stay stock.

i love finding things i like, and can never stop trying.

 

[dingdong]

Life's too short to stay stock.

i love finding things i like, and can never stop trying.

Yes , and you can only live once so why stop here and not there?

 

[augiebd]

I am at about the ten year point as well. I have tried to explore the different categories of tobacco and the examples that are well regarded. Over time, I’ve focused more on what I like, English and VA/BURS. My cellar is not deep but I have about 10 lbs of unprocessed whole leaf of all varieties. We have a law that only allows you to possess 1000g (2.2 lbs) of processed tobacco. I have some tins and can blend as well. I usually press my whole leaf.

 

[anotherbob]

I am going to say it again learning how to get the most out of a smoke will do more then any pipe or blend will towards increasing ones enjoyment.

 

[Marie]

I am going to say it again learning how to get the most out of a smoke will do more then any pipe or blend will towards increasing ones enjoyment.

I agree..and doing that at the same time as I explore the range. Yesterday I had my second pass of Officer's Club in a 3mil pipe with a smaller apple bowl. It was my first cool smoke throughout and I was able to taste notes of cherry for the first time even though it is not listed on the description. I already like this blend and will continue smoking it as I explore (not so much new blends, as I want to be able to differentiate over time between the woods and different types of processing).

 

[anotherbob]

I agree..and doing that at the same time as I explore the range. Yesterday I had my second pass of Officer's Club in a 3mil pipe with a smaller apple bowl. It was my first cool smoke throughout and I was able to taste notes of cherry for the first time even though it is not listed on the description. I already like this blend and will continue smoking it as I explore (not so much new blends, as I want to be able to differentiate over time between the woods and different types of processing).

that blend where you get it will always be special. University Flake for me.

 

[kcghost]

I used to try some strange tobaccos in all my years of smoking but about 15 years ago I decided to cut the foolishness and get it down to just things I like.

 

[SmokingInTheWind]

"Until then, I want to journey through the small batch blenders, get a bit of the road less travelled by and wander off the beaten path."

I posted this below in another thread. It may interest you if you are interested in exploring small batch blenders.

Wilke Pipe Tobacco has a good selection of in-house bulk aromatic and nonaromatic tobacco. Their aros where the first I tried that tasted somewhat like the tin note. The base tobacco is good and has a nice tobacco flavor in addition to the toppings. It is not like smoking hot air. There has been no chemical taste in any of the tobaccos I have tried. It is nice that it is a small business using recipes from the 1800's. Look up the history of Wilke Pipe Tobacco Company. It is very interesting. I have tried many of their blends and my favorite aros are Vermont Maple Cavendish and No.191 (Vanilla and Vermont honey). The Rumcake is highly rated. If you want to try a cherry blend, I like the Cherry Cavendish and believe it is superior to the Royal Cherry but you could try both and decide for yourself. Neither one is bad. My wife loves the room note of all Wilke aros. I want to try Maple Plum Spice with my next order. It sounds intriguing as an aro with perique added.

Wilke Bulk Aromatic Blends | wilkepipetobacco

www.wilkepipetobacco.com

 

[Marie]

"Until then, I want to journey through the small batch blenders, get a bit of the road less travelled by and wander off the beaten path."

I posted this below in another thread. It may interest you if you are interested in exploring small batch blenders.

Wilke Pipe Tobacco has a good selection of in-house bulk aromatic and nonaromatic tobacco. Their aros where the first I tried that tasted somewhat like the tin note. The base tobacco is good and has a nice tobacco flavor in addition to the toppings. It is not like smoking hot air. There has been no chemical taste in any of the tobaccos I have tried. It is nice that it is a small business using recipes from the 1800's. Look up the history of Wilke Pipe Tobacco Company. It is very interesting. I have tried many of their blends and my favorite aros are Vermont Maple Cavendish and No.191 (Vanilla and Vermont honey). The Rumcake is highly rated. If you want to try a cherry blend, I like the Cherry Cavendish and believe it is superior to the Royal Cherry but you could try both and decide for yourself. Neither one is bad. My wife loves the room note of all Wilke aros. I want to try Maple Plum Spice with my next order. It sounds intriguing as an aro with perique added.

Wilke Bulk Aromatic Blends | wilkepipetobacco

www.wilkepipetobacco.com

Thanks so much for all this info! I have been enjoying Bengal Slices, however the intensity is much less than the tin note, and I was disappointed about that. I have bookmarked WPT and made a note of your recommendations. I also just ordered a couple of cobbs a few days ago from MM. So I don't mind going in the other direction as well. I think I will always have a special place for aros, it is what has lured me into pipe smoking after all these years of wondering.

 

[buroak]

I am at about the ten year point as well. I have tried to explore the different categories of tobacco and the examples that are well regarded. Over time, I’ve focused more on what I like, English and VA/BURS. My cellar is not deep but I have about 10 lbs of unprocessed whole leaf of all varieties. We have a law that only allows you to possess 1000g (2.2 lbs) of processed tobacco. I have some tins and can blend as well. I usually press my whole leaf.

There are so many things I love about Canada, but I only need its government’s tobacco policies to know I cannot live there. Here’s hoping you can someday elect a more reasonable parliament.