The First Blend That Got You Into Pipe Smoking

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markus

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 18, 2014
770
489
Bloomfield, IN
After trying a few different OTC pouch blends, that bit the hell outta me at first (until I learned to smoke slower). They never really held my interest and I got bored with them, so I went into the local B&M and he had pouches and tins on the shelf.
I asked him what was best and he said "usually tobacco from a tin is better", so I asked him to recommend a tin and he asked me if I liked latakia, so I said "latta-what?".
He explained about the smoky, leathery smell and the smooth, unique, complex taste and handed me a tin of Dunhill Early Morning Pipe and after that day I learned what it was like to truly enjoy smoking a pipe.
 

telescopes

Pipe Dreamer and Star Gazer
it's not going to be lost unless people lose interest in it. Frankly I think it's at the start of a possible resurgency. If things go right and we play it right this whole pipe smoking thing can grow. Ironically it seems like corona has created a ton of new pipe smokers. We get a few here every week. One thing I've been thinking about is one great reason for all of us to play nice here and not talk about political things here (two not quite the same things) is we're kind of ambassadors of this art form. More people take it up whether we agree with them our not is going to be a healthy thing for pipe smokings growth.
I couldn’t agree more about the political thing. My personal friends range the gamut from anarchists to staunch far right conservatives to Hollywood liberals to Texas separates. None can be in the room with each other. I enjoy their company and friendships but sadly, the art of enjoying people and separating political beliefs from the person inside is long gone. It’s making it harder to throw cocktail parties.
 
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captaincalabash

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 25, 2016
147
309
Texas
I started with a Dr. Grabow rusticated bent apple, ~90 yrs. old, that had belonged to my great great grandfather. A volunteer pipes master at my favorite B&M showed me how to load, tamp, and smoke it and sold me an ounce of a nondescript aromatic as a good starter. I never quite got to enjoying it (partly due to my poor fumbling technique). I almost gave it up. One day, my pipe-smoking, soon-to-be son-in-law came back from the same store with an ounce of Virginia Gold and let me try a bowl. A heavenly choir sang an inspired note, my tastebuds did a somersault, and I realized that I was now a dedicated pipe enthusiast! IMG_5597.JPG
 
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Merton

Lifer
Jul 8, 2020
1,042
2,823
Boston, Massachusetts
At first it was borkum Riff, paladin, skallorna, apple, middleton cherry and the remainder of the usual suspects. Oddly perhaps, i moved fairly quickly to Dunhill blends especially 965, early morning, standard and nightcap. I then discovered peretti's blends especially Royal and oriental 40, as well as Balkan Sobranie in both the white and black cans. This was back in the 1970s and how i wish that i had had the foresight to gently store some of those. It was not until later that i even tried an aromatic which was 1Q under the old C.B. Perkins banner with the name Tremont i think. I also only waited about 40 years before trying red Virginias...
 
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anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
16,723
31,379
46
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I couldn’t agree more about the political thing. My personal friends range the gamut from anarchists to staunch far right conservatives to Hollywood liberals to Texas separates. None can be in the room with each other. I enjoy their company and friendships but sadly, the art of enjoying people and separating political beliefs from the person inside is long gone. It’s making it harder to throw cocktail parties.
There in my opinion is too much identity politics (that assumption that how you vote doesn't indicate what kind of person you might be it "says" what kind of person you are) and too much ignoring of the most basic and boring issues that effect everyone on a day to day basis in boring but super significant ways, instead of the things that can divide people. You know I bet you've noticed among those people there are more issues they widely agree on but they're not the kind of things you can get most people to get all up in arms and hot and bothered over. But you know what do I know, pretty much next to nothing so don't take my word for it. Oh and a lot of people won't let you seperate themselves from that stuff. Good example trying to ask for advice on a dog breed and it getting hijacked by people who hate the politician that has that breed of dog (yeah that's was on of those moments you think some people really exploit the fact you can't slap people through the internet.).
 
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RainKing

Might Stick Around
May 24, 2020
68
209
I had tried some OTC aromatics blends (Capt., SWRA, etc) but it wasn’t until I had Carter Hall for the first time that I was captivated by the actual taste of the leaf. Still appreciate it all, but good ole CH showed me the true favor.
 

sumusfumus

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2017
597
549
New York City
The first blend that got me into pipe smoking was "Mixture No. 79".

The first blend that got me to dislike pipe-smoking was "Mixture No. 79".

I was 16 years old, and dumber than a stump. But even I knew, there must be something better. There was, and 54 years later......I'm here.

Moral of the story: Don't give up.
 
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winton

Lifer
Oct 20, 2010
2,318
772
My first blend was HORRIBLE! I think it was RYO. My wife spread the rest of the tobacco in her flower garden, to keep the neighborhood cats from pooping next to the house.

After further research and talking to the CPCC guys, my second blend was much better.
 
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