The First Blend That Got You Into Pipe Smoking

[pandapiper]

First smoke was L.J. Peretti's Coffee Blend, which I really didn't enjoy (and that was probably more user error than the actual blend). Their Boston Best was much more enjoyable, but what really sealed the deal for me was Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe.

 

[FurCoat]

Erinmore flake (square tin) got me started but it was 965 that kept me going. Orientals got me hooked.

 

[Sloopjohnbee]

Stokkebye Norweigan - That and the Manil Semois

 

[Ahi Ka]

Originally comoys Scottish blend. More recently when I changed from being an evening smoker half and half was I my first step in my chosen direction of quasi codger mish mash hip jive burley based blend.

 

[Chasing Embers]

A burley twist from my uncle's farm.

 

[autumnfog]

Peterson Old Dublin.

Before that I dabbled with Borkum Riff, Caledonian and a few others.

 

[tmcg81]

I want to say Davidoff Royalty, which was the first tobacco I smoked out of a pipe, but the real answer is 1Q, which i tried about six months into my pipe smoking odyssey. There are tobaccos that I like way more, but the first time I put it in a bowl and got it smoking, I knew that I loved smoking a pipe. There are so many nights where I don't want a big English, or mornings when I don't want some Burley Flake. Sometimes I just want to smoke a pipe, and 1Q, for me, is what I think about when I think about smoking a pipe.

 

[Infantry23]

My first was Captain Black Royal. I really liked it. I then tried a Jamaican Rum and eventually fell down the TAD rabbit hole with CAOs Moontrance and Stanwell Vanilla. That led to my current palate expansion and experimentation.

 

[musicman]

SPC Plum Pudding. Back when I dabbled in the pipe, I enjoyed McClelland's Classic Samsun the best, but it never clicked enough for me to make it a regular thing. Then, I was buying some cigars and noticed this well reviewed tobacco that was supposed to be sweet and smoky. Tried it, and I was hooked. A few months after that, Escudo and Match Victoria got me into VaPers, and from there, Virginia blends, and the rest is history.

 

[smokiespipesmoker123]

Lane 1Q baby!

 

[sumusfumus]

I was 16 years old. "Mixture No. 79" was in my pipe. Then my head went into the toilet after a few puffs. There is no explanation. When I was 17, it was "Cherry Blend". I was a slow learner.

I guess I really was an idiot. That's what my mother... RIP... told me when I would laugh hysterically while watching the Three Stooges. BTW, I still do.

She was right.

 

[Lawyer66]

For me it was Sutliff Molto Dolce. Being able to pick out flavors and enjoy the smoke was incredibly satisfying.

 

[lochinvar]

The one that really hooked me was Rattray Highland Targe. I had smoked house blends, but the the amped up Latakia and Orientals really captivated me. From there on, Latakia was my love......until one day I met FVF

 

[boston]

Samarra was my first perfect smoke.

 

[loneredtree]

1962
Dunhill Standard Mixture. Walked into the corner smoke shop and was strucked by the arroma that the man behind the counter was smoking. Then on to BS White, EMP and others.

 

[Buckler]

Nutty Irishman C&D
And funnily enough, even though I have run out I think it’s still my favourite. My ver first ever tobacco.
Need to get some more...

 

[didimauw]

Carter Hall.

Changed my pipe smoking career forever.

 

[NomadOrb]

OGS. It was the first tobacco I tried after all the goopy aromatics didn't do it for me. When I finally got those bright virginia flavors, it was tough to go back.

MB Navy Flake was responsible for another early eureka moment.

 

[Kingsley]

My first pouch of Prince Albert, a pouch of tobacco I made last for a year in my youth, slowly led me into the waters. After smoking through another pouch of PA far quicker after that first one, with what little money I had, I splurged and picked up my first tin, a tin of SPC Plum Pudding SR, and a MM Diplomat to smoke it out of.
Needless to say, having only Plum Pudding SR available to smoke for 4 or so months, it torturously soured me off of Latakia. Honest, I don’t touch the stuff, and I think I’ll need a good couple of years before I can smell the rich leathery notes of Latakia without my stomach churning. However, after my hellish self-inflicted stint with PP SR, I ordered a few straight Virginias and VaPers. Upon first light of my first smoked Virginia blend, Orlik’s Golden Sliced, I felt tears nearly swell to my eyes. It was magnificently light, sweet, and definitely more suited to my palate than what I’d been smoking before. While my favor of Orlik’s golden slice has since fallen out of my rotation, I now have a sizable cellar, chock full of VA-based blends, and not a touch of Latakia. So, a simple, lackluster blend seduced me, a renowned, well-known, complex, and truly very decent blend scarred me, and a single bowl of a common, unassuming straight VA assured me that I’d be smoking a pipe for as long as I can.

 

[troyniss]

Smoked some aromatic stuff from Tinderbox back in the college days in 2009. Didn't even know how to smoke or that I should dry it out. Wasn't until 2011 when I went to Boston and into Leavitt and Peirce and picked up a non-aromatic that really made me say "wow." Can't remember the blend or what it was but it was a good experience. Never really smoked much after. Didn't pick my pipe back up until 2018 and had some Dunhill Flake. That was the blend that got me into the rabbit hole for sure. Also, probaly GL Pease Jack Knife Plug. Been chugging along ever since.