Based on what I have been reading in this forum and in this thread, I'm really curious about the Flake type tobaccos. I've got some Dunhill Flake coming, I'm looking into getting some of the suggestions here as well. But any thought as to what might be a good second flake tobacco to get? After trying four H&H brands and them tasting all the same, I really want to avoid those for the time being. If I go down for the count, I will be going down trying the best tobacco there is.
This is Getting Frustrating
- Thread starter urtpiz
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Mac Baren Old Dark Fired is a nice flavorful flake. Flake tobacco is probably not the way to go though, unless you rub it out into a ribbon. Getting flavor from a flake without well developed technique is likely to add to your frustrations. I think one of the most flavorful pipe blends is G.L. Pease's Haddo's Delight. You should have no problem wresting flavor from it.
May I suggest that you try to transition into pipe tobacco by smoking pipe blends with cigar leaf amendments?
C&D: Billy Budd; Habana Daydreams; Purple Cow
G.L.Pease: Robusto; Key Largo
H&H: Stogie; Virginia Spice
McClelland: Dominican Glory; Dominican Glory Maduro; Black Sea Sokhoum
James J. Fox: Banker's
Robert Lewis: 123 Mixture
Additionally, Gawith & Hoggarth makes some twists that provide real tobacco oomph -- which you may feel you need about now. For those, go to SmokingPipes.com and search on "twist". (The downside is you'll have to cut and/or chop these on your own, which is a lot of work.)
Lastly (and maybe these should come first), Prince Albert, Carter Hall, & Angler's Dream are good, no nonsense tobacco flavor blends.
May I suggest that you try to transition into pipe tobacco by smoking pipe blends with cigar leaf amendments?
C&D: Billy Budd; Habana Daydreams; Purple Cow
G.L.Pease: Robusto; Key Largo
H&H: Stogie; Virginia Spice
McClelland: Dominican Glory; Dominican Glory Maduro; Black Sea Sokhoum
James J. Fox: Banker's
Robert Lewis: 123 Mixture
Additionally, Gawith & Hoggarth makes some twists that provide real tobacco oomph -- which you may feel you need about now. For those, go to SmokingPipes.com and search on "twist". (The downside is you'll have to cut and/or chop these on your own, which is a lot of work.)
Lastly (and maybe these should come first), Prince Albert, Carter Hall, & Angler's Dream are good, no nonsense tobacco flavor blends.
Urtpiz, I'm a cigar smoker as well and for many years smoked only cigars. When I came back to the pipe after a long time away I was most satisfied by various latakia blends. It is not the same flavor as a cigar, but the pronounced flavor of latakia seemed to scratch the same itch. Nightcap (as previously suggested) might be a good place to start. I've not tried any of the blends with cigar leaf (some were recommended by Cortez), but one of these might be worth a try as well. I'll also give a nod to Haddo's Delight.
Don't toss the blends you've tried and that did not satisfy. Put them away and try them again a bit later. Your tastes will change (quickly when you are new to the pipe) and you might find them more rewarding in a month or two. The conventional wisdom is for new pipe smokers to start with something mild and work their way up. I was sort of the opposite. I started strong and it took a while to appreciate the subtleties of some lighter blends.
Don't toss the blends you've tried and that did not satisfy. Put them away and try them again a bit later. Your tastes will change (quickly when you are new to the pipe) and you might find them more rewarding in a month or two. The conventional wisdom is for new pipe smokers to start with something mild and work their way up. I was sort of the opposite. I started strong and it took a while to appreciate the subtleties of some lighter blends.
Now that you have a Savinelli and Dunhill flake it is up to you to learn how to smoke with good technique. Packing the pipe properly is key. I would cube cut the Dunhill flake pack it with the 3 step method and make sure you have some resistance before lighting up. It should feel like sucking through a straw. You will also need to dump ash before re lighting, lighting a pipe through a pile of ash is difficult and the flavors can get lost. When it is time to relight, stir the ash with the pick end of your tamper, and then gently tilt the bowl to get rid of the ash, then tamp it back down before relighting.
I would keep practicing with the Sav and Dunhill and not think about ordering anything else until you begin to enjoy that blend and pipe. You need to learn how to keep your pipe clean, and also let the pipe rest a day for every bowl smoked. Also make sure you have plenty of pipe cleaners on hand. Pipe smoking is unlike any other type of smoking and it takes time and patience and paying attention to what you are doing, nothing about it is intuitive.
I would keep practicing with the Sav and Dunhill and not think about ordering anything else until you begin to enjoy that blend and pipe. You need to learn how to keep your pipe clean, and also let the pipe rest a day for every bowl smoked. Also make sure you have plenty of pipe cleaners on hand. Pipe smoking is unlike any other type of smoking and it takes time and patience and paying attention to what you are doing, nothing about it is intuitive.
Urtpiz, in addition to Haddo's Delight recommended above, pick yourself up some Escudo. It's much easier to slow down when you're getting flavor, and these two will deliver.
The Dunhill Flake you have on order is also excellent, put pick up the two above.
The Dunhill Flake you have on order is also excellent, put pick up the two above.
Hang in there. It gets better. Just takes a bit of time and the patience to sit through a number of bowls. Eventually things will click for you. As you find your proper smoking techniques, you'll also learn a lot about yourself. The main thing in piping is to slow down and enjoy the ride. There's no race to the finish. It's more about the slower you go the better and deeper the experience. And pretty soon the pipe will become part of you, especially if you develop your own slow cadence by clenching the pipe and nursing that ember. It's really all about a cool low smoulder and gently nursing the life of that ember, so it yields the maximum in flavor for the given leaf. Something like that ...
No bailing out yet. Tried the FM on the town, and guess what? Not impressed. Clearly something is wrong with me, I'll accept that. However, the Dunhill Flake was an improvement for me, so there's hope. I'm going to order two more tins from the above recommendations.
something I've been working on is lighting more slowly. Some bowls, I will take 5min to light, instead of trying to light it in 30 sec. I know that sometimes I could probably do this more slowly, maybe take 15min. Tease the flame over the tobacco, gently drawing it in. Don't jam the lighter into the bowl and pull hard.
I get the most flavor from my smoke when I first get it completely lit. Extra re-lights don't provide me much more tobacco flavor. I'm still working on this myself, and probably will be for a long time.
I've been smoking a pipe for 3-4 years, known about how to do it properly maybe only 1 yr, and just starting to actually do it properly for a few months. But I'm still learning and perfecting my technique. It's not the destination that's important, it's the journey
I get the most flavor from my smoke when I first get it completely lit. Extra re-lights don't provide me much more tobacco flavor. I'm still working on this myself, and probably will be for a long time.
I've been smoking a pipe for 3-4 years, known about how to do it properly maybe only 1 yr, and just starting to actually do it properly for a few months. But I'm still learning and perfecting my technique. It's not the destination that's important, it's the journey
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