Thoughts On My First Smoke

[cwpiperman]

The question is, are you enjoying the flavors you're getting? If so, then there's nothing wrong.

Yes, for the most part. They are not very intense, but that I would guess would be the result of my uneducated palate, much the same as wine flavors would be to a new vinophile. Changing the intensity of the sip does change the flavors somewhat, even as it accellerates the burning process.
Thanks for the seasoned info!

What are you, braggin?

Apparently, I am.......
CW

 

[sablebrush52]

Yes, for the most part. They are not very intense, but that I would guess would be the result of my uneducated palate

Do you retrohale? You have more flavor receptors in you schnoz than in your mouth. Try expelling the smoke very slowly through your nose. You might be surprised at the flavors that emerge.
Keep experimenting with moisture levels. Blends often have a moisture sweet spot where the flavors are more intense.
When I have the blend just barely simmering, at the edge of going out, taking a very gentle sip and then very gently and slowly expelling the smoke through my nose, I get the most detailed flavors.

 

[cwpiperman]

Do you retrohale? You have more flavor receptors in you schnoz than in your mouth. Try expelling the smoke very slowly through your nose. You might be surprised at the flavors that emerge.

I have only a bit, because my nose is very sensitive to the sting of smoke. However, I'm working to habituate to the smoke slowly because I "retrohale" very commonly when tasting food (the maximum portion of my food tasting occurs is when I breathe out through my nose). Stands to reason this would work with the smoke as well!
Thanks again,
CW

 

[workman]

@Cwpiperman: What blends are you smoking? The much coveted straight virginias and va/pers might not seem the most flavourful to start with.

 

[cwpiperman]

@Workman I'm experimenting with VaPers, Balkans, English and other blends...Last night it was C&D Speakeasy and Solani Aged Burley Flake. Tonight, it's SPC Plum Pudding Special Reserve. I may also do a bowl of Dunhill NightCap to round out the day. I am experimenting, and have the following in my stash, and have sampled:
Escudo Deluxe Navy Rolls

Dunhill Navy Rolls

HH Old Dark Fired

Solani Aged Burley Flake

Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture

Dunhill The Aperitif

Dunhill My Mixture 965

C&D Star of the East Flake

C&D Gaslight

C&D Quiet Nights

SPC Mississippi River

SPC Plum Pudding Special Reserve

SPC Plum Pudding

Lane 1-Q

C&D Belmont Station

Dunhill Early Morning Pipe

Dunhill Nightcap

C&D Dreams of Kadath

C&D Oak Alley

SPC Potlatch

Presbyterian Mixture

C&D Pegasus

C&D Pirate Kake

Orlik Golden Sliced

and

C&D BLACK FRIGATE
Obviously, I haven't smoked many bowls of any of the above, but one or two of each so far.
I have tasted and enjoyed the flavors I got from all of the above, with less enthusiasm for My Mixture 965, The Aperitif, Early Morning Pipe. I do heavily favor the English blends, but I'm learning to smoke VaPers...they seem to play much more havoc with my mouth (re: soreness) no matter how slowly I tend to smoke them. I am very careful to never let my bowl get more than warm, tho.
@Sable The retrohale has made a big difference in the flavors that I'm getting from my SPC Plum Pudding Special Reserve in a Savinelli Roma 673KS. This blend seems to have very little stinging/irritating effect on my nasal passages...perhaps that's Perique that's doing that? In any case, VERY interesting and sizable difference. Thanks!
CW

 

[newbroom]

As a pipe smoker, you are the manager.

It's all about managing expectations, and being open to revelation, or, learning every time.

It's your experience, not mine, that determines your reality.

Every bowl of a particular blend, most likely, will provide the basis for new experience, almost as much as constantly changing blends.

Consistent enjoyment is attainable with minimum fuss, and sometimes I think, we defeat the purpose of the pursuit by pursuing.

Deep thoughts, provided by MY experiences. (or not so deep)

 

[olkofri]

The much coveted straight virginias and va/pers might not seem the most flavourful to start with.

I hear you there, Workman. I haven't been able to taste anything with Wessex Classic Virginia, or Anniversary Kake, or with MB's Navy Flake. Maybe the flavours are too subtle for my palate to pick them up.

 

[pastorpiper]

Just keep at it. It's a marathon and not a sprint. It's the journey not the destination (and all of those other metaphors)
Don't worry if you have to relight

If your pipe gets too hot....simply slow down a bit

If your tobacco won't stay lit, dry it out for a couple hours prior (let sit out in open)

When you find the pipe that really speaks to you, grab it and cherish it....don't worry about name brand.

A simple MM corn cob pipe is a great way to start and not overthink

Don't buy into the "grass is always greener" when you think you need a new pipe. Often, it's not. Love what you have and smoke what you got, and remember that life is too important to rush. Sit a spell and think and puff and think some more.
Enjoy the smoke.....it's a spiritual thing for me.

 

[sparroa]

Well said, pastor.
The early days of pipe smoking can be frustrating if one is expecting perfection. It really does take time and lots of burned tobacco before you stumble onto that "epiphany smoke" where it all comes together.
jb, it sounds like you are on the right track. Keep the faith and keep experimenting...
PS are you still smoking cigars? I have found that they overwhelm my palate and undermine my enjoyment of pipe tobacco.

 

[jpmcwjr]

The term packing alone can start new folks down the wrong path from the get go. You don’t want to pack a pipe...you want to fill it. Next time you smoke, fill the pipe as high as you like, then use your finger to gently settle it.

Excellent point, and the rest of the post is right on, too, as are the other comments by our Bard and others.

 

[npod]

All good comments above. I have nothing to add.

 

[cwpiperman]

Do you retrohale? You have more flavor receptors in you schnoz than in your mouth. Try expelling the smoke very slowly through your nose. You might be surprised at the flavors that emerge.

I have today found that retrohaling blends with perique in them is......uh.....interesting. Retrohaling Plum Pudding was pretty awesome. Retrohaling, even carefully, Oak Alley.....well...a bit like snorting Tabasco....LOL. I also note now the different feeling on the tongue that different blends create...especially those containing perique.
CW

 

[eggrollpiper]

All great comments. I'd just like to add that the cobbs have such a wide open draw it's absolutely possible to pack too tight and still have an easy draw. I've been smoking for 25 years and packed too tightly for about 24 of them. Definitely a journey and work in progress.

There's a reason muttnchop ruffled all the cobb centrics recommending bringing with a basket briar and not cob. And almost every missouri meerschaum I get i can swear is a conspiracy to sell me seconds masquerading as firsts..

As for Mr. slowpuff, I don't think u can ever puff too slow to get the full flavor, especially if that's natural for you. Your in the minority of a lucky few, enjoy that..

 

[ravkesef]

My qualifications: I’ve been smoking a pipe for almost 59 years, and worked at a tobacconist shop while I was in grad school. I’ve gotten it down to the point where every bowl smokes clean and smooth to the very bottom, be it briar, cob or meerschaum. I’ve developed my own preferences in tobacco (English, mostly,) and smoke my pipe with a relight or two when I get close to the bottom. Here’s a bit of what I’ve learned in that time:

1. The tobacco should be much drier than you think it should. (Hard to do with some aromatics, but there it is.)

2. The tobacco should be packed much looser than you think it should (there are various methods of packing a pipe, all of them good.)

3. The pipe should be smoked much slower than you think it should; sip, don’t puff. The bowl should be warm, not hot.

That said, here’s a bit of info on lighting. It should be axiomatic that the lower the temperature, the better it is for the wood and the tobacco. The lowest temperature is beeswax impregnated string, which has a combustion temperature of under 500ºF. Next is the Zippo (naphtha,) which burns at 575ºF or 301ºC. There is a premium Zippo fuel in a black canister which has had most of the sulfur removed, and has less of a tendency to impart an unpleasant odor/taste to the tobacco. Let it burn for a second or two before touching flame to tobacco. A wooden match burns at 1100ºF or 600ºC, while a butane lighter comes in at 3590ºF or 1977ºC. A torch should never be used as its temperature is most than a thousand degrees hotter. Regardless of which method you use to light your pipe, be careful not to scorch the wood or the tobacco.

That’s it in a nutshell. Develop your skills at following these simple rules and you should be smoking your pipe as well as anyone else, and will be able to determine whether or not you like it, and whether or not it’s for you. Happy smoking!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Solid info, Eric. But as to temperature of the flame, distance and duration are critical. I prefer butane for relights, and matches for initial light, though many are done also with butane. And torches! I have one, and sometimes use it for a relight. Some fraction of a second about an inch away and I'm good to go. That said, I would not recommend using one!

 

[ravkesef]

Thanks, jpm—distance and duration are critical, and I should have mentioned that, as it isn’t axiomatic. Even when I’m using a wooden match, I touch the flame to the tobacco, take a puff, withdraw it, give the tobacco a second to recover, then do it again. My aim is to get the tobacco to light with the minimum possible exposure to the flame. And yes, like you I’ve used a torch, but here I’m strictly in the camp of: “don’t do as I do, do as I say.”

 

[jaytex1969]

...I’m strictly in the camp of: “don’t do as I do, do as I say.”

Dad, is that you? :rofl:

 

[jpmcwjr]

Hah! That's about right! And, yes, in lighting de minimus is da rule.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Straight from The Complete Corncob Primer.

-Dry your tobacco more than you think you need to.
-Pack it looser than you think you need to.
-Smoke it slower than you think you need to.
-Tamp it less, and more lightly, than you think you need to. Clean your pipes after every smoke, using pipe spirits of some sort.
-Don’t worry if you have a few relights.
-And realize that becoming an accomplished pipe smoker will take time, patience, and trial and error.
-To those, I’ll add a great tip I read on a forum several years ago, offered by DLT, or Nightcapper, dealing with the use of a tamper to help keep a pipe going. While I don’t tamp very often, I do place my tamper on top of the ash in my pipe bowl if the ember seems to be cooling. The weight of the metal tamper used while puffing will help revive a pipe that could be going out.

 

[jbchilders]

Didn't get a chance to smoke this weekend. Stepped on a three inch nail in the backyard Saturday morning so I've spent the last two days laid up. Hopefully I'll get one in some time in the next few days. As always, I appreciate the advice!