Thoughts On Rotation

[bluegrassbrian]

At any given time I've got between 10 and 16 blends open and/or jarred.
A few I'll smoke with some regularity - say once every other day or so.
Some I may not touch for weeks at a time.
At the moment I'm at a point where I'm not opening any more tins until I finish a jar.

I finished my jar of Flanagan just in time to replace it with the forthcoming Steamworks.

 

[PaulRVA]

No set pattern but usually Bayou Morning with Coffee first thing in the morning. Capstan or Navy Rolls before lunch. Any variety depending on what comes to mind till late in the evening then Nightcap before bed.

 

[Old_Newby]

Thanks everyone. Lots of you doing it like me. While I have narrowed my likes to about 20 I am still honing that down to my loves. But for me I am not at the point of smoking the same blend over and over and for days. For now it’s like food where I enjoy taste variety.

An interesting thing, which is a good thing, is how one day a blend is good, but another time it’s more delicious. Obviously from what I ate or if I brushed my teeth or how I packed it or what pipe. I can never seem to find the same repeatable setup but it’s fun to try.

 

[Lucashly]

I just grab the tobacco closest to me and smoke it. I guess you could call that a random rotation.

 

[MGAOKC]

I was chasing blends and had over 20 jars open.
Trying to work it down to maybe 8 that I really like.
Some bulk and some tins.
There is a lot of good stuff out there.

 

[AJL67]

Oh i thought this was about telling Potsie to sit on it and spin.

I have too many open to count. It’s all mine if i want to open a tin i do it. I might only smoke a bowl and throw it back on the shelf. I’m da boss.

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I counted, 52, that's counting things that i will never smoke again or still haven't tried from large lot buys, etc., so not tins I officially opened but they are on the "smoking" shelves.

 

[Snook]

I consider myself a simple man when it comes to many things; for example, I have one type of whiskey that I enjoy and buy every month. Sometimes I'll branch out, but I don't like to complicate things. Same with other stuff, like the clothes I wear, places I frequent, etc. I don't like too much variety as I feel it complicates things (there are exceptions, of course).

For many years I was that way with tobacco, and only wanted ONE blend that was my all day, every day smoke. I wanted to keep it simple. But I've since discovered that there are so many great blends out there that all suit different moods/seasons/etc., that it would be mistake to relegate myself to only smoking one blend for all eternity. So pipe tobacco is the one area in my life where I really like to branch out, try new things, read descriptions and try to pick out the flavor profiles... things like that. It's part of the experience for me now!

That being said, how I rotate really just depends on my mood. I smoke about every other day. When I'm ready to load up a bowl, I look at my collection and read the labels to see what I'm feeling. Maybe an aromatic, maybe an English, maybe a straight Virginia or burley, maybe even the old standby I mentioned above. It just depends on the moment and sometimes I smoke the same thing multiple times in a row. I just like to follow my heart (or maybe my nose, rather) and sniff out one that sounds good. I don't think about it much beyond that.

As for the pipes, I've got six total and I rotate through those regularly. My system is to set my lighter and tamper in front of the pipe that's up next in the rotation so I don't lose my place.

 

[tobakenist]

I smoke about 3 blends a day, sometimes more, sometimes I enjoy my first smoke of the day so much I stick with it all day.

 

[Jesster109]

Is the norm to get a blend and stay with it for a week (7-14 bowls) verses changing it daily.

Norm? As in normal? LOL. My normal changes daily, houlry sometimes........ but really, my routine used to be all over the place - if a jar caught my eye, it was in a pipe, then I would see a tin with some cool artwork and pop that for the next smoke. My new routine is smoking through a jar to whittle down the masses. I am on a simplfy kick. (for now)

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I'm a little late to the party, but my own personal rotation is something I've been working out as I'm getting to the tail end of that aggressive discovery phase that most pipe smokers go through at some point in their journey where you're trying every blend that sounds interesting to you.

At this point I've got a cellar with 70'ish blends in it, all sealed up in Ball canning jars, and of those 70 or so blends I've found 6 favorites I really enjoy and find myself returning to smoke again often; plus another 4 that I'm very fond of but have to be in the right mood to want to smoke. I've still got a dozen or so blends I'd like to try, but at this point I feel like I've got a pretty solid idea of what I like and don't like in a pipe tobacco and my rotation ended up just being the blends that I felt were the most enjoyable representation of their particular genre. A cherry aromatic, a vanilla aromatic, a whiskey aromatic, an English blend, a light Burley blend, and a strong Burley blend. I may end up adding a Lakeland blend or two as well, since I've been finding myself enjoying them a lot lately.

Of course if you didn't like aromatics, Burleys, or Lakelands your list might be completely different. Maybe it would be your favorite Virginias and VaPers, or just different varieties of English blends. Ultimately though I think a rotation just ends up being the blends you like best, and how many or what styles of blends make up that rotation is entirely up to you and your taste preferences. Some folks may have 20 or more blends they really love and never want to be with out, and for others there may be just one or two that tick all the boxes for them. It's a very individual thing, so all that really matters is that you enjoy the blends you smoke.

 

[Searock Fan]

Another example of personal taste. Rotate any way that makes you happy.

 

[Sigmund]

Im still tryig things out but at this point there are about 4 or 5 blends I will turn to regularly. I also do some in pipe mixing so there are variatons of a couple of personal mixtures. Variety is nice but I dont think of tobacco as food. I can easily smoke the same blend numerous times in a row and not get bored. TAD is fun though. I certainly cant knock that.

 

[Old_Newby]

Thanks everyone. Not that it matters but it seems all of us except maybe 1 responder smokes variety and changes daily or per smoke. That’s how I am doing it and if a bowl is particularly yummy and reload. My dad would smoke Borkum Riff Whiskey all day for years. It’s just an amazing time for consumer choices. Enjoy!!

 

[HRPufnstuf]

I am on the verge of supplying myself withindividual jars for latakia, turkish, perique, and a 3-way blend of VA/burley/cavendish. I want to try "seasoning" the 3-way with the addition of different individual tobaccos.
I may still buy other tobaccos by the tin. I am timid about this experiment because tariffs will make it a signifigant investment for me. Thoughts?

 

[nathaniel]

Like you said YMMV. I started out chasing every blend out there and ended up with a couple of hundred blends in my cellar. Now decades later, I tend to only smoke two blends and go through a couple of pounds of them per month.

Which 2?

 

[proteus]

At this point I have 72 blends in rotation now. Three shelves house 18 jars shelf 1, 32 jars shelf 2, and 22 jars on the third shelf. I have about 1/4 pound each jar. I love variety and choice.

 

[Sigmund]

@HRPufnstuf Im in France and there are limited tobaccos. I do a lot of condiment work but I have mostly found Lat the most useful additive thus far. Ive really enjoyed adding a sprinkle to my favorite va-pers. I also mix up some premade blends for variety. Im slowly getting more blends but its not an easy task like when I was in the US.

 

[gamzultovah]

Like you said YMMV. I started out chasing every blend out there and ended up with a couple of hundred blends in my cellar. Now decades later, I tend to only smoke two blends and go through a couple of pounds of them per month.

^^^This.

I only smoke three blends and most days, only one. I’ve chased flavor and have many blends in my cellar, but in the end only three truly suffice.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Which 2?

Never post favorites if you like them staying in stock.

 

[FLDRD]

I'm still like a young man in his twenties - I'm chasing and tasting as many as I can right now.
From samples to tins, some are better than others, many will not need to be purchased again.
Many times never having the same blend 2x in a row.
But it all varies.
I had a sample of Sunday Picnic in a jar that didn't appeal to me a couple months ago.
This wknd, it was repeatable several times in a row... at this pace I'll continue with it until it's gone.
Unless I suddenly need a change again.