Tobacco Advice

[malkochoglu]

Hi,

I smoked cigarettes and cigars for a long time.I am new to pipe and looking for some advice for pipe tobacco since I haven't like what I tried until now, that's why I am asking your advice. These are the ones I tried:

1) Captain Black Cherry and Royal: I remembered by filter tip cigar memories with Captain Black and did not like them. They tasted very artificial. So I am skipping them.

2) Dunhill Early Morning: It tasted strong for me. I did not like the American whiskey like smell. I am not enjoying it. Maybe Latakia turns me off. I don't know.

3) McClelland Frog Morton's Cellar: I guess as cellar should have rung the bell, I did not like again oakish and whisky like smell. I thought I could like it but I am not enjoying this as well.
Also my wife complains a lot with those tobaccos' smell. She keeps telling me nice smelling tobacco memories back from college profs
I guess I will like light bodied, more aromatic tobaccos (maybe cherry, vanilla, don't now) which will not leave heavy smoke smell on me. I ask your valuable advice on tobacco(brand) what to try and type of tobaccos that I should avoid according to my concerns and future reference?

PS: I also have some bad experience on burning my tongue since I am new in pipes and an old cigarette smoker. I heard some blends tend to burn.
Thank you very much...

 

[ashdigger]

Welcome Malco, a couple of things; make sure you are drying your tobacco. If it's too wet, your efforts are in vain. You want it dryer rhan you think. Also if it's dryer and you make sure you don't puff too hard your tongue will be spared.
Additionally, try some Lane 1-Q or some Molto Doce. Both are vanilla-ish and have a great room note.
Check out tobacco previews.com for more ideas on what to try. Type in "Aromatic"
Finally, some people like cherry tobacco......I'm not them.....I'd rather smoke crushed up cough drops....BUT smoke what YOU ENJOY.

 

[deleon]

Two good aromatic tobaccos that I enjoy from time to time and I think you'll like are Wilshire and Captain Spice from Tinderbox.

 

[bassbug]

Another vote for the Lane 1Q. Great room note, mild enough to smoke all day, but still very satisfying.
Less sweet than the 1Q, and definitely reminiscent of "the college prof" is Mac Baren Original Choice. More of a "tobacco" taste, but your audience (wife) will probably like the smell.
I'm sure you're going to get a lot more suggestions so heck, try 'em all and find your favourites, its the beauty of our great pastime.
Oh, and welcome to the forum and the brotherhood of the pipe...you're family now

 

[jvnshr]

Lane 1Q

+1
You may also try Captain Black Regular, it is going to be easy on your tongue. I also see some Virginia and Va/Bur (Virginia+Burley) blends in your future

 

[pagan]

Give Lane 1Q and Captain Black White a try, many believe these 2 blends are the same under different names, bothe are great smokes

 

[pipestud]

I think I'm going to have to swim against the current on this one. It has been my experience that those who make the switch from cigarettes and cigars to pipes will have trouble with any kind of sweet aromatic blend (as well as Orientals). Most are very light with no strength, and because you are used to the nicotine strength found in cigarettes, you puff way too fast as you try to get some oomph with your pipe and burn your tongue. Further, sweet aromatics are about as opposite the flavor of cigars and cigarettes as you can get. If you do want to please your wife, find a strong Burley (they seldom bite the tongue), and mix it perhaps 70 percent burley, 30 percent aromatic. You get the strength and your wife gets a nose pleaser.
A good strong Burley that I like is 5-Brothers. It is a great mixer because it delivers strength and absorbs the flavor of the tobacco it is mixed with without giving off any real flavor of its own. I'm sure others can offer you some good Burley choices.
Anyway, good luck to you and don't give up! Here's a link to an article that might be helpful to you -

https://pipedia.org/wiki/Good-Bye_Cigarettes,_Hello_Pipe

 

[ray47]

My favorite aromatic is a blend I make myself. Lane Limited 1Q mixed 50/50 with Lane Limited BCA. I get more compliments on this blend then any aromatic I've ever smoked. Both 1Q & BCA are easily obtainable from most online dealers and their inexpensive in bulk.

 

[addamsruspipe]

Molto Dolce and Cult Blood Red Moon are both good aromatics. Good room note and mild on the nicotine. But you have to make sure you let them dry out a bit and pace your self. Remember that smoking a cigarette is about the nicotine while smoking a pipe is about the experience.

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

I'm going to suggest Mac Baren Navy Flake. It's a burley based blend with some black cavendish and Virginia. It has a fruit, citrus, and very very slight (I mean slight) rum and floral tin note, flavor, and finish. It smokes cool, doesn't bite, isn't sweet, and is mild/medium in strength. It has my favorite aftertaste and the room note is okay.
Mac Baren - Navy Flake Tobacco Reviews

 

[shutterbugg]

2) Dunhill Early Morning: It tasted strong for me. I did not like the American whiskey like smell. I am not enjoying it. Maybe Latakia turns me off. I don't know.

1) Early Morning is Dunhill's weakest blend.

2) Early Morning is not cased and does not smell like whiskey, American or otherwise.

3) I'm voting for "Latakia turns you off".

4) Dunhill blends do NOT require any drying, HOWEVER if the taste is too strong for you, drying can and will dull the taste of it.

5) If you want something that tastes like a cigarette or cigar, there are blends out there that will fill the bill, but not the ones you mentioned. I never smoked cigarettes but I did smoke cigars. However I never looked for a pipe blend reminiscent of cigars. If I want cigar taste, I'll just smoke a cigar!

 

[crashthegrey]

I'm with pipestud, a good burley is probably what your wife remembers smelling and is going to give you a good amount of nicotine without a strong or overwhelming body or flavor. I'd even almost recommend trying some codger blends like Prince Albert or Carter Hall, it may smell like college to her all over again.

 

[malkochoglu]

Thanks all for valuable thoughts and warm welcome. I started to prepare my next order
Btw sorry for misleading you by mentioning that I had smoked cigar and cigarettes. I am not looking for same experience or taste like cigar. That's what I am trying to avoid now and want to enjoy pipe smoking along with its characteristic nice smell and mild aromatic flavor.
Thanks again....

 

[mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast]

That's what I am trying to avoid now and want to enjoy pipe smoking along with its characteristic nice smell and mild aromatic flavor.

This makes me retract my recommendation just slightly, and lean more towards Lane's 1Q and BCA. I would buy 2-4 ounces of each and mix them together at a 1:1 ratio to make some BCAQ. It's mild and smells good. Otherwise, I would go with the Prince Albert and Carter Hall recommendations and add in a pouch of Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic. Good luck! I hope you find something you enjoy.

 

[jpmcwjr]

4) Dunhill blends do NOT require any drying, HOWEVER if the taste is too strong for you, drying can and will dull the taste of it.

One can smoke some Dunhill blends upon opening the tin, but you may end up with a soggy bottom third of your bowl. Dunhill and many other blenders choose a moisture level based on packing and storing, not the optimal level for the best smoke. Most experienced pipe smokers feel there's more taste when at the a lower moisture level, not the other way around.
As always, YMMV, and smoke what you like the way you like it!

 

[deleon]

Another good aromatic is Macbaren 7 Seas Regular, it's close to 1-Q

 

[leacha]

Pipestud answered this.
Ill add, smoke for you not your wife. Try Cornell & Diehls Night Train. If the nic is too much look into their other blends.
If Burley isnt your thing try some C&D Yorktown for a straight Virginia. Or combine 5 Bros and YT.
The world of pipe tobacco is your oyster and not your wife's

 

[mso489]

The trouble is, no one can taste blends for you, nor react to nicotine or lack thereof, so you're going to have to run your own experiments with different categories of blends. Because of the cigarette history, you probably need some nicotine, but how much, only you can say. Categories you could try are burley blends which might be gotten best from Cornell & Diehl, the master burley blenders -- Billy Budd and Old Joe Krantz are examples, but there are plainer ones like Big'n'Burley or Dark Burley. You could try many different tobacco forward aromatics. Go for the medium (or full) strength blends as described in the specs online. Likewise, try some Virginias. As a graduate from cigarettes, I'd avoid the whole inhaling and retrohaling ritual, or you'll get back to nicotine dependence where that's all you're after, which doesn't seem good. But mainly, you have to try around and see what works for you, especially to transition from the cigarettes.

 

[didimauw]

When I started smoking a pipe, I spent all kinds of money on fancy expensive tobaccos. At the time I thought out all tasted good. But after I found Carter Hall, out was all over. I never went back.

 

[shutterbugg]

One can smoke some Dunhill blends upon opening the tin, but you may end up with a soggy bottom third of your bowl. Dunhill and many other blenders choose a moisture level based on packing and storing, not the optimal level for the best smoke. Most experienced pipe smokers feel there's more taste when at the a lower moisture level, not the other way around.

1. You can end up with a soggy bottom third of a bowl even if the tobacco is bone dry, unless the ambient air is at zero humidity, because there is not time for moisture in the air sucked through the bowl to dissipate before the hot smoke contacts the cooler underlying tobacco and condenses. Also, toppings in many blends do not volatalize well.
2. Unless someone can link to an official statement from Dunhill attesting to them shipping their blends at a higher moisture level than they feel is optimal for smoking, there is nothing to prove it is anything but a baseless assertion. The tins are vacuum-sealed, many people cellar them unopened for years and when popped, find the contents at virtually the same moisture level as that of recently-tinned blends. And Dunhill stands to lose rather than gain by forcing customers to first dry their blends in order to enjoy them.
3. Saying "many" experienced smokers feel there's more taste at lower moisture levels is inarguable given the unquantifiable nature of that assertion. Saying "most" implies a majority, and thus makes it reasonable to expect the maker of such an assertion to provide solid data in its defence.