tmb152, no one is dissing them. Aro Lives Matter. There's a difference between a diss and a joke. I smoke aros too, as I mentioned a few times in this thread.
Tobacco of the Month: Aromatics
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Take a look at jiminks recent review of Three Star Blue, a Sutliff blend done for Iwan Ries, now marketed more widely. It's both mildly aromatic and tobacco forward like an English blend (the tobacco forward part, not the aro part). The review is a sort of update on our whole thinking about aro versus non-aro.
That's great, Cosmic (I love that moniker BTW), no harm here.
Me, I've learned from sampling many aros that in making my own, I start with a great base of complex, quality tobaccos, then add in just enough flavoring so that as you smoke it, the flavor pokes through just here and there not drawing great attention to itself, acting synergisticly to combine with the natural flavors in a complex and ever-changing way to add another dimension to the smoke rather than overpower it.
The research continues . . . :
:But I admit, for the very best blends, no artificial flavoring I've tasted yet can truly surpass or replace the depth and complexity which Mother Nature already gives us!
We should just be honest and use the word "flavored" instead.
"Aromatic" sounds like something a hipster -- munching kale and drinking IPAs -- would like.
Flavored just means what it says.
I smoke a ton of aromatics, will try anything and I've got it down to where my tongue isn't roast beef. I quite enjoy many of them.
I really enjoy aromatics. 1/2 of my rotation is aromatic. 1Q, Frog Morton, Lighthouse Keeper, HGL, Autumn Evening, Bagpiper's Dream, Nut and Honey from a B&M, luxury twist flake. On my first year of smoking I was lucky enough to get a sample of a bunch of really good VaPERS/ non-aromatic tobacco. I really like VaPers and Vas but sometimes I just wanna chill with a nice, light aro. Like you, Pylorns, I've learned to pace myself enough so that I don't burn my tongue on them. Well, maybe sometimes if I smoke more than a bowl a day. I almost never do.
I've started to do that too. I started doing that after trying FMC and FCK - Merde de Cheval
I felt that these were English with a little something.
Since then I've tried to do some of my own experiences with strong blends to which I add some aromatic tobacco.
I've had some nice results.
I guess wet, goopy, tasteless aromatic blends made some of the pipe smokers hate the aromatic blend concept. I smoke everything, literally, Virginias, VaPers, English, Balkan, Oriental and Aromatics. If the quality of the tobacco is good then you just need the worst blender of all times to ruin the blend made out of that specific tobacco. If the quality of the tobacco is bad then even the best blender can't save it. My all time favorite aromatic is Erinmore Flake. I am jvnshr and I smoke Aromatic blends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-cjacBbs3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-cjacBbs3M
I love Erinmore, because it has a moderate to high nic content and you get mostly just a tobacco flavor with fruity notes woven in and out of it. But, you really only get the fruity at times when you aren't expecting it, especially when smoked very very slowly.
I keep a few on hand, primarily P&C's Butternut Burley. Not a huge fan of others. I will say that with the current state of affairs with the FDA I started looking into the Sutliff bulk we carry at the shop I work at. One that intrigued me was "Holiday Mixture". I go over to Tobacco Reviews and see that our own JimInks has written a very nice review of it. Since I value his opinion, I bag up a sample for later.
I smoked this last night while cutting grass and it was an enjoyable smoke. Aromatics have their place for sure.
I smoked this last night while cutting grass and it was an enjoyable smoke. Aromatics have their place for sure.
I have just a little bit of Blood Red Moon left over from when everyone was raving about it being an above-the-shoulders, quality aromatic. The cherry taste is OK, I've had better, but I find the overall smoking experience no better than a lot of the Sutliff aromatics that many people rail about. So either BRM was highly over-rated as an aro or some of the Sutliffs are under! Bottom line: as I smoked it last night I found myself wanting something more.
:rofl:
Everyone likes to put on some silk stockings, feather boa, fire up some wild cherry blends. I just don't feel comfortable about walking out into public like that. More power to you guys who can. :wink: Ha ha!!
Well ,My Dear American Friends,mind you telling me,do you happen to consider Carter Hall or Lane Limited or Sutliff Ready Rubbed match being an Aromatic tobacco by your standardts?
Ps.Just smoked a bowlful of that Sutliff Edgeworth incarnation,and yes it was pretty interesting,but somewhat overly cocoa-burley- molasse complex mix-had gotten an impression its being an old fashion blend think it may go best to broke a new pipe in,otherwise too chocolatey to my likings,although my late daddy did smoke it (edgeworth)most always-he was a sailor at the commercial navy and brought those PA and Edgeworth+CH tobaccoes in his suitcase while heading back home from the States.
Ps.Just smoked a bowlful of that Sutliff Edgeworth incarnation,and yes it was pretty interesting,but somewhat overly cocoa-burley- molasse complex mix-had gotten an impression its being an old fashion blend think it may go best to broke a new pipe in,otherwise too chocolatey to my likings,although my late daddy did smoke it (edgeworth)most always-he was a sailor at the commercial navy and brought those PA and Edgeworth+CH tobaccoes in his suitcase while heading back home from the States.
Some folks love the Cult Blood Red Moon and Harris has been trying to get me to try it, as I am not an aromatic smoker. However, I heard some chatter that CBRM is really just repackaged Lane TK-6 ( http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/688/lane-limited-tk-6 )- does anyone know if this is true?
I don't smoke anything sold in drug stores or made by Lane as a matter of principle. But, I do enjoy Erinmore, which sounds like a village in the LOTR series, maybe inhabited by elves. And, I have a few other aromatic arrows in my quiver.
When I read through a list of too many flavored tobaccos it can trigger my gag reflex, just too much of a collision between food and smoking for me. At the same time, it's important that our beloved non-aromatic pipe tobacco is supported for blending and distribution by the aromatic market which supplies 90+% of the revenue. So scorning aromatics is sort of the like kid who scorns his dad who pays his bills. I enjoy some tobacco-forward aromatics many of which are based on good Virginia or burley leaf and/or blends that are essentially English but for the flavoring. jiminks just did a spot-on review of one of them, Iwan Ries Three Star Blue, but there are a number of others. I haven't noticed that Forums aromatic smokers are that much dissed, anymore than everyone else that is. chasing' just did a spirited reconsideration of the long discounted Mixture 79, and I've just boarded the Royal Yacht, which is after all an aromatic.
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