Trying to figure out what I like.

[coty]

So I'm trying to branch out and figure what tobacco I like, what I don't and try new things. I've only smoked a few blends. I tried a few cheap aromatics when I got my first pipe and then I tried some English Oriental Supreme. It was good, it was cheap, and it was locally available so that's what I kept buying and smoking.
At some point, I got the notion in my head that I needed to buy some "good" tobacco so I ordered a tin of Escudo ND, and a tin of Dunhill Flake. I don't seem to care for the Escudo and I have not tried the Dunhill yet. I'm giving myself a little break after making myself sick on Escudo.
So I don't know much about tobacco, but since I like the English Oriental Supreme, I should probably try a few cavendishes right? I was thinking I would pick up a bag of CB Gold since its easy on the pocket and worth a shot.
And since I didn't like the Escudo, I should probably stay away from Perique blends, right?
Any other suggestions?

 

[lucky695]

Get some 1Q it's mild enough not to make you green....and has a good taste and note. some of the best advice I got when I started was to SIP the pipe. DOn't take long hard pulls. Once it's lit...just SIP... Happy Sampling.

 

[coty]

Food: I tend to like strong flavors such as blue cheese, onions, and sauerkraut paired with savory things such as read meat or earthy tasting heavily crusted breads.

Beverage of choice: Water? I'll drink just about anything. Beer and wine are probably the only things I don't like at all.

Smoking habits: Evenings, alone, out doors.

Tobaccos to date: Cheap aromatics I cant recall the name of. English Oriental Supreme. Escudo ND.

 

[rmbittner]

Coty:
If I haven't already said so, welcome to the forum and the hobby!
Since you liked the Oriental Supreme (which I'm not familiar with), you might want to give Presbyterian Mixture a shot. It's an excellent Oriental-forward oriental/Virginia, with -- perhaps -- a tiny bit of latakia but absolutely no perique.
I may have suggested this to you in another thread, but McClelland's Anniversary is a fantastic Virginia/latakia blend.
Since you've had aromatics, I'd urge you away from another one at this point. 1Q and other popular aromatics might not offer you much that's different from what you've already had. (And I personally find the world of non-aromatics much more interesting.)
Also, given what you've said in other threads, I'm not sure if it's the perique or simply the nicotine in Escudo that isn't sitting well with you. If you'd like to experiment with this, Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake is a Virginia spun-cut with a very small quantity of perique in it. I find the nicotine levels low -- I don't like high-nic blends myself -- and the perique is quite subtle.
And Dunhill My Mixture 965 is a good medium-weight English that includes some cavendish; that might be a good way to give a more straightforward English a try.
Bob

 

[phred]

Don't worry too much about not liking Escudo - it's a distinctive blend (and one of my favorites), but it's not something I'd necessarily recommend to a brand new smoker, or one I'd recommend as an introduction to Perique. Plus, if you made yourself sick on it, that's going to stick with you if you ever decided to try it again...
It takes a while to develop a palate, whether you're talking food, drink, or tobacco - and your tastes will likely change over time. No need to rush things. If you've found a blend you like, keep smoking it. Try new ones as you have time, inclination, and funds. I've had a few blends that I won't be buying again, but thankfully those experiences have been fewer than the ones that lead me in other directions.
My own experiences are pretty limited, so I won't presume to advise - but I introduced myself to Perique blends by talking with the guy that runs the B&M that I frequent, and he started my off with what I'm pretty sure was McClelland 2015 Virginia Flake & Perique. From there, I tried Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake (with the Cavendish center, it may be a better introduction for you) and Luxury Navy Flake, and then went on to try Escudo.
It's kind of like learning to like single-malt Scotch - I dove right in and loved the heavy, peaty/iodine flavors of Laphroaig pretty much right off the bat, but other people need to work up to those via the less intense Higland varieties first. Your Mileage May Vary...

 

[rmbittner]

briarblues:
"The latest GLP blend actually might be just the right blend, as it is a "plug" which you can chop to a suitable size."
Do you mean Jackknife Plug? Isn't that a very high-nicotine blend? I'm thinking that if Escudo makes the OP dizzy, JP might drop him to the floor!
Bob

 

[coty]

I'm wary of the perique because I simply did not find the Escudo to be all that pleasing even before I got sick. It was certainly not bad and I wont have any trouble finishing my tin, (one small bowl at a time, of course) but it just did not seem all that great either. It seemed to taste a bit like soot and burning wood, almost like a dried out cigar. Perhaps I was just puffing on it too hard.
Thank you all for the helpful suggestions. I will surely be trying a few of these out as time and finance allows.

 

[mikenac]

Escudo takes a lot of patience and slow sipping to enjoy. From your description, I would say that you were probably puffing too hard or maybe it was too wet and needed to air out for an hour or so. If you are a new tobacco smoker, straight Virginia would not be my first recommendation.
Having said that, I can offer you a couple of recommendations to help you figure out what you like:
For an aromatic, try Stanwell Melange. This is the best aromatic I have smoked. For an English, try Dunhill Early Morning Pipe (milder) or Dunhill 965 (medium) or Robert Lewis Tree Mixture (mild to medium, more dusky). For a Balkan, try GL Pease Abingdon (to experience Latakia).

 

[Perique]

Based on what I've read on this thread, I'm going to recommend you call Carole at Pipeworks & Wilke and discuss your tastes with her. She will recommend you some outstanding blends.

 

[judcole]

You've gotten some good advice,so far. Good luck.

 

[johnnyiii]

And I take it that there is no tobacconist near by to give you pinches of some comparable bulk to try and narrow down your search of preferences? My local guy is an hour away. Out of 15 1oz samples, and 6 tins My primary smokes are still a result of the two bulks and 1 tin I found their. The rest were bought via description over the web, and out of them I liked one bulk, a few ok bulks, and one tin. Do the math.
My best wishes to you finding a goto favorite smoke that will allow you to venture to new smokes leisurely on the side.

 

[salewis]

Coty:
Welcome to the forum. As a newer pipe smoker what I did not here about is the pipe that you are using to try these new tobacco blends. Assuming that the pipe is OK what you need to do is get yourself some mild light English blends. I would suggest that you may like Samual Gawith's Squadron Leader which is a mild English blend with high quality Virginias, orientals like a little latakia. Another fine English blend is GL Pease's Westminister which is a little heaver than Squadron Leader. Finally, Presbyterian blend by Presbyterian is a great mild English blend to begin your pipe smoking hobby with since beginning with high quality lighter tobacco blends is a good idea and these recommended blends are smoked by even more experienced pipe smokers. All of these blends can be found on-line at smokingpipes.com. Good luck and enjoy your new hobby.

 

[mso489]

Try some sampler packs. Last time I looked, 4noggins offered these in different categories like

aro and English, in one ounce packs for twenty bucks or so. Other retailers also offer sampler packs,

but I like the small one-ounce packs, so you don't buy too much of anything until you've tried it.

Try pipe shops that offer samples, if available, or a pipe show, where samples are usually part of the

cost of admission; just take several pipes and pause between blends to let your taste buds clear.

You'll sort it out fairly quickly, except of course, you'll be trying new tobaccos for the rest of your

pipe smoking career.