Title edited for caps and specificity. Please see Rule 9.
Hope everyone is having a great New Year!
So, I’m heading into this weekend with some new blends I’ve purchased over the last year and plan to try them (first time) for my first year anniversary of pipe smoking. It’s been a very interesting (amazing) experience! WOW! So many different techniques I’ve learned and tried, acquired several pipes (a couple of really nice ones), and I’ve tried so many different blends (probably too many in such a short time)… and I’m just getting the hang of it and beginning to really learn my likes and dislikes.
All of this background leads me to my question, which is about one tobacco that has me confused. It’s Dark fired Kentucky. Back a few months ago I tried some Mac Baren (HH) Dark Fired ready rub flake and I loved it!! Smoking it daily (sometimes more than once a day) and every time I placed an order to try something new, I would pick up some more DFK. Then I finally started to learn how to smoke and enjoy Virginia blends and the DFK was put aside until today. I was thinking about it all day, mouth watering, and pulled out a Rossi billiard that I have dedicated for DFK, and waited. Leading up to my evening smoke, I read what I had written about my smoking experience with this tobacco from a few months back and began remembering all the flavor and overall smoking experiences (all wonderful) with this tobacco. I pulled out one of my jars and the aroma was wonderful! Ahh… ready to smoke! After my typical dry time… first light was very different. I lightly tamped and second light.., what? This isn’t anything like I remembered, or had written down. All I tasted was pencil lead. No sweetness, no tangy BBQ/ketchup, or woodsy notes… just lead.
So the question is… have any of you had this experience with DFK, or really any blend? Secondly, is it possible, or likely, it could be a soured pipe (I smelled a very strange smell from my pipe after smoking). I feel like I do a good job keeping my pipes clean, but even my wife commented on how the pipe smelled.
I thought about trying a different pipe, but just couldn’t get past the disappointment. I really enjoyed DFK for a few months… could my taste have changed that significantly in a relatively short period of time?
Confused, curious, and seeking some advice/suggestions from anyone, especially those with more experience than myself. I really want to like ii again!