Unpleasant Surprise re Dark Fired Kentucky

[didimauw]

I've had a smiliar experience. My first bowl of DFK was horrid. I hated it. But Pushed on, and after a couple bowls, thats all I wanted. (Read: Ryback regular, pounds and pounds)
I have two pipes dedicated to DFK.

Then I went back on my regular burley's OJK, Briar Fox, Pegasus for a few months. I then tried another bowl of ODF, and All i got was a horrible sour taste.

Seems like to me, I have to push through the first couple bowls to get used to it again.

 

[sablebrush52]

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!

Could be a lot of things. If you and your wife notice a strange smell from you pipe, it may be time to really deep clean it, with focus on the airway and particularly the mortise, which is often the source of pipe fouling.
It could also be that your taster was having a bad day. Happens to the best of us, one of those days when things taste and smell, off. There are days when senses may not be as intense, or sense of smell is off, maybe an allergy attack.
Also, if you have been smoking a different type of tobacco exclusively for a while, and then go back to your old fave, it's not going to taste quite the same. Your palette has been conditioned to something different. This is less of an issue if you're switching up between different blends in the course of a day. But there's that issue.
You didn't specify which blend you found disappointing, only that it was a DFK blend. Old Dark Fired is probably the best Dark Fired blend out there, and it's quality is exceptional, unlike a lot of the crappy Dark Fired being stuffed into blends as a cheap Perique substitute. It kinda depends on what you were smoking. When the disappointment occurred.

 

[Relax62]

Try GLP's Laurel Heights. It is a Virginia with a mere dusting of latakia. It actually has so little latakia in it that many swear it doesn't have any at all. But, it might be one that brings about both worlds for you. I know that it drew me back to latakia. but, I still love Virginias a tad more.

That sounds great! Will get some with my next order!

 

[Relax62]

Could be a lot of things. If you and your wife notice a strange smell from you pipe, it may be time to really deep clean it, with focus on the airway and particularly the mortise, which is often the source of pipe fouling.
It could also be that your taster was having a bad day. Happens to the best of us, one of those days when things taste and smell, off. There are days when senses may not be as intense, or sense of smell is off, maybe an allergy attack.
Also, if you have been smoking a different type of tobacco exclusively for a while, and then go back to your old fave, it's not going to taste quite the same. Your palette has been conditioned to something different. This is less of an issue if you're switching up between different blends in the course of a day. But there's that issue.
You didn't specify which blend you found disappointing, only that it was a DFK blend. Old Dark Fired is probably the best Dark Fired blend out there, and it's quality is exceptional, unlike a lot of the crappy Dark Fired being stuffed into blends as a cheap Perique substitute. It kinda depends on what you were smoking. When the disappointment occurred.

The one that I loved and then disappointed with is HH Dark Fired ready rub. You bring up some very good points that I will try for sure as I really enjoyed this DFK for some time and ordered quite a bit, some bulk and several tins. It was, and hopefully will be, one of my favorites!