Virginia Sabbatical

[crawdad]

I just can't get the hang of Virginia's. I don't smoke a pipe that often which I'm sure is just one reason why. I like the simplicity of my Burley, English and American blends and so VAs just don't get a lot of love in my rotation. I just get all twisted with jealousy at the VA smokers waxing at how great Virginia's are as I only get a shallow unsatisfying hint from the same.

So I've decided to take a sabbatical from my favorite blends and stick with only Virginia's. I will learn this beast. I will claim and conquer the VA leaf even if I have my own 'Heart of Darkness' moment.

Either I come back puffing slooooowly on a perfectly folded and stuffed pipe filled with high end VA or come crawling on hands and knees riven with shame and embarrassment reaching for some safe and comfortable match Walnut.

Please, feel free to encourage my journey or admonish me my folly.

 

[stokesdale]

I just can't get the hang of Virginia's. I don't smoke a pipe that often which I'm sure is just one reason why. I like the simplicity of my Burley, English and American blends and so VAs just don't get a lot of love in my rotation. I just get all twisted with jealousy at the VA smokers waxing at how great Virginia's are as I only get a shallow unsatisfying hint from the same.

So I've decided to take a sabbatical from my favorite blends and stick with only Virginia's. I will learn this beast. I will claim and conquer the VA leaf even if I have my own 'Heart of Darkness' moment.

Either I come back puffing slooooowly on a perfectly folded and stuffed pipe filled with high end VA or come crawling on hands and knees riven with shame and embarrassment reaching for some safe and comfortable match Walnut.

Please, feel free to encourage my journey or admonish me my folly.

Good luck son! Your father will be proud of you!

 

[skydog]

Good luck with your journey! I remember the bowl of McClelland Blackwood's Flake that turned me into the Virginia fanatic I am today. They're definitely a milder flavored smoke than an English but if you enjoy Burley then I'm sure you can find your way to being a Virginia fan.

 

[mso489]

Many English blends are based in Virginia, so you may be further along with it than you think. For me, good Virginias are like especially reserved people who unfold as you get to know them. I'm first a burley smoker, burley based or with burley condiment. I sometimes feel that Virginia first smokers have more refined tastes. I still enjoy Virginia blends, a more quiet experience with nice nuances and surprises. I can almost hear a grandfather clock ticking in the background.

 

[musicman]

This was me about 5 months ago, and now about 80-90 percent of my smokes are Va/VaPer/VaKenPer blends. I got a new pipe right after Christmas and decided to dedicate it to Virginia blends. I broke it in with a few bowls of Match Victorian, and finally experienced the various flavors people wax on about. Before this, most of my Va experiences tasted like hot cigarettes, but once I got the hang of how to prepare (drying time is critical) and smoke (low and slow) these tobaccos, my piping life was completely changed.

I hope you can have the same sort of experience at some point, because there are some pretty sublime smokes in the Virginia based category. I do still reach for a Latakia blend from time to time, as well as Burley blends and Lakelands, but mostly it's all Va/VaPer/etc. all the time for me now.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I just can't get the hang of Virginia's.

Sometimes it can take years.

 

[Casual]

One year in and Virginias are the hardest for me to appreciate still. I go back now and then hoping for an epiphany. None yet.

 

[Chasing Embers]

In '92, Christmas Cheer began my love for them.

 

[crawdad]

Sometimes it can take years.

Don't say that! You had to go and say it!

 

[ray47]

I've been smoking a pipe for 53 yrs and I believe your doing it right. Conquer the leaf and then move on.

 

[logs]

Don't say that! You had to go and say it!

It's true. Straight VAs are my favorite smoke but that's only really become true in the last few years out of nearly 30 years of smoking a pipe. It can take a while to develop a taste for something. On the other hand, I think you're going about it the right way. Try some different VA blends, in a variety of pipes, and take notes. I can't tell you how important it is to try different sized pipes. There are blends that are amazing in a small bowl that lose their flavor in a large bowl. In other cases, some blends might taste good in a cob and are wholly different in a briar. And once you find something that works for you, keep track of what made that happen--so you can repeat it.

 

[jmill208]

Keep it simple. Start your journey with straightforward and solid VA’s. OGS or perhaps some of the Stokkebye flakes come to mind when I think of easy to like uncomplicated VA blends. Build from this simplicity, and you will most likely start to ‘get it’ easier.

Not a sermon, just a thought.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Don't say that! You had to go and say it!

Just being honest. It took me 25 years to be able to taste aromatics the way they smell.

 

[gervais]

Keep it simple. Start your journey with straightforward and solid VA’s. OGS or perhaps some of the Stokkebye flakes come to mind when I think of easy to like uncomplicated VA blends. Build from this simplicity, and you will most likely start to ‘get it’ easier.

Not a sermon, just a thought.

BAH! Go right for the FVF and get er done budd! ? but on a more serious note, orlik golden sliced is damn fine high quality, tasty Virginia. Go for it. Stokkebye Flakes are pretty good, but a little less "oomph" than the former mentioned

 

[mityahicks]

Good luck! I'm a fan of all tobacco types, and there are a lot of great Virginia blends. Watch City Simply Red is very approachable.

 

[mingc]

16 years in and only now starting -- just starting -- to develop a taste for Va and VaPers. I may yet decide they're not for me.

 

[coming to_falling too]

I probably have more Va and VaPer blends than anything else in my cellar right now. Naturally I probably smoke more Va blends than any other. I haven't been smoking long, but it didn't take me long to figure out that I liked Virginias.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I probably have more Va and VaPer blends than anything else in my cellar right now. Naturally I probably smoke more Va blends than any other. I haven't been smoking long, but it didn't take me long to figure out that I liked Virginias.

I had been smoking for about a year when the first edition of Christmas Cheer came out, instant love. Primarily Virginias, Virginia/Orientals, Virginia/Burleys, and Virginia/Periques here.

 

[coming to_falling too]

I had been smoking for about a year when the first edition of Christmas Cheer came out, instant love. Primarily Virginias, Virginia/Orientals, Virginia/Burleys, and Virginia/Periques here.

Right. I enjoy the occasional English and latakia blends, don't get me wrong. I also go in for DFK every now and then. But it seems I'm always reaching fire Va the most.

My tastes will probably change, but I'm sure I'll always like a good virginia flake.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I also go in for DFK every now and then

ODF is a Virginia/Burley, so you get your dark fired and Virginia.?