What Am I Not Getting About Virginias?

[jvnshr]

Smoked very slowly so that they barely simmer and they will deliver all the flavors in the blend, will not get hot, and will not incinerate your tongue unless you have a body chemistry issue.

^^^ This, plus the cadence you catch and stick to... is just priceless.

 

[kschatey]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

I don't like aromatics, I love Englishes of all kinds from mild to strong to Scottish with every kind of condiment or co-base from VA to Burley, etc.

I just can't get into Virginias, but I really want to. I want to enjoy and savor and collect virginias like so many of the rest of you seem to. I want to roam and inspect and analyze the huge world of VAs that so many of you get to -- but I just can't seem to love VAs. They're just "okay" for me.

I've never had those "nirvana smokes" or revelationary reactions where I immediately want to buy pounds of any VA based blends the way I have with Englishes.

I run the spectrum from bored to "this is okay" on every VA I've smoked.

I'll try to think of every VA based mix I've tried: Escudo, PS Navy Flake, PS Luxury coins, golden sliced, Haddo's, penny farthing, PS aged Virginia made by S Gawith.

Please help me, I want to like.

I didn't start to "get" Virginia blends until I tried Capstan Blue. That one really clicked and now I have been revisiting other VA blends and finding their subtleties. However, I still can't find enjoyment with straight or heavy red Virginia blends. That tobacco just doesn't seem to work well with my body chemistry or something.

 

[anotherbob]

I never paid attention to leaf type until last year. I just went on what was available and what sounded good on a guy level. Wait still do that except now I make sure I don't have too much or too little of certain styles.

 

[captainsousie]

I never got Virginias until I smoked a 10+ year old tin. Then I got what people were going on about. Before that they tasted like ash, air, cigs etc. After the aging I got a whole host of new, good flavors. I can't guarantee that it will work for everyone but it worked a treat for me.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Absolutely agree with, smoke what you like and like what you smoke.

It could also be the time of year you're trying them. I get more out of my Virginia/VaPers in the summer months. Winter months I switch over to Burley blends. I can't explain it, but for me the VAs are better in the warmer months.

You definitely have to slow down with Virginias. Have to have the palate clean and keep it moist by sipping on water during the smoke. Retrohaling really helps bring the range of flavors out in Virginia blends. Another thing that helped me was watching blend reviews from Smoking Pipes social media pages. Shane Ireland mentioning certain things gave me ah ha moments helping me put my finger on the flavors I actually was getting.

Also, if you haven't yet, try them in different bowl sizes. Some blends just tend to like certain chamber dimensions.

If they still don't click for you, just jar them up and revisit them in another 6 months or so.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

I run the spectrum from bored to "this is okay" on every VA I've smoked.

If I only smoked Virginia’s, or most VaPers, I would soon agree with you. There was always a contingent of “matured Virginia” lovers, but the current Virginia craze is, IMO, largely social media driven. Back in the 1980’s and 1990’s, McClelland Green Labels (orientals) way outsold the Brown Labels (Virginia) in the shops I frequented. And when Frog Morton (heavy Latakia) came along, it blew the doors off both. But I smoke some of every style known these days, so boredom isn’t an issue.

 

[cigrmaster]

I suggest you get a tin of Capstan Blue Flake as it is readily available.
Open the tin and take one flake and fold it and stuff it into a group 4-5 sized pipe. I would recommend a straight Billiard.

In my opinion this particular flake comes at the perfect humidity level. It has a nice bend and it never smokes hot or wet for me. You will need to read up on folding and stuffing. I also check the draw before lighting up. If the draw is too loose I pack it down a bit more. I want to have a little resistance as if it is too loose it will burn hot and lose flavor. If yu pack it to tight before lighting run a pipe cleaner through the stem and into the bowl. That should loosen it up and create an air way. Do a charring light then the true light and sip away. If for any reason it gets tight again use a pipe cleaner to loosen it. Sometimes paces of tobacco can get stuck wand the pipe cleaner will clear the blockage. There is no race to the bottom, slow sipping will get the flavors a great Virginia has to offer.

Pipe smoking is not intuitive, it takes practice and patience and if you have both, you will be rewarded with a lifetime of great smokes.

 

[uprightman]

I don’t think I’m quite there either with regards to identifying every nuance in Virginia blends, but the closest I came was with a bowl of SG Full Virginia Flake from 2016, that a kind gentleman was nice enough to offer me. It was really delightful.

That sold me on the concept that even if I didn’t get them quite now, I might in the future, so I bought 8oz of FVG and a few other tins of virginia’s to try after they’ve aged.

 

[badbriar]

OP - lots of us take a while to develop the finesse for smoking Virginias. Personally, I love the aroma and taste of Virginias. Nothing quite like opening a new tin of St. James Flake! Unlike English and most other blends, Virginias require no small amount of talent to rub / fold / cut, etc and then there's the packing. Remember that it is important to choose a blend that is not particularly prone to bite. All that said - quite worth the work. Once you find that flavor description that jiminks describes, it's Hammer time!

 

[PipesRock]

My .01 cent for the Op based on my vast <1 year experience. Capstan Blue Flake is helping me get Virginias and enjoy them. Similar to what @cigrmaster said I use the Stuff method with sprinkles on top in my couple of cobs for Straight Virginias. I still have to punish myself when the bowl reaches a "too warm" temperature, by setting it down and working on something for 10-15 minutes until cooled down. Also the occasional pipecleaner is used to grab moisture and loosen the flake. Then re-light and and enjoy again. I've lessened the self imposed wrist slappings, lengthened the smoke, and seem to be getting it bowl after bowl with less focus required.

 

[kola]

To me VaPers and Virginia are two different animals. I recently burned out on latakia blends and Perique blends as well.

I now prefer the straight Virginia's or Va/burleys or Burley forward blends. I really enjoy the red Va's.

 

[lawdawg]

Others have provided good technical advice on how to best smoke Virginias. That said, don't worry about not being a "real pipe connoisseur" just because you don't care for Virginias as much as other styles. A few years ago, all the connoisseurs loved latakia blends, and Virginias were not widely discussed. Funny how things like that change over time. Same thing has happened in the scotch and bourbon world over the last ten or fifteen years... bourbon used to be just cheap corn liquor, and single malt scotches for a long time were seen as stodgy and outdated. Now bourbon is the realm of the spirits connoisseur, and scotch drinkers for the most part are only interested in single malts with much lower interest in blended scotch.

I will also add that as a cigar smoker, you're probably used to copious amounts of smoke. The smoking experience with Virginias tends to produce a thinner, wispy, and overall lower volume of smoke. I really like a good Virginia, especially darker Virginia flakes, but I don't smoke Virginia style blends as often as I might, mainly because of how mild the experience often is. You can have a good palate and still not like some of the agreed-upon great blends.

 

[Worknman]

I smoked some 2019 Carolina Red Flake earlier and its very flavorful imo. Its tangy, sweet, and spicy all at the same time.

 

[Magpiety]

Consider trying out something simple to get a baseline, and then go more complex. Sutliff Matured Red Virginia, Sutliff Virginia Slices, and Mac Baren Virginia no 1 are all very good and straightforward.

 

[Magpiety]

Bourbon used to be just cheap corn liquor

This line cracked me up. Completely true, but something about the phrasing got me.

 

[hauntedmyst]

That said, don't worry about not being a "real pipe connoisseur" just because you don't care for Virginias as much as other styles. A few years ago, all the connoisseurs loved latakia blends, and Virginias were not widely discussed. Funny how things like that change over time.

So true. One day the "experts" will tell you only a real pipe smokers knows how to coax the nuances out of 1Q and it requires a pyramid shaped pipe, a metronome for precise cadence while a South by southwest wind of 10 to 12 mph blows as you drink a Shiraz and listen to Styx Grand Illusion remastered. Smoke what you like, cellar it all knowing your tastes will change and smile peacefully knowing you're a pipe smoker in a world going insane around you.

 

[krizzose]

Experiment with different pipes, too. I tend the get the best Virginia results, particularly with folded and stuffed flakes, with bowls .75 inches in chamber diameter or narrower. Someone with as much or much more experience than me may say the opposite. The point is, you may find you have a distinct preference one way or the other which makes a big difference to you.

 

[Sincerely]

Well, about a year later and I have just about come full circle.

I now love many VA and Va/Per and Va/Burs.


I totally get it now, I know how to prepare and load flakes in a number of different ways and have a little contingent of pipes that are perfect for my VA based flakes.

I have some aged Christmas Cheer, FVF, St. James, and love my Byronic Slices from KBV.

Nowadays I probably smoke one cigar a month, I have gotten so into the pipes.

Thanks for the advice from everyone. Any other newbies reading this I think the biggest thing was just time. I was actually already decent at packing and sipping, the breath method works really well for me -- I think I just needed time to let my palate develop. Also drying. Drying more was probably more helpful than any packing techniques.

 

[bullet08]

She has a big brother named Tim and he doesn't smoke.

 

[mso489]

Each genre -- like Virginia, Virginia Perique, English, burley, etc. -- is a cultivated taste. You can start with any of them, but you may have to get oriented when you go to a different genre. A steak and potatoes person might get to like sushi and sashimi, but may not like it immediately, or at all. I find Virginia leaf understated and nuanced, but I can certainly enjoy it, sometimes intensely.