What Blend Caught You by Surprise?

[bigboi]

I am wondering what blend caught you by surprise? Something that you were not expecting in a good way.

For me it was Peter Stokebeye's Luxury Twist Flake. I love the LBF but this one was a very nice surprise to me. It was flavorful and smells intoxicating in the jar!!

 

[jgriff]

G&H Bob's Chocolate Flake. I'm not really into aros or latakia but this blend worked for me. It's everything I shouldn't like but I did.

 

[petes03]

For me there were two or three. The first two were Mac Baren's "Roll Cake" and "Dark Twist". I don't normally like tobacco that is anything other than loose cut, and I don't normally like Va's, but I really enjoyed these two Va coins! The other is McClelland "Deep Hollow", another Va.

 

[05venturer]

I would have to say Molto Dolce, kept hearing good reviews but thought it was gonna be another flavorless Aro. Boy was I wrong,it's some really tasty stuff IMO.

 

[dryseason91]

The sweetness of Three Nuns. Maybe that's just me?

 

[radio807]

Half and Half. I find it to be a perfect smoke in my cobs when working outside or in the garage. I smoke the good stuff after meals when I'm relaxed and sitting still, and can pay attention to the flavors.

 

[pipestud]

Gawith's Dark Honeydew. What a smoke!
Pipestud

 

[leacha]

Walnut. Not being a fan of Latakia, or so I thought. I seem to like it as a condiment. I do have 2oz of pirate cake, in a jar, which I'll try slowly to see if I develope a taste for the big boys.

 

[easygoer]

GL Pease Lombard & Rotary Navy Cut. I would not say they caught me by surprise just underrated and not mentioned much. Sure to please if you let them age.

 

[tbradsim1]

Foggy sent me some McCllend Bulk Turkish Ribbon, WOW, wonderful smoke, thank you Foggy.

 

[cortezattic]

Peterson's Hyde Park -- a natural tasting blend with floral notes, that is definitely do-able for non-Lakeland smokers.
Sillem's Mayor 1814 -- Super high quality Virginia flake that exists completely below the radar. One of the best ever.

 

[shortyeastcoast]

See my (giant) post on Mid-Day.
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/the-king-of-aros-mid-day-wall-of-text

 

[mrenglish]

Peterson 3 P's. I had tried Warrior Plug and some of the Gawith plugs before but Peterson 3 P's really blew me away when I first tried it. I had been on an English kick for a couple years and this brought me back into VA's and vapers again.
Another was Stokkebye's Bullseye Flake. Never thought I would like it but then was gifted some that had some age to and was impressed.
Key Largo really hit home. I have always been kind of meh towards cigar leaf blends but this one was really good.

 

[papipeguy]

Two Friends' English Chocolate. As a confirmed latakia blend smoker I couldn't imagine adding a dash of chocolate to the mix but my tobacconist knew I'd like it and it's a regular smoke for me now. Craig Tarler and Greg Pease are a formidable pair with that line.

 

[zekest]

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Cornell & Diehl Haunted Bookshop

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What a delightful Virginia/Burley/Perique blend.

.

 

[hobie1dog]

Penzance, my first flavor orgasm

 

[msandoval858]

Wow, for me there has been several blends throughout the years that have surprised me.
Nording Labrador - I'm not an aro fan, I don't hate them but I've never found one that pleased me. I picked up a tin of this on a whim and was blown away. The flavor and room note are just perfect. Everyone I've recommended this to agrees.
GH&Co Bob's Chocolate Flake - I sampled the SG version of Chocolate Flake some years ago and don't recall it being anything amazing. Recently I finished off a tin of Two Friends Chocolate English and discovered I do like that smokey flavor with hints of sweet. So I got curious about this one. A gracious member here sent me a sample to try and it only took one bowl and I was in love. Just received my 500gr box of beautiful flakes from SP a few days ago in my latest TAD shot.

 

[kashmir]

Rattray's 7 Reserve.

 

[mso489]

I thought Dunhill had the English blends with MM965 and Nightcap. Then I smoked Nat Sherman's 536, and it was a whole

new day. Dunhill has the boldness, but Sherman has an exquisite refinement without giving up flavor.

 

[volyd]

Samuel Gawith Celtic Talisman.
Probably like many pipe smokers, I've started pipe smoking back in 2007 with aros. As you can also probably imagine, I've done every mistake there is, and it wasn't enjoyable.

About 3 years ago I started (again) to really get into pipe smoking, and got into VaPers and the kind. I've tried this aro just a few months ago, after hearing and reading many good things about it, and a bit to my surprise: with better technique, (good!) aros can be a real treat.