What's Your Goal

[hobie1dog]

I would like to end up trying all the English blends out there. I know that I don't like Va. or Burleys, or Aromatics. Then settling on 3-4 max blends, as I have very little extra money to spend living on Disability, Medical bills, back taxes after being double taxed ( thanks to the greedy on Capital Hill), worn out cars, etc.
When the Box Pass was going years ago I ended up being the Administrator of it. On its last pass, I filled Plano boxes with many different samples, I see that you guys dropped it after I left. Joining the local pipe club will allow me to try a lot of new blends.

 

[cosmicbobo]

As OP said, I only buy different tobaccos on a whim. I have a lot of whims

 

[Chasing Embers]

Been smoking a pipe for nearly thirty years, and I guess my few goals would be to stay out of my cellar long enough to only have tobacco with at least five years of age to smoke. I've fallen into smoking sweet, not always aromatic, blends with nutty undertones. I still enjoy blends with condimental amounts of Latakia, but blends that are considered English all taste exactly the same to me now. After many years, aromatics taste exactly the way they smell, and I've become a predominately Virginia/VaPer/VaBur smoker.

 

[mawnansmiff]

As I mentioned earlier on another thread, I'm whittling down my tobacco collection until I have roughly ten different blends that I will continue to buy on a regular basis.
In the two years of smoking a pipe I pretty much know where my interests lie regarding blends and I now know which to avoid. At first I would try pretty much anything but I am now much more selective.
I'm mainly into straight Va or VaPer blends though I'm quite partial to some dark fired Kentucky too. Also some of the Kendal blends that use flue cured leaf from such places as Malawi, India, Mozambique etc are really interesting. It is all these that are forming the basis of my 'cellar'.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[cshubhra]

Goals are simple ... really
a. Smoke as many variety as I can (Primarily non-aromatics, but occasionally tobacco forward aros)

b. Have a decent collection of smokers - My criteria is simple

• Smoke all of them regularly[/*]
  
• 10%-20% cheap estates, 40% mid-range (100$-200$) new pipes, and 40%-50% high-end (250$+) for pride of possession, but the key criteria is - they must be great smokers[/*]

c. Talk about them in the forum

d. Eventually give up cigarettes

e. Keep the tins as memories

 

[halfy]

I have no particular expectations, surprise comes the way it is.....

 

[mayfair70]

My goals have changed. I had wanted to try every blend out there and get a huge stockpile, but, I now have to be more selective and many of my now favorites are probably going away. I'm focusing more on straight Virginias, VaPers, strong Burleys, OTC's, and other blends which will remain in market for years to come. I still love trying new blends and hope to grow my own NEXT year, since my seeds did not germinate THIS year. (sigh) I just need a few good blends to last me the rest of my days with enough variety I won't get bored.

 

[krizzose]

i have always felt that I've been missing out on something that I haven't tried. By casting a wide net over time, I figured out what I liked and didn't like, and I've found several blends that I really, really enjoy. So I started cellaring those, and that effort cut into the experimentation. I'm very close to having stocked what I think is a comfortable amount for the volume of my smoking, and so I'm slowly getting back to thinking about new blends. Maybe I'll find a couple that I'll want to build up an inventory of, and the whole process will start again. Either way, it's more fun now knowing what I already have will keep me happy for a long time even if I never try a new blend again.

 

[fitzy]

It's funny to read my old posts. It's like a letter to myself. Anyway A year later from this post I have learned that I don't like Lakeland.
Also 2017 is the summer of Va and Va/Per for me.
I'm still rambling along with a lot more blends to try.

 

[tslex]

Great thread.
What I've seen over 35 years with pipes is two competing paths:
On the one hand, my tastes have narrowed in the sense that I know more and more what I like and more and more what I don't. So Perique, for example, is out, and the only aro I smoke these days is the occasional Lane 1Q when I'm interested in dessert. Likewise I doubt I have anything you'd call a "old codger burly." At the same time, you'd be exceedingly hard pressed to find anything on my shelf without at least a little Latakia, and most of what I smoke would class as a "lat bomb" to many folks.
On the other hand, we have never before had so much access to so many blends, thanks to the interwebz. So -- admittedly mostly within the confines of English/Oriental -- I'm always happy to try something new that entices. When ordering my standby brands, I try to get a tin or two of something I haven't tried.
I cannot say enough about the value of this forum and the wonderful Box Pass in that regard. For example, the first time I ever tried Old Dog was on a box pass. I just hadn't bothered before. But it is among my current favorites.
As for me, I don't cellar in any meaningful or systematic way. I simply try to ensure I have at least a couple of tins of my favorites in reserve, but that's about it.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Nicely put. My "method" and findings are pretty similar.
One thing I don't do—and not implying anyone else does or does not do— is run out to get a tin of a great tobacco that will no longer be available. I'm interested only in those tobaccos I can buy in the future, and some of them are at the whim of the FDA and market forces, but should continue if I (and we all) are lucky.