Where to Start?!!

[leboudin]

Howdy from Austin, Texas. Been lurking on the forum for a while and finally decided to introduce myself. Former (20+ yrs) cigarette smoker, trying to switch to pipe. Never tried one. Smoke cigars every now and then, like dark, mellow robustos. I have two MMs and one refurbished, estate savinelli briar billiard. My question is - what tobacco blend should I start with? Where to buy it? Want to buy several blends, small quantities, just to try. No artificial flavoring though.
Thank you very much for your advice.
George

 

[warren]

See this thread located below: Tobacco Suggestions for a Beginner

 

[thesmokindragon]

Welcome George,

Good start with MM Cobs, but also a good/solid briar would not hurt as well, there is a deal at pipesandcigars.com right now on Stanwell Brushed Brown Pipes ( follow this link http://www.pipesandcigars.com/limitedgift ) , I would snag at least one for only $19.99 - then test the waters with bacci and that line up of pipes to see if you want to stick with it.
Now for the wonderful world of pipe tobacco blends; hard to suggest what "You" will like , but I can list a few diff blends that you may want to try; visit tobaccoreviews.com and look at the reviews there, will help as well
smokingpipes.com or pipesandcigars.com are great places to shop
Blends;
Dunhill Flake

Dunhill Flake is a medium strength flake of selected grades of Lemon and Bronze Virginias. One of Dunhill`s most expert blends of highest quality.
Peterson University Flake

Mahogany, Burley, and Kentucky are blended to create a unique pipe tobacco, Peterson's University Flake.
Mac Baren: HH Old Dark Fired

A bold flake of dark-fired burleys in a well balanced unity with flue-cured Virginias. Mac Baren's HH Old Dark Flake is hot pressed, meaning that during the pressing, heat is added by steam to the tobaccos which causes the tobacco to intensify the marrying process giving us a bolder tobacco. The robust, earthly flavor of the dark-fired Burleys shines through in the taste, and you will experience a deeply satisfying smoke indeed.
A & C Petersen: Escudo Navy Deluxe

This old classic, Escudo Navy Deluxe, is a popular Perique/Va. curly cut tobacco in large coin size.
Cornell & Diehl: Night Train

or C&D's Night Train, bright Virginia ribbon, bright Virginia flake, Cavendish cut, Virginia grown brown Burley, and Perique are pressed into an old-fashioned crumble cake.
Cornell & Diehl: Morning Drive

The mixture of red and bright Virginias comes together in perfect harmony with just the right measure of Burley, Turkish, Perique, and Latakia.
G.L. Pease Jackknife Plug

For Pease's Jackknife Plug, dark-fired Kentucky Leaf and ripe red Virginia tobaccos, with their deep, earthy flavors, are layered on a central core of golden flue-cured for a hint of bright sweetness, then pressed and matured in cakes, and finally cut into 2oz blocks. Slice it thick and rub it out for a ribbon cut, thin for a shag, or chop it into cubes.
G.L. Pease Temple Bar

Rich, ripe red and sweet golden Virginia tobaccos are generously spiced with fine, fragrant Orientals and enhanced with a delicate touch of Perique for a bit of added depth and complexity. The leaf is carefully layered and pressed for a fortnight into large cakes, which are then cut into bars and tinned, ready to be sliced and rubbed out as desired.
Boswell Blends can be purchased in smaller amounts, they have great aromatic blends, so check out their site as well

http://boswellpipes.com/tobacco/

 

[jaytex1969]

Hello, George, and welcome.
I am also in Austin. Check out Pipe World, on Anderson Lane. Cael (pronounced "Kale") (Michael) is a nice young man and can offer you some suggestions. The other fellows are very nice also, but Cael is most into pipes.
A week from tomorrow, the Austin Pipe Club will be meeting there, around 5pm. I usually get there early enough to grab a coffee from Epoch across the parking lot and get a chair that conforms to my mangled spine.
I also smoked cigs for decades and have been smoking the pipe for about 7 months now.
If you'd like, we can meet up and I can put together a bit of a sample pack for you.
I work Sunday through Thursday, so tomorrow is my "Friday". The Mrs. has 6 hours of class this Saturday, so I'm likely to have time on my hands that day.
Send me a PM at your convenience and we can plot our takeover of the world make plans to meet.

 

[saltedplug]

The blends suggested are all top-shelf but several have stiff nicotine, including JackKnife plug, which is full+, and Night Train which is medium-full. But 20 years smoking cigarettes may have made you immune.

 

[hawky454]

A lot of great stuff already suggested. I just wanted to give you another warm welcome from another Austinite.
The pipe shops around here used to be much, much better than they are now but Pipe World still has some decent selections. Heroes & Legacies used to be amazing but they have really downsized their pipe department to a little corner of the room, it's sad really.
I was a cigarette smoker and dipper for a good 25 years of my life before I switched over to the pipe. It's a miracle I'm still smoking as I didn't really research it or go the forum route and I just simply started with some crappy estate pipes and I went out and bought a pouch of Captain Black and went from there. I tried for 3 months to get that shit to burn properly but I just couldn't do it so in one last final attempt to try and obtain some good stuff I headed out to Heroes to see what I could find. I picked up 3 bulk aromatics that smelled amazing and the manager there talked me into buying some English tobacco, that to me, at the time, smelled like a smoked brisket. I suffered through those goopy, wet aromatics before I made my way to the English blend and when I finally got to it, that first puff was an epiphany! Bam! That's what I'm talking about! It actually had flavor and it almost tasted like smokey pine, it reminded me of my old hometown and what it smelled like in the wintertime. Anyway, I highly recommend you go pick out a few blends that appeal to you but be sure to add an English just in case your experience turns out to be anything like mine. The problem with recommending something to you is this is so subjective and you could very well despise what I absolutely love and vise versa. I tend to like very stout, high nicotine blends that are unusual and unique, so therefor this hobby has gotten really expensive as I spend all my dough on importing plugs from Ireland... lol.
Anyway, you've come to the right place, man. These guys on here are really knowledgeable and will be able to steer you on the right path. Best of luck to ya.
btw, in my opinion, I certainly wouldn't start you out on a plug. Plug tobacco's can be a really tough tobacco to work with when you are just starting out. I would stick with mixtures for now.
To save yourself some money start buying tobaccos here: Smoking Pipes or here, Pipes and Cigars

 

[jaytex1969]

Just a quick admin update.
I was recently advised that Heroes & Legacies went under as of the new year. A significant loss for Austin's pipe community.

 

[hawky454]

Just a quick admin update.
I was recently advised that Heroes & Legacies went under as of the new year. A significant loss for Austin's pipe community.

Oh man! That really sucks! I was just in there not too long ago, they didn't say anything? Has this already happened? They have a lot of old stock McClelland's and Mac Baren's that would be worth grabbing if they are gonna have a sale?
We should buy it out Jay and make it a bad ass, real pipe shop!

 

[james72]

George,

I'm also in the Austin area. Welcome to the forum. Like Hawky454, I would advise you try at least one English blend (maybe Dunhill Nightcap) along with all the appealing-sounding aromatics that might seduce you. I would also buy a tin of Escudo, a tin of Old Dark Fired, and an ounce of bulk Haunted Bookshop. Those are my recommendations, anyway. Good luck on your journey and welcome to the dark side!

 

[pappymac]

Definitely find the time to attend the Austin pipe club meeting. They will be very helpful to a new pipe smoker.

 

[leboudin]

Thank you all gents! Much appreciate your advice. So cool to see that many Austinites on the forum. And I will definitely try to attend Austin pipe club meet.