Yeh… agreed, but I kinda have a passion for Maxwell House Coffee, so…
Why Do Aromatics Have a Bad Rap?
- Thread starter mikethompson
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I don't think anyone in the States carries it. Really want to try it, too.
A quick googling makes me feel your right, bummer.I don't think anyone in the States carries it. Really want to try it, too.
G
Gimlet
Guest
As far as I can see, the majority of tobaccos that I can buy over the counter are dressed with some flavouring or other. The test for me is whether it's a flavour that fits in or feels out of place. Natural or artificial.
Tonquin on a dark burley and virginia flake tastes like it's coming from the leaf like it's come from process rather than out of a bottle. The "Lakeland" essence does too as long as it doesn't overwhelm. And a lot of that is psychological, the floral grassy notes conjouring images of hay meadows etc. (In fact, if you've been to the English Lake district, especially in the August holiday season, the overwhelming essence is rain-soaked BBQ's and diesel fumes form camper vans).
I jest but you get the picture. If added flavourings enhance the natural tobacco flavours without making their presence felt, I'm fine with it. If it feels like they're there to make the tobacco palatable by making it taste of something else, like bubble-gum flavourings in vaping fluids aimed at hooking kids, it puts me off. Which essences fall into which category depends on the individual smoker's taste buds I guess.
Bright berry flavours, very sweet fruits and vanilla put me off. Whisky notes, bourbon, rum, coffee, tonquin, dark toffees etc work for me. Each to their own.
At the end of the day, if you're enjoying your tobacco, it's the right one. Trickier if you're smoking it in the presence of wives who are notoriously hard to please. I've known women whose noses were offended by the aromas of malt whisky, gun oil and two stroke smoke. I mean honestly...
Tonquin on a dark burley and virginia flake tastes like it's coming from the leaf like it's come from process rather than out of a bottle. The "Lakeland" essence does too as long as it doesn't overwhelm. And a lot of that is psychological, the floral grassy notes conjouring images of hay meadows etc. (In fact, if you've been to the English Lake district, especially in the August holiday season, the overwhelming essence is rain-soaked BBQ's and diesel fumes form camper vans).
I jest but you get the picture. If added flavourings enhance the natural tobacco flavours without making their presence felt, I'm fine with it. If it feels like they're there to make the tobacco palatable by making it taste of something else, like bubble-gum flavourings in vaping fluids aimed at hooking kids, it puts me off. Which essences fall into which category depends on the individual smoker's taste buds I guess.
Bright berry flavours, very sweet fruits and vanilla put me off. Whisky notes, bourbon, rum, coffee, tonquin, dark toffees etc work for me. Each to their own.
At the end of the day, if you're enjoying your tobacco, it's the right one. Trickier if you're smoking it in the presence of wives who are notoriously hard to please. I've known women whose noses were offended by the aromas of malt whisky, gun oil and two stroke smoke. I mean honestly...
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Maybe, Gawith will introduce it to the US market? They've started selling all the plugs in the US so it's possible.I don't think anyone in the States carries it. Really want to try it, too.
Like most I started on aromatics and then most like, again, I shunned them once I found English and Virginias. However, I re-acquired my palate. There is absolutely nothing substandard to enjoying good aromatic tobaccos and there are MANY out there. Some will tell you that they all taste chemical and bring no native tobacco flavors. Yes of course there are inferior aromatics but by the same token I have encountered raunchy non-aros as well. I do not agree with the stereotyping of aromatics nor has that been my general experience. But to each their own I suppose.
I’ll paraphrase my old buddy Jack about computers in the middle nineties and this applies to aromatics.
Jack was looking to buy a computer and he came to my office and discussed his options.
As Jack said, you want a Mac, but they are extremely expensive, with fewer programs.
And a 486 and DOSS are for the poor folks, who can’t afford a Pentium and Windows 95.
Jack was looking to buy a computer and he came to my office and discussed his options.
As Jack said, you want a Mac, but they are extremely expensive, with fewer programs.
And a 486 and DOSS are for the poor folks, who can’t afford a Pentium and Windows 95.
For me, aromatics fit more like shoes where other blends will fit me more like a shirt.
A burley or English or Virginia has more leeway for close enough. If it's a little big here or loose there, it's probably not going to stop me from wearing it. A little heavy handed on the Latakia here or a bit rough around the edges there I can work with.
Aromatics are more like shoes. It has to be right regardless of what it says on the box. If it's not what Red Head calls 11.5 medium width 6-9" tall, with arch support, it's not going to work. If you find that in another shoe, and it fits the same, great. But you can't tell for me if that will fit. My aromatic pipe tobacco is just the same.
With gift giving, half the fun is in the surprise. At least it is for me, for both giving and receiving. It separates the occasion from asking someone to buy you something or like a wedding registry. Here's a list of stuff I want. And that's completely understandable.
A burley or English or Virginia has more leeway for close enough. If it's a little big here or loose there, it's probably not going to stop me from wearing it. A little heavy handed on the Latakia here or a bit rough around the edges there I can work with.
Aromatics are more like shoes. It has to be right regardless of what it says on the box. If it's not what Red Head calls 11.5 medium width 6-9" tall, with arch support, it's not going to work. If you find that in another shoe, and it fits the same, great. But you can't tell for me if that will fit. My aromatic pipe tobacco is just the same.
With gift giving, half the fun is in the surprise. At least it is for me, for both giving and receiving. It separates the occasion from asking someone to buy you something or like a wedding registry. Here's a list of stuff I want. And that's completely understandable.
Yes for me there are a few coffees I genuinely love but I rate coffee by palatability and not quality. I can taste all those notes people talk about but I really don't care. Coffee is basically a drug for me that might taste o.k..Yeh… agreed, but I kinda have a passion for Maxwell House Coffee, so…
This is one reason I don’t prefer to participate in gift giving. At some point, it might make more sense for everyone to buy their favorite tobacco, stand In a circle and keep passing until the gift they brought is in your own hands.
First, I would like to dispel a myth about aromatic that tends to be pervasive (even if it hasn't yet been mentioned in this discussion).
Aromatic pipe tobacco blends are NOT made with inferior tobacco leaf. No amount of casing or topping will ever make inferior tobacco taste palatable.
Second, I belong to the "All Pipe Tobacco is Aromatic" club. Straight Virginia blends have the aroma of fresh cut Hay to me. Since I can smell it, it is aromatic.
Third, just because its an "aromatic" pipe tobacco doesn't mean it is going to smell or taste like a fruit basket. My current favorite aromatic is The Untouchables and it has a Cedar and Rose Geranium casing or topping.
Fourth, basically, everything Cosmic said is true.
Aromatic pipe tobacco blends are NOT made with inferior tobacco leaf. No amount of casing or topping will ever make inferior tobacco taste palatable.
Second, I belong to the "All Pipe Tobacco is Aromatic" club. Straight Virginia blends have the aroma of fresh cut Hay to me. Since I can smell it, it is aromatic.
Third, just because its an "aromatic" pipe tobacco doesn't mean it is going to smell or taste like a fruit basket. My current favorite aromatic is The Untouchables and it has a Cedar and Rose Geranium casing or topping.
Fourth, basically, everything Cosmic said is true.
G
Gimlet
Guest
I like the way the get round that by adding in brackets "Formerly". (Formerly aniseed/black cherry etc).
Gawith Hoggarth - Brown Twist AN (Formerly Aniseed)
This thick, powerful twist tobacco has its roots way back in the European history of smoking. A blend of Indian Dark Air Cured Virginia is blended with other strong Virginia to produce a punchy and powerful smoke. Many still chew the thinner Bogie and Pig Tail variations, although some do chew...
www.gqtobaccos.com
IKR? I've mentioned it on here before. The poor old clownshow do-gooders are thwarted againI like the way the get round that by adding in brackets "Formerly". (Formerly aniseed/black cherry etc).
Gawith Hoggarth - Brown Twist AN (Formerly Aniseed)
This thick, powerful twist tobacco has its roots way back in the European history of smoking. A blend of Indian Dark Air Cured Virginia is blended with other strong Virginia to produce a punchy and powerful smoke. Many still chew the thinner Bogie and Pig Tail variations, although some do chew...
.
Did you have to put that last part in writing? Now, we will never hear the end of it.
Trying some East India Trading Company Officer’s Club for the second time today. They could call it “Santa’s Favorite Pudding” and it would be a great holiday aro - will be a nice, innocuous blend to enjoy with some brewed tea this winter. A sturdy Va flake with coffee would be a nice contrast.
Well stated. I think it is unfair to hold sweeping generalizations about all aromatic tobacco as being sub-standard, goopy, un-nuanced, or not offering any native tobacco flavoring. That is completely inaccurate. Are there some that fit that definition? Sure, there. But to dismiss all aromatics, I'm afraid you may be miss out on a nice experience. But to each their own.
G
Gimlet
Guest
To be honest, I'd never thought about aromatics or was conscious of a distinction between "aro" and "non-aro" until I came on this forum. I've always been aware that many, if not most, tobaccos are flavoured/cased/dressed with essences of something other than tobacco leaf to change their flavour and scent, and always have been.
I can only reiterate my I dislike of flavourings that taste artificial to my palate or that give the impression of being there to mask the taste of the tobacco itself and make it taste like something else (masking additives - and that's subjective) as opposed to flavours that enhance the tobacco's natural characteristics (subjective again) like spices and seasoning do in food. Tonquin, to my taste, is a case in point. It goes with dark fired tobaccos like horseradish goes with beef. As do burnt caramel flavours with cavendish.
Today I bought a tin of Peterson's Killarney and I'm rather enjoying it. Unmistakably Danish in character with trademark notes of vanilla and tropical fruit, but it's in the background and not sickly or artificially sweet, and I can still taste the virginia base, the woodier burley and the notes of cavendish. And it produces a nice nose scent from the bowl smoke. I prefer Aston rainy Days, which I also tried for the first time recently, but I'd buy Killarny again. Doesn't mean I've suddenly become an "aro"fan, or switched from one camp to the other, it's just a mild, easy-going smoke that will make a pleasant contrast from time to time to the more robust Kendal flakes I smoke more regularly.
I can only reiterate my I dislike of flavourings that taste artificial to my palate or that give the impression of being there to mask the taste of the tobacco itself and make it taste like something else (masking additives - and that's subjective) as opposed to flavours that enhance the tobacco's natural characteristics (subjective again) like spices and seasoning do in food. Tonquin, to my taste, is a case in point. It goes with dark fired tobaccos like horseradish goes with beef. As do burnt caramel flavours with cavendish.
Today I bought a tin of Peterson's Killarney and I'm rather enjoying it. Unmistakably Danish in character with trademark notes of vanilla and tropical fruit, but it's in the background and not sickly or artificially sweet, and I can still taste the virginia base, the woodier burley and the notes of cavendish. And it produces a nice nose scent from the bowl smoke. I prefer Aston rainy Days, which I also tried for the first time recently, but I'd buy Killarny again. Doesn't mean I've suddenly become an "aro"fan, or switched from one camp to the other, it's just a mild, easy-going smoke that will make a pleasant contrast from time to time to the more robust Kendal flakes I smoke more regularly.
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That 90& figure was supplied by people who blend, manufacture, and market pipe tobaccos. Don't know why they would make that up.