Why Do Aromatics Rate Poorly?

[BarrelProof]

You lost me at Bud Light.

PS: in case you haven't seen it, they have a new Kenan Ram up at Altinay:

xL Ram Meerschaum Pipe by Kenan | ALTINAY

Premium Block Meerschaum Pipes | xL Ram Meerschaum Pipe by Kenan made of Block Meerschaum by ALTINAY | Each item on this store is unique and the images show the exact item you will receive. A Bowl Height 97 mm 3.82 inch B Length 249 mm 9.8 inch C Chamber Diameter 21 mm 0.83 inch D Chamber...

www.altinaypipes.com

I saw it.

 

[mso489]

It's not part of my current rotation, and I don't have any on hand, but I still think Borkum Riff Bourbon is a pleasant smoke. I like whiskeys, brandy, and liqueurs as blend favoring.

Most codger blends burn really well, long and evenly, for a trouble free smoke, needing fewer relights and less tamping. Most have flavoring of some sort. Granger is often sold as a non-aromatic although it has molasses and anise.

Blenders of non-aromatic premium blends frequently spend months or years tweaking and tuning the proportions and sourcing to get the flavor exactly right, but don't work as much on the burn qualities of blends, requiring lots of careful tamping and more numerous relights.

 

[anotherbob]

I have to give kudos to all the muckrakers like myself that have resist the urge to say something like...
"To confirm the veracity of review sites"... "Because that's what they deserve" or the one I was tempted to say "because the people who write reviews over rate them"....
I just wanted to say to everyone who fought the urge to say something like that good job.

 

[Grangerous]

I don’t buy into the pride aspect due to aromatics accounting for 90 percent of the market.

So?

90 percent of those whom regularly consume alcohol favor cheap, flavored vodkas, spiced rum and water thin beer,

What’s to review?

How many Long-Island Iced-Tea’s should reviewers bestow with 5 stars because they’re popular?

I say, save the 5 star reviews for blenders able to create a rich, interesting smoke by leaf selection and blend proportion.

I enjoy an every-man’s beer. I wouldn’t elevate it any more than I would Granger.

I also can appreciate a well aged, single malt scotch or small batch bourbon and appreciate the effort that went into their creation.

Bob Ranowski’s Pegasus as a masterful blend worthy of 5 stars.

But lowly 2.8 star Granger remains all time my favorite.

 

[Chasing Embers]

You lost me at Bud Light.

PS: in case you haven't seen it, they have a new Kenan Ram up at Altinay:

xL Ram Meerschaum Pipe by Kenan | ALTINAY

Premium Block Meerschaum Pipes | xL Ram Meerschaum Pipe by Kenan made of Block Meerschaum by ALTINAY | Each item on this store is unique and the images show the exact item you will receive. A Bowl Height 97 mm 3.82 inch B Length 249 mm 9.8 inch C Chamber Diameter 21 mm 0.83 inch D Chamber...

www.altinaypipes.com

Other than skulls, he makes rams quite frequently. There's always a couple of them at Meerschaum Market and on ebay.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I have to give kudos to all the muckrakers like myself that have resist the urge to say something like...
"To confirm the veracity of review sites"... "Because that's what they deserve" or the one I was tempted to say "because the people who write reviews over rate them"....
I just wanted to say to everyone who fought the urge to say something like that good job.

Lots of bandwagon jumpers out there. I've found little to like in the "popular" blends.

 

[kcghost]

Aro smokers outnumber us 4-1 so we better be nice to those guys. For some reason they suffer our abuse in silence.

 

[pappymac]

Aro smokers outnumber us 4-1 so we better be nice to those guys. For some reason they suffer our abuse in silence.

Nah.

We just ignore your mistaken belief that you know better than the majority.
I figure if 90% of sales are aromatic blends, then we must outnumber you lowlifes without taste buds.

 

[kcghost]

Doesn't make any sense. I didn't make any comment one way or the other as to either side claiming superiority to the other.

 

[milk]

When I started looking at reviews to inform myself on what to buy, I picked up on which reviewers have long track records. With aros especially, the best thing to do is to read those that have experience and show the least bias (of course) rather than overall ratings. Still, I have a hunch that long-time reviewers who don’t lean towards aros, give out less four star reviews to aros than to other types. Again, I could be wrong. At this point, I still smoke English, Virginias and Aromatics.

 

[BriarsAndBottles]

I call it “Double Imperial Stout Theory”. If you go in beer rating sites, many of the top beers are 10+% ABV double imperials that most people rarely drink. Same with dark fired Kentucky to some extent. My thought is, people that consume something fat and above the average consumer have hardened palates that need very strong and often complex flavors to be stimulated. I noticed that if you look at the Savinelli “gods” line up, @JimInks gives the least popular one 4-stars and the more popular ones 3-stars, which to me indicates he seeks more robust flavors due to the the breadth and depth of his smoking experience.

 

[Lumbridge]

Individual opinion incoming:
A) Aromatics, particularly many of the ones that come wet and/or drenched in PG, are harder to smoke. They're more difficult to light and keep lit, and tend to smoke hot, wet and steamy.
B) Too much added flavoring hides true tobacco flavor. Aromatics, when done well, harmonize the natural flavors of the tobacco with the adding toppings. Over-sauced aros tend to leave me dissatisfied with the smoke because they end up just tasting like sweetened, creamy air at best, and at worst, a very artificial taste (I'm looking at you, Captain Black Cherry/Grape).
C) Some people are just biased against aromatics. I probably am a bit biased, but I do enjoy lighter aros where the flavor toppings don't totally dominate the blend and the tobacco is dry enough or can dry out to a proper level of moisture for smoking (enough PG and it simply won't dry out unless microwaved or something).

 

[milk]

I call it “Double Imperial Stout Theory”. If you go in beer rating sites, many of the top beers are 10+% ABV double imperials that most people rarely drink. Same with dark fired Kentucky to some extent. My thought is, people that consume something fat and above the average consumer have hardened palates that need very strong and often complex flavors to be stimulated. I noticed that if you look at the Savinelli “gods” line up, @JimInks gives the least popular one 4-stars and the more popular ones 3-stars, which to me indicates he seeks more robust flavors due to the the breadth and depth of his smoking experience.

I admit I always look at his reviews first. With every other type of blend, I try to acquire something he’d rate at 4 stars. There are exceptions of course. But with aromatics, if he’s got it at 3, I think there might be more to recommend it. I’m picking up on other reviewers there that also have experience and maybe different takes. When I first started, I relied on his reviews only. I’m in Japan so it’s hard for me to get really obscure stuff. Sometimes I will send to the U.S. but half the time I get hit with taxes and customs. Half the time not. So I have a limited selection. I probably need to look at someone who favors aromatics for buying them. Of course, I’m starting to realize what I like on my own. I do think aros take more concentration to smoke (for me at this stage).

 

[Lumbridge]

It's not part of my current rotation, and I don't have any on hand, but I still think Borkum Riff Bourbon is a pleasant smoke. I like whiskeys, brandy, and liqueurs as blend favoring.

Most codger blends burn really well, long and evenly, for a trouble free smoke, needing fewer relights and less tamping. Most have flavoring of some sort. Granger is often sold as a non-aromatic although it has molasses and anise.

Blenders of non-aromatic premium blends frequently spend months or years tweaking and tuning the proportions and sourcing to get the flavor exactly right, but don't work as much on the burn qualities of blends, requiring lots of careful tamping and more numerous relights.

The Bourbon Whiskey is the only member of the Borkum Riff lineup I've tried, and I thought it was actually pretty decent. I have a thing for booze-flavored aromatics (even though they don't taste much like actual whiskey/rum/etc). Dogpiling on Borkum Riff and Captain Black seem to be the "cool" thing to do, but not all of them are as bad as Captain Black Cherry.
Super Value Bourbon Whiskey and Smoker's Pride Whiskey are also not half bad.

 

[BriarsAndBottles]

Milk I sent you a PM but I’ll share some of what I sent:

My favorite tasting one so far has been pipers pleasure from Boswell, they way the chocolatey caramel goodness goes with coffee is amazing. Their sweet tea was also really interesting, and their raspberry cream is highly regarded.

I’d also recommend getting the lotr sampler from the country squire, a great blends including a few tasty aros. Their peach Melba really delivered from smell to flavor as well.

 

[Chasing Embers]

They're more difficult to light and keep lit, and tend to smoke hot, wet and steamy.

Sounds like you've packed them too tightly. Wet tobacco needs a gentle touch and needs to be allowed more oxygen in the chamber to aid the burn.

Too much added flavoring hides true tobacco flavor.

In many cases with aromatics, that's the point. Much of production tobacco is flavored with casings though to make them more palatable.

they end up just tasting like sweetened, creamy air at best, and at worst, a very artificial taste

Aromatics can sometimes take years to figure out. I was two decades in before I started to enjoy them. Definitely not for beginners.

 

[Chasing Embers]

For some reason they suffer our abuse in silence.

Nah, we just ignore it.

 

[JimInks]

I call it “Double Imperial Stout Theory”. If you go in beer rating sites, many of the top beers are 10+% ABV double imperials that most people rarely drink. Same with dark fired Kentucky to some extent. My thought is, people that consume something fat and above the average consumer have hardened palates that need very strong and often complex flavors to be stimulated. I noticed that if you look at the Savinelli “gods” line up, @JimInks gives the least popular one 4-stars and the more popular ones 3-stars, which to me indicates he seeks more robust flavors due to the the breadth and depth of his smoking experience.

You misread me on that. I rate blends against other blends in the same genre, and not for my personal taste. That's the fairest way I know to judge them. My ratings have nothing to do with what I like.

 

[BriarsAndBottles]

@JimInks. I have a great deal of respect for what you bring to the community, like many novices I pay careful attention to your reviews. I just think that your ability to detect objective quality is going to be more advanced that most hence why it sometimes runs counter to the tobaacoreviews.com aggregate ratings.

 

[JimInks]

@JimInks. I have a great deal of respect for what you bring to the community, like many novices I pay careful attention to your reviews. I just think that your ability to detect objective quality is going to be more advanced that most hence why it sometimes runs counter to the tobaacoreviews.com aggregate ratings.

Thank you for the kind words. I must admit that I have never looked at the aggregate ratings of any blend. I've never seen a flavor chart of any kind, I don't read other reviews when reviewing, and I don't discuss what I am reviewing until I have posted that review. My need to be independent, and as accurate and objective as I can keeps me away from anything that could influence me.