"Why do you smoke what you don't enjoy?"

[winton]

This is a question my wife asks occasionally. I often load one pipe with English and one with an aromatic, before heading out to the garage. But I enjoy the second more. My response is usually, the English is better, so I am trying to learn to like it. Tonight I followed this pattern, alternating pipes as they went out, like normal. But I really enjoyed the Maple Street. I could even detect the sweetness that comes in this blend this time. I still want to try lots of different types of tobacco, but everything on my TAD list is now aromatic.
Anyone else feel like this?
Winton

 

[hobie1dog]

Same here, I still grab for the occasional aro, knowing that I'll only enjoy the first half of the bowl

 

[juozapas]

Looks like an interesting flavor....

Sutliff Maple Street 1.5oz. tin.

Perfect for fans of Mapleton or Rum & Maple.

A fantastic blend of complementary ingredients: Rum and Maple applied to golden Virginia and mellow White Burley.

 

[lordnoble]

I have to admit that I still love my aros... Sure I like a thick, smokey, meaty English, but I love the variation of my aros. The mcClelland Holiday Spirit 2011 is delightful with the rum and cocoa flavors running right through the whole bowl. I also love the fruitiness of PS Black Currant that tastes like it smell in the pouch. W.O. Larsen Signature does this as well.
This said, I don't usually smoke something that I don't enjoy. I trade it away or I store it for future consumption. Sometimes it is better later as my tastes change or it ages a little...
-Jason

 

[markw4mms]

I don't usually smoke something that I don't enjoy. I trade it away or I store it for future consumption. Sometimes it is better later as my tastes change or it ages a little...

I heard that. Life is too short to waste time with something you don't like. If you find something that doesn't work for you, trade it for something else. More times than not, it works out great for both parties in the trade.

 

[mp31guitar]

Maple street is awesome. I got a tin two weeks ago.

 

[winton]

It is also good to have variety on hand. You never know when the urge for something strong will hit. Some I have traded away. I really enjoy the Chicago Pipe Show, where you can sample many many blends, before you buy.
Winton

 

[jchaplick]

Haha, love this thread, i ask my friend this all the time. His answer is i would smoke stuff that i like, but you only give me stuff you dont like, so i rarely like it either...hahahah

 

[baronsamedi]

I smoke purely for the enjoyment, so I don't smoke anything I don't enjoy. At least not more than once.

 

[shaintiques]

Yep thats why ive got a trade posted for molto dolce, there is nothing wrong with petersons irish whiskey, i just enjoy the molto more.

 

[philip]

If I don't like something when I first try it, I will first try aging it a bit in the hopes that either it or I will change. If that doesn't work I will try mixing it with something else that either lacked flavor or was too strong. If that doesn't work I don't know what I would do. So far that has always worked.

 

[terry]

I've tried 3 blends from sutliff...haven't been let down yet. ::

 

[harrier52]

Agreed Terry so far I've enjoyed all four of the tobaccos I have from Sutliff.

 

[juni]

I never learnt to like latakia and I have given up on it. There are many more blends to enjoy out there!

 

[judcole]

For me, the aromatics don't cut it - or rarely - and latakia based blends do. But I am a "savory" person, as opposed to "sweet", so that makes sense.

And for those of you who don't like latakia blends, just send 'em all to me. You can smoke my share of the Sutliff Maple Street - I won't feel hurt at all. :D ::

 

[pipeinhand]

For years, in fact decades I did lats... but lately it has been all aro's. It is not that I like them better, but tastes change and being that I am willing to try just about anything, I smoke just about anything. I will 'get'round' to the ones that didn't hit it off right away and maybe my tastes will have changed.
Here is a thought, did you enjoy your first Scotch, your first Sauterne? As we age with our things, our tastes refine.

 

[withnail]

In general I agree that life's too short to battle on with a blend you really don't enjoy. But some blends do need a little longer to learn to love than others. When I first tried an English blend I wasn't all that keen at all. Not having any other pipe smokers in my circle of friends, I couldn't trade it for something I liked more. Being on a very limited income, I sometimes start to run short of tobacco towards the end of the month. As a result I would have the occasional bowl of the English blend to keep me going until pay day. The blend really grew on me and after it ran out, I missed it. Since trying Sam Gawiths "Squadron Leader" I would describe it as one of my favourites and always have at least one tin of it to hand.
So, on one hand, don't smoke something you hate, but give a new blend a fair chance before passing it up completely.

 

[judcole]

Here's a later thought - have you tried any crossover latakia blends? Or any of the blends with not too much lat to start you off?

By "crossover" I mean a lightly topped English blend - Altadis Burma Road is a new fave of mine. C&D Strathspey also comes to mind.

Or - maybe a better question - what lat based blends are you experimenting with? ::

 

[smokey422]

I also agree that you should only smoke what you enjoy. My problem (at least for my credit card and budget) is that I like all types of blends so I end up buying a lot of tobacco.
One thing that often puzzles me is that some smokers will apologize for liking aromatic blends. Like what you smoke and smoke what you like to me is the most important rule of pipe smoking. No one should hang their head for liking a good aromatic over a non-aromatic blend. Sometimes I see this in the reviews on TR.com. Worse yet, a smoker who hates aromatics will review one and give it a lousy rating. Why are they smoking what they don't like?
Smokey

 

[tedvig]

Sutliff Barbados Plantation is awesome. The tin note is rumcake all the way. Just popped a tin - nice stuff.