Would Need Some Help Finding the Flavours, or Tobaccos with Strong Flavour.

[the sheltered piper]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title - Bob

Hi, I hope someone of you more experienced pipe smokers could give me a some suggestions on this?

So, I've been trying a few blends these past months (Peterson - Connoisseurs Choice, Samuel Gawith - Kendal Cream, Vauen - Auenland, Dan Tobacco - Devils Holiday and some Borkum Riff - Ruby )
But I can't seem to be able to taste any of those flavours that f.ex. JimInks describes so well in his reviews .
I mean, I can taste that there IS a difference between them but the only one that I so far has been able to taste the flavour of is 'Devils Holliday' which is about as subtle as a fist punch in the nuts.

I've tried various ways to pack the pipes and tried full- and half-bowls but not much difference .
My cadence I believe is slow, half a bowl takes me aprox one hour or slightly more

Now, I generally like foods and sweets that are strong in flavour, perhaps I'm insensitive to subtle flavour profiles?

Most/all of the tobaccos I've tried so far are aromatics, would I be able to get more taste out of an English, Balkan or Virginia ?
And if so, any recommendations?

Unfortunately as a Swedish citizen I'm some what tobacco-challenged compared to the US when it comes to variations but Petersons, Samuel Gawith, Dunhill, Ashton, Dan Tobacco and a few more are brands I could get hold of.

 

[Chasing Embers]

If you haven't been smoking a pipe for very long, flavored blends are going to be little more than hot air

 

[Chasing Embers]

would I be able to get more taste out of an English, Balkan or Virginia ?

English and Balkan (same thing) yes, Virginia probably not yet. Burley would be the way to go before Virginia.

 

[gervais]

Try Blowing some of the smoke through the nasal passage as well as your mouth.

 

[workman]

It'll come to you. English blends are good for waking up your sleeping tastebuds. Try some Nightcap or something like that. I promise you, you will taste it!

 

[diamondback]

You’ve gotten some great advice, Sheltered Piper. From reading your post it sounds like your cadence is nice and slow which is good.

If the above suggestions don’t get you there (or even if they do), be sure to clean your palate before enjoying your pipe. I drink plain old filtered tap water myself. On the rare occasion I’ll wet-brush my teeth, no toothpaste, being sure to lightly brush my tongue. I’ll swish with water to clear up any hint of toothpaste (imbued in my brush) as much as possible.

Recently some of these old hats have recommended eating a couple slices of an apple. I’m going to try the apple trick here soon.

Mr. Jim Inks is likely a super-taster. I have fun writing tasting notes with new blends for at least three bowls and then going back to read Jim’s review. Sometimes after reading his review and then trying the blend again I’ll try and taste specifically for what he found that I didn’t, with varying degrees of success. Again, I’d wager Mr. Inks is a ‘super taster.’

Good luck and be sure to report back!

 

[pitchfork]

It'll come to you. English blends are good for waking up your sleeping tastebuds. Try some Nightcap or something like that. I promise you, you will taste it!

? ? ? ?

 

[danimalia]

And even if you're not getting the level of detail that Jiminks or others get with their tastings, you can still focus on what flavors you do get. Do you detect sweetness from the tobacco? Sourness? Smokiness? A lot of tobacco tasting is probably based on comparing blends against others, so it probably takes time to build up that internal database.

One other thing I still do is try to rotate genres. So if I smoke 3 bowls over the course of an evening, it might go burley blend, then a Latakia blend, and then a Virginia blend. This gets the flavors popping for me, and also, I like variety.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Maybe try Gawith Hoggarth Ennerdale Flake, if you can't taste that you are clinically dead.

Chris

 

[cortezattic]

Tasting has been the subject of a lot of threads, and it involves the development of your palate, i.e. there's a learning curve. To read some of the old discussions, go to the search box at the right hand side of the top navigation bar and enter Purple Giraffe.

 

[BROBS]

It’s just like if I were to drink a high quality dry wine right now I would think it tasted like shit because I don’t drink wine. Over years I could develop a palate for the nuanced flavors and start to pick them out.

Or beer... I’m sure the first beer you had tasted like shit and then if you continue you can now taste nutty, malty, or bitter nuances not noticed before.

 

[mso489]

Follow your own advice and try a non-aromatic blend -- English, Balkan, or burley for example. Sip don't puff. Slow and easy.

 

[diamondback]

And even if you're not getting the level of detail that Jiminks or others get with their tastings, you can still focus on what flavors you do get. Do you detect sweetness from the tobacco? Sourness? Smokiness? A lot of tobacco tasting is probably based on comparing blends against others, so it probably takes time to build up that internal database.

One other thing I still do is try to rotate genres. So if I smoke 3 bowls over the course of an evening, it might go burley blend, then a Latakia blend, and then a Virginia blend. This gets the flavors popping for me, and also, I like variety.

It’s just like if I were to drink a high quality dry wine right now I would think it tasted like shit because I don’t drink wine. Over years I could develop a palate for the nuanced flavors and start to pick them out.

Or beer... I’m sure the first beer you had tasted like shit and then if you continue you can now taste nutty, malty, or bitter nuances not noticed before.

Great posts! ?

That’s one thing I love about this forum.

 

[derhammer]

It seems like you're gonna like more English or Balkan.
But if you enjoyed Devil's Holiday I think you will enjoy Sillem' Green just as much.

 

[sandollars]

Maybe try Gawith Hoggarth Ennerdale Flake, if you can't taste that you are clinically dead.

Chris

Lakeland.....

 

[the sheltered piper]

Recent update :
I'm trying some Samuel Gawith - Squadron Leader at the moment and hear and behold for a brief moment I had a taste sensation similar to when drinking a smokey whiskey! ☺
So I guess derhammer was right in that!
Next on my list to explore is some Balkan-blend. Fingers crossed!

 

[craig61a]

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Being relatively new to pipe and trying to emulate jiminks would be like picking up a basketball a month ago and expecting to play like Lebron James. It's likely very few will develop the tasting abilities Jim has. However, that should not deter you from enjoying pipe smoking.

As far as improving your tasting abilities, practice, practice, practice. I feel certain Jim wasn't the expert he is the first time he lit up a bowl of tobacco.

 

[sablebrush52]

The one thing that nobody has mentioned that has made a huge difference to me is finding the best moisture level to coax out the flavors. Too much moisture masks flavors. Certain blenders, like Gawith, tin with a lot of water and their blends perform better for me with some drying out. English/Balkan/Oriental blends are flavor powerhouses compared with Virginias. I mostly smoke Virginias, VaPers, and Va/Burs, and learning the optimal moisture level at which to smoke a blend has made a huge difference, especially as I'm also strictly an outdoor pipe smoker. Add the snork to finding the best moisture level and eventually you'll be picking up a lot of flavors from the blends you choose to smoke.

 

[anotherbob]

practice. It's that simple.