Lol. I think the general consensus is to continue to try some stuff and get to know it. As you mentioned, your tastes are already changing. Early on my strategy was to never buy 1 tin of something. I used to but at least 2. Try one save the other. If you like it, great, you’ve got another tin and might add some more. If you don’t, jar what’s left and try it again in 6 months or so. If you still don’t like it you can usually trade or sell the unopened tin and even the jarred stuff. If you find something you absolutely love, stock up a bit. Stay away from heavy aromatics for now. Most beginners don’t have great luck with them.
WTB But Where?
- Thread starter LikeDadDid
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There is a sale on "aged" Three Nuns Green ongoing.
Wouldn’t be a smart business decision, but suppose a retailer put several pounds of bulk away to sell it at an “aged premium” a few years down the road. Maybe it’s something unpopular that’s been laying around and hasn’t sold. Maybe it was several pounds of bulk that was forgotten on the back of a shelf, maybe it was a warehouse find from 2010.
Can’t imagine SP or P&C cracking a tin to sell it “loose” (aged or fresh). Is there a legal minimum they have to sell? Smallest I’ve ever seen is an oz. Could a seller sell a few grams/a bowls worth if they were inclined to. I get it not being worth the hassle, but could they if they wanted to?
First, I wouldn't trust someone cutting oz's from an aged bulk. Too many questions... was it aged in jars or the bag? opening the jars randomly can kill an aged blend, how long did the bulk set between openings? Has it gone to shitdust?
I don't think there's a minimum, but it is not good business sense to encourage small amounts. One oz isn't really enough to give a blend a solid go. Selling even less is just making more stupid work for less money. When I try a new blend, the least I buy is three tins. One to try now, one to try in a few months, and the last top forget about till it is old. But, mostly I will buy 10 tins or a pound to try. I've rarely found a tobacco that is so degusting i couldn't smoke it at all, or at least find a time that I would enjoy it later.
Common sense would dictate it isn't feasible for a retailer to keep an inventory of tobacco for 10 years to then sell in small quantities. Nobody could afford it, the vendor would have to sell it at $100 or more per ounce to make it worth their time.
exactly. I bought and smoked some aged Maltese Falcon, smoked the new stuff and there wasn't a dramatic difference. Maybe my palette isn't that sophisticated but I should've just bought a bunch of the fresh stuff.
I would just take a little time and look through the tobacco review section here, watch tobacco reviews on youtube, look at your online vendor of choices' tobacco descriptions, and most importantly educate yourself on the basic types of tobacco you smoke and the common flavors you get from them. Most importantly Virginia tobacco ages well. Burley does a little. Latakia diminishes with time. Orientals loose potency. Mixtures and blends meld. I'm sure I'm missing some stuff but basic is basic.
It also helps if you try a good aged tobacco. ?
I’m just teasing. I think it’s an alright tobacco most likely. I just think certain tobaccos you see a much more dramatic change. Like esoterica Dunbar fresh and with 20 years of age are not even the same beast.hey man! I was 3 months into this hobby, cut me some slack!
I know man, all in good humor. I've bought a lot of the newer tobacco and now I'm interested in buying some harder to find older tobacco thats of the quality that you mention.
From my experience it mellows and that can do amazing things sometimes. But basically it's just smoother which can also mean blander.
I do! But I’m not sure that I like aged Virginias like everyone else. It’s possible I will in the future, but for now, no.
I’ve got some fresh FVF and 8 year old FVF, and while I can tell the difference, I don’t really care for one over the other. Same with having compared some 5 year old bullseye flake to some I kept in a jar for only a year.
I count myself lucky, like finding a seven dollar bottle of wine I really like.
IMO, like smoking cigars, you have to smoke 3 or 5 to get a fair opinion about the cigars.
You just gotta taste ton of stuff until you know what you like and what you don't like. You can read the reviews until cows come home, but that won't let you actually taste the blend. What I did when I first started smoking pipe was keep my eyes open as to what was popular. Try those first. Then I picked a brand and went down the list and tried things that sounded like something I would enjoy. If you find you like certain genre, you can find ton of suggestions on the forum. Just have to dive in and taste as much as possible. Don't forget bulk blends, some are pretty good at very attractive price. And smoke each blend in as many different pipes as possible. English/Balkan is definitely better in wide bowl.
One thing too I've noticed is I will try a blend that is never mentioned and talk about it and a whole bunch of people will talk about how great it is. The thing is most blends are kind of good and very good to somebody.
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