Your intro's to condiment tobaccos

[punkpiper]

As i sit here smoking a slow relaxed bowl of balkan mixture,I think I'm finally beginning to enjoy latakia. I've had some EMP every so often and its ok, but I have had a few times I wasnt sure I enjoyed the middle eastern tobacco. But then after smoking this, I may have been wrong. Strangely when I started with perique, I fell in love straight off the bat due to lousiana flake. Curiously both these blends are by Gawith Hoggarth. Anyway, I'm curious to see if others have had this mix of learning curve and instant recognition?

 

[hilojohnny]

I don't think the learning curve ever ends....but isn't this part of the pleasure of our pastime/hobby?.... ::

 

[zunismoke]

When I exited 35 years of drug store tobaccos I went full bore into vintage tinned tobak. I started dipping into latakia mixtures, but did not like them. They seemed too harsh. As time passed I came to like the latakia mixtures more than anything else. I would guess it took around 6 months for me to fully embrace Lat. At the present time I smoke about 2 to 1 Latakia and other vintage blends(mostly Va/Per). Some tobak seems to be an acquired taste.

 

[nathaniel]

I found I loved latakia right away, without a doubt. Perique however, I can't stand at all. :crazy:

 

[hauntedmyst]

There are a few condiment tobaccos that I know outside of the usuals is Smyrna and Samsun - both added to the occasional English blend and add a zesty dimension to them.

 

[unclearthur]

I was very lucky way back when I got started to be not too far from two excellent B&Ms . I tried my first "english in about 72. And was introduced to a wide variety from the start.

 

[oldmanwinter]

I suppose I'm similar here...

When I was a new smoker, I was all about the cavendish. I was fortunate enough to have a very friendly group of gents at a local B&M, who didn't mind me playing twenty questions, or letting me sample endlessly, so I was able to try all sorts of things early on. A couple of decades later, I don't get much out of cavendish/aromatics at all, burleys still taste like nothing to me - but virginias and va/pers, blended for potency and reasonably aged, are like a sip from the sangreal. In fact, if I smoke a blend devoid of perique, I tend to feel like I'm missing something...unless it's uncommonly good for some other reason. Perique was my 'lust-at-first-smoke' tobacco, I s'pose.
Come to think of it, my first dozen pipes were all briars too...and now I'm really only fond of one particular briar and generally smoke from meers or clays. Wonder if that's due to changing tastes or some personal anachronism?

 

[thekiltedchaplain]

I enjoyed latakia and perique right away. That may be effected by the fact that I smoked cigars before I got into pipes, or just my taste, I'm not really sure.