| Author | Message | ||
     Steve Riddle Member Username: Stever Post Number: 1 Registered: 12-2006 |
Hello All, I've been reading posts about a week and thought this seemed like a great place, so finally joined. I am definitely a novice (is there a level below this?) and I am gathering everything I need to try smoking a pipe and need some advice on tobacco. I have never smoked at all before, so I figure I'll start with aromatic as it sounds like many people do. As we don't have much availability of pipe tobacco where I live, I am thinking of ordering the aromatic assortment offered by Tinder Box. Has anyone every had any experience with this? A couple of the varieties in the sampler are reviewed on tobaccoreviews.com, the other two are not. Including shipping, it will cost me about $21-$22 to get it, so I'm wondering if it is worth it or should I just go to the drug store and get Captain Black? The sampler includes 1.5 oz of each variety. Since I have never bought pipe tobacco before, what does this quantity relate to? Is it enough for several smokes? I hesitate to buy a large quantity yet, though I do intend to give it a thorough try before giving up! Thanks for any help you would care to give and thanks in advance for your patience. | ||
| Jesse Member Username: Sdyank Post Number: 61 Registered: 05-2006 |
Steve, Welcome to the forum. You will find many helpful and kind people here. I might suggest an additional option and try buying some bulk 'baccys from your local tobacconist (if you have one!). That way you can see, smell, and ask questions about the blends and whatnot (and if you don't like something the bulks are usually cheap enough(~$1.50/oz. at my local) that you can work your way through until you find something you like). After you smoked a handful of the bulks you will have a better idea of where your tastes lie and gotten more used to smoking and then you can get more adventurous. Also, 1.5 oz is certainly enough for several smokes depending of course on the size of the bowl you are smoking. As a newer smoker myself don't get to caught up in it all and just have fun and I am sure more experienced smokers here will give you some much better advise shortly. Again. welcome and good luck. Cheers, Jesse | ||
| Aristotle Vaxevanides Member Username: Avanides Post Number: 28 Registered: 09-2005 |
Several 1.5 oz samplers will be PLENTY. Once you smoke one bowl, you'll realize that 1.5 oz of something will last you a while, especially if you're only an occasional smoker. I've only had one "Tinder Box" blend (really a Lane blend). Burley Lite I think is what it was called. Actually could be a good first smoke. | ||
| Felix Ungar Member Username: Felix Post Number: 26 Registered: 09-2006 |
First of all, I would encourage you to resist the temptation to start out with "drug store" tobacco. Trying a well-blended premium tobacco isn't being snobbish...rather, it's giving yourself the best opportunity to see what the tobacco-smoking hobby has to offer. Granted, you'll pay 3X the price of that drug store pouch but the investment is well worth it until you figure out whether you're suited to a pipe. And if you're going to start out with an aromatic, it's doubly important to choose wisely lest you end up with a goopy wet mess in the bottom of your pipe and the remnant of your experiment tossed into a box...never to see the light of day again. I've never dealt with the Tinder Box franchise stores so I have no experience with their tobaccos. But each individual store will be somewhat dependent upon the skill of the resident blender even though, as a franchise, they are required to adhere to formula blending guidelines for the franchise's core offerings. So what I've found works best is to establish a relationship with a tobacconist you like so that you're guaranteed consistency between batches...whether that tobacconist is part of a franchise or a single store. Obviously we're talking about bulk blends here. If you're buying tinned tobacco, you already have that QC consistency built in. In my case, I've used Pipeworks & Wilke for years and years. Virtually every offering is top-notch...and the aromatics are not overdosed with flavorings to the point where the tobaccos are damp and hard to keep lit and leave "goop" in the bottom of your pipe. Cheap aromatics use cheap tobacco and mask the shortcomings with an overdose of flavoring. You won't find any cheap tobaccos used at P&W. A $20 sampler (+ $4 S&H) gets you four 2 oz pouches. Obviously depends upon the size of your pipe but each two ounces should give you around a dozen smokes. And once you're in the P&W database, follow-on orders and/or customized variations of the standard blends are just an e-mail away. Very, very handy. I'm not trying to push any one particular tobacconist, just giving you an indication of how a mail-order relationship can work since you don't have a shop nearby. But if you do decide to try out the 125 year old P&W, and are looking for an aromatic sampler, might I humbly suggest one of your choices be #191. I think it's a perfect aromatic tobacco for a new (and old, like me) pipe smoker. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I'll also mention that I don't care for the Vermont Maple...too sweet for my taste. | ||
| Michael A. Kupsch Member Username: Tatermessmike Post Number: 46 Registered: 12-2004 |
Steve, I would suggest you try the Bosewells. The make wonderful pipes and are always very happy to help a beginner. Let them know you are just starting out and I am sure they will send you several free samples of their blends. | ||
| W.A.Dunbar Sr. Member Username: Tightwad Post Number: 2 Registered: 12-2006 |
Suggest that you study these links before you spend any money on Tobacco. Please remember that Pipe smoking is a slow patient activity that is all about the flavor and satisfaction that is never found in cigarettes. Never hurry a good pipe. http://www.glpease.com/FAQ.html http://www.tobaccoblending.com/tobacco_blending_how_to.htm http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze43wza/smoke/tobacco.html http://www.albany.net/~murray/types.html | ||
| Randy Hall Member Username: Randal_hall Post Number: 39 Registered: 09-2006 |
I purchased that very sampler a few months ago. I will give you a mini review Royal Estate Espresso: It is an aromatic that has a coffee topping, I have never smoke a bowl if it and I don't know if I will, I don't really care for burnt coffee. 0 out of 5 Captain Spice: A TinderBox version of Captain Black with a little extra vanilla. I liked it, I thought it was smooth and had a good room note but it is not a complex blend. It is good for others to recognize that someone is smoking a pipe and they will tell you it smells like their grandfather. 3 out of 5 Black Russian: Another vanilla blend that is a step up from Captain Spice. It is a bit more complex when it comes to taste and has less dense smoke too. It burns well and did not leave any goop in my pipes. I will actually buy this one in bulk when I run out. 5 out of 5 Honey Maple: Not bad not great. I can taste hints of maple but not much. It does have a good room note and is very mild even when smoked too fast. I give this one a 3 out of 5 just because it is not terrible. There is a Tinderbox near me so I tried the Epicurian blend, I liked it but it has to be smoked really slow or it will taste like soap. I have also had the Wilshire, it is a heavy aromatic but I didn't hate it like some do. Overall I would say buy it, try it and if you don't like it give it to someone. I would not make a decision based on one bowl though. I would also try these in a cob pipe until you get your tastes developed. | ||
| Steve Riddle Member Username: Stever Post Number: 2 Registered: 12-2006 |
Wow, fellas, thanks so much for the comments. And Randy, thanks for the info on the Tinder Box stuff. I may go ahead and order this since we don't have a tobacconist nearby and I'm not traveling any this week. I do look forward to trying many of the different types of tobacco - it is extremely intriguing to imagine all the different tastes and sensations. I can hardly wait! I'll try to go slowly, though. Best all around, Steve | ||
| Steve Riddle Member Username: Stever Post Number: 7 Registered: 12-2006 |
Hi, just wanted to come back and report on trying the tinderbox sampler. I finally got some pipes cleaned up enough to try so today tried the four blends in the sampler plus Captain Black Regular and Royal (in different pipes), just to have something to compare to. The Captain Spice in the sampler and the Captain Black Regular tasted virtually the same to me. I did not detect the extreme sweet taste that many have mentioned, just tasted kind of earthy. The Honey Maple and the Royal Estate Espresso didn't have much taste either; they both had a hint, but just a hint, of their respective tastes. The Black Russian showed a little more promise, but still not a lot of taste to me. Captain Black Royal turned out to be the best of this group to me - it had a better flavor and was smoother (less bite). I'm wondering if maybe I am expecting too much flavor? Is it supposed to be more subtle and maybe my palate is just used to heavier tastes? I guess the main thing, not having been a smoker before, is that I just don't know what to expect other than what I have read. FYI, I smoked the CB Royal in a GBD, the others in a mid-line Kaywoodie and some Grabows. So at this point, I'm kind of underwhelmed; however, I'm thinking that my pipes may need a good breaking in after cleaning, so I shall continue undaunted in the hope that I will get a better smoke down the road a day or two. Thanks again for the guidance that was given here and I will continue to follow up on it as I can. Cheers, Steve | ||
| Randy Hall Member Username: Randal_hall Post Number: 52 Registered: 09-2006 |
I hope I didn't build them up too much for you. I have found them enjoyable but far from an enlightening experience. I will tell you what I did the other day and I actually loved it, I took a pinch of Dunhill NightCap and a pinch of Captain Spice mixed it up and smoked it. It was great, I found it to be about the most enjoyable experience to date. | ||
| Steve Riddle Member Username: Stever Post Number: 11 Registered: 12-2006 |
Randy, no you didn't build them up too much - I found your descriptions very useful. I am wondering if my failure to be able to taste these has to do with my pipes. I'm sure they need more breaking in so I hope I will be able to discern something more from these tobaccos down the road a few smokes. The interesting thing to me is that all the tobaccos in the sampler seem to have a common thread - an "earthy" taste, for lack of a better word. I am beginning to wonder if this is the taste of something that was smoked in my pipes before I got them, and still lingers after my treatment with salt and alcohol. I'm still determined to keep on trying and see if it gets better. I'm thinking about trying some other tobaccos as well, such as some of the Pipeworks and Wilke stuff. I'm a little bit intrigued by what I've read about NightCap and Early Morning Pipe - do you like NightCap alone? I'm afraid it might be a bit too strong for me. Thanks for your comments. Regards, Steve | ||
| Robert Bittner Member Username: Rmbittner Post Number: 159 Registered: 01-2005 |
Steve: Depending on the tobacco, this may sound like torture, but I'd recommend smoking at least a dozen bowlfuls of any mixture that you might be on the fence about. (If you hate the first bowl of something, though, there's no point in taking it any further. There are too many great tobaccos out there to waste time on that.) That will give you a chance to break in a couple of pipes with a blend (since everything is going to leave remnants of itself in your next few smokes) and to get a sense of what packing methods and puffing approach suit each particular blend. That might not be as critical with aromatics, but I think it'll definitely help if you ever want to make the move to a non-aromatic blend. | ||
| Steve Riddle Member Username: Stever Post Number: 12 Registered: 12-2006 |
Robert, Thanks for that perspective. This really helps since I have no other frame of reference with regard to tobacco taste. I do plan to forge on and do pretty much as you have suggested in order to make sure my pipes are well broken in with the tobaccos I am trying right now. This way I should at least get a fair trial with these before I move on to something else. I'm finding that patience is not only a virtue, but a necessary tool in learning to enjoy smoking a pipe. | ||
| Randy Hall Member Username: Randal_hall Post Number: 53 Registered: 09-2006 |
Steve, I do like NiteCap alone, I was just messing around and figured what the heck. The first time I smoked NiteCap I got a wicked Nic buzz and sick to my stomach. That is when I learned to smoke it slooooowly and not rush the smoke. I had to further slow it down when I smoked a bowl in my Peterson 303 the first time. I was really just looking to see how the latakia would mingle with an aromatic, I was very pleased with how it turned out. |