60 years ago this month...

[ftrplt]

I began my pipe smoking journey during my first college semester. Bought a Dr. Grabow Rhodesian and some Half & Half. Shortly thereafter, I purchased a Dr. Plumb squat bulldog with saddle stem. Still have them both. The H&H and I did not get along. I made every mistake in the book starting out! Tobacco too moist, steamed/bite my tongue like a blowtorch!!! Tried other "drugstore/codger" blends, mostly Burleys, because that's what most pipe smokers I knew smoked. Also they were cheap; which mattered a lot to a poor college kid!! With time figured out what "English" blends were, figured out what Latakia was, and that my tongue much preferred that over Burley!!! Still remember buying my first "tin" of pipe tobacco. Before that, I tried about every "pouch" tobacco made back then! I finally learned that just because a tobacco smelled good, that it didn't necessarily mean it smoked as well!!! I'm talkin' Middleton's Cherry Blend and the awful Paladin Black Cherry amongst others!! Sometime thereafter, I started working part-time in a pipe shop. My education level increased greatly as did the number of briars in my pipe stand!!
I still don't care for most aromatics; I have acquired a taste for many, but not all, Burley blends. And, yes, I have acquired a bit more than two pipes over the last 60 years!!!
FWIW, FTRPLT

 

[Ranger107]

Ftrplt, ya got me by 6 years, lol. Also started my first semester in college. Fortunately we had an old time pipe shop in campus town. A block down and across the street from the student union building. First pipe I bought there was an Everyman Canadian, a Comoys 2nd. And a pouch of Amphora. The kind old gentleman who owned the shop guided me along and helped me avoid a lot of mistakes. I moved up to tinned tobaccos. First one was McBaren Mixture. Tried several other McBaren blends, Solent, Plum Cake, Scottish, etc. Told him I thought I liked the taste of Latakia, so he gave me a tin of Rattrays Red Rapparee. Said if I didn't like it, return it and he would smoke it as it was one of his favorites. Don't remember exactly how it happened, but I think someone in the shop offered me some BSOSM. I was hooked, became my go to for the rest of my college days. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.