Beginner Briar Brother

[Frog Morton]

Dear Briar bothers,

Which aromatic blends would you recommend for the beginner smoker (cavendish?!)? What is the best way to pack a pipe for a beginner ( I am having alot of trouble learning how to pack a pipe and how often to take puffs..etc?)? How do I build a tolerance to nicotine (I'm quite sensitive) so I can smoke stronger blends (Balkan ..etc)? Which blends are mild on Nicotine but have a full-bodied taste?? Any recommendations or tips are highly appreciated!!

Frog Morton

 

[Hermit]

Dear Briar bothers,

Which aromatic blends would you recommend for the beginner smoker (cavendish?!)? What is the best way to pack a pipe for a beginner ( I am having alot of trouble learning how to pack a pipe and how often to take puffs..etc?)? How do I build a tolerance to nicotine (I'm quite sensitive) so I can smoke stronger blends (Balkan ..etc)? Which blends are mild on Nicotine but have a full-bodied taste?? Any recommendations or tips are highly appreciated!!

Frog Morton

Welcome to BoB.

(I've never known why people recommend
aromatics to beginning pipe smokers.)

 

[Frost]

The answer to all your questions is simple. Try everything you can get your hands on. Eventually, you will a) find blends to suit your tastes, b) increase your tolerance to nicotine, and c) learn the best ways to pack & smoke your pipes with whichever blends you like.

Of course this advice isn't at all helpful realy and probably isnt what you were looking for, so in an effort to be a wee bit more helpful:

-Pack loose, smoke slow, puff lightly. Dont be afraid of relights. Take your good ol' time.

-Do a forum search for "favorite blends" or similar. You will see that a myriad of names pop up, which will give you some ideas to choose from while simultaneously show you while it is near impossible for anyone to guess what you might like, which of course takes you right back to my original advice of try everything!

-buy canning jars, never throw tobacco away.

-buy a few corn cob pipes. Inexpensive, good smokers. Perfect for trying new blends until you know whether you like it or not.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Welcome! IMHO, the concept of lighting a pipe and keeping it lit, smoking continously from start to end of bowl, is highly over rated. Light the pipe a time or two, lightly tamp the ashes down, let the tobaccco settle down, and sip at a leisurely pace. If you have to relight a lot so what. Usually nicotine problems come from smoking too quickly so don't smoke quickly, smoke nice and slow. Take your time, enjoy it, never let the bowl get too warm, you'll enjoy your tobacco a lot more. As to packing, the basic concept is looser at the bottom, a little tighter at the top. You do not accomplish this by ovr packing and squooshing the contents down as the tobacco will inevitably be tight at the bottom. There are youtube videos on proper pipe packing.

I'd reccomend a light, flavorful burley. The problem with many aromatics is that they are built on tobaccos that are either inferior or are of the nature that they will zorch yourmouth when you puff hard on them, like the many brown cavendish base tobaccos used. I'd reccomend MacBaren Burley London blend, or GL Pease BarbaryCoast, or Uhle'sPerfection Plug. These are all built on very good tobacco, have excellent flavors and are pipe friendly.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

With a little start guidance, the rest of this hobby (and the satisfaction therein) is largely experimental.


If you yield bad results, change your method, or determine the pipe/tobacco isn't for you. Move on.


Search a lot, read, ask questions and take notes.

8)

 

[momus]

Welcome! Packing at first is a huge pain but after awhile it just seems so trivial. I had issues until I learned the infamous Frank method...so you could look that up, but after awhile I abandoned that. I'm a simple fill with tobacco. Press down lightly. Fill with tobacco again. Press down a little harder. Light. Seems to work.
Also, if Nic makes you sick the best advice is to eat something hearty before smoking and/or smoke slower, taking your time.
And there is nothing wrong with aromatics. Captain Black White will work. HOWEVER, the easiest pipe tobacco to keep lit on the planet is (drum roll please)---Prince Albert or Carter Hall. I swear those tobaccos are no fuss to keep going. Great to start out with and cheap (and you can find them all over the place). Whenever I start to cuss out a Virigina or a Latakia blend that gives me the fits I go smoke some Prince Albert and feel like a pro again.

 

[smokey422]

I usually pack with the 3-step method: fill half full and press down LIGHTLY, fill to the top and press down a little bit harder, but still fairly lightly, then fill to the top or a bit above and press down a little harder. When you tamp while smoking, only put enough pressure on the tamper to move the ashes down to where they contact the burning tobacco. Don't over-tamp or do it too much. Relights are no sin, after 42 years I still can't smoke a bowl to the bottom on one match.

You should try more than one type of tobacco to find out which type you prefer. A good start would be a light English, a VA/Per, a Burley, and an aromatic. If you have a local pipe shop, ask them about these types of tobaccos. If not, places like Boswell's, Pipes and Cigars, Smoking Pipes, 4 Noggins, and a host of others can give you advice and get you started. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Smokey

 

[IronKnight]

I wish you the best of luck. It's going to take a little while to get everything down, then it'll become second nature. As for aromatics, some smokers like them, others don't. A good starting point for cavendish tobacco is Captain Black's - White. Be sure to dry it out a little first because it burns really wet, especially when you're just starting out. Many guys on here will tell you they keep a pouch of Carter Hall or Prince Albert around. I suggest you try these as they are fairly mild and are moderately hard to get tongue bite with. My favorite aromatics are probably Sutliff's Maple Street, Dan's Blue Note, and something thats in a jar on the wall of my local B&M called "Moonlight Sonata".

 

[jlong]

I'll second Captain Black and Prince Albert. Prince Albert is probably the easiest to smoke and like.

 

[PipeLeisure]

Boswells has some really nice aromatics, I recommend Christmas Cookie and Pipers Pleasure.

 

[Frog Morton]

Thank you soo much everyone for your replies. I have been trying to smoke slower and try, to relax with the pipe. I find that slowing down actually does help with reducing tongue bite as well as improving my appreciation for tobacco flavors (I still haven't figured out how to "rate" or pick up the nuances of each tobacco blend/flavors?? any suggestions) I am very fond of the Frog Morton blends..one question though..in which order should i smoke the frog morton blends (bayou in the morning, across the pond,on the town and frog morton original at night?? I am trying to set up a daily schedule from mildest (morning) to afternoon and nighttime smoking sessions. In what order (daily rotations) does everyone smoke their favorite blends? I have some "haddos delight" (g.l. pease) which i haven't opened yet, when ppl speak of the "strength" of the tobacco, are they talking about "nicotine" or strength of flavor (haddos delight is considered "strong")? which other g.l pease blends are good..especially aromatics?? I have been watching alot of youtube videos and one that REALLY helped me as far as improving my cadence and slowing down has been this video.."The Pontificating Pipe!" .youtube.com/user/TamperPeterson] "The Pontificating Pipe!" youtube.com/user/TamperPeterson as the author talks about "breathing through the pipe" I tried this method and it seemed to help me smoke slower, keep the pipe lit longer, and most importantly... the smoke was MUCH cooler and more flavorful (I was getting alot of tongue burn lately) does anyone know more about this method or use this method themselves..i'm curious to know more about it. I appreciate all my fellow Briar Brothers for helping and welcoming a new "Brother " into a lifelong hobby.

Happy Holidays,
Frog Morton

 

[Kyle Weiss]

(I still haven't figured out how to "rate" or pick up the nuances of each tobacco blend/flavors?? any suggestions) ...In what order (daily rotations) does everyone smoke their favorite blends?....

It's not that complicated. Smoke what you like, when you like it. Sometimes it's mood, sometimes it's convenience. Sometimes you just go for it.

"breathing through the pipe" I tried this method and it seemed to help me smoke slower, keep the pipe lit longer, and most importantly the smoke was MUCH cooler and more flavorful (I was getting alot of tongue burn lately) does anyone know more about this method or use this method themselves..i'm curious to know more about it.

The "Breath Technique" as it is called. I never read up too much on it, as I find I've already been doing it for some time, or at least my own version of it.

G.L. Pease (Greg), a BoB member here and a brilliant tobacco blender, talks further on this subject, to which I agree: http://www.glpease.com/Articles/BreathSmoking.html

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

The "Breath Technique" as it is called. I never read up too much on it, as I find I've already been doing it for some time, or at least my own version of it.

G.L. Pease (Greg), a BoB member here and a brilliant tobacco blender, talks further on this subject, to which I agree: http://www.glpease.com/Articles/BreathSmoking.html

Anytime I do this I invariably shot hot bits of tobacco everywhere. I prefer to exhale through my nose. I think it lets you taste more of the tobacco. It also forces me to keep the pipe cool, because my nose is far more sensitive to the heat than my mouth is.

 

[idbowman]

Honestly, getting things down is mostly a matter of personal experimentation. The three-pinch method of packing is a good starting point, but honestly don't get yourself hung up on the particulars.

Generally, if the bowl becomes uncomfortable to touch against your cheek, slow down. If the pipe won't stay lit, you're either smoking too slow or packing too tightly. If you hear a gurgling, run a pipe cleaner through. If you feel your tongue getting "bit," take a day or two off, then try slowing down when you come back.


Someone already mentioned these, but I think the absolute best advice is to get a few cheap but serviceable corn cob pipes and as many tobaccos as you can get your hands on (better to buy a lot of blends in small quantities than a few blends in large quantities until you know what you like). The cobs are especially key if you're smoking aromatics. More than any other sort of blend, aromatics tend to leave their stamp on the pipe they were smoked in...if you smoke a heavily flavored aromatic one day, you'll probably still taste it if you smoke a different blend the next. Cheap cobs means you can sample all you'd like without permanently "ghosting" a treasured briar.



I also started with aromatics. There are a lot of good ones out there, but there are also some pretty bad ones (all sorts of chemically sticky flavor on the first light, tasteless after it "burns off.")...It might not be the most "exciting" option (according to some), but a beginning aromatic smoker can hardly go wrong with Lane 1Q or Lane BCA.

 

[Frog Morton]

Everyone has been so welcoming and informative with their knowledge. It is highly appreciated. In what order should tobacco categories/blends be smoked? Cavendish--Virginia--oriential--latakia-balkans (from mildest-to-strongest) ? How do I set up a daily rotation if I want to smoke from morning to night?

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

Everyone has been so welcoming and informative with their knowledge. It is highly appreciated. In what order should tobacco categories/blends be smoked? Cavendish--Virginia--oriential--latakia-balkans (from mildest-to-strongest) ? How do I set up a daily rotation if I want to smoke from morning to night?

The only rule to live by is not to live by rules. :cheers:

Smoke what you want to smoke when you want to smoke it. I find that I like to start the day with burley and a cup of coffee, and I like to unwind at night with a stout English like Esoterica Margate. But, if I wake up craving latakia, so be it. If I find myself longing from some JKP, well then out she comes. The more you try to do things the "right" way the less enjoyable this habit becomes. Its much better to watch out for what not to do, than to search for what to do, if that makes sense. (ie when someone tells you not to mash too much tobacco into your pipe because it will smoke poorly, that's advise to heed.)

I remember stressing over how to break in my first new pipe. It became a chore and it took all of the fun out of it. Don't do that.

 

[Frog Morton]

I was under the impression that I would have to begin my day with a mild tobacco such as Cavendish, then virginia, Orientals, then balkans last ? I thought that a strong tasting/full-bodied smoke such as balkan would "blow my taste buds apart" If smoked in the morning, thereby not allowing me to pick up the subtle nuances of the succeeding tobaccos to follow ?!? I'm trying to set up the most satisfying daily rotation and learn some wisdom from my fellow Briar Brothers for a lifelong enjoyment.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

Your idea to smoke tobaccos in the order stated in your last post isn't wrong, but neither is Dave's advice in his last post. I wouldn't stress about it. If you feel like smoking something mild in the morning, do so; if you feel like smoking a full latakia blend in the evening, that's fine too.

But as you develop an acquaintance with different tobaccos and then learn how to pick those among them that you like best, and then have them available for your selection at whatever time of day, you might just surprise yourself that your choices don't follow the blend hierarchy that used to inform your choices.

Make becoming a slow smoker your top priority. Learn how to pack such that after doing so 8/10 efforts are successful. Learn how to be a slow smoker and avoid tongue-bite. Those are your concerns right now, IMHO, and smoke what you want to smoke when you want to smoke it.

 

[idbowman]

Yeah...read the last two posts over again, and take them to heart!

If you want to order your day, by all means, do so! If you want to "live on the edge" and smoke in no predetermined order, do it! Don't think of it as learning "the right way" to smoke a pipe, choose tobacco, etc. Think of it like you would any other hobby - what makes it the most enjoyable to you? Make your one "goal" finding the right packing and puffing to smoke each blend and each pipe nice and dry and cool. After that, it's all about what you like.

Don't stress yourself...it'll come to you like it came to us all - best to try to enjoy the process!

 

[smokey422]

Dave and Alfredo have given you some great advice. I would especially recommend Alfredo's tip to become a slow smoker, you will get much more enjoyment from your pipe smoking. I don't follow any pattern as to which blends I smoke at a certain time of day and never have. I just check out my cabinet and grab what strikes my fancy. Right now I'm smoking a lot of aromatics but who knows? After Christmas it may be back to Latakia blends or Burley or whatever.

Smokey