Hi from Indiana

[Newpiper19]

Hello everyone, I am new to piping and got my first pipe at a 420 event here in town. I know it probably sounds odd, I know it does to me, but I am also new to smoking. I have been curious for some time now and wanted to try something classy and also because my grandparents smoked pipes. I am curious about what they saw in it, curious about the flavors and generally the lifestyle.

I tried to do as much research as I could before making a purchase, let me know if I got it right. I bought a Meerschaum cobb pipe and for my first tin of tobacco I got some Three Nuns orange can. My reading on the various forums told me that the flavored stuff is worthless to smoke and the tobacconist recommended the orange can. Did I make good choices? The only tinned stuff they had there besides the Orange can was Arcadian perique, some Crumble kake in Red virginia, English #1 and Va Perique. They also had a few HH tins, Latakia and some others whose names I don't remember, but not a whole lot. They had lots of Super value stuff, as well as a few pouches of Bokhum Riff on the value shelf.

It has been raining all day and I have not yet lighted it up seeing as I forgot to get a butane lighter and don't have any matches. Going to get some tomorrow.


Quick question, should I get rid of the filter in the cobb pipe or keep it? The tobacconist said I didn't need and recommended I get rid of it.


Can't wait to give it my first puff. Thanks for having me!

 

[Fight'n Hampsters]

welcome!

As far as what tobacco to buy, there is no wrong answer. Get what you like. It will take some trial and error.

If you are looking for a mild easy to smoke non fruity or sweet tobacco, I would recommend Carter Hall or Prince Albert. They can often even be found at Walmart or Kroger.

 

[Newpiper19]

welcome!

As far as what tobacco to buy, there is no wrong answer. Get what you like. It will take some trial and error.

If you are looking for a mild easy to smoke non fruity or sweet tobacco, I would recommend Carter Hall or Prince Albert. They can often even be found at Walmart or Kroger.

My wife said her grandfather smoked Prince Albert for years and the smell of it reminds her of him. Is it still made? I saw on Pipes and Cigars that they had an alternative to it.

 

[Fr_Tom]

Quick question, should I get rid of the filter in the cobb pipe or keep it? The tobacconist said I didn't need and recommended I get rid of it.


Can't wait to give it my first puff.   Thanks for having me!

Welcome...

Really tastes are all over. I am not personally a big fan of most aromatics, but that is just me. They seem to sell well and plenty of people like them. You will have to try a few things and realize your tastes may change with time.

I don't use the filters, but you might want to try a few bowls with the one in there and then try a few bowls without it. There are not really many hard and fast rules or accounting for personal preferences. You have to figure it out as you go in some ways.

I second the recommendation to try Prince Albert and Carter Hall. They are easy to smoke and most people seem to like them. They are easy to find.

 

[Zanaspus]

Welcome to BoB!

 

[Newpiper19]

Quick question, should I get rid of the filter in the cobb pipe or keep it? The tobacconist said I didn't need and recommended I get rid of it.


Can't wait to give it my first puff.   Thanks for having me!

Welcome...

Really tastes are all over. I am not personally a big fan of most aromatics, but that is just me. They seem to sell well and plenty of people like them. You will have to try a few things and realize your tastes may change with time.

I don't use the filters, but you might want to try a few bowls with the one in there and then try a few bowls without it. There are not really many hard and fast rules or accounting for personal preferences. You have to figure it out as you go in some ways.

I second the recommendation to try Prince Albert and Carter Hall. They are easy to smoke and most people seem to like them. They are easy to find.

I will see if my local shop has any Carter Hall and Prince Albert. Around here the local Walmarts and such don't stock tobacco that I know of. The tobacconist while he sold lots of OTC aromatics, basically tried to steer me away from them, as well as the forum posts on PM. What is it about aromatic blends that people hate? Do you not taste any of the tobacco flavors?

Regarding the filter, I tried taking some trial pulls through it and the filter seems to change the way the air flows, a bit more resistance. I will take your advice and try it both with and with out a few times.

 

[Puffy]

Welcome Aboard

 

[Blackhorse]

I’d stay away from the “value bags” if I were you.  I think your Cob is an excellent intro choice.  I’ve been at it for 50 years and a Cob is still a favored approach.  

Your pick in tobacco was fine.  Don’t be afraid of the HH items. Most are quite good.  You might find the following site of interest...you’ll notice that on nearly any item the reviews are all over the place.  

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/

You’ll also likely start ordering tobacco from online vendors.  Check out:

Smoking Pipes
Pipes and Cigars
Mars Cigars
4 Noggins

Those are basically solid and have huge inventories from which to choose.

There is also a thread here in which veteran pipers list their suggestions in specific categories for newer pipe smokers.  Check that out too.

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t19560-suggested-blends-etc-for-newer-pipe-smokers

Good luck and welcome...and Happy Easter. :albino:

 

[Brewdude]

Welcome newpiper.

Some of the aromatics are so soaked in humeticants like propylene glycol in order to retain moisture as well as goopy flavoring agents that it often results in the dreaded tongue bite from pulling too hard in order to keep the pipe going. That can be a huge discouragement. There are quality aros out there though as not all are the same.

Cheers,

RR

 

[DrT999]

Welcome to BoB, and to the 'hobby'. I'd add advice, but what's been said is good. Enjoy!

 

[Newpiper19]

I’d stay away from the “value bags” if I were you.  I think your Cob is an excellent intro choice.  I’ve been at it for 50 years and a Cob is still a favored approach.  

Your pick in tobacco was fine.  Don’t be afraid of the HH items. Most are quite good.  You might find the following site of interest...you’ll notice that on nearly any item the reviews are all over the place.  



You’ll also likely start ordering tobacco from online vendors.  Check out:

Smoking Pipes
Pipes and Cigars
Mars Cigars
4 Noggins

Those are basically solid and have huge inventories from which to choose.

There is also a thread here in which veteran pipers list their suggestions in specific categories for newer pipe smokers.  Check that out too.


Good luck and welcome...and Happy Easter. :albino:

Edit to add. I had to delete your links as it would not let me post with them in the quote.

Thank you Sir for your warm welcome and advice.  Your advice about staying away from value bags is exactly what the tobacconist at the store said, it was him who suggested the Three Nuns orange.  

Thanks for the links! The  tobacco review is really nice. I noticed you can look up alphabetically and they list lots of makes. With regards to using it to search for a blend, if something generally has 3 or more stars that means it should be decent to good?  Basically my question is, how do I use it to determine if a given blend is worth my hard earned dollar?

Thanks for that link to the recommended for beginners. I will check that out.

I have visited pipes and cigars but not the other ones. I shall check them out thanks for the names.  

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

 

[Newpiper19]

Welcome newpiper.

Some of the aromatics are so soaked in humeticants like propylene glycol in order to retain moisture as well as goopy flavoring agents that it often results in the dreaded tongue bite from pulling too hard in order to keep the pipe going. That can be a huge discouragement. There are quality aros out there though as not all are the same.

Cheers,

RR

Goopy? That is not something I want, doesn't even sound appealing. So taking a site like Pipes and Cigars, whose list of tobacco brands, even premium brands is vast, how does one tell by the description if the Aromatic blend is high quality and what is to be avoided? I have been reading Blackhorse's thread about trying a huge quantity of Aromatics and most of those he reviewed have all 4 stars on tobacco review, so maybe that is the criteria I should use? What ever advice you have on that subject is greatly appreciated. Life is too short to indulge in cheap, badly made anything.

 

[SourMilk]

Welcome aboard!

Lots of good advice already stated in the comments. Take it slow while you’re developing your palate and finding what agrees with you. Don’t discount blends/blend types just because internet group think says it’s bad.

 

[eggman]

Welcome to bob

 

[D.L.Ruth]

Welcome to BoB. Not much to add to what had already been said. Yes it may be hard at first trying to figure out what you like, I'm still trying to figure it out. As far as knowing which is "goopy" or not somethings on tobaccoreviews they will state it in the review. Don't be afraid to try them all, I'm slowly working on trying EVERY tobacco out there (not even close to done yet :lol!: ). Nothing wrong with aromatics, i used to think i didn't like them until i tried some quality ones, still only make up a small part of my collection but i do have some regulars that i keep around, the wife enjoys the smell of the aromatics more also. Enjoy the journey before you know it you will have at least a pipe for each day of the week, then month, and so on and so on.

 

[Fr_Tom]

Thanks for the links! The  tobacco review is really nice. I noticed you can look up alphabetically and they list lots of makes. With regards to using it to search for a blend, if something generally has 3 or more stars that means it should be decent to good?  Basically my question is, how do I use it to determine if a given blend is worth my hard earned dollar?

This is always the challenge. Essentially I claim you need to smoke a few things and then read the reviews. Find a reviewer who is not an idiot who seems to have tastes similar to yours. That reviewer will probably be a good recommendation for you on something you have not tried.

The problem is that anyone can write a review. It can be creative writing and not have much basis in reality.

In general if something has many reviews, you can probably trust trends.

 

[Zanaspus]

I’d stay away from the “value bags” if I were you.  I think your Cob is an excellent intro choice.  I’ve been at it for 50 years and a Cob is still a favored approach.  

Your pick in tobacco was fine.  Don’t be afraid of the HH items. Most are quite good.  You might find the following site of interest...you’ll notice that on nearly any item the reviews are all over the place.  



You’ll also likely start ordering tobacco from online vendors.  Check out:

Smoking Pipes
Pipes and Cigars
Mars Cigars
4 Noggins

Those are basically solid and have huge inventories from which to choose.

There is also a thread here in which veteran pipers list their suggestions in specific categories for newer pipe smokers.  Check that out too.


Good luck and welcome...and Happy Easter. :albino:

Edit to add. I had to delete your links as it would not let me post with them in the quote.

Thank you Sir for your warm welcome and advice.  Your advice about staying away from value bags is exactly what the tobacconist at the store said, it was him who suggested the Three Nuns orange.  

Thanks for the links! The  tobacco review is really nice. I noticed you can look up alphabetically and they list lots of makes. With regards to using it to search for a blend, if something generally has 3 or more stars that means it should be decent to good?  Basically my question is, how do I use it to determine if a given blend is worth my hard earned dollar?

Thanks for that link to the recommended for beginners. I will check that out.

I have visited pipes and cigars but not the other ones. I shall check them out thanks for the names.  

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Sadly, the only answer is to try them. I love plenty of "2 star" blends and dislike plenty of "5 star" blends.

First thing to do is to try an exemplar from each of the tobacco groups; English, Virginia, Virginia/Perique, Burley, and aromatic to begin to narrow your tastes. As far as which to try from each category, hmmm. The reference Va/Per is Escudo, that's a good choice. Burley (my bag) I'd try Carter Hall, C&D bulk Pegasus, and maybe Solani Aged burley Flake or Wessex Burley Slice. Va used to be easy, and then McClelland went bye-bye.

I'll leave other references for other folks. It's a never ending search. Good luck!

 

[peanubutter]

Welcome to the site.

I agree with D.L.Ruth and with being new as well my methodology has been to read all the reviews and get either a sample or tin.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Welcome to the forum sir! Plenty of advice offered already.

 

[Stick]

Welcome to the BoB!