Howdy! (And a Question)

[Murdock]

Good day from perpetually rainy western Washington!

As I am entering my second childhood, and faithfully watch A Team re-runs, I have taken
the name "Murdock". You know him, the absolutely screwy guy who can fly anything. Whose
behaviour is usually zany, but who can adopt the persona of the most educated and elegant
of men, if needed.

I am 75, and have been smoking a pipe, off and on, since Washington crossed the Delaware. I have given up
looking for the perfect combination of Virginia and Burley, and I am willing to admit that I MIGHT
enjoy a very modest amount of Oriental, or Perique tobacco in my blend. So I am trying EVERYthing
from Cornell and Diehl, and a couple of other sources as well.

The question is: with a sample of five different blends, is it better to smoke one blend til
it's exhausted, or flip-flop back and forth from one to the other? I think I might get a better
sense of one tobacco by smoking it through the sample, vice jumping around, but I welcome
your wisdom.

thanx! 8) Murdock

 

[jhuggett]

Welcome!

In my experience I have to focus on a blend for quite a while in order to truly appreciate it. I have smoked blends that I thought were just ok the first couple of bowls but after half a tin or so fell in love with them. I've also had the opposite happen.

Having said that I rarely have the will power to do it much anymore and have so many blends open that it's ridiculous for the amount of pipe smoking I have time for anymore. :lol:

 

[SocWorkerSmoker]

Murdock

First, welcome. Second, you pose a great question. I recently had the experience jhuggett mentioned. After my first try of GLP Westminster I thought it was total crap. However, because I like other GLP blends and everyone speaks so highly of Westminster I thought I would give it a couple of more tries. Over the course of smoking it exclusively for a couple of weeks, I can say it is now, by far, one of my favorite! I am relatively new to pipe smoking and am trying to get my rotation down (5 English & 5 aromatics). My method is about one new tin every 3 to 4 weeks. I would like to go longer but I just comp at the bit to try something new.

Good luck getting your rotation in order

:cheers:
SWS

 

[Muddler]

Welcome Murdoch. Personally, I like lots of open tins, sampling from them at whim. I figure this way my tastes never become jaded & I can compare each tobacco. I also think it's a lot more fun.

 

[Doc Manhattan]

Welcome aboard, Murdock! (I'm more a Hannibal myself.)

As to your question, I like to move between a lot of different blends, within the general categories of blend profiles I like. But the blends I like best, I buy in quantity for the cellar--it's cheaper and I'll have something I know I enjoy for a rainy day. It's a bit the way many (including myself) drink and collect wine.

 

[Ol'Dawg]

A big howdy and welcome!
I've tried sampling both ways and still alternate between the two methods.

Jim

 

[Natch]

Welcome, and my experience is to smoke one blend for just a pipe or two, then try another, and so on, coming back to the original to compare it with another. I've even loaded two cobs with two different (though similar blends) and lit them both, puffing on one then another, to really hone down my preferences and observations. But, as with all pipe-smoking advice, your millage might vary.

Good luck on this wonderful adventure.

Natch

 

[DoverPipes]

Welcome aboard!!!! :cheers:
I dedicate each pipe to a specific tobacco type.
I will smoke different blends , of the same type, in the same pipe.
Sometimes, I will smoke a new blend in a "clean pipe" just to try it out.
So, in other words, do what you like. Enjoy whatever you put into your pipes!!!!

 

[gandalfpc]

Howdy

Mixed experiences here - some blends really wow me with the first bowl, only to prove less than cellar worthy later - others turn me away cold only to become my favorites weeks or months later.

So my advice is -
1) if you try it and like it - smoke a few more to make sure before stocking the cellar
2) if you try it and hate it - put it away for a few weeks or months and give it another try

as per jumping around blends or focusing in on one while sampling - a few blends really require focus - if it is a very highly regarded blend (such as westminster) that you try and just don't see the big whoop about it likely needs some time spent with it to bring out it's subtle points - others like blackwoods will give up their secrets easily and you will likely find that if you've had three bowls you've had a thousand

and the short of that being:
1) some blends give up flavor easily, burn easy, pack easy, and have bold flavors - they will require less sampling
2) expertly mixed blends deserve some focus to divulge all the elements of the blend

also - the pipe can make a big difference - if a blend isn't working for you in one bowl it may work better in another - my recent experience with HH Vintage Syrian was a disaster until one of the brothers suggested using a wider bowl with it - now one of my favorite smokes

 

[Justpipes]

Welcome Murdock! It is reported that I have a skewed taste in tobacco so I won't be much help to your question.

 

[Trout Bum]

Welcome aboard, Murdock! As for you inquiry, I am not sure there is much that I can add to what has already been said... Personally, I like to open tins and put the tobacco directly into mason jars; that way I can enjoy a bowl at my leisure. I also like to smoke this one or that one, depending on time of day/mood/direction of the wind/etc. And, as already stated, if you don't like a blend right off the bat, put it away for a while and come back to it later -- it could turn out to be a favorite.

At any rate, enjoy the ride!

 

[RonA3597]

Murdock, welcome to BoB! I have 7 tins open now, about that all the time.

 

[Murdock]

Thanks for all the ideas, and for the welcome. It's just the same as modelling RRs in the On30
venue: "It's YOUR RR, Charlie Brown; do what you want and be happy!"

I find it difficult to "ingest" wisdom from the computer screen so I'm printing this whole run, for further
examination, from the easy chair.

I like big "flakes", for what reason I don't know, and I've "known" Craig and Patty for years,
so I'm starting the day with a bowl of Walter Franklin, i.e., Burley, Latakia, Virginia, and black
Cavendish (presumably unsweeteed), in a Peterson Shannon 01, my favorite shape.

First puff or two, pretty nice!

As my two "boys", ages 48 and 50, are taking me fisihing, I think Walter will go along, together
with a corn cob, which is "expendable"??

Murdoch @ 0645 hours

 

[TallSmoke]

Welcome to the BoB! :cheers:

One pipe for one tobacco, I have always practiced. I have found that if you have smoked one blend in a pipe for a while and decide to switch it may take a good number of bowls in that pipe before you get an accurate representation of that tobacco's flavor.

Enjoy!

 

[Murdock]

I'd try that, and I certainly have enough pipes, but I'd have to circumvent CRS by putting labels on the pipe or pipe rack, and always returning the pipe to the same place. <g>

The standard description of Nutty Irishman is VERY inadequate; tell us what's in it?

I smoked Walter Franklin ALL day yesterday on the fishing trip, enjoying it a LOT, and using two
different pipes. Then in the evening, my enjoyment left and whatever I smoked tasted "tart". :evil:
I think I overdid it??

happy Sunday!

Murdock :roll:

 

[Buddy Springman]

Welcome to the group! You've already received some excellent replies to your question, so I won't add my two cents.

Come back often.

Buddy

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome Sir........ ditto on what Buddy said......and welcome to the brotherhood! :cheers: