please recommend Aro's for those who don't like Aro's

[Fight'n Hampsters]

I am not an aromatic guy. Nothing wrong with them but I prefer different blends. That being said I have found myself craving something slightly sweet lately.

I have tried Captain Black White but it was too heavy and goopy for me. Tried 1792 but the Tonka bean was too much.

It will probably be something I smoke a handful of times a year so I don't want to buy a lot of tins looking for something and end up with a bunch of tins I don't like.

What are your recommendations?

 

[Ocelot55]

I'd recommend some crossover blends, or basically blends with just a hint of caseing. They typically have great room notes too.

For VA lovers, try MacBaren Vanilla Cream Flake, Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake, Sam Gawith Firedance Flake, perhaps some of the chocolate flakes.

For English lovers try some Frog Morton on the Town, Frog Morton's Cellar, and Sam Gawith Perfection.

 

[Fight'n Hampsters]

I'd recommend some crossover blends, or basically blends with just a hint of caseing. They typically have great room notes too.

For VA lovers, try MacBaren Vanilla Cream Flake, Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake, Sam Gawith Firedance Flake, perhaps some of the chocolate flakes.

For English lovers try some Frog Morton on the Town, Frog Morton's Cellar, and Sam Gawith Perfection.

Good suggestions.  I tried SG 1792 a while back and the Tonka was just too much.  I have eyed Firedance before but never tried it.  The Vanilla Crème sounds good.  Usually the aros I have tried tend to be chemical tasting. :no:

 

[Richard Burley]

I have found myself craving something slightly sweet lately.

For "slightly" sweet I would recommend McClelland's bulk 2000. I've recently been using Mac Baren's Vanilla to satisfy occasional sweet cravings, but it's more than slightly sweet. (Borderline disgusting, actually, but that's OK.)

 

[Ocelot55]

That's a great one that I forgot, Richard. Glad you remembered it.

 

[Fight'n Hampsters]

I have found myself craving something slightly sweet lately.

For "slightly" sweet I would recommend McClelland's bulk 2000.  I've recently been using Mac Baren's Vanilla to satisfy occasional sweet cravings, but it's more than slightly sweet.  (Borderline disgusting, actually, but that's OK.)

 :lol: :lol: 

 

[Thomas Tkach]

+1 on PS LTF, as well as the frog.

 

[MisterE]

Boswell's Christmas Cookie is surprisingly good.

 

[idbowman]

SG Firedance Flake if you're not into Latakia; FM Cellar if you are.


Going back to the Captain Black - you said you disliked it because it was heavy and goopy. Do you think you'd have like it if not for that (meaning, the mellow/toasted vanilla cavendish flavor it's going for)? If that's what you're looking for, just looking for a version that's "done" a little better, you'll probably be satisfied with Lane 1-Q or RLP-6.

 

[monbla256]

If you want a "natural" sweet with a nice room note I'd suggest McC's Fragrant Matured 2000, a nice straight red va sold in bulk with McC's signayure ketchup topping  :twisted: . As far as a traditional ARO, Dan Tobacco's Milonga is "my go to" Aro without all the PG and syrupy goopy aditives and a solid Va base.

 

[DoverPipes]

Boswells: "Berry Cobbler" & "Christmas Cookie"

Gawith & Hogarth: "Bob's Chocolate Flake", "Kendal Flake" & "Rum Flake"

Dan Tobacco:"The Malthouse", "Devil's Holiday", "Milonga" & "Sweet Vanilla Honeydew"

Planta: "Danish Black Vanilla Flake" (You may have to get this from overseas!)

Torben Dansk: "Black Velvet" & "Blue Note"

Park Lane Tobacconist: "Christmas Kake-2011 Holiday Blend"

Sutliff: "Balkan Luxury Blend 957" (Balkan / Mild English with Vanilla notes) & "Molto Dolce" (Surprisingly good aroma & room note)

 

[PozzSka]

I find McC Deep Hollow to be sweet and easy to smoke (it has some sort of mild casing/topping, but still very nice taste).

Some other aro's I like are Boswell's Pipers' Pleasure and McC Holiday Spirit.

A new one to me that I also found somewhat of a "crossover" was Prairie Wind from 4Noggins (it's a VaPer I guess, but very light on the Per, with some sweet something casing, but very good).

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Trout Stream & H&H Classic Burley Kake are pretty nice.

Also Rich Gottlieb at 4noggins blends some really underrated semi-aromatics. Most of his mixtures like Killington, Lord Methley, Double Fantasy and Otter Creek are just good ol' tobacco mixtures that have solid flavor and a nice room note. Trout Stream & CBK smoke in a very similar way, of course tastes will vary depending on what type of flavorings you may enjoy... 

Personally, I think vanilla, maple, rum & brandy are all flavors that translate extremely well to the smoke. I have always struggled to enjoy berry, cherry, coffee & chocolate flavored blends. Meh.    

+2 on PS LTF, McC FM2000

I love most scented Lakelands (a few aside), but I don't want to be responsible for recommending them to anyone.  

 

[huffelpuff]

Dan Tobacco's Sweet Vanilla Honeydew is quite nice. Good quality Va without all the PG goop.

Jim

 

[joshoowah]

Just For Him's Shortcut to Mushrooms
Two Friends English Chocolate

Both lightly aromatic blends that are great.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Savinelli Mister G Black Cavendish is really nice, no bite, subdued chocolate/fig/vanilla and I can actually taste the tobacco.

Lane RLP-6 is Captain Black without all the PG. a bit of air drying and it smokes and tastes pretty darned nice. I have a meer dedicated to this stuff.

GH &co Black and Brown is my current favorite aro. Tastes like tobacco cased with molasses, which is pretty much what it is.

None of these are goopy, overly sweet, PG'd to death or made up of a mixture of sawdust, shavings and sauce like so many other aros.

The stokkebye twist flake has an interesting flavor but I found the tobacco to be rather papery tasting once the topping burned off. I have yet to try MacBaren Vanilla flake, I should put that on my list for next order.

It's funny, but when I first got into pipe smoking all I wanted was to figure outnhow to smoke a nice smelling aro that didn't fry my mouth and tasted like it smelled. I gave up, got into high grade tobaccos and kind of forgot about the aro thing until a few months ago, when I finally gave them a good second chance. The above three I listed have been the best experiences for me so far, and I'm pretty pleased that finally, ten years later, I can actually enjoy a couple of great smelling tobaccos that don't fry my mouth and taste pretty much like they smell.

 

[balkan_boy]

...I love most scented Lakelands (a few aside), but I don't want to be responsible for recommending them to anyone.  

Same here.

A lot of people just can't stand that old lady soap thing.

Personally, I'd recommend Gawith & Hoggarth Bob's chocolate flake. Works for me just fine. I can't stand Danish/American aros either.

 

[Carlos]

Another mention for GH & Co. Black & Brown. It's rather amazing I thought. This is what Captain Black has been trying to taste like for decades and GH & Co. did it right. Kind of mild-medium in strength and plenty of flavor. So you are not left wanting and puffing the pipe up getting it all hot. It smokes cool. Great flavor. English flavoring often differs from what is available here in the USA. This molasses is no different. Very enjoyable. There are hints of chocolate and some spice. Plenty sweet. What was sent to me was moist, but quickly drys out. So it's not soaked in PG. Good stuff!  :sunny: 

 

[Stick]

This has been really useful for me too folks. As a newbie behind a pipe I'm enjoying aros but am wanting to broaden my horizons. These sound like great 'transition' blends...

 

[fsu92john]

Three of my own favorites:

GH Rum Flake: An extremely well-behaved sweet flake of burley and Virginia tobaccos with rum, maple, and spice flavors, though less rum than you might expect from the name. Just delicious.

GH Ennerdale Flake: "Traditional British flavourings" (floral and herbal scents) added very heavily, but married so well with the excellent tobacco leaf that one would almost believe the plant had just grown naturally tasting that way.

W.Ø. Larsen Signature: Top-notch Danish aromatic with a decent Virginia component along with burley and black cav. I get strawberry and vanilla flavors, but I've read different opinions. Really nice if you want something with a sweet room note.