Rookie review of Dans Blue Note

[bentbulldog]

So I finally tried my first real aromatic. Here is my take on the experience:

I practised my packing and made sure that the tobacco wasn't too moist. Packed it using the 3 layer method. Went outside and started smoking. It wasn't windy when I went out and after tamping the false light, I lit once more and started my smoke.
It was quite nice. I paced myself and tried to enjoy it. I was able to sense the flavoring and the aroma which reminded me of cotton candy. It started getting windy and difficult to smoke so I went inside and smoked there.
Once I was inside, the experience was different. It wasn't as tasty and after 10 minutes it became very bland. Is this normal of aromatics?
I tried to continue but it just wasn't doing it for me like it did in the first light so I stopped after 35 minutes of smoking.

While It was great at the beginning, it mellowed out halfway through until it just wasn't all that anymore. I would rather have the flavor and aroma spread out evenly through the entire smoke. However, I am considering the other variables:
The tobacco was taken from a jar at a tobacco shop, which even though was kept moist, stayed in a ziplock until today which was a few days since I got the samples.
It was also windy out and I tried to smoke it before I went back in, which may have done something to the flavor, is it possible?
Or of course it just may not be my kind of tobacco.

Tomorrow I will be trying Sweet Vanilla Honeydew and if my new pipe comes in the mail, the Cornell and Diel Irish Blessing.

Any comments or advice as to how I can improve the experience? I'm thinking of drinking something sweet while I smoke to help with the flavor, either warm hot chocolate, milk with honey or coffee. Suggestions?

 

[Sasquatch]

I would go the other way - drink something mildly acidic and not real sweet. A lot of us drink tea or coffee while smoking because it clears and refreshes the palate. I find some wines go well with certain smokes, but generally not with aromatics.

I do find a lot of aromatics become flat tasting after the first 10 minutes or so, and I have more or less given up on them. One I really find enjoyable all the way is Peterson Luxury Blend. But many aros just become kind of a flame-out for me, and really leave me wishing I'd smoked something else.

FWIW, while I do enjoy aromatics a bit, what I really have gotten into are tobaccos that are naturally sweet and maybe have just a touch of flavoring. If you go for something like Frog Morton from McClelland, you'll experience a whole different level of enjoyment. Smooth, sweet and mellow, the deep smokey flavor will really open your eyes about the possibilities of the pipe. Another really interesting step for the less experience smoker is to try a Virginia/perique mix. These are sweet and spicey and offer a really nice smoke. Have a shot at some Escudo or maybe Scottish Cake from McConnel and tell us what you think.

Personally, I have gravitated to a lot of the Mac Baren offerings, but I hesitate to recommend them to a newer smoker because they are kind of fiddly and if smoked incorrectly, they can bite like hell. But it's worth trying a tin of Mac Baren Mixture at some point, and chasing down their "honey on toast" take on pipe tobacco. A tin of Navy Flake might be worthwhile....

It takes awhile to learn what tobaccos can offer, and to master the techniques that bring about maximum pleasure with each tin.

 

[Anonymous]

Definately no wine with arros. Do you like green tea?

 

[bentbulldog]

I love green tea and Earl gray but I'm not so fond of the thought of having them with aromatics. Perhaps the Cafe Latte would do

 

[Trout Bum]

Bentbulldog,

As stated by Sasquatch, a lot of aromatics flatten out after ten or fifteen minutes of puffing. He is always touting Luxury Blend (Peterson); I might just have to try it, as I am a big fan of some of their other mixtures...

As for Blue Note, I have smoked one tin of it, about a year ago. I stored it in mason jar, and smoked from it over a six month or so period. I definitely noticed that the tobacco lost some of it's initial tastiness over time whilst being stored. (After being opened from the tin.) A lot of smokers say that aros (or very few of them) age well... That being said, Blue Note is a quality tobacco (I mean the actual tobacco, not the flavoring/casing) and is very different from any other aro I have smoked. It is a great starting point, but perhaps, as you pointed out, your sample might have been compromised to time/air/aging.

I would certainly recommend getting used to pairing a beverage with your tobacco and pipe. For whatever reason, I guess because it just adds to the experience, I rarely smoke without some sort of tasty libation. I enjoy coffee, tea, Perrier (sometimes mixed with cranberry juice or lemonade) and often just water. I think smoking a pipe makes one thirsty.... at least me it does, and many beverages compliment certain tobaccos quite nicely. Experiment and have fun!

 

[Sasquatch]

Trout Bum - you are on to me! I don't even read posts anymore - I just have a generic answer that involves Luxury Blend, Club Blend, or Presbyterian, and I usually advise drying the tobacco and smoking it slow. Perhaps we can make a sticky posting of generic Sasquatch advice!

 

[Strongirish]

I like this blend but your complaints are very true here. The aromatic will burn off about halfway down and then the VA tobacco comes out in it. Not unpleasant at all to me. I do find that the tobacco comes somewhat wet, and needs to be let to dry out some. If you air dry it, it will lose a lot of it's potency so what i do is open a tin of it then reseal it, put it in a baggy or mason jar and give it a few months to dry slowly. The result is a much smoother, tasty smoke.

 

[PipedJimmy]

I have to say, given my experience with aromatics some tactics you might want to employ in order to maintain flavour involve getting the tobacco to the right moisture level, this being idiosyncratic of the blend and its moisture level but essentially if its too wet the flavour will be overpowered by the heat generated and if too dry, it will loose some of the flavour, what I do and I'll kill two birds with one stone here, taking 'Celtic Talisman' as an example, it to leave it out for ten mintues, pack it fairly loose and puff fairly gently, whilst exhaling I lift my tongue to the roof of my mouth as if lapping the smoke, I feel like an idiot I'm not going to lie, but it seems to work, I think because it engages the taste buds on the tongue (which if kept clean with liquid will pick up subtleties of the flavour not being drenched by the rest of the smoke, I think it also allows some of the smoke to pass to the back of the mouth which allows the nasal passage to get involved.
As I was told on this board a while back, a lot of taste is based on the nose so try and get it involved.

 

[Eulenburg]

The base of most aromatics is a mild, flavourless, very porous Burley tobacco that has been subjected to the cavendish process so it can be soaked in flavouring agents.

Most aromatics fade in the latter stages of smoking, as the casings evaporate and you are left with ever increasing wet cavendish dottle and ash.

While smoking my pipe, I like to sip brandy or bourbon, chased with water. Not every time, of course.

 

[Strongirish]

What you say is true for a lot of them but Blue Note has a VA base and it does come through at the midway point of the smoke. I like Blue Note but for this kind of tobacco, I think MacBaron's Vanilla Creme is the best.

 

[hobie1dog]

What you say is true for a lot of them but Blue Note has a VA base and it does come through at the midway point of the smoke. I like Blue Note but for this kind of tobacco, I think MacBaron's Vanilla Creme is the best.

MacBaron's has the bite of a pit viper. :shock:

 

[Strongirish]

MB has bite? Which ones have you tried. I never get a bite from MB blends and they are tremendous sellers.

 

[hobie1dog]

MB has bite? Which ones have you tried. I never get a bite from MB blends and they are tremendous sellers.

Here are the quotes from Youtube :


I too was disappointed in MB vanilla cream. You might try Peter Stokkebye's B&B instead of VBC. Or even Lane Limited's BCA instead of The McClelland VBC. I have found they have a lot less bite. If you want a real dissapointment try MB Vanilla Flake, the bitiest tobacco known to man. Stings like a bee.


I'm going to get some here in the next couple of days. I love aromatics and vanilla in particular. I was disappointed with MB vanilla cream.

 

[Strongirish]

OK, that is one persons experience, go to tobaccoreviews.com and I think you will find hundreds of opinions. I do believe I have smoked all of MB's blend and I never have any issues with bite. I find them to be delicious blends. They do use Va basses to their aromatics so they must be smoked properly or you can make them bite, but no more than any other blends smoked improperly.

 

[Nitschke066]

I too love the MacBaren blends. They are fantastic! The only time I have experienced tongue bite is when I got a little overzealous with the No. 1 :tongue: I don't have any problems with the ever tasty Vanilla Kreme.

 

[Hermit]

I've only tried a few Mac Baren blends,
but so far the only one I really like is Navy Flake.

 

[hobie1dog]

So I finally tried my first real aromatic. Here is my take on the experience:


Once I was inside, the experience was different. It wasn't as tasty and after 10 minutes it became very bland. Is this normal of aromatics?
I tried to continue but it just wasn't doing it for me like it did in the first light so I stopped after 35 minutes of smoking.

While It was great at the beginning, it mellowed out halfway through until it just wasn't all that anymore. I would rather have the flavor and aroma spread out evenly

I went out and bought some this week and I too think it went bland halfway through the bowl. But while at the B&M store, they were talking about an article written in Pipes & Tobacco magazine and the author said it takes him 4 ozs of a blend for him to come to a conclusion about it, and suggested others do the same before writing them off.