Any tips on selecting a tobacco?

[GPipe]

What's a good strategy for narrowing down which tobacco blends/family suit my pallet? Are there questions I can ask myself to eliminate options?

There are so many choices out there. I don't smoke every day so it takes me a while to sample many different tobaccos. My two favorites are WO Larsen Signature and Frog Morton's On the Town (sadly out of production).

I prefer ready rubbed tobacco, but don't really care about the cut if the taste is right.

Thanks and Happy New Year.

[sandahlpipe]

I say keep trying new blends. Order some of what you like and some new ones to sample. Try a good Virginia like Orlik Golden Sliced, a good Virginia/Perique like Escudo, a good English like Presbyterian Mixture, and note the differences. Then move on to Burley, Dark Fired Kentucky, orientals, and the other condiment tobaccos. If you get a blend or two that you don't care for, stuff it in a canning jar, and mix it with the other ones you don't care for. I've found that blends I don't care for mixed with others I don't care for actually make a reasonably palatable blend.

The idea is to get a good cross-section of the blends, then narrow in on the styles you prefer. If you can make it to a pipe show, you may find people willing to share a broad variety in a short time. I've discovered several blends I like by having friends share a bowl with me.

[GPipe]

Thanks for the advice and the blends you've mentioned. If you were to put together a "beginner" set for someone with one tobacco from each blend, what would you choose?
English, Balkan, Scottish, Virginia, Va/Per, Aromatic, Burley, Oriental

[DocAitch]

Jeremiah covered Virginia, VaPer, and English. A popular aromatic is 1 Q from Lane. Carter Hall is an old standard burley. Balkan, Scottish and oriental I leave to someone else.
Also remember that your preference can change over time, so keep your options open, and try a bowl when it is offered.
DocAitch

[sandahlpipe]

McConnell Scottish Flake. I’m mainly a Virginia/VaPer guy, so I’d have to leave the Orientals to somebody else. I spent a great amount of time reading Tobacco Reviews on a few hundred blends while I was exploring the field, but now I just wait till somebody recommends something and pick up a tin. It’s hard to go wrong. I’ve had very few blends I didn’t like.


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[GPipe]

thanks everyone for the suggestions.

[RickB]

Honestly, I wouldn't subdivide "mixtures with Latakia" into English/Scottish/Balkan at this point - there's some disagreement on the specifics of the differences between those (though "Scottish" usually just means "with some Cavendish", but then the question becomes "how much?"), and none of that subtlety is going to matter because early on, love it or hate it, Latakia is almost always going to be the main thing you taste (and it's seldom going to be as subdued as it is in any of the Frog Mortons). You can probably lump the Orientals in with that group as well - you don't ALWAYS find them paired with Latakia, but when they're not it's a little bit of a special case, usually. But you've got the general idea right I think - try things out and learn to see if you like Latakia, or Perique, or Orientals, or Burley, etc. I like every style of tobacco, but within each group I tend to be fairly picky. There's a ton out there and plenty of blends suited to everyone.

I'd echo Jeremiah and Doc's recommendations without reservation. Unfortunately, between Dunhill and McClelland being gone now, a lot of my old recommendations for this sort of purpose have gone the way of the dodo (RIP 5100/Nightcap). I think a distinction that's seldom made as well is the growing location of the Virginias - something like the GH&Co blends or Irish Flake are like love letters to African- and Indian-grown Virginias, which seem to taste different and pack more of a wallop than the stuff grown in my back yard. With that in mind, in addition to the groups you've asked for, I'd include Jeremiah's suggestion of something with Dark Fired (Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky), and I'd add a VaBur to that list (Warhorse Bar or the aforementioned Irish Flake), and I'd consider dipping a toe in some Lakelands as well (co-morbidity here with the non-American-grown VAs - GH&Co. Best Brown #2 and Scotch Flake are both sweet and tasty and not too overly sauced with the florals... usually). Also maybe worth mentioning - grab a bag of smokeable seconds from Missouri Meerschaum, that way if you ghost something with something you hate it's no big deal (because Lakelands).

If you're looking to try a few different mixtures with Latakia, Black House and White Horse from Hearth and Home are both very good and inexpensive in tins, as are many of the blends from Cornell and Diehl in bulk (Engine 99 is quite good). For the Burleys, Carter Hall is a great intro point, though I'll caution that it won't aggressively kick your teeth in with flavor or nicotine as much as a lot of Burleys will.

Good luck!

[chuckyeageronlsd]

Unfortunately, between Dunhill and McClelland being gone now.

LeSigh. My favorite was Blag Shag from MC's 221b series. Frog Morton was great too but not even close to the shag. But one silver lining is it led me to pipes mag, which led me to post my first pipe, and ultimately the suggestion to join this forum as well. It remains to be seen if it it's an even trade off haha , I really miss blag shag. Like I almost cried when I came back to pipe smoking to find that MC was no more. I will now forever wear black.

Anyways, for me it is mainly a smell thing but it is also a trial and error thing. I've learned I really don't like aromatics, most are too "light" for me and I find most of the time they are doused, ill burning and just all around not pleasant despite the fact that I really like their smell. Other than that, especially with english blends I can tell just by a whiff if I will enjoy it or not, but that's where the trial and error comes in, you learn what smells are made by certain elements you enjoy and you can pick them out that way. My advice would be to find a REAL tobacconist(they're rare anymore) that will let you sample and will explain to you the elements that you're tasting and smelling. A good tobacconist will do this unless prohibited by law.