Why It's Not Always Good To Order A Large Variety Of Tobacco At One Time
ghostsofpompeii
Master
Until recently, when the site went on an extended hiatus due to the poor health of the owner, I was a music reviewer for the progressive rock music site Prognaut. In my five or six years there I probably reviewed over 200 CDs from a wide array of artists around the World. And every month or so I'd get a package in the mail from the site owner with a couple dozen CDs to review. At first it was pretty exciting to get what I first thought of as free music - but soon discovered it's not free if you have to put in several hours work writing a review. Especially when more times than not it became a chore to sit through the CD. For every 10 CDs I received, I'd probably only find one I'd add to my personal music library and regular listening rotation. The rest were relegated to an ever expanding crate of CDs sitting in my garage that I'd probably never listen to again.
Which brings me to the point of this discussion. When I'd receive a large amount of CDs at one time - especially those of a similar genre (like progressive metal) they'd all begin to sound exactly the same. After the fifth or sixth 'Dream Theater' clone it was hard to differentiate one from the other. I'd do my due diligence and review the CDs as I'd want my "Ghosts Of Pompeii" CDs to be reviewed when submitting my CDs for critical evaluation. Taking the time to listen to the complete CD, give it one or two spins, take notes jotting down first impressions, then make a fair and honest appraisal of the music. Once that was over I'd grab another CD and the process continued until the box was empty. Seldom returning to another CD in the box unless it was something that immediately knocked my socks off - and that one would immediately end up on the shelf with my personal collection.. And it wasn't until recently, while smoking in my man cave/garage listening to tunes that I decided to dig into that crate of forgotten music and give a few CDs another listen. This time as a music lover - and not a music critic. And what I discovered was some honest to God gems were collecting dust in my garage when they should have been spinning around in my CD player. It was then I realized the sheer quantity of music in the box somehow diminished the quality of the music from the individual CDs.
When trying to absorb so many similar sounding CDs back-to-back your ear drums tend to become fatigued as the songs run together. Good music gets lost in the shuffle. It takes a little quality one-on-one time to discover the nuances and uniqueness of each CD and the band performing. And the same holds true when receiving a large shipment of various blends of tobacco. When I receive a large tobacco order from Pipes & Cigars with a dozen or more tins and several bags of bulk tobnacco some really good tobacco gets lost in the shuffle as well. I'll smoke a few bowls from each blend, then move on to another, trying them all as though I'm running a marathon. And in the end, since I'm an aromatic smoker, they tend to taste very similar. I'm sure the same holds true for non-aromatics and English blends as well. Of course something may jump out at you and it ends up in your regular rotation pile - but for the most part the others end up in a Mason jar in your cellar collecting dust. Then one day while rummage around your tobacco cellar you happen upon one of those forgotten blends that arrived in that big shipment you received a few months ago - so you pull it out and smoke it. And low and behold, it taste amazing. It was there all the time - but lost in the shuffle of that big order. You need to spend a little quality time with a blend before moving on like an insatiable gigolo. But that's hard to do when you have a boxful of new tins you want to try.
Comments
I have occasionally waited several months before opening a tin of something new. I guess I’m looking for an opportune time during which I can really devote some attention to it. I should add that once I open a tin, I generally smoke the contents in its entirety before moving on to something else.
@Topaz75, clearly you are engaging in anticipation, which is a precursor to the delayed gratification technique. I was first introduced to the technique, while watching a commercial for Heinz ketchup, when I was knee high to a grasshopper. Well maybe not knee high to a grasshopper. Hey isn't that Casey Kasum?
“After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=-wtYGZt7aI4
In the past I'd order a tin or two of new stuff after reading the contents, then the reviews which worked out good for me as I got very few Duds that way. Some on line suppliers used to include a small sample of similar blends that I ordered which would pique my interest. Today I have stocked up on most my favorites and I only order new blends to replace unavailable ones.
What all of this has to do with pipe tobaccos, I have no idea. But thanks @ghostsofpompeii for bringing back memories.
And no, we wouldn't spin prog rock, not even as a joke. We had standards to uphold. ;-)
I do remember a group of us taking a batch of 80s hair-metal records, throwing them down the hall to smash them into pieces, and then taping together new records out of the fragments. Kind of hard on the turntable needles, but truly alternative.