tobacco brands for starters

Pipefreak2383

   I am VERY new to pipe smoking. I have become very interested in pipe smoking in a way of relaxing in my man cave with a scotch some music or sitting by a fire at night with some beers :-). I used to be a cigarette smoker for about 10 years. I quit just because I wasn't enjoying it anymore.  

   My question is this I bought some Cherokee Mellow which by research is a pretty mellow blend not to sweet nor woody nor strong. for a first timer was this a good idea? I know everyone has there choosing tastes etc.... I got my info from tobaccoreviews.com and there is no rating on Cherokee which has me a little worried. There is a lot on mac baren, Peterson which these are a few I was looking into. 

Thank you for all your input :-) 

Hawkeyeted

In my opinion, there's no "right" or "wrong" blend for beginners.  If you like a blend, you like it, and if you don't, you don't.  However, if you're just looking for recommendations, there's many here that will chime in.

Tobacco Reviews is a great resource.  Once you start to discover what you have a taste for, you can data-mine their database blends that match your tastes.  It also will pay dividends if you learn the difference between types of tobacco (Virginia, Perique, Burley, Latakia), blends (Aromatic, Non-Aromatic, English, Scottish, etc.), and process (Cavendish, casing, topping, types of curing, etc.).  

That said, in my personal experience, I just tried everything I could get my hands on and kept notes of what I liked and what I didn't like.  I discovered that I'm not a big fan of Burley or Kentucky dominant blends and that I love Virginia's, Virginia/Perique (VaPer) blends, Latakia and Cavendish. I just started looking for tobaccos that contained the types and processes that I liked.

 It's all about you discovering what you like and don't like.  That's the adventure we're all on.

ghostsofpompeii

@Pipefreak2383 I'm an aromatic smoker so I'd normally steer you in that direction - but rather than do that I'll suggest an OTC blend that has often been recommended to newcomer many times before. And that's Carter Hall. It's somewhat of an aromatic - but not overly sweet or heavily cased, and it's a very smooth and gentle blend with little or no tongue bite what-so-ever (depending upon how you smoke ... if you puff like a locomotive anything will give you tongue bite ... but if you sip slowly all should be right with the world). So I'll suggest Carter Hall as a nice starter blend and you can go in either direction afterwards. Either more flavorful aromatic blends, non-aromatic Virginia Perique blends (Va-Per), or Latakia English blends. Carter Hall is a nice transition blend.

As for aromatics I'd suggest Sutliff Vanilla Custard - it's probably the most flavorful of the vanilla blends - of which there are many. I have several more that I'd recommend but the longer you stay here I'm sure you'll hear me sing the praise of some blend or another.

PappyJoe

@Pipefreak2383 - Welcome to the forum.
 Carter Hall is a good one to start with as is Prince Albert. Another one I hear recommended for beginners is Lane 1-Q. 
Do you have a local shop you go to or do you order on-line? Let us know where you live and we may be able to steer you to a good tobacconist near you.

I also would like to recommend you check into the Country Squire Radio podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeRKA7WAvY4

The Country Squire is a tobacconist in Jackson, Ms. Jon David Cole is the owner and blender. They have a lot of good store blends. Give him a call and he can help guide you on your pipe journey. Tell him Pappyjoe sent you.
Their website is: https://www.thecountrysquireonline.com

Woodsman

I'm in agreement with @ghostsofpompeii about Carter Hall being a good place to start, you have to work hard to cause tongue bite.

daveinlax

 I got my info from tobaccoreviews.com and there is no rating on Cherokee which has me a little worried. 

I guessing it's not reviewed because it's relabeled RYO cigarette tobacco to avoid taxes.

weedsnager

Yep, Carter hall or Prince Albert. Good tobacco that stays lit well that helps build confidence. They will also be a gauge on how dry other tobacco should be. 

Pipefreak2383

@ghostsofpompeii I was doing some research on different blends and how they taste blend together. What I did was I bought a few different blends. I got a English blend, Virginia, latakia blend, an a American bland. from my research just by knowing me I was able to tell I probably will like a Virginia / latakia blend because I enjoy a campfire smell Latakia will give that. Also I tried to stay as natural as possible which is what the Virginia would give me.. since this will be my first time pipe smoking I didn';t want to stay to bitter. I'm not must on sweets as it is so I didn't want to go to sweet. 
   I went to tobaccoreviews.com choose the blend I wanted and depending on the review as well as rating that's the one I went with. it seems as thought I might have done pretty good :-)

@PappyJoe to answer your question I live in Toms river NJ It makes it a bit hard to get out at times I left my career to be a stay home dad. it's easier just ordering things online at times :-) I would like to get some places as well near me so I also can make friends of the same interest. I also will check out the podcast THANKS!!! 

Thank you to all of you I really appreciate the input! 

motie2

Howdy, @Pipefreak2383 !!! Welcome!!

Back to the topic: I'd recommend Sutliff's Molto Dolce as a starting blend, especially for someone with no previous experience with tobacco. Tastes great, smells great, excellent room note, low nicotine. Great beard freshener. What's not to like? 

Pipefreak2383

@motie2

thank you for your input :-) I saw on another post you reviewed sutliffs molto dolce. yesterday I got the following Carter hall, McClelland: craftsbury frog, and some Dunhill early morning 

before I really new the knowledge I know now I was ordering my wife some tobacco and tubes and wanted to buy something to my new pipe so I settled on charokee mellow which seems to be a burley blend but has no reviews lol...I got it because of size more then anything. upon my research a few days later I started to realize maybe it wasn't such a good idea.so I did some more research and found these other brand to along with my Cherokee.

  Has any of you tried Cherokee? what did you think? I know everyone has different taste just trying to get a sense to it  


these semmed to have all the best ratings when I choose the blend I think I would enjoy. I'm trying to stay completely pure for right now with would be a Virginia blend burley or a oriental 

mseddon

@Pipefreak2383 Welcome to a fantastic world - thousands of pipes, hundreds and hundreds of tobaccos! Personally I have never tried Cherokee, but I'll keep my eye peeled. Personally I also have never liked Prince Albert or Carter Hall. I did immediately find I liked Casey Jones' Hero's Blend, a mild vanilla aromatic, only available on P&C. Now I find I like a lot of stronger tobaccos, but I still return to Hero's Blend almost nightly. Another good place to try new tobaccos is a pipe club, if there is one near you. We all bring tins to the meetings and everyone shares and you can try several small bowls over the course of an hour or two. Good luck! Don't be afraid to just jump in and try. If you find you don't like a tobacco you can always trade for a different kind. There's a trading discussion thread somewhere here on TPL.

mseddon

I will also say that places like Tobaccoreviews.com only became useful to me once I had smoked a wide variety of blends and I began to know what people meant when they said things like "latakia heavy" or "sweet virginias." It's a bit like wine tasting, there are terms used that don't necessarily refer to what they sound like. I took a wine tasting class once and the handy thing was that by the end of the class I learned what was meant by "grassy" (which IMHO does not taste like drinking grass, but is a distinct grass-ish flavor) or "mineral" (again, doesn't taste like drinking minerals IMHO but which does have a distinct sharpness). It's kind of the same with tobaccos in my experience.

mseddon

@CountrySquireRadio does have a great YouTube archive with lots of shows like "top English blends for beginners" that can give you a starting place for trying out particular blends.

motie2

I also recommend http://www.tobaccoreviews.com

Woodsman

@Pipefreak2383 The NY Pipe Show,25th Annual Pipe Convention in Newark is on March 10, 2018.

Pipefreak2383

@Woodsman
I may just have to go to that thank you :-)

Pipefreak2383

Well my friends @PappyJoe @motie2  

I have smoked my first pipe I don't think I packed it very well I left it on the loose end I think but I did do the 3 steps as required. 
   
    In my opinion I am going to have to have another pipe with the Cherokee mellow blend before i give a rating to me at least it seemed like a tobacco blend you would use in cigarettes which is probably why no one rated it or anything. 

I will let you know this thou the wife was very happy and to tell you guess  "yes she enjoyed me using the pipe she gave me it made her day" (since she has worked 68 hours this week) 

I did buy my wife some tobacco as well which was gambler gold. I've been told it is a cigarette blend even though on the bag says pipe tobacco. it can be used for pipes but it's more for cigarette making. the Cherokee mellow is pretty much the same at least to me at this point. as I said I will have to re try it.    

I can't wait for my other blends to come they should be here on Monday :-) I will keep you updated on what I think :-) 

Pipefreak2383

how long after smoking a pipe could you have another? I was told you should wait 24 hours in between pipes to have them dry out....I only have 1 pipe lol... there was no moister out anything in the pipe when I cleaned it 

jhow much do you guys smoke a day? 

and how far in between to you guys go?

PappyJoe

I’ve known guys to dump the ash, wipe out the bowl and reload for another smoke. I normally smoke from one to three bowls a day except at Pipe Club meetings when I will smoke 5 or 6 bowls. 

Pipefreak2383

@PappyJoe

Thanks for the imput I also noticed after smoking the taste stayed in my mouth I assume this is normal? 

when you get tongue  bite  I assume that's when the smoke your bring in burn your tongue just as hot food would if u eat it? 

PappyJoe

Sometimes it is the steam from the tobacco or because you are puffing to fast and hard. Sometimes it’s caused by a chemical reaction and the PH balance in your mouth. 

Pipefreak2383

what is a cork knocker for? 

PappyJoe

Tapping your pipe on it to knock out the ash and dottle.  Dottle is the unburned tobacco in the bottom of the bowl m

judandhispipe

@Pipefreak2383- welcome to the hobby. You found out why nobody reviews Cherokee when you smoked it - as @daveinlax pointed out, and your discovered, it's RYO cig tobacco relabelled to avoid taxes. Cherokee, Gambler, all of those are.
Let me give a nod to Lane Ready Rubbed for new folks, as well. That's my favorite of the traditional American blends sometimes referred to as codger burleys or drugstore tobaccos.

motie2

For @Pipefreak2383 -- [From Al Pascia]

Packing the pipe-- Make yourself comfortable with everything you need to hand. Now, take a small wad of tobacco and fill the bottom part of the bowl, not too tightly, then repeat this twice, until the bowl is full. Here, it’s important to remember not too pack the tobacco too tightly, or too loosely, using the pipe tamper. The second and third wad should be compressed slightly more than the bottom wad. How you pack the tobacco in the bowl is important, because if there is not enough air flowing through the tobacco then it will not burn well and be hard to draw on, just like a chimney. When you puff on the pipe you will see at once if it is too tightly packed. Draw on the pipe while you are filling it as this way you will see if air is passing through or not. Knowing when the pipe is just rightly packed is when you draw on the pipe, rather like sucking a drink from a straw. If you pack the pipe too loosely, you will be sucking in air, or too tightly and you will be making too great an effort.  After some trial runs you will get the hang of this, and if you realize you haven’t pressed down the tobacco enough, try pushing it a little more, or if there is some resistance when you draw on the pipe, it’s best to empty the bowl and repeat the process. Fill the bowl so that there is a little space between the tobacco and the rim of the bowl and the tobacco is level.  Remember that as you gradually add each layer of tobacco and press it down, the pressure shifts to the lower layers and the entire tobacco wad becomes more compact.

Lighting your pipe - Before you start, choose either a match, which is simpler to use, or a lighter, which is preferable for first-timers. Either way, you’ll get a flame and the flame burns. In particular, when the flame is moved over the surface of the pipe while you are puffing on it, the flame will be drawn into the tobacco. If you use a lighter hold it in a horizontal position to the pipe bowl. Practise holding the lighter in such a way that you don’t burn your fingers!  Now it’s time to light the pipe. Put the pipe to your lips. You will get used to holding it between your lips, depending on the type of pipe. Using a match or lighter is the same, although a lighter has a stronger flame. Move the flame in a circular motion on the surface of the tobacco so as to light it all up while taking a series of gentle puffs. The tobacco must be entirely lit up and when it is it starts to swell. Now use the tamper to tamp the tobacco gently over the whole surface so that the flame goes out, and then relight it. If the tobacco swells again, repeat the process, and relight. Now you are ready to smoke.

Smoking - What you have to master here is the intervals in which you take a puff, which is essential for a pipe smoker. Take a few slow gentle puffs regularly. In this way you will enjoy the tobacco’s aroma and avoid letting the pipe go out. If the pipe is about to go out, don’t insist on drawing on the tobacco. Let the pipe go out and then relight it, which is part of the ritual of smoking a pipe. The pipe bowl and smoke may get too hot if you puff too often. In that case let the pipe go out and leave it to rest a little. If the pipe starts “gurgling”, it means that there’s too much moisture in the pipe bowl or stem (shank) which needs to be removed. Run a pipe cleaner through the stem, remove it and continue smoking. However, if you find it hard to draw on the tobacco at a certain point, this means that air is not flowing freely and the pipe is blocked. Unblock the pipe by pushing the reamer from the tamper tool (or any long pin) through the tobacco in the bowl. Do not smoke the tobacco right to the end, as the little unburnt tobacco left is too moist and full of nicotine.

motie2

Say Hello to Mr. Leathertongue -- http://www.talkingtobacco.com/2012/01/say-hello-to-mr-leathertongue/

motie2

Now what did I do to make the above so large????? Just askin'.......

Oddjob27

@motie2 That's a big hello to Mr. Leathertongue. Haha. I started with some local blends from a tobacconist called, The Tobacco Barn. Probably like most I started with aromatics. But it seems like Carter Hall is in consensus to be a great break-in and starter pipe tobacco...I'll have to try it.

motie2

@Oddjob27 -- (Toshiyuki "Harold" Sakata fan? Just askin'.... Howdy!) ..... The trick with aromatics is to find the right one for you. That takes time and effort. Being an aromatic fan this time around, I'd recommend Molto Dolce as a starter. (It's especially good for a non-smoker who is taking up the pipe.) It's anathema to fans of English blends and Latakia. I dunno how VaPer fans would find it. It's like smoking candy. Personally, as one who "discovered" Molto Dolce along the way in late 2016, it was fun, but I moved on. Now I smoke another Sutliff blend: Barbados Plantation (rum flavored). Highly recommended IMHO. 

Pipefreak2383

@judandhispipe
Well that answers my question then lol...I smoked to pipe with the brand and when I first smoked it it tasted just a a cigarette would thank you for answering my question I suppose my wife has even more tobacco to smoke now lol (3 bags) lol.....she should be good for a LONG time lol...

pipeman83

Carter Hall and Lane Limited Ready Rubbed are both good starters.