Tin Note - Important or Meh?

SERENTIL

Lots n lots of reviews of tobacco blends often refer to tin notes (or bag notes if its bulk).  I'm still relatively new to pipe smoking, so please forgive the ignorance...   is tin note that big of a deal?

I would understand if the tin note smelled like burning trash, that would put anyone off but really, the tin note doesn't seem to be of much importance.  What am I missing?   - Regards, Matthew

Philip

Of course when smoking a pipe you really can't smell it anymore but taste and smell are connected. The smell you get from the tin is a hint of what's to come. I don't think it's exactly like taking a big whiff of your steak before digging in, but you can get a lot of information. You might have to go to extremes to see it at first. for example if you had an vanilla aromatic for example next to something with a lot of Latakia in it, the differences would be striking, just like the tastes are. Soon the subtle differences will stand out, and you can pick up the differences even before you strike a match.

I wouldn't want to sit down for a nice smoke and not be able to smell that wonderful smell before hand. I think it's part of the whole experience. 

motie2

I find tin note seldom predicts how a tobacco blend will smoke (taste). 

It's usually more reflective of the eventual room note. Or at least that's been my experience.

ghostsofpompeii

I guess that all depends upon what type of tobacco you're buying. The majority of people talking about the tin note are usually referring to flavored and heavily cased aromatics. If your preference is a vanilla, chocolate, maple, caramel, or fruit flavored blends and the manufacture or blender did a nice job recreating that flavor in your tobacco the tin note should reflect that. The tin note can also be representative of the room note once you start smoking as well. Of course sometimes the tin note may be deceptive, and smells marvelous but the flavor doesn't translate to what you taste. Oftentimes the taste is subdued until you retro-hale through the nose - and then you can detect exactly what the blender suggested when he or she named a tobacco Boswell Cupcake (I didn't detect the buttercream flavor until the retro-hale), or Sutliff Frosty Mint ( I could taste a bit of the chocolate and mint when I first puffed - but once I retro-haled it was like a cool blast of mint and I immediately tasted a York Peppermint Patty). Other blends like Sutliff Rum and Maple, Vanilla Custard, or Chocolate Mousse taste exactly as the tin note. So if that scent appeals to your nostrils the taste will as well. Which is why tin note should play a factor in your purchase.

In the case of most English blends (at least for me) the dominant aroma is Latakia - and I'm not fond of it, so I shy away. It has a distinct smoky charred wood scent. And as I mentioned in an earlier post about the scent of blending Perique smelled more like a barnyard - a combination of hay and urine. But once blended in with what-ever you're smoking it taste completely different (thankfully). 

The true tobacco connoisseurs on the forum can give you a better understanding of the non-aromatic Virginia/Perique blends as well as English blends and what you should be looking for when sniffing the tin note of a non-aromatic blend. To the untrained nose like mine the non-aromatic blends can smell like everything from freshly cut grass, hay, leather, citrus fruit, potpourri, and even sour ketchup. Thankfully you've come to the right place because there are quite a few here can give a better accounting for the non-aromatic blends right down to detecting which tobaccos are used in each blend ... Virginia, Turkish, Oriental, Latikia, Perique, Dark Fired Virginias. My answer was strictly from an aromatic smokers' point of view. And for me tin note does play a big part in my decision to buy a new blend because I'm looking for something sweet and flavorful. More of an after dinner dessert.     

motie2

@ghostsofpompeii -- As always, thank you for your informative comments.