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Curious about your bad choices

Columbo

Mr. Codgers Neighborhood
Everyone is different, but some of the worst blends I've had are some of the beloved Boswell's blends--Christmas Cookie, Cupcake, Boswell's Best, etc. They just taste like hot steam to me and I don't get any flavor, any nicotine, or any enjoyment out of them.

Boswells are not for you. They're for everyone around you. ;)

I smoke them around the holidays as a gift to Mrs. Columbo. To thank her for putting up with LLRR and all the others I smoke the rest of the year.
 
There are a lot of "meh" blends for me, especially amongst the aro category. The only blend that truly stands out in my memory as a mistake was Drew Estate Heirloom Cherry. Aside from that, I wouldn't call anything a mistake. Truthfully I wouldn't call Heirloom Cherry a mistake either, more of an abomination really.

The jury is still out on Gentleman Caller for me at the moment. I definitely don't like it, but I'm hoping it will change my mind.
 
The jury is still out on Gentleman Caller for me at the moment. I definitely don't like it, but I'm hoping it will change my mind.
Don't think I ever had Gentleman Caller, but I was not particularly enamored of Crooner (also a deer tongue blend). I found it intriguingly different at first, but the more I smoked it, the less I enjoyed it.
 
Don't think I ever had Gentleman Caller, but I was not particularly enamored of Crooner (also a deer tongue blend). I found it intriguingly different at first, but the more I smoked it, the less I enjoyed it.
I'm actually a fan of Crooner for a change of pace. That said, I have noticed that in a smaller pipe I finish up the smoke wanting more. Whereas in a normal sized bowl I get to that "are we done yet" point about 3/4 through the bowl.

I taste so little deer tongue in Gentleman Caller that it's more of a nuisance than an enhancement of the blend. I tried mixing in some Crooner to give it a little more zip and it was an abject failure. Sheer stubbornness is keeping me from declaring it awful.
 
As a big proponent of OJK my apologies if I steered you wrong.

No apologies necessary. On paper it really should have worked. That's the beauty of our chosen hobbies, both wet shaving with our soaps and pipes tobaccos. All the wondrous varieties and varying milage, it would be very odd if any two people agreed on everything.

I'm actually a fan of Crooner for a change of pace. That said, I have noticed that in a smaller pipe I finish up the smoke wanting more. Whereas in a normal sized bowl I get to that "are we done yet" point about 3/4 through the bowl.
[Snip]

Yes, I agree with Crooner. I recently got a sample from Smokingpipes and found the same thing. In a MM Morgan, I find myself marveling that I'm done already. In a standard billiard I find myself dumping it a little early because I'm just done with it.
 
I really like SPC Plum Pudding. But, other Latakia blends have miss the mark for me so far. I was really surprised by WCC Deluxe Crumb Cut. The Latakia overpowers all the other flavors. I really expected to like it. I’m still new and have no doubt that my palate will change. I will tuck it way and try it again in a few months.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I really like SPC Plum Pudding. But, other Latakia blends have miss the mark for me so far. I was really surprised by WCC Deluxe Crumb Cut. The Latakia overpowers all the other flavors. I really expected to like it. I’m still new and have no doubt that my palate will change. I will tuck it way and try it again in a few months.

I absolutely felt that way about Latakia and also Perique. I couldn't imagine a person actually wanting to smoke that stuff, and now, I are one.
 
I really like SPC Plum Pudding. But, other Latakia blends have miss the mark for me so far. I was really surprised by WCC Deluxe Crumb Cut. The Latakia overpowers all the other flavors. I really expected to like it. I’m still new and have no doubt that my palate will change. I will tuck it way and try it again in a few months.

A pinch of cavendish mellows or Latakia quite nicely.
 
I have no idea which brand it was. I had picked up an ounce or two from a B&M that was just labeled black cavendish. But anything you have on hand should work.
 
I'm holding on to some erinmore that I hope age will make slightly more tolerable. MacBaren 7 seas red, a cherry blend, is one i don't remember fondly (though I finished the tin). I wanted to like SWR original, and I smoked ounces of it, but it's just not my preference. I've smoked most of the 14 ounce tin mixed with Cavendish. Strangely enough I like SWR Aero.

I'm sure I'll have other misses. I smoked some MacBaren dark fired ready rubbed earlier today and couldn't form an opinion in one bowl. I wasn't turned off though.
 
My very first attempts to smoke a pipe as a teenager was with Borkum Riff. That and my lack of technique put me off of pipe smoking for another 40 yrs.!

Yep, a lot of us tried to start piping with the drug store OTC nasties. Just didn't know that decent tobacco existed back then. LOL
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
C&D gentleman caller. One bowl and that dear tongue thing ghosted my pipe, my hands, my clothes, my apartment and my soul for a week.

I think I can still smell it 2 years later.
I smoke C&D Crooner, which has deer tongue and quite like it.
Perhaps I'll have to try this GC!
 
Peretti has a blend with deertongue in it. A decent amount of it! I enjoy it. After smoking it, Crooner is underwhelming. I have not tried GC.

As to blends I had high hopes for and disliked, Haunted Bookshop is up there as are many burley forward blends. I was hoping I would like scottie fishing line and this Russ hand blends. I just couldnt. I never tried OJK after hating HB.

Luckily there are so many VAs and English blends to smoke.
 
After almost 2 years back with the pipe, I still am underwhelmed by English blends I've tried. They smoke okay . . . but I still find myself looking forward to something with burley's cocoa and nuttiness.
 
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