Frog Morton for a beginner?

[Nitrosnail]

Evening gents, I would like to start off by saying I have smoked a pipe once, when I was 13 in my friend Brians garage, it was his fathers pipe and it was good, real good. That said I have smoked ciggarettes off and on for about ten years, mostly blue Bali shag hand roll, but now I want to switch to a pipe, I have two pipes I purchased on the way from a member here and I wanted to see your thoughts on Frog Morton, I read a few things and thought of buying one of each to try(kinda pricey). Just wanted to know if you had an opinion of this brand and if it is suitable for a beginner. Also is there a "how to properly smoke a pipe" thread here?

Best, Nitro.

Also I mostly want to find two types of tobacco I like and stick with them for a while, but how can I try a few types and not break the bank. I am in Santa cruz and the smoke shops here are geared to different drum.

 

[galopede]

First thing I'd say is to get yourself over to smokersforums.co.uk

They are a great bunch of people, much the same as on here, all real gentlemen (and ladies). It's a UK based forum but most of the members are American/Canadian and worldwide.

You'll get all the advice you could want there.

As for the Frog Morton, it's a mild but tasty English crossover blend and I would think it would be OK for a beginner. Not too strong so won't put you on your back! Far better than the usual aromatics that beginners often start on! It has the usual smoky Latakia tobacco that's standard in English blends. By English, I mean the English style, not made in England.

I find McClelland tobaccos to generally be very good quality. I like their Virginias mostly. Wish we could get them over here without risking the wrath of the Excise Men...

Gareth

 

[copenhagen1221]

Frog Morton is perfect for a beginner. Most pipe smokers start with aromatic blends, but if you wanna cut that whimpy stuff out and get right into the good stuff, Frog Morton is a great way to get into English Blends, which tend to be the better tasting (albeit slightly less pleasant to the nose) tobaccos. It is currently all I smoke. I would recommend the original Frog Morton as is is the best IMHO, and my favorite tobacco at the moment. On the Town is also good, and Across the Pond is decent. I find that ATP is a little more bland and OTT a little more sharper. I have yet to try On the Bayou so I can't help you there.

I would highly recommend the original Frog Morton though, ESPECIALLY for a beginning pipe smoker.

 

[auk1124]

I disagree with the Frogs being a good starter smoke for cigarette smokers... If you are used to knocking back shag cigarettes you will want something a heck of a lot stronger, imo. Back when I was on Marlboros the Frogs were like smoking air. Get some Samuel Gawith or Gawith and Hogarth blends instead. Either that or if you are trying to get your technique down, try some basic burleys, like Carter Hall or Prince Albert. Not as strong as the Gawith stuff but it is very user friendly and has more of a nicotine presence than the Frogs.

Just my two cents.

 

[PipeCop]

+1 on the FM for beginners.
+1 on the smokersfourm.
Most people think beginners should start with aromatics. I disagree. Aros tend to smoke hot and n00bs tend to smoke to fast. The combination can be bad tongue bite. Most also contain a casing or topping that can be very moist and hard to light. FM is a very cool smoking blend, lights easy and seems to stay lit. The only issue is it contains a tobacco called latakia. You will taste it. You will know immediately if you like latakia or not. So that may be the only deal breaker.
As for trying blends there are a few vendors that will send free sample packs, just search on the net for free tobacco samples.

Enjoy and let us know how your doing....

 

[Geo Dude]

I think others have covered recommendations well with one caveat:

Samuel Gawith does have some very, very (ungodly) strong blends like 1792 flake, but not everything they produce is really strong, and thus, some more specific suggestions should be made. A different problem arises with certain G&H blends: Many of them have the 'Lakeland scent' floral casing which you either like, or do not like. And there's only one way to find out. I wouldn't want a newbie smoking a Lakeland blend, getting a mouth full of soap as a result (can you tell which side of the issue I stand on? ) and then deciding that all pipe tobacco is like this and that they need to quit.

As for how to sample a lot of different tobaccos without costing yourself too much money: Sign up at smokersforums as others suggested and then proceed to post a thread in the introduction forum announcing that you're a newbie looking to try new blends, asking the Frog Morton question, wanting to try a lot of blends without spending a lot of money, etc. You will very likely find yourself up to your ears in samples as a result of this.

If that fails, give Cornell & Diehl a call, and tell them you're new and looking to try all kinds of different tobacco. Ask for an aromatic, an English blend, virginia, virginia/perique, burley, etc. Mentioning that you're an RYO smoker may help them, too. You can get an eight-pack sampler for $40 (recommended) or a five-pack sampler for $30 (if I recall correctly). If you like their tobacco, you're in luck, because it's dirt cheap. Runs about $35 a pound give or take a few bucks depending on which tobacco and which e-tailer you buy it from.

 

[mparker762]

Frog Morton is a good beginner blend. I used to recommend Dunhill 965 but that's hard to come by nowadays. But if you've been smoking cigarettes then you're not quite a beginner - you may be a beginner pipester but not smoker - you've likely got a fair tolerance (requirement) for nicotine, you're probably prone to unconsciously inhaling, etc. I'd recommend a good burley/va blend to start out with, maybe something like Kingfisher, which is mostly extremely high quality burley, with a bit of virginia and perique, and has a pretty high nicotine content. Walnut is another good choice for a crossover cigarette smoker, it's not as high quality as Kingfisher but much cheaper, and it has a little bit of latakia in it which is one of the distinctive pipe tobaccos that you won't find in cigarettes or cigars.

 

[buyandhold2018]

I'm not sure I can add much to what's been said. Frog Morton has Latakia in it, you may or may not like the smokiness of Latakia if you are a new pipe smoker. That said, Frog is a mild latakia blend and would be a great intro into the world of English pipe tobaccos. McClelland also makes some of the best Virginia tobaccos in the world, I'm very fond of their PCCA line of tobaccos, especially Aurora and Beacon. Their oriental series is also top shelf I wouldn't recommend buying more than 1 tin of a certain style, until you feel you like it... maybe buy one English tin, one VA tin, one VA-perique tin and one Burley tin... this was you can find out where your tastes lie, at least at the beginning.

Welcome to the world of pipe smoking, you are about to embark on one of the world's most pleasureful journeys.

 

[Buck]

The only issue is it contains a tobacco called latakia. You will taste it. You will know immediately if you like latakia or not. So that may be the only deal breaker.

I agree with Pipecop. I've smoked pipes for about 27 years now and I've never been able to get a taste for Latakia. Bets bet is to purchase a pouch of some tobacco you know you will like and ask them to toss in a bit of Frog Morton so you can taste it for your next purchase. Or you may want to go whole hog and jump in. If you turn out not to like it there shoul dbe a number of lads willing to take it off your hands.

 

[AlexAD]

Frog Morton is perfect for a beginner. Most pipe smokers start with aromatic blends, but if you wanna cut that whimpy stuff out and get right into the good stuff, Frog Morton is a great way to get into English Blends, which tend to be the better tasting (albeit slightly less pleasant to the nose) tobaccos. It is currently all I smoke. I would recommend the original Frog Morton as is is the best IMHO, and my favorite tobacco at the moment. On the Town is also good, and Across the Pond is decent. I find that ATP is a little more bland and OTT a little more sharper. I have yet to try On the Bayou so I can't help you there.

I would highly recommend the original Frog Morton though, ESPECIALLY for a beginning pipe smoker.

+1. I smoked On the Bayou. Excellent tobacco! Has very much liked.

 

[AlexAD]

Frog Morton is a good beginner blend. I used to recommend Dunhill 965...

It agree. And still - "Early morning pipe".

 

[SpyvSpy]

Frog Morton was one of the first blends I bought and its good.

 

[Fnord5]

If you come up to Sacramento, there are two shops(3 if you count a second location of one of them, and they will let you come in and try pretty much whatever you want while you are in the store.

 

[Argonaut]

Pipe smoking is about technique. If you do it wrong, which you will, you will hate the first blend you try. Frog morton is a nice easy english/borderline aromatic, but fairly expensive. I would suggest something like Carter Hall to get my smoking technique down, then move on to the more ecclectic varieties. There's so many to choose from, it becomes a never ending quest for smoking perfection. Happy hunting, and join us in the "brother's of Briar" social group, if you haven't already.

 

[msandoval858]

Frog Morton was one of my first blends. It's a great starter I think. Burns a nice dry ash, very mild and easy on the toungue, and a good representation of a latakia based blend. I still smoke it from time to time when I want something cool and mellow.

Price was never really a concern because I've been a cigar smoker longer than a pipe smoker. The price of one Davidoff or OpusX easily exceeds a tin of pipe tobacco. I find it to be my cheaper luxury.

 

[jwhite]

The frog is really well regarded, but there is a possibility that it will be too light. Bali is a dark fired shag which is a fairly strong tobacco so if you smoke more than one or two a day the frog may not satisfy. If you regularly smoke more than 10-20 smokes a day Id recommend going quite a bit stronger. Many online shops sell good brands in bulk. If you're looking for strong tobaccos I'd recommend C&D, Samuel Gawith, and Gawith & Hoggarth. Not all of the Gawith tobacs are scented, or particularly potent for that matter so check to see you're getting what you want, if that's a concern. If you don't feel you need a fairly potent tobacco or are not making an immediate transition from RYO than the Frog Morton line is a good starting point.

 

[Kyle Hyde]

I love frog morton as it is really easy to get a good smoke. Not a lot of relights, no tounge bite. My absolute favorite. I think I've come to terms that, after smoking a few other blends, that I'd be happy just smoking frog morton for the rest of my life

 

[Geo Dude]

I would like to make another suggestion which is to check out all the blends you've been recommended on www.tobaccoreviews.com. It's quite a resource.

 

[jwhite]

i would like to make another suggestion which is to check out all the blends you've been recommended on www.tobaccoreviews.com. It's quite a resource.

+1