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I tried carter hall. Maybe i got it too hot?

So I found a pouch of Carter Hall locally and I decided to give it a shot based on the recommendations here. I picked up a MM cob pipe while i was at it too.

It started off ok but after a while my garage started to smell like old cigarette smoke. It reminded me of when i was a kid I would sometimes go to the casino for dinner with my Grandparents and there would be a bunch of old ladies smoking cigarettes in the bingo hall. While the aroma was nostalgic, it wasn't pleasant

Maybe i got it too hot?

My smoke on the shore last night was my best one yet. It was an aromatics blend called Normandy which i get locally, and it was in a pipe i had packed two nights ago and then didnt have a chance to finish smoking and after lighting again 2 days later i noticed aromas and flavors i had never experienced before. I think this is due to the fact that the tobacco dried enough to the point i could light it and keep it lit without having to constantly relight or keep puffing resulting in a cooler smoke.

Any thoughts? Maybe i should dry the CH more and try it again?
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
It’s a burley, and many cigarettes use burley leaf so it isn’t surprising that it reminds you of cigarette smoke. In fact Va’s also remind some of cigarettes. If you don’t like it I wouldn’t make the effort to force yourself to as you have other blends that you are enjoying.

That being said I find burleys and Va’s to be really enjoyable. The advice to dry pipe tobacco IMO is over given, as most flavors are carried on the moisture within the smoke, and overly dry tobaccos can be kinda tasteless.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
It is really easy to get a wet tobacco too hot. But it might not be your cup of tea. I'd try loading a bowl and lighting it up the next day.

I loved rolling up Prince Albert (after I let him out of his can. I crack myself up.) and smoking him in a cigarette, but I'll bet I NEVER ONCE enjoyed him in a bowl, yet that was the tobacco of choice for my dad. Man I miss dad.
 
And if you have another pipe like a cob, you might give it another go. I know I have some blends that hate certain pipes. They smoke night and day between different briars.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Others have said it. Burley based blends can remind one of cigs but what about the taste? Did you get chocolate and nutty delicious flavors? If not then you might let your technique improve a bit before judging it.

When I first started I didn't get OTC blends until I actually started tasting the tobacco. You may never like it, but if you aren't tasting it then you'll be judging it unfairly.

That being said, it isn't everyone's cup of tea. I know @OkieStubble in particular tried and tried with CH and just never took to it.
 
Others have said it. Burley based blends can remind one of cigs but what about the taste? Did you get chocolate and nutty delicious flavors? If not then you might let your technique improve a bit before judging it.

When I first started I didn't get OTC blends until I actually started tasting the tobacco. You may never like it, but if you aren't tasting it then you'll be judging it unfairly.

That being said, it isn't everyone's cup of tea. I know @OkieStubble in particular tried and tried with CH and just never took to it.

Now that you mention it at first I got something that tasted similar to unsweetened cocoa, but the more i smoked the worse it got. Thats why i am thinking I may have got it too hot?

I wont give up on it, I just figure im doing something wrong
 

Columbo

Mr. Codgers Neighborhood
So I found a pouch of Carter Hall locally and I decided to give it a shot based on the recommendations here. I picked up a MM cob pipe while i was at it too.

It started off ok but after a while my garage started to smell like old cigarette smoke. It reminded me of when i was a kid I would sometimes go to the casino for dinner with my Grandparents and there would be a bunch of old ladies smoking cigarettes in the bingo hall. While the aroma was nostalgic, it wasn't pleasant

Maybe i got it too hot?

My smoke on the shore last night was my best one yet. It was an aromatics blend called Normandy which i get locally, and it was in a pipe i had packed two nights ago and then didnt have a chance to finish smoking and after lighting again 2 days later i noticed aromas and flavors i had never experienced before. I think this is due to the fact that the tobacco dried enough to the point i could light it and keep it lit without having to constantly relight or keep puffing resulting in a cooler smoke.

Any thoughts? Maybe i should dry the CH more and try it again?
Don’t get too down about it. Happens all the time.

These codger blends, and most burleys, are best ‘sipped’. A very slow, shallow, and gentle draw, holding it in your mouth a little, before letting it drift out. Nice and easy. No sharp or long draws.

As it rolls around your mouth, before you let it go, is when you should find the flavor.

If you puff away on these like a steam locomotive, they may not necessarily bite you. But you will quickly lose the flavor ... and it can start tasting ashy as you get further down.

For now, don’t worry if you have it go out more often. When pipers complain that these OTCs taste like “hot air” or ”a cigarette”, it’s usually because they’re over-puffing it (and often because they are fighting to keep it lit ... because they overpacked the bowl).

Until you nail the draw, it is also helpful to smoke down only half the bowl. The deeper you go in the bowl, the more a gentle draw will matter. Don’t fret tossing a little extra dottle until you get the hang of it.

Have a drink nearby to occasionally cleanse your palate. A cup of coffee in the am, or perhaps a soda later in the day.

Again, nice and easy. Sip it, hold it, and let it drift out.

You’ll know you’re doing it right when you no longer notice you’re smoking it. It will become an automatic, involuntary pattern, like riding a bicycle, or breathing.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
Others have said it. Burley based blends can remind one of cigs but what about the taste? Did you get chocolate and nutty delicious flavors? If not then you might let your technique improve a bit before judging it.

When I first started I didn't get OTC blends until I actually started tasting the tobacco. You may never like it, but if you aren't tasting it then you'll be judging it unfairly.

That being said, it isn't everyone's cup of tea. I know @OkieStubble in particular tried and tried with CH and just never took to it.


Now that you mention it at first I got something that tasted similar to unsweetened cocoa, but the more i smoked the worse it got. Thats why i am thinking I may have got it too hot?

I wont give up on it, I just figure im doing something wrong

You sound just like me. The further down the bowl, the worst it got, even when i was puffing slow. I have to admit though, I was a hot smoker when I started. I could puff a pipe full of tobacco into a solid red hot coal in seconds. :)

I had matured my smoking techique over the years and have had plenty of success with VaPers, English and such, but many VaBers or Burley forward blends, still taste like cigarette tobacco to me, including Carter Hall. I wanted that chocolate/cocoa thing going on that I read about, so I didn't give up in my research and finally came across. Hearth & Home Chatham Manor.

It's a better take on CH in my opinion. Smooth, creamy smoke with nutty chocolate. Everything I heard about CH, I get with CM. Funny, it seems those that already like CH, don't really care for CM. But those who like me, don't get along with CH? They find that CM is exactly what they are looking for.

I am someone who just don't care for Burley in most blends. But Chatham Manor is one of my favorite budget tobaccos. Goes great with tea or coffee in the mornings. I can smoke CM's Burley/Virginia blend all the way to the bottom with nothing but ash left. Even the dottle is good imo, lol'd. :)

I miss smoking my pipes. Looking forward to getting back to them one day soon.
 
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steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
You sound just like me. The further down the bowl, the worst it got, even when i was puffing slow. I have to admit though, I was a hot smoker when I started. I could puff a pipe full of tobacco into a solid red hot coal in seconds. :)

I had matured my smoking techique over the years and have had plenty of success with VaPers, English and such, but many VaBers or Burley forward blends, still taste like cigarette tobacco to me, including Carter Hall. I wanted that chocolate/cocoa thing going on that I read about, so I didn't give up in my research and finally came across. Hearth & Home Chatham Manor.

It's a better take on CH in my opinion. Smooth, creamy smoke with nutty chocolate. Everything I heard about CH, I get with CM. Funny, it seems those that already like CH, don't really care for CM. But those who like me, don't get along with CH? They find that CM is exactly what they are looking for.

I am someone who just don't care for Burley in most blends. But Chatham Manor is one of my favorite budget tobaccos. Goes great with tea or coffee in the mornings. I can smoke CM's Burley/Virginia blend all the way to the bottom with nothing but ash left. Even the dottle is good imo, lol'd. :)

I miss smoking my pipes. Looking forward to getting back to them one day soon.
If you like a chocolate/cocoa note in a blend get an ounce or two of Sutliff Ready Rubbed on your next order. Has a full and creamy after taste, well nuanced and no cigarette taste. Of course, I’ve never had the cigarette experience with any traditional American blend but I am a sipper and go easy when I smoke. Different smokers will always have different experiences with the same blend of course.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
So I found a pouch of Carter Hall locally and I decided to give it a shot based on the recommendations here. I picked up a MM cob pipe while i was at it too.

It started off ok but after a while my garage started to smell like old cigarette smoke. It reminded me of when i was a kid I would sometimes go to the casino for dinner with my Grandparents and there would be a bunch of old ladies smoking cigarettes in the bingo hall. While the aroma was nostalgic, it wasn't pleasant

Maybe i got it too hot?

My smoke on the shore last night was my best one yet. It was an aromatics blend called Normandy which i get locally, and it was in a pipe i had packed two nights ago and then didnt have a chance to finish smoking and after lighting again 2 days later i noticed aromas and flavors i had never experienced before. I think this is due to the fact that the tobacco dried enough to the point i could light it and keep it lit without having to constantly relight or keep puffing resulting in a cooler smoke.

Any thoughts? Maybe i should dry the CH more and try it again?
Pipe smoking is a skill acquired over time and is only acquired through smoking. One never started at the finish line so don’t be discouraged and if you keep at it with patience it will come to you. Don’t bounce from blend to blend in the beginning. Find something simple like Prince Albert or the Match version and smoke that until you begin to hit on the nuances in that one tobacco then go to something different and do it all over again. I began with English and fifty years later ended up enjoying “codger” blends over others. You just won’t know where it will go in the end. If pipe smoking teaches you anything, it is patience so best to start with a little of that.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
It is really easy to get a wet tobacco too hot. But it might not be your cup of tea. I'd try loading a bowl and lighting it up the next day.

I loved rolling up Prince Albert (after I let him out of his can. I crack myself up.) and smoking him in a cigarette, but I'll bet I NEVER ONCE enjoyed him in a bowl, yet that was the tobacco of choice for my dad. Man I miss dad.
I miss my dad too. I would love nothing more than to sit down and have a bowl of Half & Half with him now.
 

Columbo

Mr. Codgers Neighborhood
I miss my dad too. I would love nothing more than to sit down and have a bowl of Half & Half with him now.

I now appreciate this from the opposite side. My son is coming down tonight, and we will share a few bowls together.

I’ve let him have a few of my pipes in more recent years, will occasionally pick up an interesting looking Grabow or cob for him if I’m out, and will sometimes toss an extra can on an order for him.

But he seems to really like PA. And we will puff away on it, as he shares how his week went.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I now appreciate this from the opposite side. My son is coming down tonight, and we will share a few bowls together.

I’ve let him have a few of my pipes in more recent years, will occasionally pick up an interesting looking Grabow or cob for him if I’m out, and will sometimes toss an extra can on an order for him.

But he seems to really like PA. And we will puff away on it, as he shares how his week went.
I used to smoke with my son and enjoyed it greatly. Hope he remembers when I’m gone. Memories to cherish I suppose. Chris is the one who asked if PA was a good tobacco and I told him I wasn’t sure as I hadn’t had it since I was thirteen years old. We used to go over to McCranies shop and sit around sampling blends with the old guys that frequented the shop.
 
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