I'll get the ball rolling with Penzance in a GBD London Made 1/4 bent Rhodesian that I had with a cup of CTC Scottish Breakfast this mourning.
I'm enjoying some Dunhill Early Morning Pipe in a Peterson 303 System standard. It's been one heck of a long week.
Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake in a Peterson Sterling 338 following an evening tea with my daughter.
G. L. Pease Laurel Heights in my MM bent Patriot cob. A fine smoke with a ton of sweetness and a touch of spiciness.
Only smoked half a bowl so far...like it better than the Escudo anyway! The 'just doused campfire' aroma doesn't carry though too much to the taste (thankfully?) I do detect, of all things, a kind of cumin or east indian kind of taste though. Interesting stuff...I'll definitely give it a few more goes but I'm starting to think I might just be a simple aromatics guy.
My advise for any one starting is twofold. First never let anyone tell you what you're supposed to like. Aromatics get a bad rap, mainly because there are a lot of bad ones out there. But many of my favorite regular smokes should be classified as aromatic; G&H chocolate flake, G&H rum flake, G&H dark scented flake, SG mayors chocolate flake, SG grousmoore plug, SG 1792 Flake. Some may try to kid themselves that they are different, but to my mind if you flavor or scent the tobacco in a noticeable way it is an aromatic. Those are my preferences by the way not necessarily recommendations. There are many truly high quality aromatics made with top notch tobac and natural flavorings/liqueurs. If you find the aromatic to be your favorite let us know in a post! I know of some great blenders who make top notch blends of the sort. The frustration can run high in finding that first bit of joy when starting. I went through some difficulty before I found blends rich enough to satisfy my particular palate, but when I did it was fantastic. Second if your trying a new type and it doesn't suit you jar it up and save it, properly stored tobacco will age indefinitely, and you can try it again later when your in the mood for something different. Also you shouldn't let one blend, or bender for that matter, of a type ruin your impressions of that style of tobacco. For example I don't care for most dutch aromatics, but that doesn't mean I don't like aromatics. Above all smoke what you like, and like what you smoke.
Good advice from jwhite! I would like to add one thing (I believe I've told you this before, but just in case): Never had a problem jarring up a non-aromatic. However, I've found that jarring up aromatics can be hit or miss. I've noticed some aromatics mellow out quite well after aging in a jar, but some tend to lose their flavor, go stale, and leave behind nothing but the soapy taste of PG.
G. L. Pease Embarcadero in my MM bent Patriot. Lightly spicy and mellow. I need to spend time with this one before I make any big statements.
