Pipe tobacco tour for those on a budget

[WithTheGrain]

In the last few years, I have converted from a weekend cigar smoker to smoking my pipes (technically, my dad's old pipes that I "borrowed") almost exclusively. The predominate reason for this change was financial-- originally because I started my own business, recently compounded by a new baby on the way (our third!). In light of this, I couldn't justify $7 per cigar smoke compared the huge bargains on pipe tobacco. Despite all the variety out there, my experiences have been rather limited. My local B&M has bulk lane blends and occasional Dunhill tins. As a result, I have only smoked a handful of blends: Dunhill Early Morning Pipe, Dunhill Nightcap, Dunhill 965 and Edwards Scottish Moor (my dad's old favorite from the 70s/80s that I wanted to try).

I realize that there is an entire world of tobaccos out there and would like to start "touring" the options. If I wanted to tour the major categories (virginias, flakes, english, etc), what are the "best of" blends that I need to try? There are the frequently mentioned tobaccos such as Frog Morton, SPC's Mississippi River, GL Pease's blends etc-- where should I go first? What is the best way to try things while on a budget? Any great sampler packs that you would recommend? Or, am I better off putting together a bucket list and buying a tin here or there and exploring that way? I know that there are a variety of drug store blends out there-- I look forward to trying them as well/feel free to point out what's good--but I am more curious about the higher quality tobaccos.

Thanks for any tips,
Patrick

 

[oc_in_fw]

A good source is your local tobacconist- tell him what you want to try, and he can give you some of each. I got hooked on English blends rather quick and hard, so I can only recommend things like Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader, McClelland's Frog Morton, and Frog Morton's Cellar. However, many do not like Latakia (heretics, as I call them ). But if you go to your tobacconist and tell him you want to sample some Virginias, English Blends, Virginia Periques (which I personally cannot tolerate) maybe you can get a good idea of what you like. You might try some Cavendish and other aromatics, just be warned they bite your tongue easy.

 

[michiganlover]

Pipes and Cigars has a number of pre-made samplers, included the Victory Lap sampler that will give you 8oz of Tobacco for $19.95. The Victory Lap sampler seems to be a good deal, giving you a Burley based aromatic, a Cavendish blend, a blend with Perique, and a traditional English blend with Latakia.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I'd call both those suggestions a win. That should get you started onto the path of finding the "styles" of blends you like and want to have in the cellar for when that mood strikes.

 

[WithTheGrain]

Thanks for the ideas guys- unfortunately, the tobacconists in this town are generally clueless when it comes to pipes. We have the "cigar" guys who jumped in during the boon of the 90s and we have discount ciggy stores who carry a small bit of pipe tobacco. In either case, they aren't much for offering help.

I have looked at the Pipes and Cigar samplers, but have been disappointed in the "style samplers" being limited. I think I am in a losing battle, but I wish that the sampler would include the 1 latakia you absolutely should try if you were only going to have 1. Rather than just a sampling of the types, I wish it were the must haves of each type. I may be a bit snobbish on this point, but I don't want to have my sole taste of a virginia (for example) to be a bad virginia.

 

[Commander Quan]

Unfortunately, the B&Ms in my area are pretty bad when it comes to pipes as well.

My recommendation would be to call Patty at Cornell & Diehl and get a sampler from them. This will get you a variety of their blends to sample from the various flavor profiles.

http://www.cornellanddiehl.com/pricing_and_ship.html

 

[WithTheGrain]

Thanks for the tip Derrick, good to know!

 

[Shave_Rat]

Thanks for the ideas guys- unfortunately, the tobacconists in this town are generally clueless when it comes to pipes. We have the "cigar" guys who jumped in during the boon of the 90s and we have discount ciggy stores who carry a small bit of pipe tobacco. In either case, they aren't much for offering help.

I have looked at the Pipes and Cigar samplers, but have been disappointed in the "style samplers" being limited. I think I am in a losing battle, but I wish that the sampler would include the 1 latakia you absolutely should try if you were only going to have 1. Rather than just a sampling of the types, I wish it were the must haves of each type. I may be a bit snobbish on this point, but I don't want to have my sole taste of a virginia (for example) to be a bad virginia.

Much like with shaving soaps/creams, a single "best of" blend of each style is so subjective that you'd still end up with 4 (or way more) suggestions for each category/type. Things like "Good" or "Bad" are also even too subjective to help a lot. For every person that says "Such and such brand is horrible", you can find as many others that love such and such brand, and buy it by the pound.

While trying to stay on a budget, the sampler packs will at least let you know if you absolutely despise a general middle of the road perique blend, for example, without paying too much for it.

You do have the option of picking up a tin here and there of the more recommended blends like Frog Morton, then if you decide it's really not for you, working out a trade (off of the forum, of course) for some other thing to try, or that you already know you like.

Not sure I'd call it a losing battle... more of one method gets you a general sense of if you like the general categories or not, all up front, so you can focus on a specific blend at that point. The other method gets you a tin of a highly recommended blend in the category that will cost a bit more, and take longer to get to sample each style to see if you like it or not.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Unfortunately, the B&Ms in my area are pretty bad when it comes to pipes as well.

My recommendation would be to call Patty at Cornell & Diehl and get a sampler from them. This will get you a variety of their blends to sample from the various flavor profiles.

http://www.cornellanddiehl.com/pricing_and_ship.html

I need to remember this advice one day.

 

[WithTheGrain]

Much like with shaving soaps/creams, a single "best of" blend of each style is so subjective that you'd still end up with 4 (or way more) suggestions for each category/type. Things like "Good" or "Bad" are also even too subjective to help a lot. For every person that says "Such and such brand is horrible", you can find as many others that love such and such brand, and buy it by the pound.

While trying to stay on a budget, the sampler packs will at least let you know if you absolutely despise a general middle of the road perique blend, for example, without paying too much for it.

You do have the option of picking up a tin here and there of the more recommended blends like Frog Morton, then if you decide it's really not for you, working out a trade (off of the forum, of course) for some other thing to try, or that you already know you like.

Not sure I'd call it a losing battle... more of one method gets you a general sense of if you like the general categories or not, all up front, so you can focus on a specific blend at that point. The other method gets you a tin of a highly recommended blend in the category that will cost a bit more, and take longer to get to sample each style to see if you like it or not.

I know what you mean-- YMMV is the name of the game. I think ultimately, I am going to go after the more recommended tins and trade away those that I don't like. I also should not be too overly dramatic-- it is hardly a losing battle to be smoking blends that aren't great; I am still enjoying a pipe after all! I think I am going to start by picking up some Frog Morton or another "must try" and go from there. On to develop a bucket list!

 

[Shave_Rat]

I know what you mean-- YMMV is the name of the game. I think ultimately, I am going to go after the more recommended tins and trade away those that I don't like. I also should not be too overly dramatic-- it is hardly a losing battle to be smoking blends that aren't great; I am still enjoying a pipe after all! I think I am going to start by picking up some Frog Morton or another "must try" and go from there. On to develop a bucket list!

Here is a great way to get some great things to try, on a budget...

Get a $50 credit for BnBtobacco at Living Social for $25 and take an additional $5 off with promo code: BESTOF, so that's $50 worth of tobacco for $20! here's the link...
https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/644426?ref=share-link-post&rpi=111251418&rui=173325499
I just got 5 tins for under $25 shipped!

 

[WithTheGrain]

Rat-
Sweet deal; thanks!

 

[Shave_Rat]

Rat-
Sweet deal; thanks!

Very welcome, I just ordered 5 different tins of Cornell & Diehl, each one a different blend, just under $25 shipped. Here's a breakdown of their various different blends, all of them are high quality based on what I've heard pretty much everyone say:

http://www.cornellanddiehl.com/oldindex.html

 

[jiminyshiznit]

Just did the BnB/livingsocial deal and got one of each of the following:

Carter Hall Pipe Tobacco Pouches 1.5 oz x 6 Count
Davidoff Flake Medallins Pipe Tobacco 50g Tin
Dunhill Early Morning Pipe Tobacco 50g Tin
G.L. Pease Maltese Falcon Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins
Clipper Solid Lighter

Shipping was $11, which seems pretty high. Still only paid $32 shipped for $51 worth of stuff, so this was a great deal overall. Looking forward to trying all of these! I wish I could find the Carter Hall locally, because I just ended up with a bunch of it! It seems like plenty of folks dig it, so if it isn't for me, I'm sure it'll be easy to find a home for it. I have a feeling I'll like it, though.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Shave_Rat]

Just did the BnB/livingsocial deal and got one of each of the following:

Carter Hall Pipe Tobacco Pouches 1.5 oz x 6 Count
Davidoff Flake Medallins Pipe Tobacco 50g Tin
Dunhill Early Morning Pipe Tobacco 50g Tin
G.L. Pease Maltese Falcon Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins
Clipper Solid Lighter

Shipping was $11, which seems pretty high. Still only paid $32 shipped for $51 worth of stuff, so this was a great deal overall. Looking forward to trying all of these! I wish I could find the Carter Hall locally, because I just ended up with a bunch of it! It seems like plenty of folks dig it, so if it isn't for me, I'm sure it'll be easy to find a home for it. I have a feeling I'll like it, though.

Thanks for the tip!

I don't see a bad option in that lot. I was very close to pulling the trigger on the Dunhill Morning and the Maltese Falcon, myself. If you end up hating them, hit me up with a PM. lol

 

[WithTheGrain]

Hardly the broad tour that I am hoping to go on, but I re-upped on Nightcap and loaded up on GL Pease blends that I have wanted to try:

	G.L. Pease Jacknife Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins
	G.L. Pease Key Largo Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins
	G.L. Pease Haddo's Delight Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins
	Dunhill Night Cap Pipe Tobacco 50g Tin
	G.L. Pease Chelsea Morning Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins I paid a few bucks for the quicker shipping as well, I suppose I am impatient. The last time I spotted GL Pease in a shop, it was $15 a tin, so to pick up for 4 tins and nightcap for $25 was quite the steal even when you factor in $12 for 3 day shipping.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Hardly the broad tour that I am hoping to go on, but I re-upped on Nightcap and loaded up on GL Pease blends that I have wanted to try:

	G.L. Pease Jacknife Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins
	G.L. Pease Key Largo Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins
	G.L. Pease Haddo's Delight Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins
	Dunhill Night Cap Pipe Tobacco 50g Tin
	G.L. Pease Chelsea Morning Premium Pipe Tobacco 2oz Tins I paid a few bucks for the quicker shipping as well, I suppose I am impatient. The last time I spotted GL Pease in a shop, it was $15 a tin, so to pick up for 4 tins and nightcap for $25 was quite the steal even when you factor in $12 for 3 day shipping.

Even without the gift card, that website had some pretty fair prices. I have it bookmarked for further perusing next time I am making a purchase to stock into the cellar.

Let me know what you think of the Nightcap, that was another one I was close to pulling the trigger on, a few times now at various places...

 

[jiminyshiznit]

	..even when you factor in $12 for 3 day shipping.

hmm.. $12 for upgraded shipping. Mine was $11 ground.. I'm in Portland, OR. I wonder if it's location, or maybe something to do with ordering a butane lighter?

..If you end up hating them, hit me up with a PM. lol

Will do!

 

[WithTheGrain]

hmm.. $12 for upgraded shipping. Mine was $11 ground.. I'm in Portland, OR. I wonder if it's location, or maybe something to do with ordering a butane lighter?

Ground was still pretty pricy, it was 2 or 3 bucks more for three-day shipping and I am way too impatient for ground (it often takes a week or more to get to me).

 

[nortac]

Shipping was a bit pricey and the "BESTOF" promo code has expired, but I went for it anyway. Got six 2 oz. C&D blends;
Blockade Runner
Black Bourbon
Byzantium
Interlude
Irish Blessing
Mississippi Mud