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Recommend a tobacco please.

I'm fairly new to pipe smoking. Right now I have Carter Hall and Velvet tobacco. I enjoy them very much but I would like something with more flavor. Could you recommend a tobacco with a robust flavor? I want to really taste it.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
I'm fairly new to pipe smoking. Right now I have Carter Hall and Velvet tobacco. I enjoy them very much but I would like something with more flavor. Could you recommend a tobacco with a robust flavor? I want to really taste it.
What do you want taste? An aromatic topping? The tobacco flavors themselves?

If you don't know then I'd suggest the Amphora Sampler. You get a good idea of how different types of blends taste. It's a good jumping off point to find flavors you'd like to explore more.
 
What do you want taste? An aromatic topping? The tobacco flavors themselves?

If you don't know then I'd suggest the Amphora Sampler. You get a good idea of how different types of blends taste. It's a good jumping off point to find flavors you'd like to explore more.

Not sure. The Amphora Sampler sounds like a good place to start. Where can I get that?

Wait, I just did a search and found a couple of places. Still not sure which one to get.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Not sure. The Amphora Sampler sounds like a good place to start. Where can I get that?

Wait, I just did a search and found a couple of places. Still not sure which one to get.
Get the sampler. It has five pouches. Virginia, Burley, Kentucky, English and Cavendish I believe. Usually around $30
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
You're very welcome. I think you'll find that the sampler will open up a whole world of flavors to you. Take your time, no need to rush. Enjoy!
 
The problem with "can you recommend to me a tobacco" is its a lot like "can you recommend to me a shaving soap".

The Amphora sampler is a great place to start. In retrospect, I kind of wish I did that. Instead I took advantage of my major metropolitan area and started going into B&M stores and at first pointing to random jars. Then talking to the guy behind the counter.

Amphora sampler is great. Nothing from Peter Stokkebye has ever let me down. Sutliff has always been fun blends. Like Brandaves said, take your time and enjoy it. And as you start going through the sampler, you'll hopefully be able to start asking more direct pointed questions. I like this English, but want more/ less of the smokey/spicy. And, just like shaving soap, be sure to calculate for the YMMV factor. Otherwise, enjoy your rabbit holes!
 
The problem with "can you recommend to me a tobacco" is its a lot like "can you recommend to me a shaving soap".

The Amphora sampler is a great place to start. In retrospect, I kind of wish I did that. Instead I took advantage of my major metropolitan area and started going into B&M stores and at first pointing to random jars. Then talking to the guy behind the counter.

Amphora sampler is great. Nothing from Peter Stokkebye has ever let me down. Sutliff has always been fun blends. Like Brandaves said, take your time and enjoy it. And as you start going through the sampler, you'll hopefully be able to start asking more direct pointed questions. I like this English, but want more/ less of the smokey/spicy. And, just like shaving soap, be sure to calculate for the YMMV factor. Otherwise, enjoy your rabbit holes!

I needed some starting point otherwise I could buy just some run of the mill taste tobacco. I wanted to try the ones with a robust taste and the different kinds of taste. Something like this is exactly what I need. The only problem is with 5 packs if I don't like 3 of them what do I do with them?
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
I needed some starting point otherwise I could buy just some run of the mill taste tobacco. I wanted to try the ones with a robust taste and the different kinds of taste. Something like this is exactly what I need. The only problem is with 5 packs if I don't like 3 of them what do I do with them?
Jar them and let them sit. You'll be surprised at how your tastes may change over time. You may come back after 6 months time and love them. At $30 for the sampler you will save money in the long run, especially if you find that you don't like a certain type. It will prevent you from spending money on more blends of the same type...thats why I steered you toward it, to save you time and money 😁👍
 
Blend them with others, put them in a jar to mellow out a few months or see if your tastes change with your palette maturing or with the weather, trade with someone.

I ran into a few I didn't care for straight from the shop. It's going to happen. There's hundreds if not thousands of blends on the market, not counting NOS from now defunct labels. Combine that with the previously mentioned YMMV clause. You're going to find stuff you don't care for.

I found PS Luxury English a bit much when I first got it. And straight black cavendish I thought tasted like a Black and Mild cigar (not a great thing). I added a small pinch of cav to the English. That cut down the smokey tastes of the English while burying what I didn't like about the cav. Jackknife Plug knocked me on my butt when I tried it out of the tin. Tried 5 times to smoke it straight. The only time I finished the bowl, I ended up sitting there for a good half hour before I found the strength to move. But added to any aromatic, it punched up the boldness and nicotine content and created something better than the sum of its parts. Anything that has the word Virginia in it, the characteristics will change over time in a sealed mason jar.

I get needing a starting point, just like shaving soap. And yeah, CH and Velvet are pretty run of the mill easy to smoke blends. And the sampler pack is probably the best jumping off point widely available. Certainly the best value.
 
Jar them and let them sit. You'll be surprised at how your tastes may change over time. You may come back after 6 months time and love them. At $30 for the sampler you will save money in the long run, especially if you find that you don't like a certain type. It will prevent you from spending money on more blends of the same type...thats why I steered you toward it, to save you time and money 😁👍

That's what is good about this sample.
 
Blend them with others, put them in a jar to mellow out a few months or see if your tastes change with your palette maturing or with the weather, trade with someone.

I ran into a few I didn't care for straight from the shop. It's going to happen. There's hundreds if not thousands of blends on the market, not counting NOS from now defunct labels. Combine that with the previously mentioned YMMV clause. You're going to find stuff you don't care for.

I found PS Luxury English a bit much when I first got it. And straight black cavendish I thought tasted like a Black and Mild cigar (not a great thing). I added a small pinch of cav to the English. That cut down the smokey tastes of the English while burying what I didn't like about the cav. Jackknife Plug knocked me on my butt when I tried it out of the tin. Tried 5 times to smoke it straight. The only time I finished the bowl, I ended up sitting there for a good half hour before I found the strength to move. But added to any aromatic, it punched up the boldness and nicotine content and created something better than the sum of its parts. Anything that has the word Virginia in it, the characteristics will change over time in a sealed mason jar.

I get needing a starting point, just like shaving soap. And yeah, CH and Velvet are pretty run of the mill easy to smoke blends. And the sampler pack is probably the best jumping off point widely available. Certainly the best value.

The worst that will happen is I will pif them.
 
Crap! I left out something earlier. Those pouches you get from Amphora, those will be their interpretation of the family/ class/ type of blends. Just because you don't care for their, say, English blend doesn't mean you don't like English. Just because you like Tom Petty doesn't mean you'll automatically like Lynnard Skynnard even though they're both Southern Rock.
 

Columbo

Mr. Codgers Neighborhood
The problem with "can you recommend to me a tobacco" is its a lot like "can you recommend to me a shaving soap".

The Amphora sampler is a great place to start. In retrospect, I kind of wish I did that. Instead I took advantage of my major metropolitan area and started going into B&M stores and at first pointing to random jars. Then talking to the guy behind the counter.

Amphora sampler is great. Nothing from Peter Stokkebye has ever let me down. Sutliff has always been fun blends. Like Brandaves said, take your time and enjoy it. And as you start going through the sampler, you'll hopefully be able to start asking more direct pointed questions. I like this English, but want more/ less of the smokey/spicy. And, just like shaving soap, be sure to calculate for the YMMV factor. Otherwise, enjoy your rabbit holes!

Or can you recommend a good DE blade for me?

In the end, the only person who can give you a definitive answer is you.

That’s why God created samplers. At least that’s what Mrs. Columbo says about those Whitman’s ones.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Actuality you can recommend a good soap or a blade to someone. He may not like it but it's still a good blade or soap that is worth trying. For someone just starting out it is still helpful.
True, but scents, lather quality, blade sharpness, longevity, etc. are all personal preferences which develop over time and can change dramatically. I may prefer English blends and I could recommend some fantastic English tobaccos. If you don't like Latakia then I would be directing you to purchase something you'd never like. The differences in the various tobaccos can be surprising. I think you'll understand our apprehension in recommending what we like without a bit more input from you once you've gotten into the Amphora sampler. We are trying to save you time and money really and perhaps save you from giving up the pipe altogether. If we gave you a barrel of suggestions and you bought them all and didn't like any, how likely would you be to throw up your hands and think, "these guys have been smoking a long time. If I don't like the good stuff they are suggesting then this isn't for me." By jumping in with a sampler you are able to say, "Wow, I really loved that Kentucky pouch. I think I'll ask the guys for more Kentucky recommendations." That gives us a lot more information to work with.

Don't worry, we aren't withholding the secret blends from you. We're helping you develop your palate and giving you a tool to ask about leaf specifically 😉
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I'm fairly new to pipe smoking. Right now I have Carter Hall and Velvet tobacco. I enjoy them very much but I would like something with more flavor. Could you recommend a tobacco with a robust flavor? I want to really taste it.
For more flavor from Velvet, pack it loosely and sip it. If packed too tightly or puffed too hard, it is just a big nothing. When packed gingerly, it has a wonderful mild flavor and aftertaste. It took me
some time to figure it out. The “codger” blends were cut as they are so you could just scoop the tobacco out of the pouch or tin just tapping the pipe to settle the tobacco in the bowl put a pinch on top to finish the fill and light. A more flavorful readily available blend is Half and Half - pack the same way as mentioned above. Also, you might give Sir Walter Raleigh a try when you see it. These old blends are perfect for learning to smoke a pipe. After 50 years of piping, they are the blends I most regularly smoke.
 
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