Sippin' isnt just for tea and coffee

[Isaac]

Seeing a few more fresh faces here. I thought I would throw out a small tip when smoking. We all love to see the clouds of smoke when enjoying out pipe. While impressive, it might be doing your tobacco a disservice. I would encourage smokers to try sipping the tobacco and not letting it burn as hot. Perhaps this will draw out a bit more flavor for you.

I just had a sublime bowl of Watch City Cigar Nor'Easter. Now this is a blend that i kinda put in the "discard" section. Ill smoke it till its done, and probably wont rebuy. BUT, today i took it really slow and steady and I had an explosion of flavors. This basically jumped the blend back up to the restock section when I am out.

The true can be said for many Virginia tobaccos.

So if you find a blend that isnt doing much, try a slower approach.

 

[Fallbeard]

I’ve recently learned this the hard way. Dark smoke clouds, hot bowl, gurgling tobacco…all from aggressive pulling from the tobacco.

I’m still trying to find the balance between a slow drag while not letting the fire go out every couple of minutes.

 

[Tathlum]

Will definitely try this! Haven't been getting the flavors out of the tobaccos I've been expecting.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Taking a break from the given smoke might also help. This morning I loaded up my Keyser vintage billiard with Match Edgeworth. Fifteen minutes' smoke was succeeded by breakfast, and another fifteen after. If I let the pipe sit for a couple of hours, I find the restarted smoke to be rather bitter and ashy; so I don't let more than half an hour go by between segments.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

If I let the pipe sit for a couple of hours, I find the restarted smoke to be rather bitter and ashy; so I don't let more than half an hour go by between segments.

I find that some blends rest better than others. Cavendish and Latakia don't do so well at being smoked in instalments, in my opinion.

In respect of the opening post, I seem to pace myself better, if I haven't packed too densely. For some reason, I can go at it a bit heavy, if I haven't got the pack right. If in doubt, under packing smokes better than over packing.

 

[DesertDan]

I agree with the OP. It has been my experience that "sipping" seems to bring out the undertones of a blend and tends to keep the smoke cooler.

 

[Kentos]

It’s hard to sip on a good blend I have to admit. It is an exercise in patience and restraint for me

 

[alpster]

I learned from a video years ago about a "cadence". It took some discipline at first. After a charing first light, count to 7 and take a small sip. Repeat and relight as needed. Change the count, more or less, until you find the sweet spot. After a while it becomes second nature. Also, be aware of other factors like moisture in the baccy and the differences in blends. Wet tobacco causes most problems for new smokers.