Home Pipes

Starter pipe tobacco recommendations?

LiquidChaos66LiquidChaos66 Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭✭
I've noticed this section is fairly quiet but I gonna try anyway. Any good recommendations for a first time pipe smoker? My boss suggested Captain Black. My local B&M has several local and house blends that sound good. But I don't know what to expect.
Life is like a blind fiver. You never know what you're gonna get.

Comments

  • J.S.J.S. Posts: 754
    A difficult question. your B&B should be able to help. However, I think starting out also depends on personal taste. So if you don't enjoy mild cigars or that stuff DE puts out much then what they tell you might not be the best. Usually most people recommend an aromatic. I personally do not like aromatics and have preferred traditional tobacco from the start. That said you will have to splash around a little. You might try one of the B&B's aromatics but odds are it is just an Altadis blend with the B&M's logo/name on it.

    Aromatic: something like a rum and maple (I think these are is OK) or a vanilla or cherry flavor would be a good start. These usually have a great room note and no one will object to you smoking them. They seldom taste like they smell, however.

    Traditional: I really like Peterson's Sherlock Holmes it is a VA/Burley that showcases what tobacco should taste like IMO. No issues with tongue bite at least for me.

    A good English style would be Peterson's Old Dublin or Peter Stokkebye's Proper English, neither is a Lat. bomb but you will be able to taste it to experience what Lat. is. Neither bite for me. These typically are not popular with nonsmokers, my wife hates the smell of Lat. Sometimes, that is a good thing too!

    I always recommend that you get a few ounces and try it for a while before moving on to flakes and anything with Perique. Perique has a spicy/pepper taste and it does bite if not smoked slowly for me. Take some time and learn how to find your rhythm and pace before moving on to these types or stronger traditional blends.

    I hope this helps.
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    If you think it's quiet now, you should have been around a few months ago.Don't you think you should get your humi set up before jumping in to pipes? ;)It's a little tough to start bro, gotta spend time learning how to pack and light.
  • LiquidChaos66LiquidChaos66 Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭✭
    I was gifted my wife's grandfathers pipe collection on Father's Day. I have everything I need except tobacco that isn't 30 years old. :) still smells great but it's dry as hell! I was gonna head out and get pipe cleaners and cleaning solution tonight and was thinking bout picking some tobacco up. As for my humi I have one lines up and a few other options on the back burner till then.

    I've heard a lot of suggestions to start with a small selection of different types. Other than the captain black i have no clue what's out there. I was pointed towards aromatics to try out first before moving into traditional English blends. I really like to hear other people's input before sendin money. I might hit my B&M tonight and see what options they have. As for smoking the pipe I read in one of the other threads about "gurgle". Is it a bad thing and/or how is it avoided? How should the tobacco be stored? I got a glass jar with a sealing lid with the pipes (already occupied by said 30 year old tobacco). It has a little tube laid in the lid for humidification. Do I just fill it with distilled water?
    Life is like a blind fiver. You never know what you're gonna get.
  • MarkerMarker Posts: 2,524
    Buy a pouch of Carter Hall, Prince Albert, or Sir Walter Raleigh at almost any drugstore/convenience store. They are blends that have been around for 50+ years. They light easy and keep lit easy as well. This will get you started without frustrating the crap out of pipe smoking.

    Aromatics are hard to prep, keep lit, and keep from smoking too fast. Which burns hot, causes tongue bite, and turns people off from smoking pipes. Start in on those after you have learned to keep one of the three basics lit with a steady and easy puffing cadence.

    The gurgle you mention is from a few things; poorly constructed pipe, tobacco that is too wet and goops in the bottom of the bowl (airway), drooling into the stem, or mix all three in some combination. If one of those three OTC (over the counter) blends gurgles you can remove wet tobacco from this list. Run a pipe cleaner down the bit (Do not remove the stem from the bowl while the bowl is warm) and clear out some liquid. Try again while keeping your mouth on the pipe only to puff. This eliminates the drooling factor. After that it is just a bad pipe.

    Don't smoke aromatics in every pipe you have. They ghost a pipe and will make other tobacco taste funny that follows the pipe. The three OTC I mentioned should not ghost a pipe. They are actually pipe ghost neutralizers.
  • pilgrimtexpilgrimtex Posts: 429
    LiquidChaos66:
    I've noticed this section is fairly quiet but I gonna try anyway. Any good recommendations for a first time pipe smoker? My boss suggested Captain Black. My local B&M has several local and house blends that sound good. But I don't know what to expect.

    Well my friend you have come to the right place. Captain Black is a natural first timer type of smoke. Don't by pouches from a convenient store. They probably go back to when Black was alive. LOL. Find a good tobacco store. Strike up a conversation. If the proprietor is puffin on a pipe you're home free.
    I don't smoke tinned or pouched tobacco. I go for the bulk. The jars of tobacco you see in a store is bulk. They buy it put a different name on it and sell it. Gettin in good with the man behind the counter you can find out who the mfg is and the name. I would recommend 1Q by lane ltd and a good Cavendish without the bite by Altadis called Black Kathy if you want a little more umpff. Remember Pipe tobaccos unlike cigars can produce a tongue bite that you'll really notice drinking an ice cold soda. PM me and I'll give you some additional info if you want. Bulk is also cheaper than tinned.
    Paruse the threads there is good info to pick up on and welcome to the dark Side.
  • LiquidChaos66LiquidChaos66 Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭✭
    Thanks for the advice! Ill see what they have in stock at my B&M and see how I come out! Might light one up this weekend I all goes well. :)

    Pilgrimtex there is a PM sent your way attached to my previous pipe question from a while back. Thanks!
    Life is like a blind fiver. You never know what you're gonna get.
  • pilgrimtexpilgrimtex Posts: 429
    OKAY on the PM/ . May be too relaxed LOL to answer but cool. Hey forgot to mention the cleaning. Your gf spent a lot of time on your pipes. Don't ruin it by treatments. Worst case you need to scrape and clean the stems. Do Not Use chemicals on them. He might come back to haunt you. LOL Again feelin no pain. LOL. I would cut off a N*t to have one of your pipes. There is a lot of love and history in them. Smoke and enjoy as is. They were cherished so don't worry about the shape they're in. Smoke em first decide later what you will do. My guess you'll get some old cobweb feelin like a fine brandy and slowly your blend will over power it and add to the sensation.
  • LiquidChaos66LiquidChaos66 Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭✭
    I did a light reaming on the bowls and didn't get into the wood of the pipes. There's still a layer of cake on them but not nearly has heavy as before. More than cleaning them out i smoothed out the layer of cake in the bowls... If that makes sense. How would you recommend cleaning the stems?
    Life is like a blind fiver. You never know what you're gonna get.
  • pilgrimtexpilgrimtex Posts: 429
    Take a paper towel and wad it up to work into it. Then a dull drill bit if it is solid to loosen and remove. Bit by hand not in a drill. lol. The stems is warm water and pipe cleaners. The warm water softens the resins and tars and the pipe cleaner scrubs the stem. Keep under running water as you scrub them to rinse as you go.
  • LiquidChaos66LiquidChaos66 Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭✭
    Ran some pipe cleaners through them after a little warm water running on the stems... Is it normal for them to lose their really rich dark color? cause thats what happened to some of them.
    Life is like a blind fiver. You never know what you're gonna get.
  • mgk2020mgk2020 Posts: 97
    The best advice I can give you (as someone that just went through what you're doing) is to try a variety of different types of tobaccos; aromatics, traditional, types, flavors, etc. The only way to know what you'll like is to try it. Don't avoid English blends, aromatics, anything when you start. Even if you don't like it, it's worth the try. Just keep in mind that it may take awhile to get the hang of some of them. Also, I would recommend spending a little extra to get higher quality tobaccos - it makes a HUGE difference. That's not to say more expensive is better, but for better it is worth paying the extra. Check out tobaccoreviews.com for finding more info on anything that sounds good to you. Lastly, I agree with a lot of the recommendations already posted and would also suggest the Frog Morton's; specifically, the original, On the Bayou, and Cellar. Pick up something like Lane BCA or McClelland's VBC too. Most importantly, have fun with it!
  • Amos_UmwhatAmos_Umwhat Posts: 8,405 ✭✭✭✭✭
    LiquidChaos66:
    Ran some pipe cleaners through them after a little warm water running on the stems... Is it normal for them to lose their really rich dark color? cause thats what happened to some of them.
    Yeah, that's normal. The color will come back from the oils on your fingers. Or, you can do what I do, rub your nose between your thumb and forefinger, buff the stem, voila! Back to black. I've got a tiny nylon bristle brush that I use when flushing out my stems, fits right through them. I can't remember if I got it at a tobacco shop, from a gun cleaning kit, or just saw it while accompanying my wife to Bed Bath & Beyond, but it helps.
    WARNING:  The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme.  Proceed at your own risk.  

    "If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed.  If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." --  Mark Twain
  • LiquidChaos66LiquidChaos66 Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭✭
    So a couple updates. Went to my B&M and picked up some pipe cleaners and a cleaning solution. The guy rcommended using whisky or brandy instead of cleaning solution. So I tried both. Lol got my stems all cleaned. He too had mentioned using "nose oils" to bring back coloring. It seems a little.... How should I say this. Kinda gross. Lol!! Just seems really odd! Ill try it out on a couple of the stems and see how it goes. I saw the mentioning of using toothpaste to bring back some shine to the stems as well. Might try that too.

    As for tobacco. I was shown a variety of milder and smoother options to start with and picked up a house blend called Satisfaction. It smells amazing! They had a whole wall full of different options. 2oz for about $8. Quite a bit cheaper than cigars. Lol!!! My plan is to pick up a few more options to have in my humi jar and work my way through them. Tonight if the weather is decent ill have my first pipe. :) will follow up afterwards. Thanks for all the advice and input!!! :) you all make a noob feel pretty safe and welcome to the new hobby!
    Life is like a blind fiver. You never know what you're gonna get.
  • pilgrimtexpilgrimtex Posts: 429
    Get to know him well at the B&M. Eventually He should reveal the ordered name of that blend. He should at least tell you who the manufacturer is. Ordering online brings the price way down. The may be able to tell you a little about your pipes. The insert on that calabash looked pretty shiny. Hard to tell if its meerschaum or porcelin.
  • xmacroxmacro Posts: 3,402
    Always been a fan of Captain Black; started out on it, still smoke it.

    Aside from that, there's Luxury Twist, Luxury Bullseye and Luxury Navy are three good virignia leafs. For something more mellow, I've always liked the McClelland Grand Oriental tobacco's, all 7 of them. But for relaxing on the porch, it's hard to beat the the Frog Morton tobacco's
  • LiquidChaos66LiquidChaos66 Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭✭
    Funny thing is... I didn't we captain black at my B&M. Lol oh well. I don't think it will be a biggy.
    Life is like a blind fiver. You never know what you're gonna get.
  • catfishbluezzcatfishbluezz Posts: 7,000 ✭✭✭
    Grabbed some captain black tonight, I'll report back
  • LiquidChaos66LiquidChaos66 Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭✭
    Please do! My boss and a lot of my clients keep telling me to try it. It will be some time before I can get some though. Pilgrimtex hit me with a few of his personal blends that I get to try out!
    Life is like a blind fiver. You never know what you're gonna get.
  • pilgrimtexpilgrimtex Posts: 429
    You can get Capt Black in bulk as well. 12oz tin is 32.45 but 16oz bulk is 28.50.
Sign In or Register to comment.