What kind of pipe smokers are you all? Aromatics, English, Balkan, Oriental, strictly Va, VaPer?
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Generally, I have been smoking mostly English and its variants, but I've discovered that there are some aeros that I do like, as long as they are not too heavily flavored or all Cavendish.
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A bit of everything, though I'm not big on Balkans or Aromatics. VaPers are my go-to.
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I like most I have tried. I have tried mostly aromatics to date. I do like Squadron Leader however which is NOT aromatic (the wife says it smells like burning tires LOL)

Almost any well balanced blend is good for me. So far. I have more unknowns on the way to try.
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Orientals seem the most complex. Trying pretty much anything, but aromatics seem a little "artificial" for me. They almost seem to try too hard - smell great and lack flavour.
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I have pretty much only had experience with aromatics. I look forward to trying more blends in the future.
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"Contrived" would be the word I was looking for.
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Predominantly prefer English and Scottish blends, with the occasional Balkan for good measure (love Balkan Saseini!). NO Aromatics for this boy! :-)
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VaPer, VA, english. I thought english and balkan were kind of synonymous? How about oritental? Are they just straight oriental?
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Balkans are a type of Latakia/English blend. I'm no longer a fan of using "English" to describe Latakia blends after reading up on the history of how the term came about(a true English does not have to have latakia, nor have no topcoat, think Peterson University Flake). Orientals tend to be a bit more vague to me. I generally just think of them as light on the latakia, where the orientals are the star of the blend.
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If we were to get technical, an English blend is anything without a topnote/flavoring/casing. However, it has come to mean anything with Latakia in it., and as such, Balkan blends would be English blends. Balkans have a large percentage of Oriental tobaccos in them, as well as a nice touch of Latakia. Orientals mean they are predominantly made up of Oriental tobaccos, although a touch of Burley or even Virgiinia might make it into the blend.

I would list the different genres of tobacco blends in these categories:
Latakia blends (what many would call English blends - after Latakia, there may be Virginia, Oriental, Burley, Cavendish, and even Perique in the blend)
Oriental blends (Orientals predominate, other tobaccos may be involved, no Latakia)
Burley blends (Burleys predominate other tobaccos may be involved, no Latakia)
Virginias (only Virginias and possibly a touch of Burley are used in these blends)
VaPers (Virginias & Perique, only)
Aromatics (blends that have been given an obvious flavoring to what is usually a burley predominating tobacco.)

Yes, we could get quite persnickety and try to even further deliniate the types of blends, and if you care to do so, know that what I have listed is only my own way of classifying them, so by all means, come up with your own.

Now, I have watched a few pipe smokers in my day, and while it is not always true, I have seen a progression in many of them, some have commented that it is a way of maturing. I am not sure that is true, but I have seen the progression often enough that I believe it to be something very common, I seemed to follow it as well. Here is the progression:

Pipesters seem to always start out with aromatic, if they branch out from there, they dabble with "English" blends and maybe Orientals, they then flow into Burley/Virginias/Vapers. If you notice the trend is from tobaccos with flavors added, then to bold flavored tobaccos, and finally to tobaccos with flavors best contemplated for their subtleties - VAs for their natural sweetness, Burleys for their nutty character, and VaPers for their natural sweetness with just a touch of spice/prunes.

Pipesterx can fall into any one of those categories at any time, others remain rather ecclectic.

Now, I suppose I was to answer the question, what is my preference. I apologize for my long-winded, bombastic reply.

I prefer VAs and VaPers, I might dip into an English blend upon occasion, or even an aromatic done with a light hand. I do avoid Burley and Oriental blends like the plague.

Peace of the Lord be with you.
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I like a few, in almost every category. I like Vapors most of all now days. I also smoke a lot of Walnut & Country Doctor, both are easy going smokes.
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Old Ironsides, Frog Morton, Scottish Cake all see smoke time regularly for me.

The older blend of anniversary kake was really good too.
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Alas, I defer to Todd, he's vastly more knowledgeable than I on the subject. Though I thought Englishes were allowed a topnote, just not multiple. Something about tobacco blenders adding too many things that mixed together were toxic. A quick google brings up the "Tobacco Purity Laws" which may be what was making me think that way.
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[quote=RevSmoke;2006042]If we were to get technical, an English blend is anything without a topnote/flavoring/casing. However, it has come to mean anything with Latakia in it., and as such, Balkan blends would be English blends. Balkans have a large percentage of Oriental tobaccos in them, as well as a nice touch of Latakia. Orientals mean they are predominantly made up of Oriental tobaccos, although a touch of Burley or even Virgiinia might make it into the blend.

I would list the different genres of tobacco blends in these categories:
Latakia blends (what many would call English blends - after Latakia, there may be Virginia, Oriental, Burley, Cavendish, and even Perique in the blend)
Oriental blends (Orientals predominate, other tobaccos may be involved, no Latakia)
Burley blends (Burleys predominate other tobaccos may be involved, no Latakia)
Virginias (only Virginias and possibly a touch of Burley are used in these blends)
VaPers (Virginias & Perique, only)
Aromatics (blends that have been given an obvious flavoring to what is usually a burley predominating.

Now, I have watched a few pipe smokers in my day, and while it is not always true, I have seen a progression in many of them, some have commented that it is a way of maturing. I am not sure that is true, but I have seen the progression often enough that I believe it to be something very common, I seemed to follow it as well. Here is the progression:

Pipesters seem to always start out with aromatic, if they branch out from there, they dabble with "English" blends and maybe Orientals, they then flow into Burley/Virginias/Vapers. If you notice the trend is from tobaccos with flavors added, then to bold flavored tobaccos, and finally to tobaccos with flavors best contemplated for their subtleties - VAs for their natural sweetness, Burleys for their nutty character, and VaPers for their natural sweetness with just a touch of spice.

Todd - your progression 'timeline' just about describes my pipe experience exactly! Started with those wonderful smelling, but rather flavorless aromatics early on. Realized that they did NOT taste as they smelled and resulted in horrible tongue-bite. It's a body chemistry thing. Moved on quickly to anything but aros and soon found my niche! English, Balkan, Oriental, bold, dark and tasty. Later found *good* Virginias and added them to the list. My experience with VaPers has not been great. Tried a few C&D bulks and did not care for them. Later found that C&D is not my favorite blender, so have a few tins from GL P aging and will revisit later.

Side note is that there are some unusual exceptions to the English/Latakia class. HHOld Dark Fired is considered an English, although it contains no Lat at all. It is the steam press manner in the curing process. Go figure!

Thanks for your overview - great info for all of us pipe enthusiasts! :-)
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VaPer and light aromatics. Particularly fond of Maple/Butterscotch .
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Anniversary Kake! Sutliffe Tobac Noir. New fan of C&D Autumn Evening. I guess that all means aromatics. I used to like all mild mannered smokes but am starting to want some flavor. I am finding the milder mannered the smoke the lower the nic. Too little nic and I lose interest.
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