Hey all ,
a little backround on me . I'm a cigarette and cigar smoker giving pipes a try.I got a basket pipe starter pack that came with 8 -1oz samples (mostly house aromatics), i also bought 2 cobs and 4oz lane ltd 1Q and a pouch of CBW. trying to get the hang of packing , lighting , relighting , and lighting again and again. all the while pouring over all the threads and reviews here , tobaccoreviews , pipedia and wherever google sends me.

As a NPS with no palate for pipe tobacco and that I have only smoked CBW , Lane 1Q and butternut burley, which i like . What is/are the baccy I should try that would let even MY inexperienced palate taste a "typical" English , Virginia , Vaper , Oriental or other. so that I can then pick a path and find the one that I like in that genre.. If thats even possible being as there is so much out there , not to mention the SGs and other hard to find baccys

I plan on doing the Newb sampler trade at some point , but I want be able to know what I am tasting ,pack a pipe and keep her lit first ..
[Reply]

If you are re-lighting that much, try drying the baccy out a bit.

As for English suggestions:
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...hlight=english
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...hlight=english

I only smoke English as I don't like artificially flavored baccy and I can't taste VA's and VaPer's but I am sure you will get some great suggestions on the other variety's. Good luck!
[Reply]

For a good sampling of English....I like 965 or Nightcap from Dunhill. Most shops should have these so they are easy to find. For a slight Oriental spin on English blends, try the Early Morning Pipe by Dunhill as well.

Most shops have some good bulks that will give you a chance to make the rounds of the basic flavors. For Virginia, a sample of McClellands 5100 is hard to beat.
[Reply]

Pretty darn good advice.

All of the suggestions above are excellent. If you want to get wild and try flake tobacco, 100g of Rattray's Marlin Flake (JR's $12 - cavendish, virginia and perique)) is easy on the wallet and easy to enjoy - dark and mellow. On the other side of the field, lighter and piquant, is the always-available Macbaren's Navy Flake (virginia/burley).

There are many spectacular virginia (and virginia blended) flakes but some are more challenging than others to handle. I mention the two above for landmark smoking character, easy availability and easy flake intro.
[Reply]

if you're still smoking cigars and not strictly smoking pipes for a few months without cigars, then i wouldn't waste your time with a VA or Va/Per - you won't taste what makes them so good.

as far as readily available English and Oriental blends, your local shop may have some McClellands tobaccos to try. that's what i was smoking a lot of when i was switching back to pipes from cigars and couldn't taste VAs and Va/Pers yet.

I'm not a fan of Dunhill blends, other than Elizabethan Mixture, so i can't recommend them at all. Cornell & Diehl also make a couple nice and easy to smoke English blends, like Da Vinci, which you'll surely be able to taste even if you just stopped smoking a cigar 2 minutes before you lit the pipe.
[Reply]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. what do you think about Maltese Falcon , and Frog Morton for english .For va - vaper Escudo and Dan Tobacco Treasures of Ireland -Limerick.. Supposedly all of these available at local B+M . If I order online some of your recommendations are on my short list
[Reply]

Maltese is a great choice for an english. GL Pease is a top notch blender and his chioce of Cyprian Latakia adds great flavor. From Morton is a good staple to have around. Not as heavy as the Maltese, but will still demonstrate what a good english should be.

I have been away from VAPERS for a while, but Escudo is one everyone I know has a tin or two. Sounds like you are well on your way. Congrats on embarking on a new adventure.
[Reply]

Thanks to all your help and all of the members of this asylum I seem to keep finding slopes to slide down...
[Reply]

Those are great starter VaPers!!
[Reply]

i concur, but just make sure you've given your palate time to recover from smoking cigars, or else you'll have a hard time tasting most of the flavors in a VA or Va/Per.
[Reply]

will do Curley Cut, thanks
[Reply]

You never know what you'll gravitate to.....that's what makes it fun.
[Reply]

And what you gravitate to now, may not be what you gravitate to 2 years from now.
[Reply]

Don't mention that to Mrs. Moo. She's touchy that way.

:-)
[Reply]

I agree that you never know what you will gravitate to. It does truly make it fun. I only have 3-4lbs of pipe tobacco. The largest quantity I have of a single blend is a pound but the next largest is only 3 ounces. The rest are 2-1ounce of each blend. I find myself constantly switching back and forth between blends. It's what makes the hobby so fun. There is so much out there to still try!
[Reply]

what does everyone think of McClellands's 221b Honeydew and Dan Tobacco's Blue Note?

those along with Lane Blend 1Q are what I purchased with my first pipe.
[Reply]