Nice, thank you for taking the time to post all that info. Hopefully I can find a place this week and pick up a cob. I was checking out the Chacom pipes, very very good looking pipes. A buddy at work was telling me about a meerschaum that he brought back from oversees somewhere and that he's never smoked it. That guy has no clue either, lol.
Thanks again!:-)
[Reply]

Just order some McClelland's Frog Morton Series sampler to break in my new pipes.
I got 4 (50g) tins of the following tobaccos:

Frog Morton
Frog Morton on the Town
Frog Morton on the Bayou
Frog Morton Across the Pond

Would you consider that a pretty nice sample for a newbie, now that I think of it I hope it's not aromatic.
[Reply]

You can look up most pipe tobacco and read reviews here: tobaccoreviews.com

Type Frog Morton in the search bar and those 4 will show up.
[Reply]

Thanks M. J.
[Reply]

If you ordered it already, what does it matter whether anybody else thinks it is a nice sampler? I am not trying to be rude in asking this. All that matters when you smoke something is whether you enjoy it.

I think Carter Hall is a detestable smoke. To my palate, anything from MacBarens is tongue-bite in a can. If someone were to buy the same amount of those tobaccos as you bought of the Frog, and asked the same question, what might I think? Personally, if I had done it, it would have been a waste of money. But, if that person like them, that is all that matters.

1st, none of the Frog blends are aromatics, this I can tell you.

As for whether or not that is a nice sampler? Only your tastebuds will know for sure. I'd say, pop open a can of one of them and find out it is a nice sampler or not.

Peace of the Lord be with you.
[Reply]

I think it will be. I have never tried any of them, but as long as they do not have bad reviews they should be worth the try. Let us know how they smoke, and create some of your own reviews on them! :-)
[Reply]

I don't think it was being rude I had never heard of the aromatics and thought about it after I order them, I hope like hell they are not aromatics. which now I know they are not and if I didn't like it's not a complete waste since my friend smokes pipe tobacco so it would be a nice gift to him. If I don't like them
[Reply]

Like Rev'mo' said, it's a personal thing. I'd say that Frog Morton tobaccos are about as universally liked as anything else I know - and I don't think much of any of them. :-)

Rev'mo' finds Carter Hall detestable and I think it's a nice blending tobacco or a good change of pace smoke. :-)

There is no answer to what's a good sampler unless you get it from someone you already know has tastes similar to yours. And even then... :-)
[Reply]

I just popped a tin of Frog Morton on the Town and found it to be excellent. I will be ordering more. For what it is worth.
[Reply]

Oh after reading tobacco reviews i see now. I was under the impression that the different frog morton's was different types of tobacco. Which now I understand that it's all an english type of tobacco.

I was thinking I was getting a small sample of english, burley, virginia , cavendish types of smoke.
[Reply]

Yeah, all the Frog Mortons are englishes, but different blends so they will be slighty different.
[Reply]

With that being said they are different but will have that one same taste , kind of if you like lito gomez, or pepin or tat taste, it will be diff baccy but 1 same nuance that you like. I like latakia and find most of C & D latakia blends enjoyable however they are all different in taste they have that 1 taste I enjoy.
And as the great rev pointed out on pallet difference let me give an example I had 2 year old wo larsen I gifted him that had bit his tongue yet to me it was quite enjoyable . I also had given him a blend with some ps that bit his tongue but yet to me the bite was tolerable. Now theres some C & D Blends with same baccy I like in it but some is tongue harsh in its current blend but enjoyable , yet blended diff I enjoy it much more than usual.
Now I have a buddy that smokes englishes, latakias va/pers and aromatics, the whole kabbotle, like me and even him and I have different opinions on some baccys. Sometimes on tongue bites if I smoke slower I can enjoy it more. Now with me cherry in a baccy turns me off but its a big seller for some, I just find it sweet cheap tasting , kind of like they pulled a low grade baccy and flavored it to sell cheaper.
[Reply]

I was just wondering how many times a day can I smoke out of my pipes?
And should I have pipes dedicated to english, VA or other blends?

Also how long should a pipe be rested before using it again?
[Reply]

I smoke out of my pipes only1 time per day. There are two reasons: 1) moisture build-up that causes tongue bite. 2) not letting a pipe rest and dry may cause bowl burn-out.

As for dedicated pipes, that is simply a matter of taste. I don't like the taste of Latakia in my Hamborger Veermaster (a lighter Virginia). I also don't like the taste of Irish Creme in my English blends. So, I have personally found that I have a pipe that I can smoke many English blends in, a pipe for aromatics, a couple pipes for straight VAs and a couple pipes for VaPers.

And, I have a couple pipes that go with me and will smoke anything I bring along, although my normal "go to" blends are VAs and VaPers, so they do all right in the same pipe.

Hope that helps.

Peace of the Lord be with you.
[Reply]

Nothing Like a simple question. The easy answer is a definite maybe. You can smoke a pipe several times a day depending on the type of pipe and the moisture of your tobacco. A lot of the need to rest a pipe is due to moisture buildup resulting in gurgle a Meerschaum pipe is nearly immune to this but most Briars are not.

As to dedicating a pipe that is personal preference the only pipe I have dedicated is a pipe for Tambo.

How long to rest a pipe depends on the conditions of your house some people will find the pipe ready to go in a day or two others up to a week.
[Reply]

I've notice since embarking down this pipe smoking slope. That often times I have to relight the tobacco four or five times to keep it going. It is just me or is the tobacco?

Or is it common to have to relight the pipe? It seems to me that it should be lit once, then smoked to the bowl is finished maybe I'm just to optimist.

Basically, how do I keep it lit?
[Reply]

4 or 5 times is good when you're starting out! :-)

Yes relights when first beginning is commonplace. Here are a few tips to help out minimizing relights:

1. make sure your tobacco isn't too wet. Naturally, wet tobacco likes to stop burning.

2. It is important to have a toasting/charring light to start a bowl burning evenly.

3. make sure your bowl is filled/packed well. too loose and it will burn hot and go out, and too tight and it wont have enough space to breathe (making it go out).

4. practice, practice, practice. I'm 3 years into pipe smoking and I'm only now perfecting a method that works for me. Be patient and go with the flow.
[Reply]

I found this helpful, a couple years after smoking and still had issues
http://youtu.be/oOJUoEM4P14
[Reply]

It isn't unusual. The most likely problem isn't the tobacco, but how you have packed your bowl and your initial light. 1 or 2 relights to get to the bottom of the bowl is normal - after your initial light. And your initial lighting method should probably take 3 or 4 lights in this sort of a manner; light to char then tamp (tobacco will puff up when lighting), then you tamp it even and light again (tobacco may puff up again when lighting), and you may have to repeat that tamp and light a few times, maybe up to 5 times, before you get an even light. Do not short-change that charring, tamping, and getting an even light to begin.

Be patient, it will get better.

Peace of the Lord be with you.
[Reply]

Hi guys,

I'm not new to pipes, but I'm new to researching pipe tobaccos more thoroughly than just telling myself "that smells good" when I check something out in a store.

My difficulty is that I'm finding, in a shocking (!!) parallel to the cigar world, a lot of misinformation out there. I'll look up a given commercial blend and one site will say, "This blend is primarily Virginia, with just a touch of Latakia", while another source will describe the same blend, saying "Almost all Latakia, but a little pinch of Virginia keeps it balanced". Or, more troubling, a review might say, "This is one of the rare blends made without a casing", while another review will say, "The dark rum flavoring, while subtle, is noticeable in the room note".

Total inconsistency!

So, my question to you guys: can you point me at a good (preferably online) source of info about commercially available blends that you trust to provide accurate information?

Thanks, everybody. :-)
[Reply]