One Lucky Dude...

[deepbass9]

Yup, that's me. And not by any doing of my own now, mind ya. Just is...trust me, there's plenty where the cards don't fall my way.


In this instance, though, I thought I'd share my luck and experiences and hear of others, should they care to reply. What am I lucky in? Well, tobak.


Click my cellar link under my avatar in the tobak section, if you care; I currently have 40+ jars open for my current smoking, and a decent bit stashed away. I've been puffing steadily (that's like ~ 8-10 smokes per week on a smoky week) for a little over two years now, and the usual learning curve aside, out of all the blends listed, there are only three that don't tickle my fancy.


Sure, now, there are some VaPers I like better than others, or some Lats, etc...but most all of what I've tried has been enjoyable on some level...other than the three. Now, if that don't make me one of the lucky ones, I don't know what would!


I could recommend any of the tobaks on my list to anyone, for one reason or another. PS LBF? Yup, great cheap alternative to some more expensive VaPers. Want to pony up for some FVF, yes, it's it's own thing as well. Lancer's Slices or Penzance...both nice for different reasons.


Even the three I don't really dig I can recommend...they are high quality leaf...they are some folks preferences, just not mine.


The three for me are:

Fillmore
Burley Flake #4
Rajah's Court


I'm still trying with Fillmore, but at this point I don't expect to get it. A VaPer with Lat seemed so up my alley, but alas I can find no spot in my palate for it. Burley Flake #4....hoo doggies, no appeal for me whatsoever. I'll stick w/JKP and ABF, thank you very much. I'm guessing HH ODF would suit me, too, but have yet to try it. Raj's Court..well, it just doesn't do anything for me. It's not bad or anything, but it just doesn't grab me on any particular level. FM OTB may end up in this category, though I seem to like the other three versions just fine.


I've about given up on all aro's. I'll probably try some Dan in the future, but if the tobak has that classic :evil: aro :evil: taste she ain't for me. I gave up on Boswell's stuff....the one store blend I have I keep because it was a gift from a dear friend. The Peterson's are pretty high quality, so there's only touch of the :evil: aro :evil: taste, so I'll smoke those (the store stuff...eh, keep that for the pretty boys, haha!!)


So, all-in-all my entire experience delving into pipes and tobaks has been an incredibly fruitful one.


Yes, I think I am one lucky dude.


How about you? Lucky, not so lucky in pipes? What's your take on your trip?

 

[lestrout]

Guess that makes two of us lucky guys. Or does that mean we are not discriminating or particular? Actually, like wine these days, there are not many bad ones when it comes to tobacco blends. I can drink just about any wine I've come across, as long as it isn't spoiled; I just may not care to reorder it or buy a case.

hp
les

 

[deepbass9]

Must be a Philly thing, I guess...

You certainly hit the nail on the head, Les. Let's not call ourselves tobak whores, rather, let's celebrate the plethora of fine products available from which to choose. There is most definitely an abundance of fine weed available, whoo hoo!

 

[Lesepfeife]

Click my cellar link under my avatar in the tobak section, if you care; I currently have 40+ jars open for my current smoking, and a decent bit stashed away.
How about you? Lucky, not so lucky in pipes? What's your take on your trip?

I've now been smoking for about a year, smoking about 5-10 bowls per week. I've tried a whole bunch of tobaccos, mostly good name brand blends, a few OTC's, and a couple of organics. I have stashed probably equal to or more than I've tried so far. I am right now smoking the last bowl of one of the first tins I got and there are others I have sampled and finished. I have a tobacco spreadsheet set up so I can keep track of a number of things and one of these is a list of things to try when I want to pad an order up to get free shipping etc. Some on this list are buy-agains and others are ones I want to try.

I started out ordering only blends that would have potentially been available in 1865 or before and have branched out into other things that sounded interesting to me. I too have found something to like in most of what I've tried. Early on the only one I found objectionable was SG Celtic Talisman. Being of good Scot blood I took it out of the tin and jarred it rather than tossing it. Around Christmas time I was looking to add in something special for the season so I revisited the CT. Not sure if it was the few months in the jar, honing of my technique, or the mindset that this was a good holiday blend but I now find it to be very good. A few others that I didn't like were redeemed by trying my own hand at blending. One of those blends has become one of my daughter's favorites.

I have about 20 open right now, some of which are first-timers and some repeat buys of ones that I really liked the first time around. I'm thinking that if one knows what he/she likes and does a little research the odds are good of racking up a much larger list of likes as compared to dislikes. Every time I go down to the basement and open the cooler that serves as my cellar I am reminded of all the wonderful options that await me but I try to limit at least somewhat the amount I have open. This helps encourage me to become more familiar with those blends before I move on to the next adventure. Not to mention that time in the cellar will likely improve them.