I realize this post won't apply to most of my readers, but I would encourage you to read along and add to your general life knowledge. For those who linked here from my pipe and tobacco message boards, I wanted to share a little experiment I did last month.
I've been smoking a pipe since the mid 1980's (with a large break in the early 2000's as I worked out an answer for my children who would ask why I smoke a pipe). My palate was never really refined and I often missed what other pipesmokers picked up and would describe in a bowl of tobacco. Based on some good advice from the boys over at The Country Squire Podcast (HT: to JD/Beau) and in order to improve my palate and really train myself to taste the differences in tobacco, I committed to smoking just English tobacco for an entire month.
For those non-pipesmokers, the difference between straight tobacco vs. English tobacco is like the difference you would taste between blended whiskey and a single malt Islay whiskey. English tobaccos have a distinct smokey flavor and smell. For the rest of you who can't relate to tobacco or whiskey, it's like the difference between boiled chicken and deep hickory smoked BBQ chicken.
My experiment was simple: I chose to smoke (mostly) only tinned tobaccos. I opened and jarred the following tobaccos allowing them to breathe before smoking: Dunhill MM965, The Apertif, EMP, Night Cap as well as C&D Mississippi Mud and G.L. Pease Maltese Falcon. I did add one bulk blend of McClelland 5110 that I purchased from a local brick and mortar under the shop blend name of Sherwood Forest.
I committed to smoking these tobaccos in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I enjoyed them in a variety of settings. From lunting in nature to sauntering in my local neighborhood to quiet reflection with scripture, good books, jazz and scotch whiskey to delightful reflection of the day with good friends, my wife and my dogs, I worked hard to savor these blends.
The results were magical. Midway through the month, I began to recognize and distinguish what I appreciate in a good English tobacco. I began to develop a taste for the different components and recognize the nuances that many have spoken about in tobacco reviews and comments about favorite blends and favorite blenders.
I had two disturbing setbacks. First, I fell in love with McClellands 5110. The stoved virginia tobacco makes this delicious and adds to an addicting room note (I'd walk back into the garage after smoking this blend and immediately want more). The disturbing part is that due to many circumstances in the world of pipe tobacco, McClelland Tobacco has shut down production of all tobacco in April 2018. How depressing it is to fall in love with something you really love when you can no longer get it. The second disturbing part is that my wife hates the smell of English tobacco in the air and in my beard (I don't think I need to explain the ultimate result of this setback).
On Easter 2018 (April 1), I loaded up a bowl of Dunhill Three Year Matured Virginia to begin my month of Virginia/VaPers and WOW could I smell and taste the overwhelming sweetness that I had been missing during my prior habit of jumping around English, aromatic, and straight virginia blends.
If you are struggling to appreciate the intricacies of pipe tobacco (scotch whiskeys, hickory smoked chicken), I recommend trying this experiment and letting me know how it works for you.
Keep your pipes lit my friends!
Quietly making noise,
Fletch