My experience so far...
So for many years I've been a cigar smoker. I only just recently however decided to try picking up a pipe. After a bit of research and a quick chat with Andy I placed an order for some various tabaccos, a Nording pipe, and various supplies I'd need for my adventure. I placed a couple more orders for other tobaccos from other retailers, and before long I was set!
The very first tobacco I tried was CAO Eileen's Dream, and what a dream it was. I really enjoyed it, and didn't even realize at the time I wasn't REALLY enjoying it. I'll explain a bit more about that later.
Anyway, I tried many bowls of aromatics, virginia flake and english blends. At this point I'd have to say the virigina flakes are probably my favorite, but I really enjoy the variety (and room notes) of the aromatics. As for the english blends, I'm not too sure about those... There are undertones of flavors that I really enjoy in them, but I'm just not too hip on the Latakia. I can see breaking them out on a cold winter night before snuggling up in bed, but as a general every day smoke, I just can't get into it.
So I couldn't really say how many bowls I had before that "aha!" moment came, but it was quite a few. I think I was doing okay. Though occasionally one would get a little warm, I didn't suffer any real tongue bite... I would have to re-light a fair bit, but nothing that ruined the experience. However, while the nuiances were there, the one thing that disappointed me was that most of them all seemed to "taste the same" to me when it came to the aromatics.
Finally it clicked and I figured it out... It was because of my technique. I just hadn't gotten it "down" yet. Finally it happend... That first bowl where everything came together perfectly. With an Altadis "Hot Chocolate" blend packed in the bowl, I charred it, tamped it, noticed the draw seemed perfect, and lit it up again... This time I had a perfectly lit puck sitting right on the top... As I smoked I noticed the flavors really came through much more than in the past. Not just the casing, but the tobaccos themselves. Subtle nuiances that I had never been able to pick up on before. As the draw loosened up a little I tamped again and she just kept chugging away... The sweetness, the texture and mouth feel... It was all perfect.... As the draw loosened again, another quick tamp and off she goes.... Rich thick clouds of smoke, yet burning just as cool as could be...
The whole bowl went right down to ash without a single re-light. Towards the end the flavors really intensified and what once were subtle nuainces became bold and in your face.
One thing came to mind after dumping the ash... PERFECTION! I knew it the moment it was over... I knew I had just had the perfect bowl... Everything came together just perfectly...
Wondering if it was a result of my refined technique or simply a good tobacco, I decided to give it another whirl with CAO Cherry Bomb...
Once again an absolutely perfect smoke! No re-lights, burned perfectly right to the bottom, and had the most delightful flavor you could ever imagine! So it was me... It was my technique! and apparently I had perfected it...
Revisiting several of the tobaccos I had smoked previously yielded a much different result.. The flavors were much better, the burn was fantastic, etc... I was stoked!!!
So my word of advice to anyone out there just starting with pipes... If you're getting tongue bite, having to do a lot of re-lights, not getting a good flavor, etc... Stick with it! Don't give up! Once everything "clicks" into place, I can assure you you'll start having some fantastic experiences!!!
Will I give up my cigars for a pipe? Never! But I think my daily cigar ritual has been replaced with a daily pipe ritual accented by the weekend cigar!!
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