Have You Found "Your Blend"?

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I've spent the past year exploring all the different kinds of blends I could get my hands on (Virginias, Burleys, VaPers, VaBurs, Aromatics, and English blends) and the wide range of pipe shapes and styles they can be smoked in, searching for the right pipe style and the right blend for me. At this point I've found the pipe style that I enjoy smoking the most, which happens to be a lightly bent Dublin style churchwarden (the Savinelli 401 Churchwarden line specifically) and it very much feels like "my pipe", but even after trying over 40 different pipe blends nothing has really elicited that "Ah ha!" feeling.

There have been some blends that I really enjoyed, like Cornell & Diehl Autumn Evening and Cult Blood Red Moon, but I only enjoyed them marginally more than the VaPers, VaBurs, and English blends that I'm also fond of. At this point even after trying more than 40 blends nothing has really stood out to me as something I could smoke all day every day though, it's all just been varying degrees of pretty good to acceptable. There have been a couple that I found rather detestable, mainly Haunted Bookshop and Old Joe Krantz, but those were the outliers and I still revisit Haunted Bookshop every now and then to see if I might develop a taste for it; and I do think I dislike it a little less now than I did when I first tried it.

In any case, after trying so many blends in search of one that I could smoke day in and day out like the codgers of olde and coming up empty-handed I'm starting to wonder if "my blend" simply doesn't exist; since there's no particular style of tobacco that I've felt especially passionate about. Have you found "your blend" or are you still chasing that illusory dragon too?

 

[jackets]

I’m somewhere between having “My blend” and chasing the dragon. I’ve found several blends that I love and would have no problem smoking exclusively if there were some magical elf that prevented me from acquiring more tobacco and transformed my cellar into a single blend. With that said, I love variety and options. I wouldn’t want to be tied down to a single blend or smoke predominantly one thing. My rotation is all over the place but the more regular blends in rotation tend to be things that I smoke when I don’t want to bother spending too much time deciding what to smoke.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Yep.

 

[Warlee]

It’s taken me two years to find 3 blends that I like a lot and can smoke anytime. I’d call them my main rotation, but in all honesty it will probably change a bit over time and I’m ok with that.

There are a lot of blends that I enjoy, but due to various factors (excessive prep time, too big nic hit, rough on my palate etc), they are more of an occasional treat.

I would say keep exploring you will find a few. If you have multiple pipes, try the same blend in different pipes. I have a few pipes that, for whatever reason, give phenomenal smokes with a specific blend.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I've spent the past year exploring all the different kinds of blends I could get my hands on (Virginias, Burleys, VaPers, VaBurs, Aromatics, and English blends) and the wide range of pipe shapes and styles they can be smoked in, searching for the right pipe style and the right blend for me. At this point I've found the pipe style that I enjoy smoking the most, which happens to be a lightly bent Dublin style churchwarden (the Savinelli 401 Churchwarden line specifically) and it very much feels like "my pipe", but even after trying over 40 different pipe blends nothing has really elicited that "Ah ha!" feeling.

There have been some blends that I really enjoyed, like Cornell & Diehl Autumn Evening and Cult Blood Red Moon, but I only enjoyed them marginally more than the VaPers, VaBurs, and English blends that I'm also fond of. At this point even after trying more than 40 blends nothing has really stood out to me as something I could smoke all day every day though, it's all just been varying degrees of pretty good to acceptable. There have been a couple that I found rather detestable, mainly Haunted Bookshop and Old Joe Kranz, but those were the outliers and I still revisit Haunted Bookshop every now and then to see if I might develop a taste for it; and I do think I dislike it a little less now than I did when I first tried it.

In any case, after trying so many blends in search of one that I could smoke day in and day out like the codgers of olde and coming up empty-handed I'm starting to wonder if "my blend" simply doesn't exist; since there's no particular style of tobacco that I've felt especially passionate about. Have you found "your blend" or are you still chasing that illusory dragon too?

I was curious why you have the goal of finding a single blend to smoke day in and day out. Is the goal to emulate the codgers of yore as part of some romantic ideal you hold dear in your heart and mind?

I relish trying and enjoying a wide variety of tobaccos; variety is the spice of life—I know some people like eating cheeseburgers every day of the week, but that seems rather dull and limited when so many other flavours exist.

To each his own, and that’s fine. I would just like to better understand the appeal of settling into a single blend of tobacco.

 

[FurCoat]

Yup. All of them. I'm on the same page as @jackets on this one.

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I was curious why you have the goal of finding a single blend to smoke day in and day out. Is the goal to emulate the codgers of yore as part of some romantic ideal you hold dear in your heart and mind?

I relish trying and enjoying a wide variety of tobaccos; variety is the spice of life—I know some people like eating cheeseburgers every day of the week, but that seems rather dull and limited when so many other flavours exist.

To each his own, and that’s fine. I would just like to better understand the appeal of settling into a single blend of tobacco.

I think it's really the smoking background I came to pipes from. I've been a RYO cigarette smoker for a couple decades, and after trying every RYO variety I could get my hands on I found a mix I liked the best and just smoked that for ages (2 parts Daughters & Ryan Three Sails mixed with 1 part Daughters & Ryan Ryback, for anyone curious). I was also a hookah smoker for much of my life and even after trying probably over a hundred hookah blends nothing could compare to my love of Nakhla Strawberry and Nakhla Single Apple, I just smoked those two nearly every day for more than a decade.

But, I've come to a point in my life where I'd like to quit smoking cigarettes and I lost my enthusiasm for the hookah after the company who made my two preferred blends went out of business, so I'd like to just smoke a pipe instead and went into this hobby with the assumption that after trying enough blends I'd probably find 1 or 2 I especially liked and could smoke every day; as I did with cigarettes and the hookah.

Thus far those mythical blends have eluded me, but even if I never find them I still get a lot of enjoyment and relaxation out of pipe smoking. I imagine I'll figure out what I really like best in due time though. I've only been smoking pipes for a year now, which is a drop in the bucket compared to how long many folks here have been smoking and how long I smoked other forms of tobacco, so I'm fine with being patient and giving it time. The days are long but the years are short, as they say.

 

[irishearl]

Couldn't do 1 blend but have always only smoked 2 blends at a time. For some time now it's been OJK and Bayou Morning. Would be perfectly happy simply sticking with those 2.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yep

 

[warren]

Yes.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Nope, I like variety. I have about 30 tobaccos in my rotation and I enjoy them all. I do tend to favour the Gawith blends, tho.

 

[username]

Based on my last handful of orders yeah their is one blend I always order when it goes on sale. So yes. Do I smoke it exclusive no I like variety but I don't see my self buying more new to me blends any time soon.

 

[sablebrush52]

I have yet to find a blend that didn’t wear out its welcome. There are some, like Yorktown, that I enjoy as an all day smoke, but none as an all life smoke.

 

[Servant King]

I’m somewhere between having “My blend” and chasing the dragon. I’ve found several blends that I love and would have no problem smoking exclusively if there were some magical elf that prevented me from acquiring more tobacco and transformed my cellar into a single blend. With that said, I love variety and options. I wouldn’t want to be tied down to a single blend or smoke predominantly one thing. My rotation is all over the place but the more regular blends in rotation tend to be things that I smoke when I don’t want to bother spending too much time deciding what to smoke.

^^^^ This

 

[brian64]

If for some unexplainable reason I could only smoke one blend, I could be content with OJK. But it's really a pointless hypothetical question because there are countless blends readily available.

I will say though that some blends I enjoy require more prepping time and effort and don't burn as easily, so are smoked less often for those reasons. A few of my "favorites" such as OJK are in part because of their ease of use while at the same time being very satisfying in flavor and strength.

 

[John_B]

Still chasing Unicorns after a mere 45 years of trying. I used to have the desire for that one perfect blend and the long lost Players Whiskey flake was mine. These days VaPers are more my thing and I tend to rotate them to avoid boredom and tongue fatigue. My latest favorite is DTM St Bernard flake. It really ticks all the boxes. Also in my personal wheelhouse is DTM Krisswill Navy Cut. Also a VaPer but very different. If money was no object, then Peterson Deluxe Navy Rolls would be in with a shout. Problem is I can get a lot more St Bernard for the same money, so I guess that would be my ONE.

 

[PA Piper Mike]

Nope, and I don't plan to, just like I don't eat steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 days/week, 365 days/year. I love the variety.

 

[Kobold]

I haven’t found that one blend but I’m not looking to settle down to just one. I’m a tobacco whore I guess. I like em all and the variety.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

I have, but I still like variety. I always have a lot of my 3 faves on hand but still try new blends.

 

[Peter Turbo]

three years and over 250 blends so far, still looking.