A Better Pipe Smoking Community

I believe that your analysis is appropriate for the smoker that enjoys a wide variety of tobacco blends. From reading our threads one can easily determine that guys like the Bobs enjoy primarily aro's. Others like Demetri Aristokles and myself favor heavier latakia blends. If you smoke both it is certainly advantageous to assign pipes to tobaccos. Aromatics leave ghosts and they would spoil a good English blend. Vice versa a heavy latakia would really stink up a fruity or candy flavored smoke. In my case all of my pipes with the exception of one reserved for the rare occasional aromatic are well broken in with latakia based tobacco. Accordingly I just choose a pipe and a tobacco interchangeably and light up. Subconsciously, I guess, I'm selecting my tobacco first and then the pipe based upon length of time I have or want to smoke and the activity I am engaged in while smoking. If I'm in a recliner a "droopy" oom paul does not work. If I'm sitting up like when I'm driving it works fine. Likewise a large billiard keeps the smoke away from my nostrils. Sometimes I want to have the smoke trickle into my nose for greater enjoyment but I have not been able to develop the technique of nose smoking from the inside out. That's when a nosewarmer is chosen. I have eighteen pipes five of which are bent and most all of my pipes are large bowled. I am a clencher, however, I do not mind the weight of my larger pipes; my jaw takes care of business when I'm enjoying a good long smoke. Frequently I focus on my activity and basically forget about smoking as my puffing rhythm is on automatic until the pipe needs a tamp or relight. Soooooo, my pipes and tobaccos are not assigned or married. I pick a tobacco and just grab a pipe. My pipes and tobaccos are displayed on a sofa table in my den and available just like a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. Since I'm a widower, I smoke whatever, whenever, wherever, indoors or out. My chosen latakia blends are all pretty straightforward. They all are equally pleasureable in any chosen pipe.

I noticed this too. I enjoy aro's as well as straight Virginia and English blends.

My Windjammer absolutely loves Gentleman Jack, which is my favorite blend. The flavor floats through unadulterated.

My Bjarne, while beautiful, was frustrating. I couldn't get anything to burn in it for any length of time. Enter Dan's DaVinci. Bingo.

C&D Pipe Dreams burns hotter than hell in anything but my Peterson 313. Sweet as honey, cool as a cucumber. Great combination.

French Vanilla in the corn cob - only pipe this blend works in.

Got a couple other pipes but these are the ones I smoke most often. My beater pot works well for pretty much anything.

A bent billiard stamped "Benton" that goes exceptionally well with CBB, but leaks like a full baby's diaper. Haven't decided what I'm going to do with that pipe yet.

Kaywoodie something or other that I usually reserve for H&H or PA.

75-80% of the time, somewhat to keep the peace and somewhat because I enjoy the flavor. I have eight pipes I use for English, (Squadron Leader being my favorite), two for VaPer, (2015 kickin' major butt) and the rest used for aro's. My Stanwell Golden Danish dubby is for Pete '09 reserve because of the taste. I try to seperate the chocolates, but damn, mixing choco and caramel or vanilla... Even CBB which I've run out of deserves it's own or two. Wall Street can be run in most anything and do no harm, still taste wonderful.

Preston, no more "Full Baby Diaper" analogies please, I am a grandfather three times over, with an imagination.

I have matched specific pipes to specific (compatible) tobacco blends, as well. I own 21 pipes and smoke 10 blends.

Uhle's Bishop's Move and Golden Shag (Heavy Latakia Blends) - 2 pipes
Captain Bob's Blend and Epiphany - 7 pipes
Green River Vanilla - 2 pipes
Pot O' Gold, Riverboat Gambler, Two Friends Heritage, Autumn Evening - 8 pipes
Gentleman Callers - 2 pipes

Five blends are considered Non-Aromatics and five are Aromatics.
Aro's: CBB, Autumn Evening, Green River Vanilla, Epiphany, Gentleman Callers
Non-Aro's: Bishop's Move, Golden Shag, Riverboat Gambler, Two Friends Heritage, Pot O' Gold

There are very few tobacco's that are not enhanced by flavor additives. The classification of Aromatic or Non-Aromatic is simply a matter of degree in most blends because even Non-Aro's like Heritage or Epiphany contain miniscule amounts flavor extracts.

There are many "hybrids" and an example of that would be Pot O' Gold. There is a slight Maple additive but I consider the blend to be a "hybrid" Non-Aro or what is often referred to as a light-Aro or Cross-Over blend.

Interesting that Gentleman Callers is considered a Non-Aro by definition as there are no additives. However, it is the most aromatic blend that I smoke. It contains the natural herb, deer-tongue. So, I guess you could call it a "natural" aromatic.

In my personal opinion, the hard line between Aro and Non-Aro blends has become increasingly blurred. The most popular selling blends, about 70%, are considered Aromatics. Of the 30% of top selling Non-Aromatic blends, about 90% of them have some flavor additive that does not disguise the tobacco taste but rather, enhances it.

Yep, it's all a matter of degree and disagreement depending on who you talk to and how you feel about it!

One man's Non-Aro may just be another man's Aro and vice versa!

I'm not a big Burley fan, but the 4 Burley blends I have tried (PA, Walnut, Safe Arbor flake and Barbary Coast) work much better on corn cobs than in anything else. On the other hand, Union Square, Squadron Leader or Wenti Blend (light english with latakia) taste like trash on a cob.
I smoke CBB and Autumn Evening on the small Peterson Belgique and nowhere else. From time to time I smoke a non aro on this pipe and I enjoy the aro ghosts mixing up with the VA or latakia.

Then I have a set of pipes that go with VA or VAper only, and another set that goes with English only. However, my favorite smoker (a Chacom Belgique) smokes well from OGS to Squadron Leader.

I'm finishing my 1st year as a pipe smoker, I'm sure that with the time I will be matching tobaccos and pipes more and more, because I really believe that each pipe have it's perfect tobacco.

your first full year as a pipe smoker Vasco...I'm sure you'll smoke pipe happily for many more years to come.
I have my 'pipe anniversary' at the middle to end of april, and I'll be on holiday at the sea (the same place where I started pipe smoking)

Justin