DO:
- Get an inexpensive corn cob pipe ~10 USD. The trusted famous brand is Missouri Meerschaum.
- get a well loved “codger blend” like Carter Hall or Prince Albert
- watch some YouTube videos on packing and lighting; keep it simple (3 step packing)
DON’T
- buy an expensive pipe to start with
- get frustrated with learning curve - patience
Tobacco Types
- wealth of info at tobaccoreviews.com
- aromatics (broadly, smell good but no taste)
- virginia / burley: core tobacco leaf types (notes of bread, hay, leather)
- latakia: smoke cured (campfire smokey smells)
Try them all. See what you like. (But va/burley is the best!)
Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/miguellopezmallach/15365251481/in/photostream
I was just straightening up my storage unit this weekend, and found a jar of Squadron Leader that has to be aged by 6 years by now. I cracked the seal, and it smelled soooo good. Haven’t smoked a pinch yet, saving the experience for my upcoming birthday.
If one must smoke latakia, SL is my top recommendation. Subtle balanced smokiness that harmonizes alongside the natural tobacco notes. Happy future BD!
I’m a big fan of Squadron Leader, nice taste and and an easy smoke. I have literally nowhere to smoke now, so I’ve got a jar I’m kind of aging out of necessity
I tried to get into pipe smoking around 2004. Three of us did. We all bought cheap pipes and would sit around trying to smoke them. The internet was not the same back then for content discovery so we didn’t know what we were doing. I don’t think anyone from that group still smokes a pipe.
Around the same time I tried to get into cigar smoking. I remember the sampler I got being terrible. Again the internet was not as useful back then.
DO NOT get started with pipe smoking. it is as addictive as other forms of consuming nicotine and is very likely to cause cancer or other health problems in your mouth, digestive tract or vascular system.
