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Post by jeffd on May 21, 2018 12:29:50 GMT -5
I am wondering about this.
We all have experienced that certain drinks, coffee, water, cocktails, certain beers, enhance the taste of certain tobaccos. Same with certain meals. For example, I love black beans and rice, and find it makes the follow on pipe taste that much better.
So in the same way is it not possible that the palate can be prepared for certain tobaccos by smoking some other tobacco first. Or that having smoked a certain tobacco, you cannot appreciate certain others?
I do notice, for example, that Billy Budd Blonde tastes best when it is the first bowl. And that War Horse tastes amazing when it follows Billy Budd Blonde. Things like that. Smoking a strong aromatic, for example, however much I might enjoy it, puts me off for anything else. Whatever I smoke after a strong aromatic seems to not taste good.
And, have you noticed that sometimes the second half of a bowl tastes more wonderful than the first half? I have explained this to myself by saying that the amount of ash, the unburned tobacco being infused with smoke from the top, etc. Like the second half of a cigar always tastes better to me.
But now i wonder if the first half of the bowl prepares my mouth for tasting the second half? That the experience is different because the palate, or the brain, was prepped by the first half of the bowl and is now ready to experience the second half.
These things are all explained by the pipe, or the tobacco, or the process of smoking, but i wonder about the role of preparing the tongue in all of this.
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Post by jeffd on May 21, 2018 12:32:28 GMT -5
And so, are their combinations that you particularly love. Smoke X to enhance the experience of smoking Y. Or some blend that has to be smoked first and loses its effect if smoked second or third.
And note, I never smoke two bowls in a row from the same pipe. I always light up another pipe if i want to continue smoking, either the same blend or a different one.
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Post by cigrmaster on May 21, 2018 13:39:31 GMT -5
I smoke my mildest Virginia flakes as the first of the day and then go up the strength and flavor ladder as the day progresses.
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Post by Legend Lover on May 21, 2018 17:08:43 GMT -5
That's really interesting. I don't smoke enough to try, but I did notice once that my pipe tasted awful after I brushed my teeth.
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Post by william on May 21, 2018 19:17:36 GMT -5
That's really interesting. I don't smoke enough to try, but I did notice once that my pipe tasted awful after I brushed my teeth. Well then stop brushing your teeth.  |
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Post by Wolfman on May 21, 2018 20:20:29 GMT -5
That's really interesting. I don't smoke enough to try, but I did notice once that my pipe tasted awful after I brushed my teeth. I also do not recommend having a Halls prior to smoking. |
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Post by lestrout on May 22, 2018 9:15:24 GMT -5
Yo Jef - you have hit upon something that is important to me for maximum enjoyment (since pipstering is all about taste to me). A couple of factoids: the great Russ Ouellette told me at one of the Lehigh Valley Pipe Club meetings that milk muddles the sense of taste, since it coats the taste buds. Also in line with LL's toothpaste experience, many toothpastes and mouthwashes have surfactants meant to help the cleaning process - but some of them really confuse the taste buds. Per Wolf's thoughts, I would think camphor and menthol don't pair well with tobacco.
Sequencing bowls has a big effect on enjoyment. I used to run winetastings, and the following principles are what I use when selecting a day's worth of pipe blends: light before heavy; dry before sweet; simple before complex. Also, I'm basically a Latfreak, but I do love Virginias before Englishes because they make the Lat taste soooo much better. On a more complex level, certain Orientals have an appetizer effect: I don't dislike EMP, but I don't like it all that much either. But as a first smoke of the day, I don't enjoy EMP on it own merits so much as anticipate that the next bowl will be more marvelous.
Thinking about multiple bowls in terms of sequences amplifies the enjoyment over just experiencing a single bowl at a time. This is analogous to listening to music as a single tone, versus a chord, or a full song; perhaps even a symphony.
hp
les
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Post by jeffd on May 22, 2018 10:04:37 GMT -5
Yo Jef - you have hit upon something that is important to me for maximum enjoyment ... Thinking about multiple bowls in terms of sequences amplifies the enjoyment over just experiencing a single bowl at a time. Wow. I was thinking along these lines. I think many have experienced what we are talking about. It would be good if people could list their favorite sequences, so others could maybe try it that way. My mentor in smoking was, as I have said probably too much, my dad. And that was in a different time, when pipe smoking wasn't a hobby, it was something you just did. Dad had his blend and his four or five pipes and that was it. He didn't want to talk about it, and he didn't like talking while he was smoking. But now its much more of a hobby, with lots of blends to chose from and lots of enthusiasts to share with. We all smoke more different types of tobacco than my dad ever did. Sequencing might be a cool thing to explore deliberately, and share our favorite sequences. |
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Post by jeffd on May 22, 2018 10:06:13 GMT -5
The whole idea of a sequence is that B tastes better after smoking A. Better than smoking B by itself. And that prepares you for C which becomes an amazing experience it would not have been smoking C alone.
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Post by Legend Lover on May 22, 2018 11:32:36 GMT -5
This is really really good stuff. I plan to try it some day.
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Post by jeffd on May 22, 2018 12:33:08 GMT -5
This is really really good stuff. I plan to try it some day. I fell into it by happy accident, but now i am deliberately sequencing. C&D Billy Budd Blonde, followed by Happy Hour (also C&D) followed by Escudo Navy de Luxe. I am going to try some other sequences as well, incorporating Dunhill Mixture 965 and Dunhill Elizabethan, which are all of a certain type. I am in agreement with Les, light before heavy, simple before complex. Though of course, there are no rules, just experimentation and enjoyment. Everyone will find the sequences they like, and, I hope, post their suggestions. Its all about the enjoyment. |
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Post by Ronv69 on May 22, 2018 21:31:46 GMT -5
My wife says to boil it for 2-3 hours in beef broth, then chili it in the refrigerator overnight.
Slice it as thin as possible and serve it with rye bread and horseradish sauce.
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Post by jeffd on May 22, 2018 22:40:04 GMT -5
My wife says to boil it for 2-3 hours in beef broth, then chili it in the refrigerator overnight. Slice it as thin as possible and serve it with rye bread and horseradish sauce.   |
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Post by PhantomWolf on May 22, 2018 22:45:59 GMT -5
Les is right- dairy can cause mucous to be produced and maybe that would have some affect. Anything overly acidic like orange juice could lead to that same issue. I can imagine spicy or tomato-based dishes having the same effect as toothpaste- overwhelming the buds and making blends taste weaker.
I find that certain blends actually give me cravings for others and that is how I end up planning most of my smokes.
And many people enjoy the 2nd half of the bowl as you've mentioned. I'm a 2nd 1/3rd kind of guy. haha That is the sweet spot for me. The taste of the matches or lighter is gone, the tobak is nice and warm and oozing it's oils and the warmth in the bowl really makes the flavours work together. The last bit is my least favourite. Even with cigars, I waste a big chunk at the end. I just hate that ashtray taste.
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