How have your tastes changed over the years?

I'd wager that the majority of us started out smoking aromatics. I did and then quickly moved through most of the OTC blends in the 1970's until settling in with latakia based blends. Over the past few years I transitioned to plugs like 3P's, Warrior, Revor, Salty Dogs, etc.
I still love my English blends but I like to switch things around more now than previously.

I got back into pipe smoking to try Syrian latakia, then moved to Oriental blends, and then some unreputable characters on this site convinced me to try aromatics. I'd say they're batting .500 on their suggestions.

New York City, early January ,1997

The first tobacco I ever purchased was a pouch of American Spirit. After lighting the bowl, I realized it was cigarette tobacco, so I went back to the smoke shop on West 4th Street. I really wanted the tobacco my dad smoked, but I didn’t know the name of it (Captain Black). I settled for a tin of EMP and went home to smoke. It had an interesting taste, but I enjoyed it.

I soon began smoking Captain Black. Occasionally, I would buy a two ounce bag of Barclay Rum from Barclay Rex. Once in a while, I would smoke a bowl of Captain Black Cherry.

After 9 + years, I tried Davidoff Royal Blend. Soon I would smoke English blends exclusively. Last summer I acquired a taste for Virginia and Virginia based blends. Today I enjoy English, Virginias and Burley blends.

From what you have said about your wife, as time goes by I see you moving more toward divorce.  Just sayin'.....   

It all began with Carter Hall for me circa 1991. I tried Capt. Black and a few bulk aro's but knew immediately it wasn't what I wanted. Similar to how I don't want flavored creamers in my coffee. Today I smoke mostly Va/Bur/Per combos with some Lat blends in the cooler months.

@cosmicbobo

“The biggest difference between then and now is I love all the different types.”

That sums it up for me.

A lot of different ways to go with this but, in short, Esoterica Dunbar and McCranie’s Red Ribbon have been my staples of late. Uhle’s burleys in cobs round out the trifecta.

I want to get back to some Lat in my meers but tend to only prefer this combo in cooler weather.

So much to do, so little time....

I need to put Uhle's on my check them out list again. I have their Christmas blend, but that was all I was looking for at the time. Burleys in cobs are magic, btw

Wow, thank you. I know better than to say no. All I can do is pay forward when I can. Sweet Burleys are great. Funny that your love of that vinegar taste in McC was something I was afraid of and now love. Like I said, I learned a ton and I still am a few months shy of one year in here.

I no longer like BRM. I like tobaccos that I never thought I would like, but I can't say that I have changed much. I thought I would hate OJK, but I like it. I tried Escudo my first year and it it still tastes awful 5 years later. I still like Davidoff Medallions, and CBR.
My Radices still smoke any blends better than any other pipes.
Laphroaig was my first single malt scotch and 20 years later it's still my favorite, same with Old Granddad bourbon. 55 years after I first tasted it, it is still the best. To me.
Fried cornbread is still my favorite food after 68 years.

Years ago, I started out with Captain Black Regular (heaven forbid). I then moved on to other cheap, wet American-style aromatics such as Stanwell and MacBaren Sevens Seas blends, etc. Got tired of burning my mouth on these wet, flavorless aromatics trying to keep them lit, regardless of drying time and technique.

I eventually moved on to English/Balkan blends. They gave great flavor and smoked cool. I really liked them, but got tired of burning out my taste buds on Latakia, plus the cost of quality tins is a lot more expensive to get here. I still smoke Old Dublin and London Mixture from time to time, but not as much as before. From there I moved on to old codger blends such as Prince Albert and Carter Hall. They were affordable and smoked wonderfully, but I eventually got tired of the plain burley taste. I finally settled on Amphora blends as my main daily smokes, which I have been smoking for the past few years. They are what I call 'dry aromatics'. They are affordable, aren't sopping wet, have lots of flavor, good strength, a wonderful room note, and they smoke cool.

I am anxiously awaiting my shipment of Amphora Virginia. Can't wait!

My dad smoked a Latakia blend (haven't been able to discover what), so that's where I started and have stayed. He was a one-blend guy, though, and I like to try everything. I've found I like McClelland's oriental-forward blends most, followed by Germain's and SG.

I thought I hated all aros when I started, after being given a big sampler from a guy on another forum. Turns out Burley was the problem, and I gradually developed a taste for all kinds of ridiculous stuff like Firedance Flake, Molto Dolce, and various Boswell's. I enjoy the occasional Lakeland and like the occasional straight VA (mostly SG) but have not developed a taste for Burley or Perique at all.

Once upon a time, I thought Captain Black was the greatest tobacco in the world.

And I was content.

Then I discovered English/Balkan/Oriental blends and smoked those almost exclusively. I smoked Sobranie white and 759, as well as other English/Balkan/Oriental Blends.

And I was content.

Then I decided that I needed more variation, so I smoked English/Balkan/Oriental blends and vanilla aros, though not Captain Black.

And I was content.

Then I got tired of latakia and only smoked Danish Delight.

And I was content.

Then I started checking out Virginias.

And I was not content because I was on the search, and Virginias were schooling me.

Then I only smoked Virginias, VaPers, VaBurPers, and VaBurs.

And I was content.

Then I decided that I was missing English/Balkan.Oriental blends a little, though the thought of Latakia made my stomach heave.

And I was not content.

Then I started adding in some blends where Latakia is used in a more condimental amount.

And contentment returned.

Then I tried out a couple of non gooper aros and some OTCs.

And found some new aspects to contentment. There is something wonderful about a non fussy blend that smokes well and doesn't need special prep.

Now I smoke Virginias, VaPers, VaBurs, and VaBurPers about 90 percent of the time, have added a few Virginia blends that have some Oriental leaf, enjoy a couple of Aros on rare occasion, a few English/Balkan/Oriental blends, and a couple of OTCs.

And I am very content.