Then I found pipe smoking.  I found that I really enjoyed smoking a pipe home alone.  I’m the type of person who needs a certain amount of time away from people and smoking a pipe really gave me the opportunity to sit and relax.  It connected me with a long standing tradition that was once so commonly accepted that even the clergy smoked and you could find people in all walks of life smoking a pipe at their jobs and in their homes.  It’s a contemplative time to reflect on the day’s events and the things that are coming up tomorrow.

The art of smoking a pipe, and it truly can be considered an art when you think of the learning curve and the number of tobacco/pipe combinations there are, is something that helped me develop my palate.  I found the number of flavors offered were great enough to keep me interested on an ongoing basis.  You have everything from the heavily cased aromatics to the nearly uncased ropes and plugs.  The general public has no idea the different flavors that have come from tobacconists around the globe.  Most people only get to smell the aroma of the aromatics that pipe smokers tend to take in public.  So if you ask people randomly if they like the smell of pipe smoke, most will say they do.

However, recently, I’ve decided that I don’t too much care what people think of what I’m smoking in my pipe.  I’ve had people comment on the “odor” as I’m smoking a nice full english blend.  I find it more amusing than anything now.  What I’ve found is that the pipe tobacco that smells the worst to other people seems to always taste the best to the smoker.
Another discovery I’ve found since I’ve been smoking pipes is that when I smoke a cigar, I’m far more able to discern flavor profiles than I used to be.  Would I have developed this kind of palate over time if I had never discovered a pipe?  Who knows?  I do know that other cigar smokers who’ve taken up the pipe say the same thing.  Their cigars taste much better and they are more able to single out particular flavors now that they’ve had their palate developed with pipe smoke.  I feel the same.

Cigar flavor profiles, though they are different and some can be quite strong, tend to have some of the same characteristics whether you smoke a Padron or a Montecristo.  I’m not saying that all cigars taste alike.  Far from it.  What I am saying is the spectrum of flavors in cigars is more subtle than with pipes.  The pipe flavor profiles vary so greatly that I believe there is a pipe tobacco flavor to suit just about anyone.

So whether you’re a virginia/perique lover, english connoisseur, or maybe a burley enthusiast enjoy that smoke!  And don’t forget to pick up a stick occasionally as well.  You never know when the desire for the chocolaty flavors of a Padron or the spiciness of a nice cuban is going to strike!

Well, I’ll wrap it up for now.  Don’t forget, life’s too short to smoke something you don’t like!  Happy pipe smoking!
owaindav