What are some "crap" pipe tobaccos to avoid?

[Ropey]

Thanks for the replies so far. I don't think the question is that difficult to answer. What do you consider to be crap brands or lines or types of pipe tobacco? What broad category or maker or type of blend would you refuse to smoke again?

I'm asking for your opinions. Don't overanalyze or question my question. Just shoot from the hip. Spit it out man. Who cares if other people agree with you?

So far I've got Lane and Sutliff and Mixture 79. Any others?

[Branzig]

It doesn't help at all that taste is relative and pipe tobacco really can't be compared to cigar tobacco flavor profiles at all.

For instance, I may suggest you try out some nice GH&Co offerings like Kendal Flake, Ennerdale Flake, or Grasmere Flake. Over half the people on here would yell and protest in disgust. I think it is all really tasty! What one person may consider an awful company that you have to stay away from, many others may regard them as the greatest single tobacco company ever.

Plus, as @NeverBend has pointed out, a lot of cigar issues are actually construction issues and QC problems. Most pipe tobacco doesn't suffer from this kind of stuff. While certain companies do use higher quality leaves, most amateur smokers can't tell the difference.

[Ropey]

What one person may consider an awful company that you have to stay away from, many others may regard them as the greatest single tobacco company ever.

I want YOUR opinion. Why is everyone so afraid to state their opinions here? I don't understand.

And I don't want opinions of what people think is good. The thread is specifically about what people think sucks. People are telling me my "question is wrong." It's my question!

C'mon, this ain't the SAT. Should be super easy. Or is 98% of pipe tobacco really good? Is that it? Can you just not f*ck up pipe tobacco? I ask for a list of crap pipe tobacco and everyone gives me stuff they like.

[Branzig]

Or is 98% of pipe tobacco really good? Is that it? Can you just not f*ck up pipe tobacco?

That about sums it up I think.

Like I said, most cigars that I don't care for are all because of shit burn issues or poor construction. How do you poorly cut up tobacco leaves?

I mean hell, Carter Hall and Prince Albert are the "Black & Mild/White Owls" of the pipe world, and guess what? They rule. They are super tasty and good. Not like machine made cigars at all.

As far as myself personally, the only pipe tobaccos I don't care for are aromatic goopers, burley blends that are too heavy with perique, and weak English's that are too light on the latakia. But I would never say that the companies that make these blends are absolute crap and you have to stay away from them, because Cornell & Diehl, Samuel Gawith, and Peter Stokkebye all make amazing high quality tobacco. Some of the best actually.

So in review, there is no "Ghurka" or "5 Vegas" of the pipe world IMO. Sure, companies may make a blend or two that I don't care for, but the bulk of their blends are really great so 1 or 3 outliers doesn't spoil the brand for me.

The closest thing I will say to be aware of is Lane Limited. Because a lot of their blends are aromatic goopers.

[Ropey]

So in review, there is no "Ghurka" or "5 Vegas" of the pipe world IMO. Sure, companies may make a blend or two that I don't care for, but the bulk of their blends are really great so 1 or 3 outliers doesn't spoil the brand for me.

That's pretty damn fascinating I gotta say. Guess I won't worry about spending a couple hundred bucks on unsmokable crap that winds up in the trash then, which is what happened in my first month of cigar smoking.

Good: most Navy flakes, C&D Pirate Kake, Dunhill 965, Sutliff Sweet Virginia
Bad: OTC, most stuff you see in big jars at the B&M, blends that are predominantly cavendish.

It is cavendish itself that's the problem, or the way it's implemented in the blends?

I think people would be more willing to answer something that's personal to them, rather than saying categorically that something sucks.

Hehe I have no problem saying that stuff sucks, even when it's my opinion. I assume people realize that it's my opinion and they can take it or leave it.

[Bruck]

It is cavendish itself that's the problem, or the way it's implemented in the blends?

MHO, take it or leave it - Cavendish is a good component, but too much of it is too much - makes for a bland blend. & the commercial aromatic cavendish blends tend to be overly sweet goopers.

[Branzig]

That's pretty damn fascinating I gotta say. Guess I won't worry about spending a couple hundred bucks on unsmokable crap

Why don't you sign up for the newbie pipe tobacco trade?

The hardest part about starting out in the pipe world is figuring out what you like. The sampler trade will give you a baseline of English, Balkan, Virginia, Aromatic, Burley and whatever other blends there are out there.

Once you get a few blends under your belt that you like you can experiment by buying up blends like it and spending 100s of dollars.

Also remember to give blends multiple goes in different pipes. 1 blend may be bland in one pipe but sing in another.

Have fun!

[Cool Breeze]

That's pretty damn fascinating I gotta say. Guess I won't worry about spending a couple hundred bucks on unsmokable crap that winds up in the trash then, which is what happened in my first month of cigar smoking.

The great thing about pipe tobaccos is that many, many of them come in bulk and you can just order a couple ounces to see how you like it. I'm sure paying $5 at a time you will find quite a bit you like way before you get to the $200 mark.

Also, like has already been mentioned, make sure you try a blend in different pipes. Think of how cigars taste different in different vitolas. Same with different shaped pipe bowls.

The one tobacco that I tried that I would absolutely stay away from is the Blender's Gold from Walgreens. It was the most goopy crap I've ever seen. Impossible to keep lit even after letting it air out overnight. I did eventually mix it with some Virginia and it's decent now.

Don't write off all of the OTC blends either. If all I had was Prince Albert and Captain Black, I would still very much enjoy pipe smoking.

[mooster]

I want YOUR opinion. Why is everyone so afraid to state their opinions here? I don't understand.

And I don't want opinions of what people think is good. The thread is specifically about what people think sucks. People are telling me my "question is wrong." It's my question!

C'mon, this ain't the SAT. Should be super easy. Or is 98% of pipe tobacco really good? Is that it? Can you just not f*ck up pipe tobacco? I ask for a list of crap pipe tobacco and everyone gives me stuff they like.

You think like a cigar smoker.


You have to understand that you're dealing with an entirely different culture here. Cigar smokes are a dime a dozen compared to the number of pipe smokers. The smaller the group, the less likely you're going to get people criticizing others in the group. So a pipe smoker is unlikely to criticize a tobacco if he knows people that smoke it. To use buzzwords, we're more inclusive, because we need all the help we can get!

We do have a token baccy that many of us abuse: Mixture No. 79. So if you want a list of baccys to avoid, I guess that one could go on the list. I'll go out on a limb and risk offending some of my BOTLs here and say that as far as I'm concerned, Sutliffe is to pipe tobacco what Victor Sinclair is to cigars. The problem with that is that there are plenty here who smoke Sutliffe tobacco and enjoy it, so it's just one man's opinion. There really aren't any readily recognized dog rocket equivalents.

[c.ortiz108]

How about rephrasing the question - "What's the worst pipe tobacco you've ever smoked?" I think people would be more willing to answer something that's personal to them, rather than saying categorically that something sucks. In your cigar example, I really like the Xikar maduro, and have had a couple of good Gurkhas, so even with that there's no unanimous verdict about what's good or bad. When I first joined the old site, a lot of guys recommended PDRs, and I've yet to find one I'd ever smoke again. Some things are trendy to like or dislike.

Having said that, I'm interested in the answers, too! Being a total pipe noob it would be good to have some idea of what to stay away from. So what are YOUR 5 Vegas Gold Maduros and Cohiba Red Dots of the pipe world? (yeah, I know some guys even like those!).

Is tobaccoreviews.com searchable by rating? If you have a couple of hundred and it's 2 starts, that should tell you something about a general consensus anyway.