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Can pipe tobaccos compete with a decent cigar?

S

SkyKing

New Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
261
I've tried maybe a half dozen pipe tobaccos recently, smoked in as many different pipes. I'm enjoying the exploration, but honestly, the taste, even among the blend styles, sames narrow compared to cigars.
 
I had occasion to smoke a Padron 1964 (double toro or churchill) Annie over the weekend. As much as I'm liking pipes, I was reminded that even the best pipe tobaccos fail to offer the creamy, rich, subtle profile of a really good cigar like the Annies. I've tried GL Pease lines, SG, and other major blends. 
 
The smoking experience between a pipe and a cigar is very different as well, of course. But I'm wondering if I'm ever going to get bowled over (pun intended) by a pipe tobacco like I have when smoking a really good Padron, or Fuente, or Cohiba or Drew Estate or Alex Bradly, etc, etc, etc.
 
Respectfully, that's like arguing over which is the better dish; ice cream or steak.  Very different events, very different tastes and textures and every other metric you can apply.
 
I say enjoy them both for what they are, no point in picking the "superior" event.  
 
Respectfully, one man's opinion - B.B.S.
 
You'll never find that in pipe tobacco. 
 
I've always found it funny that as cigar smokers, we don't gravitate towards flavored cigars.  But when we're enjoying the pipe, we do. 
 
Nice to hear from you again, BBS.
 
Of course, I agree with you, generally, but think your analogy too distinct. As I stated, "The smoking experience between a pipe and a cigar is very different..."
 
While I understand your steak vs ice cream, I'm wondering if it would be more useful to compare, chicken vs steak, or even hamburger steak vs Filet Mignon. But this would might imply that cigars are superior, so perhaps sirloins vs tenderloins?
 
I've since learned from the first in this post, of another pipe tobacco genre, based on cigar tobaccos, e.g. Hearth and Homes Stogie; C&D Billy Bud; Peretti Cuban mixture. I doubt if anything attempting to emulate a cigar will be as good as a cigar but I'm certainly putting them on my wish list.
 
But in essence, my question was: Am I likely to find the best pipe blends to be as sublime as the best cigars. In the end, i realize it will likely be mostly a matter of taste - or the development of taste along with a newly acquire habit.
 
Anyway, I have no intention of giving up one for the other. In fact,there are times when I simply prefer a grilled hamburger steak, with brown gravy, over any cut and then when I'm done, I get my Ben and Jerry's New Your Super Fudge Chunk ice cream. 
 
Pax
 
bfreebern said:
You'll never find that in pipe tobacco. 
 
I've always found it funny that as cigar smokers, we don't gravitate towards flavored cigars.  But when we're enjoying the pipe, we do. 
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I haven't smoked an aromatic since my early twenties except for Davidoff Danish. Didn't know that the Davidof tin was an aromatic when I bought it - I was just recognized the Davidoff brand at a B&M that sold pipe tobacco as an incidental aside to cigars. It was ok, getting two stars on the Steve Graves rating system:
 
* Trash-it;
** Smoke it but don't buy again
*** Buy it again
**** Stock it and cellar
 
Pax
 
I agree with Tom.  Its really like comparing two different things.  Even the pipe tobacco blends that feature cigar leaf, IMHO I've found that they don't really hold up to the essence of a cigar.  Apples and oranges. 
 
By nature, I dig in my heels. But as I type, I'm smoking Escudo and find myself agreeing with Tom and Blue. I might like oranges better than apples but sometimes you run into an extraordinary apple.
 
bluue13 said:
I agree with Tom.  Its really like comparing two different things.  Even the pipe tobacco blends that feature cigar leaf, IMHO I've found that they don't really hold up to the essence of a cigar.  Apples and oranges. 
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Minor correction....I didn't say one was superior to the other, only that they are very different events.  Never been a pipe guy....I'd say enjoy them both.
 
investandprosper said:
Have you tried Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture yet?
Click to expand...
 
No, not yet. Just read the opinions at the review site. One of my current favorites is SG Navy Flake, a VaPer. So thanks for the recommendation. I've added it to my ever-growing wish list. 
 
BlindedByScience said:
 
I agree with Tom.  Its really like comparing two different things.  Even the pipe tobacco blends that feature cigar leaf, IMHO I've found that they don't really hold up to the essence of a cigar.  Apples and oranges. 
Click to expand...
 
Minor correction....I didn't say one was superior to the other, only that they are very different events.  Never been a pipe guy....I'd say enjoy them both.
 
Click to expand...
 
I don't think I took your reply as that, Tom.  Perhaps that came across wrong in my response too.  I think I basically meant that the pipe tobaccos that feature cigar leaf can be very decent, but don't really compare to smoking a cigar and vice versa.  No one is better than the other, its all personal preference, so again its hard to compare one to the other as far as similarities other than they both contain tobacco.  I too happen to enjoy both, and no one more than the other.   :thumbs:
 
I smoke both pipes and cigars. I would agree that they are distinct experiences. That said, I have been blown away more with a great cigar. Problem is, in my experience, cigars are not nearly as consistent as pipes. I've smoked cigars a good 38 yrs. I've had a lot more consistency of flavor with pipes, by a very large margin. Once you find some tobaccos that you really love, it becomes a lot more satisfying. 
 
Come to think of it, it is much easier to find a decent pipt tobacco than a decent cigar. The ratio of blah cigars to real winners is extraordinarily high. CI and JR have a huge business selling mediocre products to the the masses  - me included, at times. Their catalog probably has 100 hoozat cigars for each recognizable; hiqh quality stick.
 
While I haven't found a knock-my-socks off pipe blend, those I've tried have almost all been good to very good - not a stinker in the bunch. (Well, my wife would probably disagree with the last statement) 
 
Something I love more about pipe tobaccos vs. cigars is the ease of storage.  So much less of a headache when it comes to aging and storage and what you may get after years of setting and forgetting.  
 
 
That being said.  I love the ease of being able to grab a cigar, not have to worry about packing etc, and lighting up and enjoying.
 
 
THAT being said... I enjoy both equally for varying reasons. 
 
Smoke 'em if you've got 'em!
 
Thanks, blue. Not to mention how much more likely a cigar is to blowup on you because it spent a short time in less than ideal conditions or didn't take kindly to aging.
 
Out ot the 5 OpusX's I've smoked, 2 blew up; 2 peeled at the end but were still smokable; 1 was sublime.Basically, at  $30-$35 a stick, I spent $150 freaking bucks for one smoke. Not to be crude but I could get laid for that. Or I could get one or two decent pipes. Or a decent pipe and several good tins of pipeweed. 
 
I also spent $100 plus for some Johnny-Ohs that never came around, even after a year of resting. One was suberb, the rest barely smokable. I put more than one of them down for good after smoking less than half of them.
 
BTW, Padrons have never let me down.
 
But Viva la Difference and I'm grateful that I don't have to choose between sticks and pipes. 
 
Cost is a big factor, but you also have to take into account how addictive buying pipes can be. :)  Personally, I tend to keep my pipe purchases under $70.
 
And, yes, echoing nearly everyone else, the two experiences are far different. I wish I had more time to smoke my pipe.  :(
 
I have found the pipe convenient when I don't have time for a cigar, but I'm a newb to pipes.
 
duglynukem said:
I have found the pipe convenient when I don't have time for a cigar, but I'm a newb to pipes.
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This is always an interesting point to me.  Not saying you're wrong for thinking this way, it is just interesting to me that pipes tend to get the "a quicker alternative to cigars" label, when I don't think I've found that I've been able to smoke a full bowl of anything in less than 45 min to an hour.  
 
Now, there is a certain convenience factor where pipes are easier to put down and come back to without some of the off flavors you can get in doing that with cigars, so I see where it may come from.
 
In any case, good discussion.
 
I love both. I'm more of a daily pipe smoker and only buy premium cigars. Trying to compare the two just won't happen. If I want to smoke a Padron anni, I will stick with the cigar lol. I also won't find a cigar that tastes as amazing as escudo or sg fvf.

I appreciate both, and love both. But I also never expect my pipes to be like a cigar.

Great discussion
 
bluue13 said:
 
I have found the pipe convenient when I don't have time for a cigar, but I'm a newb to pipes.
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This is always an interesting point to me.  Not saying you're wrong for thinking this way, it is just interesting to me that pipes tend to get the "a quicker alternative to cigars" label, when I don't think I've found that I've been able to smoke a full bowl of anything in less than 45 min to an hour.  
 
Now, there is a certain convenience factor where pipes are easier to put down and come back to without some of the off flavors you can get in doing that with cigars, so I see where it may come from.
 
In any case, good discussion.
 
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That is exactly what it is, for me, Bluue13. You can smoke 1/4 or whatever of a bowl, and it will relight without any nasties. I'd rather smoke a part of a bowl than a part of any cigar. Pricey cigars is a waste, cheap cigars, for me so far, are nasty. A nice Virginia, all I've really done in smoking a bit of the bowl is sort of "Stove" the tobacco, and it will be very satisfying on the relight.
 
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