Howdy all. 

      I’m a novice pipe smoker returning to pipe smoking after a long COVID recovery from last March. Never been a cigarette guy, but have been into cigars for about 5 years fairly consistently. Early winter 2022/2023 I decided to get into pipes in order to still enjoy tobacco, have my alone time for contemplation, and not have to endure long bouts of the cold weather that we get from time to time.

      I’ve found myself deep in the rabbit hole, with pleanty of estate pipes cleaned up and in rotation, as well as a few cobs. I’ve also brought with me my bad habit from the cigar interest and I’ve accumulated a vast variety of tobaccos from online shops and auctions. Now I’m steadily working my way through them. I am actually happy to have a decent variety “cellared” as it’s given me an opportunity to try then and now comparisons for some blends.

       Thus far I’ve found I’m hit or miss with aromatics. I think I’m shaping up to be a Virginia or a VAper guy. Two non aromatics that really have become fast favorites of mine are MM Country Gentleman, and SPC Mississippi River blend. I’m trying my best to give the whole spectrum a fair shot. Just today I had a second go with My Mixture 965 after reading up on it some from your reviews. I managed the whole bowl start to finish picking up the citrus and leather notes for sure and managing not to let the Latakia spice me out of enjoying the blend. Can’t say it’s my favorite for now, but I’ve learned how to smoke it so that I can fairly assess it. 

       I’ll just go ahead and say it now, thanks for the pointers and patience for the inevitable dumb questions I will ask.