I first picked up a pipe at the ripe old age of 16, smoking what I would now consider detestable blends. I smoked many of the blends my dad did: Middleton Cherry and Apple, Paladin, Captain Black, and Royal Comfort. I was a pack a day smoker at the time and I have found that my taste in pipe tobacco has become more selective in the 30 years since I quit cigarettes. I smoked cigars primarily for years, but in the last 10 years have moved back to pipes for most of my smoking time since I can smoke inside with my wife's blessing. I enjoy aromatics and some orientals. For good and bad, I enjoy sampling blends I have never tried before.