I'm still a novice at this so things like identifying the different flavors and tobacco types while smoking a blend isn't something I've developed yet. I also tend to puff faster than I probably should, still lacking in technique, and a little tongue bite sensitive - so please take that into account with my reviews. I basically know what I like, what I don't like, if a flavor or taste stands out, if it burns my tongue or not, if it gurgles or not, if it is hard to stay lit and requires relights, and if there is an aftertaste.

It is all about personal taste and experience. Everyone's taste buds, likes and dislikes are different and individual to the person.

As far as my reviewing technique, I like to follow the following template to try to keep my reviews consistent in format and as helpful as possible.

General short introductory summary.
Overall experience of the smoke in the order of the experience from very beginning to end. This will include: Packaging (if applicable), pouch aroma and look of blend, feel, pack-ability, light-ability, initial flavor, easiness to stay lit

I smoked a pipe back in the early 80's, but then quit the hobby around 1988. I only had a few Peterson pipes and didn't have a clue to pipe rotation, nor did I know anything about the different tobacco types - never heard of Latakia. I had hardly any knowledge of the fine art of smoking. I had two or three blends I smoked and that was it. All aromatic - I'm pretty sure Lane 1-Q (renamed "Aristocrat" by the tobacco shop I used back) then was one. I also had an ex-wife that decided that all my pipes were "of the devil" and disposed of all them without me knowing. Had a collectible Peterson Mark Twain that is no more thanks to her.

I took the hobby back up early 2011 after visiting a pipe shop while traveling in St. Paul. When I did, I was starting from scratch basically and I wanted to learn all I could about tobacco, blending, pipes, techniques, etc. Thank goodness for technology - YouTube and other Internet pipe smoking forums and websites has been quite helpful.

My first English blend came from L.J. Peretti and after I smoked it - I knew then I had to venture into all aspects of the different blends. No blend snobbery from this guy. Some types I like better than others, and some not so much, but the experience of trying the different varieties is well worth the time and effort. Never know until you try it.

I now have 29 pipes in my rotation - all briars (yes I am a briar snob) and they are dedicated proportionally to the different blends. I have pipes dedicated to American blends, English blends, light aromatic blends, heavy aromatic and heavy flavored (the ghost a pipe) blends and oriental blends. I have two regular churchwardens, one small churchwarden, 9 P-lips (2 are Savinelli Dry System pipes, the rest Petersons) a Nording, a Lorenzo, couple of pocket pipes for those short and quick smokes, a Wessex, and the rest nice basket pipes. The basket pipes are the workhorses of the collection.

I store all my tobaccos in hermetic jars to keep them fresh. My most pressing "next project" to tackle is finding a way to keep them organized and displayed for easy access. I'm up to almost 90 blends in my stash now. I blame that on this site and the large selection at PipesandCigars.com. I have them in a cheap cabinet and some are a little hard to get to.

Another project on the horizon is to try each tobacco type all by itself just to get the idea of the taste and qualities of each. That will naturally lead into the next project of playing around with blending my own and buying leaf tobacco and experimenting with cutting, blending, topping and casing, etc...

On a personal note I love riding my Goldwing taking it on day long excursions on the back-roads of Texas primarily and sometimes in the neighboring states, music and being a musician - play bass, drums, tuba, sorta play guitar and keyboards, chess, all things computer, technology and science (astronomy especially) electronics and traveling. Castle hunting (when in Europe), Waterfall and lighthouse hunting, historical landmarks, national and state parks, old architecture and antiques. One of these days want to add woodworking/furniture making to the mix.

I just realized my wife is right, I DO write too much!