Ken

Can anyone recommend a good guide to matching pipes to tobaccos?

A kind of get the 'this blend burns hot - try it in a pipe that smokes cool' concept, but I haven't the breadth of experience to tell a hot-smoking pipe from a cool smoking pipe!

I have been trying to stay somewhat consistent with my pipes- aromatics in one, English in two others, Virginias in another pair. I have been trying to smoke a few bowls of a given blend before switching blends so as to allow the pipe to sort of shift over to the new one. I am trying to rest them all for 2 days between smokes. So, I _think_ I have the basics covered. Beyond this I am not sure what I should be thinking about in terms of which tobacco in what pipe...

Ronald S. Ipock

I asked this somewhat mystical question a while ago and the consensus was trial and error.  That is to say, you smoke some VA in an English pipe and they go well together and presto! They are a match.  And after you do this for a while, then you can make generalizations such as such-n-such tobacco goes well with Italian pipes, or whatever.

Bear Graves

I prefer small pipes for VA/ Perique blends. Aromatics, I won't go into
(too close to dinner) My big pipes seem to be happiest with Latakia mixtures

Tom Greene

You might try http://www.pt-magazine.com.  They have an area in the back issues and current issue called "trial by fire".  This deals with pipe tobacco tastings by the author of this section of the magazine.  He gives his recommendations regarding pipe size, etc.  Another pipe magazine is Pipe Magazine.  Their web site is http:/www.pipe-magazine.com.

Joshua Rosenblatt

I don't have any strict rules but generally I like Virgninia flakes in tall narrow bowls, English and other cooler smoking baccys I like in big bowls. Very strong tobaccos (like 1792, Ropes etc) are best in smaller pipes only cause I can get overwhelmed in a big one.   Just what works for me... try it and see what works for you.

GL Pease

Experience, I'm afraid, is the BEST guide. For me, smaller bowls are better for Virginias, while larger bowls are better for Latakia mixtures, but this depends on a lot of factors.

Tapered bowls work better with finer cuts, while cylindrical bowls are fine for coarse cuts and cube cuts. Tall, narrow bowls work better with drier tobaccos, while short, fat bowls can do and admirable job with moister tobaccos.

Beyond simple shape, there's the whole issue of draught hole diameter, the provenance of the wood, the curing method of the maker. For instance, I LOVE really "dark" tasting tobaccos in Castellos, but can't smoke anything bright in them. Danish pipes seem to work for me for everything. Dunhills and Orientals are a match made in heaven.

And, someone else will give you pairings that are quite the opposite!

For me, one of the joys of a new pipe is finding it's perfect tobacco, or tobacco style. It takes quite a few bowls for me to really figure out a pipe's likes and dislikes, though there are a few tobaccos that will smoke well in anything, and there are a few pipes that will smoke anything well.

So, now that I've cleared that up for you...
 
> A kind of get the 'this blend burns hot - try it in a pipe that smokes cool'
> concept, but I haven't the breadth of experience to tell a hot-smoking pipe
> from a cool smoking pipe!

Again, there's lots to consider. Early on, I learned that a clean pipe smokes "cooler" than a dirty pipe. So, if a pipe smokes "hot," the first thing I'll check is its cleanliness. Also, there's a lot of mythology in the cool vs. hot smoking pipe debates. Smoke is quite cool. Steam is quite hot.

If a pipe is poorly engineered, you may have trouble keeping it lit, which will result in frantic puffing, an increase in combustion temperature, and a corresponding increase in perceived heat. On the other hand, if you simply re-light the pipe when its embers fade, you'll get a "cooler" smoke.

If the pipe is WELL engineered, it will be fairly easy to keep it going. You can take gentle sips of the smoke, enjoying the flavors, with few of the detrimental side effects of smoke-stacking the thing.

Ideally, the tobacco should just be barely smoldering, the puffs should be delicate sips. You'll get the flavor, but not the harshness. It does take a good pipe to maintain the ember.

> I have been trying to stay somewhat consistent with my pipes- aromatics in
> one, English in two others, Virginias in another pair. I have been trying to
> smoke a few bowls of a given blend before switching blends so as to allow
> the pipe to sort of shift over to the new one. I am trying to rest them all
> for 2 days between smokes. So, I _think_ I have the basics covered. Beyond
> this I am not sure what I should be thinking about in terms of which tobacco
> in what pipe...

Depending on the pipe and the tobacco, a couple days may not be enough rest. Tobaccos that produce a lot of tars require quite a long rest for the moisture to evaporate and for the volatile aromatics left behind to dissipate. There are also organic compounds that remain that are quite foul until they've had ample time to oxidize into something more pleasant. It's not just the moisture.

Also, depending on the tobacco, it can take far more than a few bowls. Aromatics will linger in a pipe throughout eternity, or just a few hours short of the end of days, which ever comes first. Okay, it's an exaggeration. Virginias, on the other hand, leave the pipe fairly neutral after a few bowls of something else. Latakia takes maybe a dozen bowls before it's signature is eradicated. Dedicating pipes to tobacco styles is a good idea, but not always practical, especially when you're just starting out.

I'm really not trying to be obtuse. Pipe smoking is one of the Mystery religions of the modern age, and only initiation through the grades will provide you the answers you seek. Fortunately, the dedicated aspirant will make the journey with little pain, and there are plenty around to  help along the way... Okay, NOW I'm being obtuse!

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