[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Commander Quan

#1. Where do the blends, the ones in the big glass jars in my B&M, come from? Can make note of the blend and find it at other places? Might be a dumb question but pipe tobacos seem a whole lot more complicated than cigars

Who knows... It's common practice for B&Ms to order bulk in gigantic bags from Altadis, Lane, Stokkebye and others, and then give them names that are unique to that shop. You could ask but they may or may not tell you what it actually is.

What he said.

#2. I like med to full cigars, mainly because I find the mild cigars to not have much flavor and all I taste is smoke. So far I have tried Carter Hall and Prince Albert in my MM Cobb and I really like that they both seem mild to me but still have great flavor- which is what I was hoping for- great flavor without the overload like a full bodied cigar.
What other types of pipe tobaco should I look to try?

PA and Carter Hall are both burley blends. Most Burley is used as a base for aromatic blends due to their mild flavor and low sugar content. Cornell & Diehl has quite a few burley based blends that you may enjoy. Virgina is also a lighter leaf, but has a higher nicotine content and higher sugar content. The higher sugar content can burn your tongue if you over puff, but if you keep the temp low virginia blends give you a great sweet flavor.

Virginias can bite, if puffed to fast. But, they are the most wonderful of flavors as they are naturally sweet. VaPers (Virginia blends w/Perique) are my also wonderful as the Perique provides a fruity essence to the blend, often recognized as a raisin or prune overtone. These are my personal favorites. They a both best if you "sip" them in smoking them.

#3. Aromatics - I love the smell of them but I have not smoked one yet. I don't like infused cigars like the acids so does that mean I will not like aromatics? Or are they completely different?
I was thinking about picking up a tin of CAO

You'll have to experience them for yourself. Most aromatic blends do not taste the way they smell, and some cheaper ones are so heavily cased they don't smoke well either. There are good aros from blenders like Boswell's C&D, CAO, Samuel Gawith, and Gawith Hoggarth but they still tend to be lighter in flavor.

Most pipe smokers don't tend to turn their noses up about aromatic blends the way cigar smokers do. Maybe we're wussies, or maybe we're not as snobby. You'll have to see for yourself.

I personally do not like aromatics that are done with a heavy hand and lots of PG, unfortunately that is is most aromatics. They smell great in the bag/tin, and may have a great room note, but they rarely deliver to the smoker. Also, in many cases, the flavoring is often used to cover a multitude of sins (meaning substandard tobacco to begin with). Cornel & Diehl produce some of my favorite aromatics because they using nothing but H2O as a humcant, and their flavoring come through in taste as well as room note - and they use the same quality tobacco in their aromatics as in their other tobaccos. Of course, that's simply my opinion. I mostly smoke VaPers, then straight Virginias, and then English blends. I do throw in an occasional aromatic, but it is very rare.

Hope this helps.