French St Claude LAP pipe - thoughts?

[dragulievic]

Ok so I've tried the pipe on Sunday and to be honest it was pretty much a terrible experience
Very probably due to the tobacco... It's been already a few years since my last bowl of pipe, I used to smoke exclusively Samuel Gawith's Black cherry from my first pipe which I've used with 9mm charcoal filters and I liked that tobacco very much. I put Peterson's Sherlock Holmes into this new bulldog because it was sitting in my drawer for a few years so I thought I'll give it a shot. The smell of the unsmoked raw tobacco was pretty pleasant after opening the tin. Even though I am pretty much a beginner, I've already had some experience with smoking, I must have had at least a dozen packages of cherry tobacco in my previous pipe. The reviews on the internet are very mixed of this Peterson tobacco but I've experience exactly the same thing as some of the reviewers, namely a very unpleasant ashtray-like taste. None of the alleged slight citrusy side notes. Absolutely 0 pleasantness. Maybe it was the burley in it? I tried to smoke it slowly but it did not help. And the aftertaste in my mouth was terrible till the end of the day, at least for 7-8 hours. I had that bad ashtray taste in the back of my throat.
I really doubt that it was the pipe's fault but hell knows. What do you think?

You will need to smoke the new (to you) out of it. I recommend something like Carter Hall or maybe 5 Bros for break-in duty, but any "mostly" burley blend works. By the time you have smoked 20 or so bowls, it will be smoking "right."

Thanks a lot for the advice! Have you ever had a similar experience with a very unpleasant mouthfeel several hours after smoking? I was wondering how common this phenomena is.

[dragulievic]

Ok so I've tried the pipe on Sunday and to be honest it was pretty much a terrible experience
Very probably due to the tobacco... It's been already a few years since my last bowl of pipe, I used to smoke exclusively Samuel Gawith's Black cherry from my first pipe which I've used with 9mm charcoal filters and I liked that tobacco very much. I put Peterson's Sherlock Holmes into this new bulldog because it was sitting in my drawer for a few years so I thought I'll give it a shot. The smell of the unsmoked raw tobacco was pretty pleasant after opening the tin. Even though I am pretty much a beginner, I've already had some experience with smoking, I must have had at least a dozen packages of cherry tobacco in my previous pipe. The reviews on the internet are very mixed of this Peterson tobacco but I've experience exactly the same thing as some of the reviewers, namely a very unpleasant ashtray-like taste. None of the alleged slight citrusy side notes. Absolutely 0 pleasantness. Maybe it was the burley in it? I tried to smoke it slowly but it did not help. And the aftertaste in my mouth was terrible till the end of the day, at least for 7-8 hours. I had that bad ashtray taste in the back of my throat.
I really doubt that it was the pipe's fault but hell knows. What do you think?

Ashtray can definitely be pipe related. I have one estate pipe given to me as a gift by my old man, and I am pretty sure someone smoked used motor oil in it . Every single bowl tastes like a hot, dirty car ashtray. The other possibility is that your tobacco is very dry and so it is smoking hot, despite your efforts to smoke slowly. I would probably lean toward the tobacco being an issue vs. the pipe, given that it is NOS.

I say, grab something you know you like and give it another try.

Hi, yeah, as you say, the pipe was NOS, I even sanded out the bowl a bit and it did not have any odd odor when it arrived. I was concerned about that mouthfeel though, I don't think one should have a terrible taste in one's mouth, especially not after several hours of finishing the bowl. But I've read similar experiences from other folks on the internet so probably it's not that rare after all. I have positive experience only with Gawith's Black Cherry, I will try something mild and neutral, maybe with some slight topping, @Fr_Tom recommended me Carter Hall or 5 Bros, I have to check out whether there's a retailer of one of these here in Slovakia.
The tobacco was not dry by the way and not very moist either. I would say it was rather ideal in spite of the 4-5 year long ageing period but maybe I am wrong.

[Fr_Tom]

Ok so I've tried the pipe on Sunday and to be honest it was pretty much a terrible experience
Very probably due to the tobacco... It's been already a few years since my last bowl of pipe, I used to smoke exclusively Samuel Gawith's Black cherry from my first pipe which I've used with 9mm charcoal filters and I liked that tobacco very much. I put Peterson's Sherlock Holmes into this new bulldog because it was sitting in my drawer for a few years so I thought I'll give it a shot. The smell of the unsmoked raw tobacco was pretty pleasant after opening the tin. Even though I am pretty much a beginner, I've already had some experience with smoking, I must have had at least a dozen packages of cherry tobacco in my previous pipe. The reviews on the internet are very mixed of this Peterson tobacco but I've experience exactly the same thing as some of the reviewers, namely a very unpleasant ashtray-like taste. None of the alleged slight citrusy side notes. Absolutely 0 pleasantness. Maybe it was the burley in it? I tried to smoke it slowly but it did not help. And the aftertaste in my mouth was terrible till the end of the day, at least for 7-8 hours. I had that bad ashtray taste in the back of my throat.
I really doubt that it was the pipe's fault but hell knows. What do you think?

Ashtray can definitely be pipe related. I have one estate pipe given to me as a gift by my old man, and I am pretty sure someone smoked used motor oil in it . Every single bowl tastes like a hot, dirty car ashtray. The other possibility is that your tobacco is very dry and so it is smoking hot, despite your efforts to smoke slowly. I would probably lean toward the tobacco being an issue vs. the pipe, given that it is NOS.

I say, grab something you know you like and give it another try.

Hi, yeah, as you say, the pipe was NOS, I even sanded out the bowl a bit and it did not have any odd odor when it arrived. I was concerned about that mouthfeel though, I don't think one should have a terrible taste in one's mouth, especially not after several hours of finishing the bowl. But I've read similar experiences from other folks on the internet so probably it's not that rare after all. I have positive experience only with Gawith's Black Cherry, I will try something mild and neutral, maybe with some slight topping, @Fr_Tom recommended me Carter Hall or 5 Bros, I have to check out whether there's a retailer of one of these here in Slovakia.
The tobacco was not dry by the way and not very moist either. I would say it was rather ideal in spite of the 4-5 year long ageing period but maybe I am wrong.

New pipes have all sorts of garbage in the bowls. There is oil from drill bits, stain, residue from air freshener sprayed in the room, etc. The first few bowls are not always the most encouraging. I would think that the Peterson's SH would be a good choice. The key qualities for me are cheap and abundant. I claim neutral taste and burley base are key, but that may just be me.

[Bamarick]

Ashtray can definitely be pipe related. I have one estate pipe given to me as a gift by my old man, and I am pretty sure someone smoked used motor oil in it . Every single bowl tastes like a hot, dirty car ashtray. The other possibility is that your tobacco is very dry and so it is smoking hot, despite your efforts to smoke slowly. I would probably lean toward the tobacco being an issue vs. the pipe, given that it is NOS.

I say, grab something you know you like and give it another try.

Hi, yeah, as you say, the pipe was NOS, I even sanded out the bowl a bit and it did not have any odd odor when it arrived. I was concerned about that mouthfeel though, I don't think one should have a terrible taste in one's mouth, especially not after several hours of finishing the bowl. But I've read similar experiences from other folks on the internet so probably it's not that rare after all. I have positive experience only with Gawith's Black Cherry, I will try something mild and neutral, maybe with some slight topping, @Fr_Tom recommended me Carter Hall or 5 Bros, I have to check out whether there's a retailer of one of these here in Slovakia.
The tobacco was not dry by the way and not very moist either. I would say it was rather ideal in spite of the 4-5 year long ageing period but maybe I am wrong.

New pipes have all sorts of garbage in the bowls. There is oil from drill bits, stain, residue from air freshener sprayed in the room, etc. The first few bowls are not always the most encouraging. I would think that the[b] Peterson's SH would be a good choice[/b]. The key qualities for me are cheap and abundant. I claim neutral taste and burley base are key, but that may just be me.

And if you want to give the Peterson SH a try shoot me a PM. I have most of a tin that I bought about a year ago & quite frankly I don't like it. The shipping (if in the USA) will be on me.

[dragulievic]

New pipes have all sorts of garbage in the bowls. There is oil from drill bits, stain, residue from air freshener sprayed in the room, etc. The first few bowls are not always the most encouraging. I would think that the Peterson's SH would be a good choice. The key qualities for me are cheap and abundant. I claim neutral taste and burley base are key, but that may just be me.

The problem is that it was exactly Peterson's SH which gave me the unpleasant smoke I will try it from my 9mm filter pipe and see whether it gives me a more pleasant smoke.

[dragulievic]

And if you want to give the Peterson SH a try shoot me a PM. I have most of a tin that I bought about a year ago & quite frankly I don't like it. The shipping (if in the USA) will be on me.

I already have a tin, actually it was Peterson's SH which gave me that unpleasant bowl. + I am from Europe but thanks for the offer anyway

[Bamarick]

And if you want to give the Peterson SH a try shoot me a PM. I have most of a tin that I bought about a year ago & quite frankly I don't like it. The shipping (if in the USA) will be on me.

I already have a tin, actually it was Peterson's SH which gave me that unpleasant bowl. + I am from Europe but thanks for the offer anyway

You're very welcome, good luck with the pipe.