Many pipe smokers, when first introduced to this most cultivated of activities, discover that they’ll need to “find” the experience; at least as it relates to them. And for many this process of discovery involves finding the ‘flavor’ of the tobacco as much as anything else. Many yearn for the rich, flavorful smoke they’ve heard so much about only to experience - what may seem at first - to be a pretty flavorless experience. But there’s no reason to despair.

Pipe smoking has far more in common with something like wine tasting than it does with digging into the culinary delights at your favorite buffet. It requires the ability to discern subtleties that only really comes with time and experience. There are, however, steps you can take in order to enhance the taste of your pipe tobaccos (should you wish to do so) and in this post we’ll look at some of them.

Techniques for Enhancing the Flavor of Your Tobacco

There are a number of ways to enhance the flavor component of your pipe smoking experience. Some call for direct embellishment of the tobacco itself, others call for partnering the tobacco with the right secondary activity, while still others call for adjustments to what and how you smoke. Here are some of our favorite tobacco flavor enhancement techniques.

• Partnering Your Tobacco With the Right Drink - This technique goes back ages and is a favorite of many who instinctively enjoy partnering their smoke with a choice aperitif. It’s not as simple though as just loading up the bowl and pouring a glass of your favorite bourbon. There are a few basic rules you’ll want to obey.
  • Rule 1: Don’t Let One Overpower the Other - That bourbon mentioned above will overwhelm the taste of a mild tobacco. So if you’re a bourbon fan you’ll want to switch to a more full bodied tobacco. Likewise if you enjoy a milder smoke you’ll want to choose a milder drink to accompany it. The goal is balance that will allow the tobacco’s natural flavor to play off of the flavor of the drink.
  • Rule 2: The Time of Day Matters - If the night’s fog still hangs over the early morning and you’re on the deck soaking it all in you don’t want to match your first bowl of the day with another glass of bourbon. Use coffee instead. Coffee is a great symbiotic match for pipe tobacco as there are so many different types available; from hearty dark roasts to medium-body Arabicas. Rule 1 still applies here however: balance.
  • Rule 3: Opposites Enhance - Chefs in the Far East have long known the value of pairing sweet and sour and you can apply the same principal to find more flavor in your tobacco. If you’re smoking a sweet tobacco, pair it with a salty cocktail and if your tobacco is full bodied pair it with an acidic coffee roast.

Refine How and What You Smoke

• The Pipe - While both briar pipes and meerschaum pipes will provide you with a wonderful smoking experience, with briars you’ll want a ‘cake’ to build up in the bowl. This will allow for a better smoke, but it will also change the flavor of the tobacco just a bit. If you’re after a “cleaner” smoke, you may want to change to a meerschaum which does not require the build-up of cake and therefore results in a more authentic taste experience.
• The Tobacco - Another way to achieve a richer flavor profile is to mix tobaccos. This will undoubtedly require some trial and error but may be well worth the time and trouble. As with most things pipe-related what’s required is patience. Be methodical and try a variety of combinations. You’re likely to find one that truly lights your fire. 

  

• The Draw - For many pipe smokers the flavor of their tobacco becomes lost in a blaze of heat. This is caused by inhaling too aggressively. Just as the flavor of meat is lost when it’s burnt, so too will the flavor of tobacco be undermined by being burnt. So relax. Take shorter, calmer draws on the pipe. You’ll be amazed how this affects the flavor experience.
• Add Flavor Directly to the Tobacco - The technique of introducing outside flavors directly to the tobacco is as old as the hills. Today, smokers will enhance their chosen tobacco with everything from chocolate to Grand Marnier. Whatever you decide to use however, do so in moderation, lest the native flavor of the tobacco become lost in the enhancement.

Being able to discern subtle flavor distinctions in pipe tobacco is an art form, and like all art forms it will take time to master. That’s a good thing however, and speaks to the heart of the pipe smoking experience which, by its very nature, is one that exists outside the hectic, impatient contemporary lifestyle. So take your time. Explore various possibilities and most importantly, enjoy the journey.