Having been a pipe smoker, I wanted to address this issue which is a common concern for new vapers.
Pipe smokers are a different breed of smoker. They tend to be tobacco connoisseurs, writing passionate and very detailed reviews of tobaccos and their flavors using terms like "tongue bite", and go on and on about upper notes, low notes, middle notes, and palate hit. Now, I'm not saying that I'm one of these venerated and dedicated connoisseurs, but having smoked pipes (I'm the proud owner of some lovely churchwardens and a few estate pipes), I know the definite differences between tobacco flavors and cigarette tobacco.
If you want to appreciate the difference, I'd suggest you look for your local tobacconist. Most of these shops are very dedicated to tobaccos, and will have jars and jars and humidors full of pipe tobaccos of all kinds, flavors, and origins. Stick your face into one of these jars and you'll get a snotter full of rich, complex, sweet, fragrant, and moist tobacco that makes your mouth water because the scent and the moisture is prime.
These tobaccos are so heavily flavored, steeped, and carefully aged and prepared that lighting them takes away some of that nose bouquet, but only to a certain extent. Pipes have no filter, as do analogs. (Some pipe smokers add filters to their pipes, however, this isn't common.) This allows a good amount of the flavor to stay in the tobacco and translate to the tongue and palate.
The flavor is further enhanced by the moisture content in the tobacco, and it's common to exhale through the nose and the mouth in order to bloom the flavor throughout.
If you have ever been in a pipe smoker's home, the odor of it is completely different than that of an analog smoker's. It has the rich, tangy, sweet aroma of the tobacco, and very little, if any, smoke or ash aroma at all. Even the ashtrays of pipe smokers smell nice.
This is tobacco, and this is what tobacco flavored e-juice is trying to replicate, on the whole.
There are pipe tobaccos which are deliberately cured to create an "ashy" taste. I don't know why, but many pipe smokers enjoy that tingle of ashy essence in the overall bouquet of their bowl.
When it comes to vaping, I'm finding it very similar to pipe smoking. The draw (slow, steady, and light) is the same. The moisture from the vapor has the same mouth feel as pipe smoke. Most importantly, the tobacco flavors that I've tried are fragrant, flavorful, sweet, full, and rich, just like pipe tobacco smells, unfired, in the shop. Best of all, there is no "tongue scorch" (pipe tobacco can sometimes burn the tongue ... not pleasant), and the flavor is pure and untouched.
Analog tobaccos, on the other hand, are very dry, generally unflavored, and smoked in a completely different manner. They have to be; it's a completely different animal. They tend to taste ashy and flat on the whole, even though we might not notice it unless we stop smoking them for awhile and come back to them. Most of the tobacco flavor we smell in a freshly-opened pack is lost through the burning paper and the filter.
So, when trying to "match" your analog with an e-Juice, keep in mind that, besides a few juices, most tobacco flavors are mimicking that of pipe tobacco, and this is why there is such a difference to what you're used to.
Instead of fixating on your "brand", think of the pure taste of that tobacco and the wonderful little notes and flavors combined in the vape. Exhaling both through the nose and mouth, slowly, is the best way to fully appreciate the tobacco flavors, IMO.
Just my dollar's worth.
Pipe smokers are a different breed of smoker. They tend to be tobacco connoisseurs, writing passionate and very detailed reviews of tobaccos and their flavors using terms like "tongue bite", and go on and on about upper notes, low notes, middle notes, and palate hit. Now, I'm not saying that I'm one of these venerated and dedicated connoisseurs, but having smoked pipes (I'm the proud owner of some lovely churchwardens and a few estate pipes), I know the definite differences between tobacco flavors and cigarette tobacco.
If you want to appreciate the difference, I'd suggest you look for your local tobacconist. Most of these shops are very dedicated to tobaccos, and will have jars and jars and humidors full of pipe tobaccos of all kinds, flavors, and origins. Stick your face into one of these jars and you'll get a snotter full of rich, complex, sweet, fragrant, and moist tobacco that makes your mouth water because the scent and the moisture is prime.
These tobaccos are so heavily flavored, steeped, and carefully aged and prepared that lighting them takes away some of that nose bouquet, but only to a certain extent. Pipes have no filter, as do analogs. (Some pipe smokers add filters to their pipes, however, this isn't common.) This allows a good amount of the flavor to stay in the tobacco and translate to the tongue and palate.
The flavor is further enhanced by the moisture content in the tobacco, and it's common to exhale through the nose and the mouth in order to bloom the flavor throughout.
If you have ever been in a pipe smoker's home, the odor of it is completely different than that of an analog smoker's. It has the rich, tangy, sweet aroma of the tobacco, and very little, if any, smoke or ash aroma at all. Even the ashtrays of pipe smokers smell nice.
This is tobacco, and this is what tobacco flavored e-juice is trying to replicate, on the whole.
There are pipe tobaccos which are deliberately cured to create an "ashy" taste. I don't know why, but many pipe smokers enjoy that tingle of ashy essence in the overall bouquet of their bowl.
When it comes to vaping, I'm finding it very similar to pipe smoking. The draw (slow, steady, and light) is the same. The moisture from the vapor has the same mouth feel as pipe smoke. Most importantly, the tobacco flavors that I've tried are fragrant, flavorful, sweet, full, and rich, just like pipe tobacco smells, unfired, in the shop. Best of all, there is no "tongue scorch" (pipe tobacco can sometimes burn the tongue ... not pleasant), and the flavor is pure and untouched.
Analog tobaccos, on the other hand, are very dry, generally unflavored, and smoked in a completely different manner. They have to be; it's a completely different animal. They tend to taste ashy and flat on the whole, even though we might not notice it unless we stop smoking them for awhile and come back to them. Most of the tobacco flavor we smell in a freshly-opened pack is lost through the burning paper and the filter.
So, when trying to "match" your analog with an e-Juice, keep in mind that, besides a few juices, most tobacco flavors are mimicking that of pipe tobacco, and this is why there is such a difference to what you're used to.
Instead of fixating on your "brand", think of the pure taste of that tobacco and the wonderful little notes and flavors combined in the vape. Exhaling both through the nose and mouth, slowly, is the best way to fully appreciate the tobacco flavors, IMO.
Just my dollar's worth.
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