My First Pipe: A Cigar Smoker’s Perspective

A year into my cigar journey, learning about the industry and the craftsmanship of a premium cigar, I have met plenty of pipe smokers— and as a cigar smoker, I didn’t understand the appeal of pipes.

They seem complex and somewhat intimidating to learn about.

Yet I have met so many customers, as well as my colleagues and friends, who talk about pipes with such joy and excitement. So I bought a pipe and took on the task of learning about the appeal of tobacco pipe smoking.

Now, it was somewhat hard to pick a pipe. But that’s why we have tobacconists to help guide us through any question, from cigars to pipes and pipe tobacco.

So I got my pipe, and I got my loose-leaf tobacco.

---

So let’s talk about the experience:

First Bowl

I was told how to pack my pipe and read the Georgetown tobacco instructions that are provided when you buy your first pipe.

Now, for the first couple of puffs, it was a different experience. I had gotten the pipe started but did not feel it was right.

After a couple more puffs, I could not get a draw. I overstuffed the pipe; now the taste was different and kind of reminded me of the first time you have a cigar.

It’s new, and you are trying to understand what you are tasting and identify what you’re tasting so you can start laying the foundation for your understanding of this possible new hobby.

Second Bowl

After cleaning out the bowl of the overstuffed pipe, I put two pinches of tobacco into the pipe.

I struck my IM Corona Old Boy lighter and started lighting the second bowl.

This time I got a steady draw and started to be able to taste what I was smoking.

It went from smoking to now enjoying.

I was tasting what I had in my pipe.

Now this did not last long, as I somewhat understuffed the pipe, and I wanted to smoke longer.

Third Bowl

I knew how to stuff my bowl properly and taste and enjoy what I was smoking.

This is where I started understanding the appeal, and people saying, “pipe smoking can be very rewarding when you do it correctly”.

Now I will say that the saying I hear from people is very true because it just felt great being able to do the process correctly.

---

What I Learned

To me, this reminded me that being a cigar or pipe tobacco enjoyer is all about patience and a desire to learn.

If you were to ask me before I smoked a cigar or my first couple of months of smoking cigars, I would have said the same thing I said about the pipe:

“I don’t understand the appeal of cigars. They are complex and somewhat intimidating to learn about.”

Yet today I enjoy cigars because of patience and the learning process.

The first time I ever “had” a cigar, I didn’t know I was supposed to cut the cap.

Now I know there are many different ways of cutting a cigar.

I didn’t know how to light a cigar and would just put it in the flame of any lighter.

Now I use a soft flame to start my cigar and a torch to touch it up.

This is to highlight that we start somewhere on our cigar journey, but with patience and a willingness to learn, we can explore cigars and pipe tobacco.