Why we love C. Gars pipe tobacco samplers

Why we love C. Gars pipe tobacco samplers

Whether you’re a new pipe smoker or an experienced puffer on the hunt for something new, the range of pipe tobacco is simply mindboggling with hundreds of different tobaccos available. That’s why pipe tobacco samplers are such a handy idea; rather than committing to a full 50g tin or pouch, only to find you might have preferred something else in the end, you can get a small selection of different tobaccos to try a bunch of different ones for the same price.

So this week, I’m looking at the benefits of samplers, while highlighting a few I particularly like.

A nice entry point

As I mentioned, starting off as a new pipe smoker can be quite intimidating when it comes to choosing which tobacco to start off with. While any number of samplers can be used to give yourself a smattering of options and remove the guesswork, there are some that are especially geared towards this purpose. Our Beginners Lucky Dip sampler is a great place to start, as it will provide you with everything you need to get started, as well as four different, randomly selected tobaccos. Perfect for getting yourself started or as a gift for a friend who has shown interest in your pipe smoking but doesn’t know where to begin.

An air of mystery (as an added bonus)

A bit of a surprise is always fun, isn’t it? That’s why we have a range of “Mystery” samplers, where the tobacco included is a total surprise. Some of Liam’s samplers, such as the Mystery Tobacco/Peterson 101 pouch or the Churchwarden and pouch lucky dip bundle in some mystery tobaccos with some other items. So if you’re in the market for a new pipe or tobacco pouch, why not add an extra bit of fun and get yourself a few new random blends to try.

(Side note: I’ve just looked at the details for the Liam’s Churchwarden sampler and that thing is insane! A churchwarden pipe, a pouch and 5 x 10g portions of tobacco for under £40? Liam, have you gone crazy?!)

As an extra bit of fun (If, for example, you had to remain indoors for an extended period and were slowly losing your mind… not that it’s overly likely, of course, hoho) you could put your palate to the test and see if you could identify the mystery tobacco from smell and taste alone.

A way to try custom blends

You’ve probably seen/heard/read me banging on about this a bunch of times, so I’ll be brief. I used to love making custom blends for our shops or putting together a personal blend for one of our customers. Sadly, that all went down the drain when new laws came in a few years ago. However, thanks to samplers, we’re able to keep the spirit of custom blends alive. You can now buy a sampler that contains all the ingredients in the required amounts for you to simply mix together at home. At present, we only do the one: my very own Christmas pudding blend, but if enough people go for it (Hint hint!) we will look at adding more in the future.

Broadening your Horizons

It’s very easy to fall into the trap of only smoking one or two blends that you really like. After all, like I said earlier, it’s totally understandable that you don’t want to risk ending up stuck with 50g of tobacco that you don’t really like. So rather than taking that risk, you can try a sampler featuring a selection of blends in small, risk-free 10g portions. You could either roll the dice with one of the aforementioned mystery blends or try a selection from a specific brand, if you’re interested in a particular one, such as Jess’s Samuel Gawith Sampler or Lewis’s Century Sampler.

So that’s why we love our samplers, as always: I hope that’s given you some ideas!

-Calum – Store Manager @ Turmeaus Chester