Awhile back I started a thread asking people to give me names of pipe tobaccos generally recognized as being shite, so I could avoid them. People told me that, unlike many cigars, pipe tobacco generally isn't shite, no matter what kind it is.

I have found this to be true, and it's quite disconcerting to me.

With cigars, probably three out of five new lines I try I can't stand, one I think is ok, and one I like. But with pipe tobacco, I literally haven't found one that I dislike. There are some I like slightly more than others, such as Navy flake, but all are either decent or good to me.

It troubles me because it makes me think my palate is so unrefined that I can't tell the difference between good and bad.

Recently I had to buy the last pouch of ancient, dessicated Captain Black Cherry at a liquor store because I was in a situation where I had a place to smoke and a pipe but no tobacco (never again!) It turned out fine and the girl in whose house I was smoking enjoyed the aroma.

That, to me, is like picking up a Ron Mexico and enjoying it nearly as much as a Padron, which disturbs me greatly.

Is this normal, or should I expect things to change? Why would there be such a tremendous variety in the quality of cigars, but very little in pipe tobacco? I'm not even talking about cigar construction, I'm talking about the flavor and quality of the leaf.