What are Goopers?

[Mister Moo]

Goopers are those aromatic tobaccos that may come in a pouch at the drugstore or, commonly, are seen in giant jars at the tobacco store. They usually have a description that sounds ridiculous and in the pouch/jar they smell like flowers, cookies in the oven, your favorite booze, fruit, candy or coffee. I remember my first gooper - it ruined my pipe for a year, made the bowl swampy for a week and steam-cooked my tongue and cheeks. OK, it was mostly inept pipery but, face it - a gooper is gooper.

Unapologetic gooper-smokers are also called goopers. The term was recently invented by a respected piper (Indiana's own Dan Kerr, dmkerr or DK) who was trying to come up with an amusing, yet faintly derrogatory, word for those aromatics that are more sugar, topping and propylene glycol than tobacco. The word is getting traction elsewhere. Thought it should be introduced here. I understand there are many pipers who are perfectly happy with burley soaked in PG, elderberry juice, peach daiquiri essence, vanilla-cucumber and cola (sold commercially as Captain Black) - fine with me. Don't get me wrong about goopers and the goopers who love them. There's a place for everyone and everyone in his place.

I had a brief gooper fling with Manassas (Grand Marnier) and Gettysburg (coffee) from Old Virginia Tobacco CO., probably blended and packed by C&D. I thought it killed in cob (for a while). Contrary-wise, Erinmore Flake, aka The Juicy Fruit of Pipe Tobacco, is certainly cased or topped but not at all a gooper.

Goopers. Not just for breakfast anymore.