Maybe this is because the tobacco came directly from a cigarette? I often see people empty out a cig to mix it with weed and it just tastes terrible.
There's a reason why cigarettes have a giant cotton filter. The tobacco is laced with all sorts of other chemicals and it really requires a decent filter. When you have no filter or just a paper filter in a joint or blunt, it really tastes nasty. Pipe tobacco would probably be better but I'll pass on any nicotine thank you very much.