Burns Supper

The Burns Supper was simply lovely.Haggis gets a bad rap, but is actually quite tasty. Truly a delight. Good food, good company, good poetry and a pipe. Oh and good whiskey. Tough to beat that!

Christmas Pipes

Presbyterian Mixture and Squadron Leader

Alas, so long between posts. And yet, we do what that for which the spare moments are provided! The Presbyterian mixture experiment was a success. The final conclusion (of mine)is that Presbyterian mixture is an excellent, high quality tobacco, perfect for an everyday smoke. It falls very well into the wonderful category of Dunhill 965 and others that would never fail to satisfy at any time of day. I never did find anything shocking or striking about this blend, just pure, sweet enjoyment. It is a solid blend, and well worth trying if you are a fan of virginias. Very much enjoyed.

To add to that I had an opportunity to crack a tin of Squadron Leader. Because I bought a rectangular tin I expected this to be a flake tobacco, however, it is ribbon cut. The tin offers a beautiful mix of dark tobaccos and lighter tobaccos. I am told there are some orientals in this mix, and I believe it is so, but it is not a "Latakia forward" blend. The orientals are looming in the background giving it a nice depth, but they are easy to overlook if I'm not paying attention. This is another blend that I would classify with 965 and Presbyterian mixture as being a good, solid, all-day smoke. Pleasant and not overwhelming at any point. If I had to gauge this tobacco against the others I would have to say that it runs third to 965 and Presbyterian, but very nice. I don't think I would keep all three around all the time, but I will always want to have one of the three on hand. It makes for nice variety.

Finally, I have been having another go around with Edward's bulk blend "Coco Creme". This is a blend that I very much enjoy. A sort of natural-aromatic that has a nice cavendish flavor and then the nice creamy finish that tastes and smells remarkable of chocolate. Truthfully, I find my chocolate smoking urge more fulfilled in Black Gold, but this is a nice blend unto itself. I have on my list of "someday" Bob's Chocolate flake, and if the opportunity arises I would like, one day, to mix up some of Jeoffre's Chocolate Manhood. However, those goals are down the road somewhere. Coco Creme has it's charms, to be certain, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for the particular experience it provides. However, the one looking for the goopy "I just smoked a mars bar!" experience may find greater satisfaction elsewhere. Where that is, I could not say. However (while not at all goopy) Black Gold is always a winner for the pipe smoker with a sweet tooth.

Thank you, Chris!

Probing the Presbyterian

It is time for a new adventure.  My pipe smoking seems to hit a sharp rise when the weather begins to cool.  Plus it gives me more reason to work from home as a pipe aids the issues of the working day tremendously. But what of the adventure?  This will be an adventure in pipe dedication, an adventure in dedicated pipe smoking and most importantly an exploration of one of my favorite simple pleasures.  Having been raised in a Presyterian church (though not a very "serious" one) this tobacco has always had some allure.  I don't, however, think of the cutting edge, pop-worship media orgy in which I was introduced to the word "Prebyterian."  I think, rather, of simple joyful people.  In simple clothes.  I think of great men like Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge and John Calvin.  While I have many serious reservations with many of the assumptions of Reformed theology, these were great men, and they constitute part of my reason for wanting to enjoy this tobacco.  So is that it? Just another of my sentimental psuedo-tobacco review? NO!  That was just the preamble!

I did pick up one other little item:

This spool is the latest addition to my collection of pipes.  I don't know if I have mentioned how much I love corncob pipes but I do.  I currently have four (the Legend, General, a stubby, and now a Spool). I have given a few away over the years, lost one and retired a small handful as well.  I love just about everything about the cob.  The looks, the smoking experience, the price, the comfort, everything.  I own other pipes because I like briar and clay as well!  This pipe, however, will have a high calling indeed.  This will be the Presbyterian Cob.  I am going to try to smoke nothing but this tin until I am through it, and do so in no pipe but this pipe.  And I plan to document this experience, if it turns out to be worth documenting. So here goes:

Smoke #1:  Just breaking in the pipe. The spool gets hot around the middle, as one would expect, and breaking in a pipe is never the most pleasant experience for me.  But I had to get it out of the way.  In spite of the general inconvenience of breaking in a new cob the tobacco did occasionally make it's way through.  It is a nice tobacco taste.  I can see why Mark Twain would find another ("a worthless man") to break his in for him!  Though little more could be said about how much I really experienced it, as the taste of the cob really muddled things.

Smoke #2:  (While writing).  Still some break in taste, however more of the tobacco is coming through today.  Some nice light flavors.  I like the mellowness of this tobacco and it seems to capture some of the beautiful austerity and seriousness that I associate with the Christ-loving Presbyterians of ages past.  There seems to be quite a bit of a nicotine punch, but that may just be that I have been smoking less of late.  Never a good decision!

So there it is, dear reader.  Thank you for visiting.  Fear not, I will not bore you with too much repetition in this series as I imagine the smoking will plain out as I learn this new pipe and this new tobacco.  However, I want to really dedicate some time to this classic of pipe tobacco enjoyment.  Sometimes it is good to read a book very quickly so as to draw the pith out of it.  Other times, one can sit an enjoy every word, every sentence and become engorged in it.  This is the experience that I am hoping for!

Verboten

A forbidding had occured.  I suppose it is to be expected that there is going to be one or two tobaccos that, though beloved by our own enjoyment, have not gained the same approval at the issue of the beloved comrades O'D the pipe smoker.  Such a tonecco is my beloved Haunted Bookshop.  I have found it to be one of my most dearly favored morning tobaccos.  Always bursting forth with its nutty goodness and periquey punchiness.  Lord love the stuff, but my wife hates it.  Some have compared the dear the smell of perique afire to the great smell of urine on a campfire.  Perhaps that adds to the appeal.  I love the sound of the bagpipes, of the banjo.  If you are resolved to hate it, I may take that as a challange to try to adore it, or at least find merit.  I suppose it is part of being an insufferable contrary scoundrel, and quite pity. Yet off I go to a bowl of perique, an earful of bagpipes and a mouthful of Lapsang souchong.  

What do you dream about?

One of my favorite Bare Naked Ladies songs has always been the song that repeats the question: When you dream, what do you dream about?

Mostly my dreams are wierd and not to be mentioned, however, when I dream about pipes there are some dreams with noting.

I dream about smoking a pipe that has a loop in the stem.  Even though I could never clean it.

I dream about being able to blow a smoke ring and then blowing a puff of smoke cleanly through the hole in said smoke ring.

I dream about smoking my pipe at work.

I dream about smoking in such a way that it makes me look dignified,

I dream about smoking with some of the bloggers and YouTube pipe smokers that I have watched. Particularly Chris, Pipe Pastor, Joffrey, Bold O'D, Kevin, and a few select others.

I dream of sharing a pipe with Mr. B.  I just hope he will carry the conversation.

I dream of investing several hundred dollars into my tobacco cellar, just for fun.

I dream of living in a world where people once again appreciate the fine art of pipe smoking and admire those who have taken the time to master the art as they should.

What do you dream about?