First Pipe in a While

For the first time in quite some time I got to get outside and have a full bowl. It was a great and wonderful, peaceful and sweet. It was quite cold out and life has been busy, but at long last it was just warm enough to sit out and enjoy the nice taste of some Special Balkan from Edwards. The spicy and rich taste of Latakia and Orientals tantalizes and calls to me. There is a sweetness that comes in and out as the bowl continues.

I enjoyed this bowl in my new pipe, which is still smoking very nicely. I finally broke with an experiment that I have been at for the past three months. For the previous months I had dedicated each pipe to a particular blend. There is a thought that if a pipe is dedicated to a specific blend the smoker will be able to taste new the deeper complexities of the tobacco and thereby enjoy the tobacco more. Results: I'm just not there yet. It was nice, and for a while I wondered if I was tasting more of the subtleties. Then I decided to finish the test by tasting the same familiar tobaccos across the pipes that were dedicated to other blends (even crossing the lines between natural, English and [gasp] aromatics). I decided that there is not much to report for me personally and therefore I'll not bother about it for a while. More to think on...perhaps I will try again later and see.