Pining for the Old Days

It has been ages since I have engaged with the online pipe smoking community. It is easy to look back with fondness on the time I spent watching videos, reading blogs, and connecting with other pipe smokers on social media. It was what inspired me to start this blog. Pipe smoking really is an odd combination of social and private. No one else is needed to enjoy a pipe, yet it is fun with others. 

The days I remember were great. Those in the community were never monetized, and no one seemed interested in fame or fortune. It was just a group of people who enjoyed the hobby and were looking for others with whom to share it. Some vestiges remain, but few people continue to post. I am sure it still exists...on some new app or website. Truth be told the place that it occupied in my life is largely filled. Family, work, and advancing age have all cut my smoking time and social needs down significantly. 

I have also learned that the promise of social media and the connections it offered are of a distinctly different nature than we may once have expected. Once projected to be the Neuromancer, Ready Player One, playground for making meaningful connections, it proved to be less personal than it once was. All of this is because money got involved. A lot of money. 

Various social media sites were a unique opportunity to meet new people, keep up with friends, gather into groups based upon our interests and dreams. Now it seems focused upon gaining an audience. No one had even heard of an influencer, much less think of it as a legitimate career. The world has changed. I would not say that it got better or worse, just different. 

Websites were better. Before every site was built to make money there were sites that were just silly. Fewer sites had logins, cookies, and advertisement. People were just excited to put something out into cyberspace and be thrilled that anyone else would be able to see it. Now, I haven't surfed the internet for weird and wonderful for years. It is behind a paywall, it is all strictly professional. Social media took over the part of the internet that had me visiting blogs on the weekly. Podcasts went from being a basement affair to big business. Videos started including a striking amount of advertisers. People started asking for viewers to comment, like, and subscribe...and give them money on Patreon. Of course the most amazing thing to me is that people actually do it.  I have never once been compelled to give someone money just to watch them make videos from their basement. 

Then the "I'm quitting!" videos started to show up. How very odd. What we used to do for fun became too taxing. Content creation was no longer recreation...it became business. Did people stop doing things for fun or did those who were in it for the money crowd them out? It isn't just on the internet, it is a phenomenon in the western world. Everything is about money, and few are motivated by simple joyous desire to make connections and talk about the things that enrich our lives. 

I wonder if the thing I remember is still out there. I can't say that I would want to go back to making a few videos or blog posts a week as it took time. As my children grow up I have a bit more independence. I could make a video or throw a thought out into the world now and again. I never thought I would be a dinosaur so soon. Looking back at those simple frivolous moments thinking, talking, and writing about pipes and tobacco I do have fond memories. 

Just to keep on theme, I have been enjoying my cobbit pipe by Missouri Meerchaum. And I have been smoking Brian Fox, Captain Black Royal, and a local pipe shop bulk tobacco called Collins Comfort. The brotherhood of the briar still calls to me in my memories. And I rarely enjoy a pipe without also thinking about my old online friends. 

Some Good Tobacco, Some Bad Tobacco, and Some to Come

I have had the opportunity to enjoy more.  Enjoying more tobacco is always good.  A brief perusal of these articles will make it abundantly clear that I am no snob.  I simply love simple tobacco.  The interesting thing is the over the counter blends, and old American standbys are really not significantly cheaper, pound-for-pound than many "premium blends".  That means if you smoke Carter Hall, and I do, then you do it because it is easy on the palate rather than the wallet.  Nevertheless, those simple old standbys and classics that never seem to let you down do tend to be a bit monochromatic.  The minute I think that I am done going for the more upper-crust blends something happens.  I find and old tin that I had cellared, or I get an itch that can only be scratched by a good healthy dose of perique or latakia.  So it is...

I was enjoying some smoker friendly cherry blend, and some Captain Black Dark.  These blends were very clearly the chemically treated simple experience they always are.  They were not amazing, nor were they terrible.  The Cherry was the surprise...it smoked cool and long and was not overbearing on the cherry flavoring.  Really nice, right over the plate, good tobacco.  The Captian Black Dark I think should just be called CB Extra.  It is everything that I expect out of the White with just a bit more.  More of the vanilla, more of the CB experience, but it did bite me.  Almost every time. 

All this was going along just fine...until my day off.  I found an older cellared tin of the last few bowls of Kajun Kake by C&D's.  That started off my smoky day with a reminder that my OTC blends are good...but there is a difference.  That bowl got me going onto a Briar Fox.  The burley in that blend is something that is absolutely amazing.  Then a bowl of the cherry, just to be sure that I wasn't hallucinating the difference of depth.  I was not.  Heading into the evening, after the kids went down, I had a long chat with a friend and had not less than four bowls (smaller, clay pipe bowls) of Rattray's Black Mallory.  There is something magical about ending the day with Latakia...and a lotta Latakia is the best.  This caused me to order some Old Tartan (H&H) and Star of the East (C&D) because I clearly need some variety in my pipe world.

The moral of the story.  I love to smoke my pipe.  I really enjoy each tobacco for what it offers.  I read a lovely review of an aromatic tobacco on Tobacco Reviews.com.  It was pointing out how unfair it is that the English smokers will criticize a blend just because it is an aromatic.  They knew what it was when they ordered it, and it is fine not to like a blend, but you have to be even-handed enough to criticize a blend for what it is trying to accomplish.  That is where each blend shines - once you know what the blend is for you can know how to enjoy it...and if it was even made for you!  Fortunately, I find that most tobaccos were made for me to enjoy and that makes me very glad.

Capstan Blue

Most of my pipe pleasure has been found in Carter Hall of late. So simple, so satisfying. I never seem to tire of this magnificent all-day smoke. But there are those times when one wants a bit more complexity and distraction. 

For this I have been turning to the blue tin of Capstan which sat on my shelf for the last two years or so. It is a lovely flake that fits in well with all of those good, honest tobaccos that offers a purity and goodness that I love in a pipe tobacco. It burns well and has a satisfying sweetness that draws me in beautifully. 

Progressing into the bowl both weight and complexity increase. The blend gets more intense just as you would want a blend to become more intense. Like a casual acquaintance who becomes more interesting the longer you know him, this blend is not gaudy or insecure. It keeps me masterfully entertained throughout the smoke. 

It finishes with a lovely flourish in which I always wind up trying a bit to hard to light the dottle. It is too satisfying to want another bowl but to satisfied to want to see the bowl end. This tobacco is lovely.  

A Moderate Success!

The concept of "spin" seems to have caused most things to be described in the superlative.  Everything in life seems to have become some kind of perverse sales affair.  Not only is this true on the large commercial scale; but social media seems to have brought that concept down to the point of making it some sort of individual responsibility.  It seems we are compelled by forces beyond our control to try and make all of our efforts and adventures out to be extraordinary.  The trouble with this is quite apparent.

You may ask why I am ranting.  Why it is something trivial, of course!  I just finished my experiment mentioned in a previous post.  This is an experiment I have been working on for a bit over two months.  This experiment involves dedicating a new cob to a new tin of tobacco through the whole tin.  I have done this before and never been disappointed with the results.  Those cobs then go on to be graced by other blends and move through  their life as a happy cob in my collection until they pass their ultimate usefulness.  

So this experiment was absolutely, totally, remarkably and amazingly: fine.  I must admit I will likely not be buying another tin of Durbar.  It claims to be for the "experienced pipe smoker", though it fails to tell us what experiences are required. I found this blend to be on my medium low end of preference.  It was by no means painful to get through the tin, nor was it one I gave up on (as I did with Early Morning Pipe and Sweet Killarney).  But it just didn't make it quite to the place of expectation that I have set with My Mixture 965, London Mixture, and Nightcap.  Those blends never fail to blow me away.  

In contrast to the greats I would say that Durbar is a good blend.  I found that the orientals didn't speak too much, but it had that nice middle or the road experience.  It also took quite some time to really get comfortable with it.  For some reason I often had a mild tongue-bite that started right around the middle of the bowl.  

So try for your self, dear reader.  I don't think you could be too disappointed.  Durbar is a nice blend of quality tobacco and perhaps you will be the pipe expert experienced enough to draw all of the greatness out of Durbar Mixture. 

The Distinguished Society of Fine Gentlemen

Greetings good lovers of the brier!  While summer smoking ends and autumn smoking begins I  wanted to draw your attention to a site for which I have written a guest article.

The Distinguished Society of Fine Gentlemen is a fine group of men who are pursuing the worthy endeavors of cultivating the finer tastes as well as supporting a more civilized, polite and caring world.  I highly recommend looking into their material as well as considering the pursuit of beginning a chapter among your own circle of smoking friends.  If pursued with sincerity I believe this pursuit will improve your life, your relationships and the world in which you have influence.

New Pipes and New Tobaccos

I have tried this experiment before. I enjoyed it thoroughly and have decided to repeat it. The experiment? I'm glad you asked. The goal is to go deep wth a new tobacco. I found this fun shaped cob at a local tobacconist and I have been sitting on this tin of Dunhill Durbar for more than a year. The tin description reads as follows: "BLENDED FOR THE MORE EXPERIENCED AND MATURE PIPE TOBACCO SMOKER". I am unsure precisely what this means but I am excited. 

Yet that still is not an experiment, is it?  The experiment goes as follows. For the coming weeks I will smoke mostly this tobacco and I will only smoke it in this brand new cob. What is the point? Tobaccos are complex, they have personality and style. 

This is, for me, the equivalent of meeting a friend of a friend that you are fairly sure to like and then going on a long fishing trip with him. There can be bumps and bruises. You may find put quickly that this fellow has some strange character oddities, but commitment to delve deep brings results. I am excited to really dig in with this tobacco. I may even write about it. 

Preferring the Pipe - Part III

A pipe is a work of art.  This has been previously mentioned in this series, but it must be more fully explained.

A pipe begins with a material.  Briar, clay, meerchaum, even a corncob!  Yet these natural elements must be foremed.  The right piece of briar must be selected, the clay must be mixed correctly, only certain cobs will do for making a great corncob pipe...

The right materials will bring about the best experience.  They will look beautiful, when crafted with skill.    Many pipe smokers can attest to the hours of pleasure they have recieved from examining pipe after pipe after pipe at a tobacconist, or at an online retailer.  Shapes are considerd, and grain patterns are scrutinized.  The best materials will also provide a smoking experience that is cool and dry, without gurgling or overheating to the discomfort of the hand.  Some materials allow are affected by what is smoked in them and begin to provide a deliciously layered "seasoned" experince.  Other materials give the smoker the purest "just the facts" view of the particularly tobacco.

Not only thisbut the shapes themselves are appealing.  From soft curves to hard angles.  From big bowls that almost take two hands to hold, to a tiny cup from which only a few sweet sips can be made before the experience has run its course.  Some will argue for a favorite or best size of bowl, but not me.  I like them all.  Small, medium and large bowls all provide such wonderful experiences when they are treated properly, and they all offer different kinds of appreciation.  For many collectors things will go in phases.  Once drawn to bulldogs, then brought to a phase of looking at Canadians, then obsessed with apple shapes, it is difficult to imagine that a person could run out of new pipes to appreciate.

But many pipes may look the same, no two are.  They all bring their own little nuances and personalities to the table.  Thus the pipe I hold in my hand that came from a major manufacturerer is still very especially mine, and while strikingly similar to the uninformed a true pipe smoker will be able to pick his pipe out of a lineup of similar ones because of this lttle ding, or pecularity in the grain.  Each pipe is much like a snowflake in its dear and subtle uniqueness. 

Finally, while this work of art will be supporting a flaming ember for hours on end proper use could mean a lifetime of enjoyment, and often even more.  This gives a continuity to the experience of pipe enjoyment that seems absent elsewhere in life.  It is personal, and while you may borrow another man's pipe, you will not know it as a friend.  It can only be a passing meeting, until you have invested enough in that bit of art to really appreciate it.  

Preferring the Pipe - Part II

The Art of Pipe Smoking

Why I prefer the pipe, first and foremost, is that it truly is a skill.  There is a definite artistry to every aspect of pipe smoking.  Some are meant to be evaluated in future articles.  A pipe itself is a work of art.  A functional and beautiful mix of design and purpose that far surpasses most other tools and vessels of pleasure (save perhaps a well crafted tea-pot).  A tobacco blend is no less an artisitic affair.  Taking just the right tobaccos, treated in just the right way to fit a specific mood, or a specific taste profile would sent most "foodies" to a state of madness for the amount of effort that has to go into a truly great blend.  But, I only apprecaite those artistic sides of pipe smoking.  The art form I am interested in now is the actual smoking.

First the art of selecting a pipe.

Every pipe is different.  Different shapes, sizes and stem considerations all make a great deal of difference in how the pipe is best to be enjoyed and what tobaccos are going to go best a given pipe.  This means that the maximum enjoyment isn't available to the beginner.  To be sure there is great enjoyement for the beginner, but as a pipe smoker learns his or her pipes the enjoyment grows by leaps and bounds.  To the point where a certain pipe will be selected at a certain time of day, or with only a certain type of blend...or even just one specific blend!  This level of appreciation can only come with time and effort.  This special treasure is only available to the one who is willing to make the effort to get to know the pipes that are involved.  

The Art of Burning.

Like so many I started by attempting to keep the fire burning as hot as possible.  I didn't think was enjoying my pipe (or any tobacco) untill I had burned away any sensation available in my mouth.  It wasn't until much later that I learned to sip at my pipe.  To mainatian the fire in the bowl at the perfect cool, slow smoldering level to release the maximum amount of flavor and pleasure without any pain or discomfort.  It has been years since I have had tongue bite, and years since I have felt "burnt out" the next morning from the enjoyment of a pipe.  Yet this also came only through time and practice.  I always liked the pipe, but I grew to like and apprecaite it more.  As I connected with masters of the art, taking note of their ways and their advice, my smoking improved and I was the sole beneficiary.  However, the journey is not done.  There is yet so much more to learn, and so much more enjoyment to be had.

The Art of Working with a Tobacco.

There are tobaccos that will just naturally work for a given pipe enthusiast and others that simply will not work for the same person.  I have so often had the experience of sharing a favorite blend with a friend only to find that there was little or no pleasure in that blend for them.  That being said, the humble pipe smoker is never hasty.  When the first experience with a blend goes badly the response is most commonly not a jundgment of the blend, but a resolve to find a better way to work with this tobacco in the future.  Perhaps the solution it to pack the tobacco more firmly, or more loosely.  Perhaps the pleasure was locked away because of puffing too hard, or not tamping firmly enough.  Often times a different pipe will yeild better results, and sometimes a few months in the tobacco cellar will do wonders for the blend.  I know of no other method of tobacco enjoyment that offers this ability to give countless second chances to explore and draw the goodness out of a given product.  It seems to me that all other forms come mostly prepared...if you don't like how the product is wrapped or stuffed, or created you simply didn't like that tobacco product.  But not the pipe.  So much control to make sure that the leaf gets the best viewing before judgment can be passed.

The Art of Maintaining a Pipe

My last thought for this article is simple.  The art of maintaing a pipe is a pleasure all it's own.  It begins simple for the amature.  Just running an occasional pipe cleaner through the stem.  This is a great start!  As more beloved pipes are collected, however, the desire to seem them continue in their usefulness becomes deeper.  The use of different tools begins: reamers, chapstick, alcohol, and polish.  Before you know it you find that the first estate pipe has fallen into your hands and you must start salt treatments and deep cleanses to get out the ghosts.  With hard work a pipe can be restored to usefulness after years of abuse or neglect, skill applied properly brings about the redemption of an historical artifact that is now ready to function again.  What an art form.

This is the first reason I enjoy the pipe.  There is always room to improve and grow.  Certainly, there will be times when a pipe is just comfortably and thoughtlessly puffed.  An old blend, like a dear friend, fits like a comfortable shoe and needs very little consideration about how it must be enjoyed, but that because the comfort has been earned from getting to know that blend well.  There will also always be new adventures, new tobaccos and new pipes with which to perfect our interactions.  So the blessed pipe smoker sits underneath a canopy of new delights and old standbys with no need to fear that he must be either complacent or forever forging ahead for the "El Dorado" of pipe smoking.  Knowing that as he enjoys his pipe, he will get better at enjoying his pipe and thus will enjoy it more for every moment that he spends enjoying it.   Bliss.

Preferring the Pipe - Part I

I have enjoyed other ways to consume tobacco.  I have had cigarettes, I have smoked cigars.  I have snuffed snuff, sucked snus and I have chewed tobacco.  I have had hookah, vaped vapor, and I have even tried something called doka...which was evil.  I may have even had other forms of tobacco that I cannot remember, but I don't need to remember....I smoke a pipe.  

Why do I smoke a pipe?  Because it is, hands down, no questions asked, the best tobacco fit for me.  On occasion I will let my tobacco usage get out of control and I will fall to smoking cigars, or even cigarettes, but there is little real enjoyment or appreciation...just drug use.  However, when I am in a right relationship with my love of the leaf I am really only interested in a pipe.  I am going to make a genuine effort not to make these articles about comparison to other forms, but I make no promises.  Please enjoy your tobacco however your see fit; however,  I now choose to write about how I have come to the place of only wanting to enjoy the pipe.  Please do not take these words as a criticism of your desired method of tobacco enjoyment, but as a simple song in praise of the lovely pipe and all that it has to offer.

To thiis end, before I begin my raving soliloquies in praise of the pipe, I feel as if the background to this series must be given.  I have been using tobacco since well before it was legal for me to do so.  Stealing cigarettes, and shouldertapping for cans of chewing tobacco were not irregular for me as I approached 18.  But when I came of legal age my first purchase was a pipe.  I loved it, but it was only a part of my tobacco diet.  

Things continued.  On again, off again.  Never more than a can of dip or a pack of cigarettes in the course of a week, and always the pipe as the steady centerpiece of my real tobacco enjoyment, yet even that not at the level of "major addiction."  Yet as life went on there were times when tobacco use got higher, and far more for the functionality of nicotine than for the practice of enjoying the pipe.  Cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cheap cigars became the most standard fare.

Then the fateful day that I discovered the internet pipe smoking community.  Particularly the Youtube pipe smoking community.  Through those gents I really learned to apprecaite the pipe.  Really appreciate the different tobaccos, dig into how to work with different blends and how to taste with skill and patience all that pipe smoking had to offer.  The next years would see rises and falls of other forms of tobacco use, but a steady growth of pipe tobacco enjoyment.  

This  brought me to the place of decision.  I really did enjoy the pipe, but I mostly used tobacco being a slave to the nicotine. I loved the pipe, but hated the addiction.  I decided that all mindless tobacco consumption had to go.  For me (and only for me) I found nearly all of my tobacco use outside of the pipe was, indeed, mindless.  I know many appreciate their cigars, and others really suck real pleasure from a dip, and some only smoke the choicest cigarettes...but for me those were all just methods of "using".  So I decided to strive to give up USING tobacco, and commit to ENJOYING tobacco exclusively.

Gettting through the ugly part of this took some help.  It took prayer, and support of friends.  I also found St. John's Wort, 5-HTP, and L-Theanine (herbal/dietary suppliments) to be helpful.  Even with all of those supports there were some moments where I was less than kind to those around me.  Yet now I am there.  A pipe occasionally.  Not more than a ftwo or three pipes a week.  With no "craving" for nicotine drawing me to it...only the deep desired satisfaction of good fellowship or a quite moment with my dear pipe as an aid to contemplation.  

So why?  Why continue enjoying the pipe when the bonds of addiction are severed?  I will tell you.  I think the pipe is a beautiful experience.  I think it is worth enjoying, in spite of the possible risks.  So that is what I hope to present to you in the coming articles:  Why I love enjoying a pipe.  

Please, dear reader, as this small journey progresses please tell me what it is that you most enjoy about your pipe? Or what it is that you enjoy about your other preferred method of tobacco appreciation?  What do you find beautiful, useful or valuable about it?

What are you enjoying now?

Why, thank you for asking! I have had some wonderful opportunities to enjoy several bowls of good pipe tobacco these past weeks. This time, historically, had been a time of looking with a jealous eye toward spring. This year is no exception. I long for the warm summer afternoon pipes and late night conversations over endlessly burning bowls of tobacco.  Yet, as Graham Green so well writes in The Power and the Glory: "One of the Fathers has told us that joy always depends on pain. Pain is part joy. We are hungry and then think how we enjoy our food at last."

So my anticipatory celebration in the pain of the cold has consisted of several in my regular rotation.  First, plenty of Edwards Special Balkan. This is a blend that is simply synonymous with satisfaction for me. On situations where it is better for me not to smell like a walking Latakia bomb I have been favoring C and D's Nutty Irishman.  I have been poking through this bag for about a year now.  I bought it loving the smell of the topping, but have found it to be a bit bitey. This was a surprise because the time I had it before there was little or no bite.  I suppose our tastes do change.

Another C and D blend I have been enjoying is Morning Drive Time. I bought this for purely romantic reasons.  The idea of blends that honor the working man was too attractive to pass up.  This VA/perique blend lived up to its high calling marvelously. While Dunhill's EarlyMorning Pipe never lived up to the hype for me, Morning Drive Time fits my breakfast smoke profile.

On the over the over the counter side I have been lusting after another package of Carter Hall, which I love so dearly.  However I cannot indulge in it because I still have a package of Sir Walter Raleigh to get through. While satisfying for that burley fix, it simply is not Carter Hall.  Which I recognize is like saying, "This cup of tea simply is not a cup of coffee!"  Yet in pure preference Mmy mouth remembers something lovely about the simplicity of Carter Hall burley.

Finally, my other old standby, Black Watch from Edwards in Denver. It is the first pipe tobacco I remember smoking. I smoked it too quickly and too hot. It bit my tongue, but at the time I knew no better. The vanilla aroma brings back those first beautiful bowls. Then When I learned how to smoke slowly and enjoy the true flavor of the tobacco in sweet sips this tobacco came alive in new and exciting ways.  

But what have you been smoking, dear reader?

Latakia Nights

So very long since I have posted.  Thank you, dear reader for checking back in.  It seems to have been ages.  The reason is simple.  I have not been smoking my pipes enough lately.  Cold weather? Yes.  Busy? Sure.  Mostly just bad priorities.  I have suffered in my mental state for not taking the careful and conscious time of reflection and smoking.  I haven't sacrificed any animals or anything of that nature or woken up in a place that I didn't fall asleep...I have just been stretched.  It is time to get the pipes out.  It is time to return.

The Latakia called me back.

Special Balkan from Edwards.  The cool kindness of Latakia called me back to the great contemplative pass-time.  So wonderful.  There was reviewer of this lovely tobacco that suggested that it makes them feel like they just finished Thanksgiving dinner.  This is a smoke that brings great satisfaction to me.  It isn't just the latakia, the whole package together provides an sense of pleasure that demands that everything slow down.  To a halt.  The world can commence once the experience is over.  And so it is.  The pipe must be smoked and the Special Balkan is supreme.

"Does Jesus Get Amazed?"

I received the following question from a young lady in our congregation.  Praying and considering it has touched me and I wanted to share this remarkable question and my thoughts:

"I was wondering, does Jesus ever get amazed?"  

Jesus is seated right now at the right hand of the Father, and I am not sure what his daily reactions to things here on earth specifically looks like.  For us being amazed has to do with being surprised, much of the time, and I don't believe Jesus is ever surprised because he knows everything.

However, Jesus was absolutely amazed when He walked on earth.  What amazed Jesus is VERY important.  Matthew 8:5-10 tells about a time when a centurion (a Roman Soldier who was in charge of a hundred other soldiers) came to Jesus because he wanted Jesus to heal a person who worked in his house.  When Jesus said He would come the Centurion told Jesus, in my words: "I believe that You are so powerful that you can heal my servant from wherever you are."  He really believed that Jesus was able to heal his servant.  Then verse 10 says this: "Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel." (Matthew 8:10 NASB)

So, I believe Jesus looks on with marveling wonder when we trust Him.  I believe Jesus is amazed whenever you choose to trust Him with your self and your circumstances.  Jesus is amazed at what he created in you!

Thank you, again, for your question. It is a great encouragement to me.

Ghosts of Previous Pleasure

One of my favorite pleasures of pipe smoking is the day after.  Early in my pipe smoking life, and for probably the first several years after, the day following a pipe was marked by a thoroughly charred, gritty mouth.  This was because I had not yet learned to appreciate my pipe.  Taking large, greedy puffs, I attacked my pipe smoking much like a lioness may attack some fleetfooted prey.  The result?  The smoke died and took my tongue with it.  Some years of wisdom changed the experience.  Now pipe smoking is left with few, if any undesirable mouth feelings (especially when dealing with well known pipes and tobaccos that have become old friends).  The enjoyment of the tobacco at its own pace, in gentle sips, has given me great reward for some years.  The mystery of the chemistry I cannot explain.  But one of my favorite experiences is the slight hint of aftertaste as much as 24 hours after. Even after several brushings and mouthwashings (two to be exact) and two good meals I can still detect a hint of everything I smoked the night before.  I love these surprises!

Last night I enjoyed three bowls of tobacco with a dear friend.  Today I was reminded of the pleasant and meaningful conversation we shared by tasting in turn the richness of the first bowl of Dunhill 965, the frank beautiful simplicity of a bowl of Velvet and the full sweetness of Black Gold Plus.  With the memory of those sweet tobaccos coming in turn the memory of the gentle and genuine conversation drifts to and fro like gentle puffs of smoke on the evening breeze.  What a blessed thing to enjoy a pipe and the company of another dear like-minded brother in Christ.  What a great blessing this!

Back to the Bowl

The time has come.  So may things have distracted me from my beloved tobaccos.  Cold weather has forbidden the long self-indulgent hours of pipe puffing.  As I continue to age I make stranger and stranger priority choices.  It simply isn't worth being physically uncomfortable to enjoy a pipe.  However, there are always a few bowls on shoveling days.  This, still, holds no candle to the evenings with a cup of tea and a pipe burning quietly away.  Our fourth child is finally on his feet, and this means that there are more opportunities for him to be a bit more independent and mommy is less tired so daddy gets increased opportunities to enjoy the blessed tobacco weed.

So much excitement for this smoking season.  I have three tins that I have stored up and am waiting to try, two of which are new!  I have a tin of Nightcap that is waiting to be opened and I cannot wait to return to that sweet latakian goodness again.  Additionally I have some Dunhill Standard Mixture which is a great excitement to me as I have loved 965 and London Mixture.  So much joy ahead!  Finally, I was given a tin of Rattray's Bagpiper's Dream, which I have decided to love, because I love bagpipes and am an amateur bagpiper.  And so it goes.  Let the smoking begin, and hopefully, the pipe blogging!

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.