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?

To Mix or Not to Mix

I have spent a great deal of time thinking about what pairings may be good or bad.  This tobacco with that tea, and this beverage with that type of leaf.  I suppose that is all well and good, not meaning to criticize the great pairings of the past, but I have been in an interesting funk lately.  Firstly,  I have been enjoying more than a few bowls of Hartenstein Trail.  This is a great full flavored latakia blend from the Edwards Tobacco in Denver.  Excellent smoke in a multitude of different bowl sizes.  Cool smoking and a great low nicotine level that makes it particularly perfect for before bedtime smoking.  Worth every moment.

The second thing that I have noticed is that I don't find myself wanting to pair my smoking with my tea/coffee drinking lately.  I have stumbled across some great flavor combinations in the past for sure, but I have been more interested in the tobacco by itself.  Coincidentally, I have also been interested in the tea and the coffee by themselves as well.  It seems that adding anything to the equation means that I will (of necessity) pay less attention to either of the things I am tasting individually.  I imagine, as things warm up again I will ease back into pairing my puffs with my beverages, but for the moment I am enjoying the simplicity.  What say you?  Do you enjoy things more in pairs, or one experience at a time?

Giving it Away

Have you done your pipe duty?  I find that I am something of an evangelistic pipe smoker.  I don't mean to be, I just have a tendency to want to spread understanding for the great benefits and pleasures of pipe smoking.  It comes rather naturally.  In a recent discussion with a friend I determined that he needed to enjoy the "thinking tool" of a pipe.  Upon finding out that he was open to the idea I made the "starter kit".  This kit included a country gentleman Missouri Meerschaum (a dear favorite of mine), and two very user-friendly starter tobaccos (Black Watch from Edwards and Black and Gold from Altadis).  I directed him to a couple of "how to" videos on youtube.  I feel as if I failed in the one major aspect of sharing that first smoke with him, nevertheless sometimes we do only what we can.

I find people are interested in pipes, and in pipe smoking.  How do you answer their questions?  What would you put in your "starter kit" for a new smoker?  Greater men than I have taken the time to eschew the virtues of pipe smoking, but I earnestly believe the world would be a slightly better place if more people enjoyed a quiet evening, in a thoughtful spot, with a bowl full of good tobacco.

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.

Black Watch

For 10 years I have been smoking this beautiful tobacco, and for 10 years I have loved it. I won't say I love this tobacco as much as I love my wife...but I have loved it for a longer time. There is a wonderful sweet, cool, beauty to this tobacco that has made it wonderful for 10 years. The taste is vanilla. It turns out I just like vanilla.

It also turns out that it was named for a famous Scottish Military unit. I gotta admire anyone who can fight in plaid, though I imagine that they no longer fight in plaid. They are, however a pretty impressive group of soldiers. Gotta love a military tradition that has stood the test of time. You also have to respect a company that is willing to take advantage of the bravery and dedication of others to help them sell a product that causes cancer. Great stuff. Try it.

A New Pipe for My Birthday

And a big thanks to my Grandpa and Grandma B. Their generous gift was funneled towards the purchase of this beautiful pipe. It is officially the most costly (and nicest smoking) pipe I own. My two favorites remain the two that April bought for me, as she picked them out with things in mind. While one of them is packed away in the "moving confusion" this is the first one she picked out for me around an anniversary, with the directive, "pick a pipe that reminds you of me":

It is a great pipe with a nice big bowl. The rustication makes it look extra big. And the bowl size is larger than any of my other pipes. It smokes nice and I have dedicated it to latakia blends. When asked why this pipe made her think of me April replied that it was the pipe that most made her think of a cuddly bear. So there you go. Love that pipe, and yes, I love cuddling as well.

Back to the pipe in question. I have learned some things about myself. Having tried some more pipes I am finding that I like shapes that are a little funky, and I really like the 3/4 bent stem. It just seems to sit so comfortably in the mouth and not demand the amount of work (especially helpful when smoking while doing another task). I was so thankful to go into Edwards to pick out my first "next level up" pipe. It was a fun adventure. The friendly fellow who works there took the time to answer questions and guide me to the right pipe for me and helped me to find the best pipe in my price range. Then he sat with me around the counter for the next hour and change while I broke it in, and he warmly congratulated me on getting a new job. Good times.

So there it is, celebrating the joy of much change it is really nice to be able to enjoy a nice sweet smoke from a pipe that is a cut above what I have had before. Quite thankful.

Special Balkan

Isn't Bing Crosby the greatest? I don't know much about his personal life. But I love the way he makes a pipe look so good. The way his voice sounds. The way he embodies that dignified, American, fatherly type of personality. I love the roles he chose in movies and I love the way that he played them. The banter between he and Bob Hope, the Andrews Sisters and Louis Armstrong is just so light, fun and wholesome. For some reason I constantly find myself looking to old Bing as an image of something good and real. It's one of the beautiful images associated with pipes that is burned into my brain (along with Bilbo, Gandalf, Sherlock, and a few others).

Tonight I closed off another beautiful day with a bowl of Edward's Special Balkan. It is just a beautiful blend of Latakia and some other oriental tobaccos that has a spicy yet soft full flavor. One reviewer that I read claimed that this tobacco made them feel like they had just finished Thanksgiving dinner. That's an image that comes back to me every time I smoke this tobacco (I buy it in great quantities). And I know exactly what this fellow was talking about. It is a rich experience, and it makes one feel full and satisfied.

I'll be the first to confess that I'm not terribly discriminating. The list of tobaccos that I enjoy is (at this point at least) much longer than the list of tobaccos that I haven't liked. I guess the experience of smoking a pipe is too nice not to enjoy. As I sit back and enjoy a pipe I'm always in good company. I have a number of good smoking brothers (brothers in the Lord). And when I am alone I find some of my best times of prayer and reflection come while enjoying a pipe. I suppose that is why it is difficult for me to have a bad experience. The time alone is as coveted as the time with friends. The blessing of having something that causes me to be endlessly thankful (though it may only be a small thing) reminds me of all of the really big things that I am endlessly thankful for. And I'm thankful for you, dear reader, and I hope you have a bowl of full and satisfying to tobacco lined up in the near future that draws you towards thankfulness as well. Or, if not tobacco, some other small pleasure that does the same thing.