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.

Clay Pipes

So, I really do love briar pipes, however, I also have a very short attention span. I don't know what exactly it is that draws me to other types of pipe smoking experiences. I love the corn cob. The one I made for myself is more of a labor of love, but the ones you purchase from a tobacconist are just good clean fun! I love how smooth they smoke and how much of a "working man's" pipe that they are. I only recently purchased a general cob and have been surprised with how cool the things smokes. It gives a sweetness that is very nice and for just under 8.00 it simply can't be beaten. I can't remember where I read it, but it is widely known that Mark Twain enjoyed smoking a corn cob pipe. However he hated breaking them in, which is not a very painful process compared to breaking in a briar pipe. Nevertheless, he would he would find a man who didn't seem to be very important ( to Mr. Twain, anyhow ) and pay him some pittance to break the pipe in. Once it was broken in he would replace the stem and smoke it until it fell apart and repeat the process again. Funny things!

But I have been smoking corn cobs for years, so this is not much of a new adventure. I have always had an interest in clay pipes. I even made an attempt at making some clay pipes a few years back. However I used a crafting clay. It worked well and smoked fine (after being oven fired). It never seemed to impart a special taste...it just made me nervous smoking tobacco out of something that was intended for nothing more than making pins and buttons for small children. Thus I got rid of them, and let myself wonder at when I would have a shot at a real clay pipe.

I am attracted to clay pipes for a number of reasons. Firstly, they are quite simple. They don't seem to have any extra amount of "bells and whistles" they are just pipes. Of course, there are beautiful and ornate clay pipes available, but these are not the ones that are currently holding my interest. The second reason that these clay wonders are attractive to me is because they seem to have a "working man" quality to them. This is also because of the type of clay pipe I am imagining. There were, of course, shorter pipes for work and longer pipes for house or pup smoking, but I love the utility of this inexpensive pipe (I got two for less than 10 dollars on ebay). The third reason is that there are rumors floating around that clay doesn't get "seasoned" like other pipes. Briar, specifically, is known for carrying a "ghost" of whatever tobacco you last smoked in it. I have tried some experiments in dedicating certain pipes to certain blends and have not been altogether disappointed in the results. Clay, however, doesn't hold the same residue that other materials do.

The last reason? I love the scene in the first Lord of the Rings film where Aragorn is smoking his short clay pipe and staring at Frodo across the room at the Prancing Pony. Tolkien was also very careful to always make sure his readers didn't operate under the illusion that anyone was carrying around a church warden (or wizard's pipe) underneath there robes and pulling it out for a nice long smoke on the road. That would simply be silly! Though Bilbo's smoking pipe at HOME did go nearly down to his neatly brushed wooly toes!

So there it is! The clay pipes shipped today and I will give you more information on the experience they offer when they come in. Another interesting factiod: clay pipes can allegedly be cleaned by throwing them into the embers of a fire, or by heating them in the oven. I'm always fascinated by things that are purified by heat and not destroyed by it.

That Beautiful Taste

There is so much that I love about pipe smoking. I love the fact that it is contemplative, the idea that it is an excuse to sit still for a bit. I also love that it is permanent. I think of cigars and cigarettes and the fact that when you are done you have to throw the whole thing away, for me, takes away from the art of it. With a pipe (even an inexpensive pipe) it seems that you are dealing with a work of art, something that has an inherent beauty of its own that provides pleasure almost as a side note. But the thing that has struck me most recently is the thing that I would imagine would be first on many lists: the taste!

I have had very few tobaccos that I could not appreciate. I love the taste of strong, full bodied, latakia blends. I love the spicy periques. I love sweet mild Virginia tobaccos and those nutty burleys. Most of the time I can even appreciate a nice bowl of something with a lighter casing (topping). I don't like cherry, ever. But I have enjoyed a light chocolate, vanilla or rum flavor when the mood is right, even if it is a bit monotone! It only occurred to me recently how carnal pipe smoking is. I had always set this habit apart as a slightly "higher" taste. I thought that it had a nobility to it that should be noted. The more I smoked, however, the more I realized that it is not much different than a person having an affinity for peppermint. Or a child who really likes Runts candy (bananas, strawberries, oranges - yes; lemons, limes - no) and has preferences. I'm not sure that the two passions are that far separated. It doesn't make me want to enjoy a pipe any less, but it is funny to think that if you take all of the verbiage away it seems like a bunch of grown men going, "I really like licorice much more than caramel. But then Hershey's chocolate is always my standby." That just seems funny to me!

That being said, as much as I like the taste at the moment (and I very much do!), I also enjoy how the ghost of the taste returns at the oddest moments. Just sitting in a conversation and all the sudden the tongue passes over the teeth and the sweet taste of the smoke you had a few hours ago returns. Just faint enough that you would have to grasp to remember what tobacco you were smoking. Then you remember. It's like your mouth told you a little secret that is not worth sharing with the person you are talking to, but makes for a nice grin and recollection that there was a moment of peace today...a moment when something just smelled and tasted good, and it calls to you again.

Spending Time with Prince Albert

"Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" My mother told me about this prank call before I ever knew what Prince Albert tobacco was. I had gotten the impression that they didn't even make it anymore (prior to turning 18 more than a decade ago). At first I avoided this tobacco because it is the cheapest tobacco I have found (there is one exception, but I don't want to talk about it). Later, upon doing a little research, I thought it would be time to give this tobacco a try.

It loaded differently than the bulks and the boutiques that I was used to, I don't think I had ever had a blend with that much burley in it. I tried it at a go with a number of other tobaccos that sat next to it at Walgreens. The others I tried at the time were Carter Hall and Half and Half. I liked all three, but Prince Albert was the king of the all for my taste. The smoke was cool (though if I smoke it too much, or if it's too dry I have gotten a bit of tongue bite from it), and nutty. I really enjoyed the consistency of the smoke and it really does taste simple. It's a great "off to work" tobacco and the relights are great (even after a long absence).

I found myself wondering at first if it was okay to enjoy this cheaper tobacco. Had I somehow lost my mind? A little research assured me that I had not. This has been a quality standard in the world of Pipe Tobacco for years. Online reviews display many a wonderful humble old codger who has smoked this blend out of a corn cob pipe for more years than I have been alive. It is a beautiful testimony to the simple things in life. It doesn't pretend to be more than it is, and it doesn't over sell itself.

Many pipe tobaccos will promise the moon and 28 complex flavors that are hidden in this tiny tin (for 25 bucks) and many are very good, but the marketing is well into the world of fantasy. Not Prince Albert. Prince Albert just is what it is, the funniest thing about it (aside from the stand by prank call) is the suggestion made by the Wikipedia article that states that Prince Albert (the real one) didn't actually wear his beard long as the picture suggests.

There will always be someone who won't let themselves enjoy something simple. Perhaps another mouth can't enjoy Prince Albert. That is okay. I sure like it and always have some on hand. On top of all of the other things I like about pipe smoking this tobacco makes me feel connected to the great past of American Pipe smokers. I like that too.

Mmmmm...Mud!

I am about half way through my first tin of Mississippi Mud and have enjoyed it a great diehl so far. I have been on an adventure to understand and enjoy perique more (or at least be able to identify it). I get conflicting definitions of what perique does in a blend from different sources. This seems to be the case with a number of pipe tobacco things leading me to conclude that everyone has a different mouth, a different way of smoking, and a different reason for smoking. I am led to believe that there is a fair amount of perique in this blend (it is named as the first condimental on the tin). I have had a bayou bulk blend from Edwards that claims to be heavy on perique and it's the same taste. Spicy, spicy!

I love the zip that this tobacco has. It's not overly punchy, and it doesn't ruin my mouth for later. I don't really taste the latakia...I'm sure it is there, I just seem to hone in on that perique taste. I can't really say what the room note is because I smoke outside, that doesn't mean that anyone else agrees on it though! One reviewer smelled someone else smoking it and fell so much in love with it that he went out and bought a larger can to make sure he could perfume his house with it before company came over (note to self, don't ever do this), another reviewer claimed that the best point of comparison to the smell of this tobacco is that it most resembles the smell of someone extinguishing a wood fire with their mornings outlet of fluids. I personally can never tell if something smells good or bad as I love the smell of pipe tobacco in almost every case. My wife however only knows one tobacco by name - this one. I can smoke this on the way to my destination in the morning, and my wife will be able to tell that I had smoked Mississippi Mud when I return home that night. Anything that has that distinct a smell must be good. Same rules apply to dairy products...no, strike that, different rules for milk.

All said and done, I love this tobacco, it has a flavor that keeps me wanting more of it, I finish most every bowl I start because it's just so interesting (whereas with less interesting tobaccos I may just get cold and go inside, finishing the bowl in the morning). Don't be scared by the look of it (it does look very much like mud). The taste is great. I have to admit, I would love to be a tobacco namer (is that a job?). C&D seems to have the most fun in naming their blends and designing their tins. Even still, it seems like they named most of them after watching too many Tex Avery cartoons (I'm looking at you Bow-Legged Bear!). It doesn't make them any worse for the smoking, though!