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March Meerschaum Madness

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  • In keeping with the meerschaum theme for March (MMM) I decided to do some Sutliff Molto Dolce in a meerschaum (well actually a MM) Cob 😏. I almost forgot how good this blend is...
    Since MM cobs were invited into this MMM celebration, I decided to take advantage and take this pipe for it's 2nd smoke since its acquisition at the St. Louis pipe show...
  • @thebadgerpiper. Just a suggestion. I have a few small bowl pipes that I tend to neglect for that very same reason. What I have started doing, every now and then, is load 2 small bowl pipes up with 2 different blends (or the same blend) and give them BOTH a smoke... One right after the other...For me, it makes for an interesting experience... Just thinkin'...
  • @KA9FFJ That's a good solution, so thanks for the suggestion. I'm thinking about possibly devoting it to stronger blends in my cellar, like Warhorse Green. That way, I can enjoy the blends without feeling like I've spent some time in the spin cycle of a washing machine.
  • My entry in the March Meerschaum Madness - a vintage  Tanganyika African Meerschaum haunted by the ghost of Sutliff Mixture 79. Huge capacity bowl. Smoked a bowl of Scotty's Trout Stream and by the time I got to the 3/4 point I could no longer taste the Trout Stream ... the Mixture 79 was now the dominant flavor. I've always heard a Meerschaum won't ghost ... all three pipes I bought from the Antique Shop were owned by the same smoker who seemed to only smoke Mixture 79. Both pipes ... a briar and two Meerschaums. All of which are heavily ghosted.

  • "Friends don't let friends smoke Mixture 79"
  • @thebadgerpiper
    Love those little badgers you have hanging out with you every so often🙂
  • @ghostsofpompeii
    the “Awesome” click was for joining the MMM fray....not the Mixture 79 ghost in your pipes😖
  • For today’s edition of MMM, I have some Panama Jack “Melon” in another Weber African Meer, a bent Acorn.
  • KenofAhwlbyKenofAhwlby Enthusiast
    @RockyMountainBriar
    How are you liking that Panama Jack??    I am intrigued by the offerings.
  • @KenofShelby
    Not impressed at all with the Melon, the Piña Colada was great.  I have been looking for a good coconut flavored tobacco similar to CAO Moontrance cigars.  The CAO Moontrance pipe tobacco falls severely short, no coconut at all really...but then again, it does not mention coconut as a component flavor.  The cigars however definitely have a coconut component.  I have not tried the other Panama Jack tobaccos yet.
  • edited March 2019
    No Meerschaum Peterson to smoke for St. Patrick’s Day☹️ 
    A Sherlock Holmes Meerschaum is on my “wish list”, I just have not found one when I had the cashola to spend.
    I might have to settle for a nice Peterson meer smooth billiard though.
  • @RockyMountainBriar and @KenofShelby The first time I smoked Panama Jack's "Melon" I enoyed the flavor, but didn't get much of a melon taste. Then about midway through the smoke during a retro-hale I got the unmistakable flavor of cantaloupe. It only happened once ... but the flavor was quite distinct. I've since smoked it many more times but have yet to re-experience that moment of melon. I haven't tried the Pina Colada  but the Key Lime is great. I have it as one of the blends in my regular rotation.  
  • @ghostsofpompeii
    Key Lime is on my list🙂
    The Planta “Brazilian” has a nice big lime note, very good.  That is, if you like lime.
  • KenofAhwlbyKenofAhwlby Enthusiast
    @ghostsofpompeii
    @RockyMountainBriar
    I’ve smoked Panama Jacks cigars in the melon series and found them to be very nice flavored.  All of them....so am going to see what happens to them in a pipe tobacco..

    Thanks for your comments 
  • Back in the saddle for MMM after a short break for SPD🙂.  Today I made a meerschaum stacked billiard bowl for my Kirsten’s.  Now I have a proper meerschaum bowl for them.  1 1/2” deep and 13/16” diameter bore, filled to the top with Rattray’s “Exotic Orange” to break it in....mmm....tasty😋
  • @RockyMountainBriar Thanks! I have a few badgers I switch between. I have a fantasy one with a pipe, but he needs some paint work before I can start using him.
    Also, if you're looking for a nice coconut blend, keep an eye out for when G&H have their Sweet Coconut Twist in stock. A friend of mine sent me a sample, and it's some powerful stuff. I keep meaning to buy more, but it's always out of stock when I'm placing my normal orders. I have an alert set up for the next time it's in stock.

    Yesterday I snagged an estate Golden Horn Meerschaum off of eBay. It's in pretty good condition, so it should clean up nicely before March Meerschaum Madness ends.
  • @thebadgerpiper
    I have the G&H Sweet Coconut Twist, but it barely has any aroma of coconut at all, in the tin or the room note.  I was very bummed out.
    I am looking forward to seeing your new meer👍🏻

    I think I have (3) more actual meerschaums I have not smoked for MMM.  One is the Dublin I smoked just before PappyJoe started MMM off.  Two of them are unsmoked, not sure if I can bring myself to smoke them.  The IMP horn, and the old CPF? Calabash I reworked/re-stemmed and fit a new meerschaum bowl to.

    I might have to break out the Missouri Meerschaum’s to finish out MMM🤔
  • @RockyMountainBriar Or do what I have done and smoke your meers in rotation again. 
  • @PappyJoe
    Yea, I can give them some more love, and pick some tobaccos I have not tried yet.  More color is always good for a meerschaum, in my opinion anyway.  I would like to see the pattern that emerges.  I'm not sure I am young enough to properly color a meerschanum...I just don't smoke that much, and I don't really want to smoke a whole lot more anyway.  It would become work instead of an enjoyable hobby.
  • Another good day in Slidell. Sunny, 66f and just a very light breeze. Smoking some London Dock in my USCG Meerschaum

  • @motie2 - The Amazon meerschaum market is interesting but on the ones I checked, many are mini-pipes and probably good for a short 10 or 15 minute smoke. The lower the price the smaller the size and lower the quality. 

    I do have one mini-meerschaum I use for tasting new tobaccos and they are also great for that. 

    Now the bad news. In my opinion, the mini-meerschaums are very fragile. The first one I bought from an on-line meerschaum company broke when I removed the stem. I did send them photos and they did replace it with no questions asked. In my cynical mind, that told me it wasn't the first time.

    I was also told that the small pipes are actually carved from chunks of meerschaum which as been cut off when the carver is making a larger pipe. The meerschaum carver who told me this said the this is done so as to not waste any of the raw meerschaum. 

    My favorite on-line vendor is meerschaummarket.com
  • AS always, @PappyJoe, I am / we are grateful for your insight and experience. Thank you!
  • Broken record here, but when your meerschaum collection is as limited as mine is, well here we go again...
    Doing some Moontrance in a Sultan (again) for MMM...
    After about 8 bowls this month, I'm noticing a definite change in appearance...
  • I admit I have been lax on smoking meerschaum since Thursday night, but I have loaded my CAO meerschaum cob with Long Golden Flake and will be sitting outside with it shortly.
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