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Tobacco Reviews,,,,but a littlr more personal

We've all read the tobacco reviews online and some have probably contributed,I.m picking up hints of mango
and jasmine with an after taste of New Jersy sewer water,that kind of stuff.But how many have lit up a bowl
and felt the past wrap around them?Did you fire up that english blend and see the old neighbor sit on his
porch?A couple months ago I fired up a bowl of Alexander Bridge while helping to build a barn,and suddenly I was
12 years old standing in a dominoes parlor watching my uncle win a quarter bet.What tobacco brought on your
favored memories?

Comments

  • @LostMason, I bought a MATCH blend of John Rolfe Peach Brandy from P&C several months ago and the moment I lit up I was transported back to my time as a clerk messenger at my local newspaper 'The Gary-Post Tribune'. I was part of a program called Distributive Education whereby a high school Senior majoring in business went to school four hours in the morning fulfilling required courses, then in the afternoon he or she worked at one of several business establishments which participated in the program. We were not only paid ... but our performance on the job also determined our grade.

    Well something about that first puff of John Rolfe triggered a flashback to an incident that occurred one day when I was working in the basement archive where a copy of each newspaper was filed in wooden bins, stacked one on top the other like a giant bookshelf that ran the entire length of the basement walls. This was the practice before newspapers were eventually transferred to microfilm. As you might imagine with shelves stacked ceiling to floor with old newsprint, the possibility of a fire was ever present, so precautions were taken in the form of a sprinkler system. 

    Well being the bonehead I was, while standing on a rolling elevated platform near one of the uppermost shelves retrieving a newspaper requested by one my supervisor; I paused to light my pipe. Bad idea. (In my defense there were no 'No Smoking' signs posted in the area). But what I hadn't noticed was I was positioned directly under a sprinkler head,  and the act of lighting my pipe triggered the system. Alarms sounded, water sprayed around me, seemingly soaking an entire section of archived newspapers, and I think a little squirt of pee might  have trickled down my pant leg. Thankfully the powers that be had the foresight to store each issue in a plastic bag on the outside chance some jackass like me might accidently trigger the sprinkler system.

    As unbelievable as it may seem I didn't lose my job that day. I was pretty traumatized by the incident and even today can't recall the exact lie I told to weasel my way out of it (I was so nervous I was probably speaking in tongues)  But it apparently worked. And I still managed to get a passing grade and graduate. Of course once I graduated 'The Gary-Post Tribune' gladly washed their hands of me as they prepared for a new student to fill the position the following year. Hoping for one with more active brain cells than I seemingly possessed during my tenure.        

  • LostMasonLostMason Apprentice
    @ghostsofpompeii , That's a good one. Esp like the reference to "speaking in tongues".
    I fired up some cheap RYO/pipe tobacco a few days ago. The aroma was akin to whe I
    was in 9th grade wood shop. We would tuck back in the corner under some stairs to
    smoke our cigarettes. Well, one fine day the teacher was heading back to catch us
    and my buddy flipped his smoke away, hoping if he didn't have it in his hand he was clear.
    It landed in a bucket of floor sweepings, and promply flamed up pretty nicely.Just like a good
    Burley, essence of earth and hay and plenty of smoke. We both pulled two weeks detention.
  • I have recently tried SPC's Pike Place and Lane's Crown Achievement which are both Balkan Blends. Before opening the Pike Place I have no memories of ever smoking a Balkan Blend.
    From the moment I opened the Pike Place, I was entranced by its aroma. Then I smoked it and loved it even more. It made me wonder why I had not tried Balkan blends before.

    Then I found out the ugly truth that Pike Place was taken off the market because of some silly copyright infringement claim. This sent me scrambling to find another Balkan that was readily available and on the market. I had a tin of Crown Achievement in my desk and it too is a Balkan Blend. I opened it and smoked 3 bowls to compare it with Pike Place. CA performed well but it was more like trying to compare a Lexus (Pike Place) to a Chevy Cruz (CA). They will both get you from point A to point B, but the Lexus is so much more luxurious a ride.

    In my opinion its because the Pike Place also contains Tennessee Burley while the Crown Achievement does not. It's also a matter of the difference in the proportions of each leaf used. 
    I'm not saying Crown Achievement is not good. I do like it. It's a good smoke and it didn't bite. It also reminded me of some of the good maduro cigars I smoke. Next time I want to introduce a cigar smoker to pipes, I will offer him or her some Crown Achievement.

    I will also continue to search for Balkan blends that come closer to Pike Place.
  • PIPE TOBACCO RATING FORM


    <<Instructions
    From the list of taste categories below, choose the factors that you believe are important in rating a tobacco. Rate the
    tobacco on each factor, using a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best. Note that there are so many categories that you can ignore
    rating categories you deem unimportant for that tobacco. For example, if tang, fruit, or spice is not present in the tobacco at
    all you would skip them or mark them as N/A. But if there is too much spice you would rate it as a 1 or 2 in that category.
    If you so choose, you can use multiple copies of the form for separate tastings of the same tobacco using different pipes.
    Please note that the form calls for two overall tobacco ratings. After filling in the appropriate categories rate the tobacco
    overall, first on how much you like it, and second, according to how the tobacco stands on it's own merits separately (as
    much as possible) from your own individual preferences. Add comments as appropriate. Comments can be overall notes
    and impressions. This could include flavor and performance at the top, bottom and middle of the bowl, as well as the cut of
    the tobacco or intangibles. You can also use comments for raves or curses as you so desire.>>


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