I decided to crack open one of my Frog Morton Across the Pond tins. Wow!! Very nice (& mellow). I love the Syrian Latakia and can definitely taste the difference. I'm so glad I went for it. I'll be saving the other tin for a long time... or if the price is right to sell it.
I've been rationing my East India Trading Company "Officer's Club" because it's 'Out Of Stock' in most tobacco shops. But today when I received a notice from P&C that a few tins arrived and I re-ordered an additional 6 tins, I broke into that tin I've been rationing and smoked a bowl in celebration.
I just cracked open a tin of Cornell and Diehl U.S.S. Mason that has been resting since February. I loaded my pipe for a smoke in about an hour. The tobacco smells great......wish me luck.
@pwkarch -- Would that be retro-retro-haling? And, to tell the truth, I've actually done that on occasion to see what would happen..... usually, nothing good.
Plain-Jane here. I seem to be stuck on dark/toasted Cavendish blends at the moment. I don't know what it is, but I'll let you know when I grow out of the phase...
Last night was the November meeting of the New Orleans Pipe Club. Smoked some Boswell Christmas Cookie, Newminster Black Berry Brandy, Solani 127 Green Label and some Peterson Holiday Season 2014.
First time I had the Christmas Cookie and it was good. The Solani Green Label is an Apple flavored aromatic but it is fairly light. It smoked smooth and didn't bite.
@PappyJoe A while back I bought a tin of both Boswell Christmas Cookie and Boswell Cupcake and both were excellent. If you liked Christmas Cookie I'm sure you'd enjoy Cupcake as well.
I just finished a bowl of Casey Jones "Last Ride". I can't put my finger on it but it taste exactly like another blend I have. And it might just be one of the Captain Black blends. Very nice smoke - and for once a cherry blend that doesn't taste like cough syrup. But doesn't taste like cherry either. It's suppose to be a mixture of cherry and caramel - and the dominant flavor is caramel, but enough of the cherry comes through to warrant calling it a cherry blend. This is something I can tolerate and probably learn to enjoy. And for the price it's not bad. Goes good with a cup of coffee.
@pwkarch and all those amused by the fact that I only smoke one blend: Barbados Plantation.... ( Here's lookin' at you, @ghostsofpompeii )
With Paul's recommendation, I just tried a bowl of Sunset Rum in my original Carey apple from my first pipe life, and a bowl of mixed BP and SR. 50/50, in a Carey poker recently won on eBay. I don't have the vocabulary to describe the experience, except to note the SR is a sweeter smoke than BP. It was easy to light -- no relights to the bottom of the bowl; light grey ash, no dottle. The other standout difference is the caramel flavor that comes through in the SR; the blend actually reminds me of a rum flavored Molto Dolce. The SR is cool smoke with no tongue bite. Very mild taste and excellent aroma (according to SWMBO, who still won't let me smoke inside....) I'd say the cavendish and the rum, vanilla, and caramel flavors overwhelm the Virginia and the Burley in the blend. But that's OK with me. After the 50/50 bowl, I went inside, emptied my gasket sealed jar of about three ounces of BP into a large bowl, and mixed in the two ounces of SR. From now on I smoke the two, mixed together. (Interestingly, the SR is a bit cheaper than the BP, but most of the Sutliff bulk blends are cheaper that the tinned ones.)
Again, I don't have the vocabulary, so let me compare the two blends to music. The SR is high notes; treble. The BP is low notes; bass. Together they make sweet, sweet music.
@pwkarch -- Thank you. You found a way to make my pipe smoking even more enjoyable. BTW, it's 36 degrees outside and I sat for nearly 90 minutes, enjoying two bowls of rum blend delight. How'd I do it? Chimenea, baby!(Or is it chiminea?). The little cast iron thing is great: I feed it yard trash and it provides golden warmth. Outstanding!!!! To keep from burning down the rear deck, I had laid down a base of sixteen twelve inch patio stones, creating a fireproof surface 48" on a side. Even the next door neighbor, the former fire chief, is cool with it....
I am looking out for you buddy......I thought the Sunset Rum reminded me of the Butter Rum Lifesavers back in the day. You seem to have picked up some of the same notes as I did. Your home blend of SR and BP sounds like something I will need to try very soon. I wonder what the SR with some Molto Dolce might render? Maybe so sweet that it could cause cavities?
This is what I love about the Pipe Life, you can just experiment your heart out. We are limited only by our imaginations and our tastes. What is the equivalent in tobacco to a sommelier (sp?)in wine? Maybe we can invent a new occupation and make a bundle (yeah right).
And enjoy that chimnea, goes great with cool temperatures and a good pipe and tobacco.
If you suck on a whole clove and a Butterscotch Lifesaver at the same time, it gives you the most interesting breath in the world. I got that from Tom Robbins, and then modified it, substituting a Butter Rum Lifesaver for the Butterscotch.
Comments
Happy Birthday......
BUT SOON
I await your valued opinion......
Come on, take one for the Corps.....stick the pipe up your nose and smoke it
I was just KIDDING.....and I think that would be intro-retrohaling?
First time I had the Christmas Cookie and it was good. The Solani Green Label is an Apple flavored aromatic but it is fairly light. It smoked smooth and didn't bite.
With Paul's recommendation, I just tried a bowl of Sunset Rum in my original Carey apple from my first pipe life, and a bowl of mixed BP and SR. 50/50, in a Carey poker recently won on eBay. I don't have the vocabulary to describe the experience, except to note the SR is a sweeter smoke than BP. It was easy to light -- no relights to the bottom of the bowl; light grey ash, no dottle. The other standout difference is the caramel flavor that comes through in the SR; the blend actually reminds me of a rum flavored Molto Dolce. The SR is cool smoke with no tongue bite. Very mild taste and excellent aroma (according to SWMBO, who still won't let me smoke inside....) I'd say the cavendish and the rum, vanilla, and caramel flavors overwhelm the Virginia and the Burley in the blend. But that's OK with me. After the 50/50 bowl, I went inside, emptied my gasket sealed jar of about three ounces of BP into a large bowl, and mixed in the two ounces of SR. From now on I smoke the two, mixed together. (Interestingly, the SR is a bit cheaper than the BP, but most of the Sutliff bulk blends are cheaper that the tinned ones.)
Again, I don't have the vocabulary, so let me compare the two blends to music. The SR is high notes; treble. The BP is low notes; bass. Together they make sweet, sweet music.
@pwkarch -- Thank you. You found a way to make my pipe smoking even more enjoyable. BTW, it's 36 degrees outside and I sat for nearly 90 minutes, enjoying two bowls of rum blend delight. How'd I do it? Chimenea, baby! (Or is it chiminea?). The little cast iron thing is great: I feed it yard trash and it provides golden warmth. Outstanding!!!! To keep from burning down the rear deck, I had laid down a base of sixteen twelve inch patio stones, creating a fireproof surface 48" on a side. Even the next door neighbor, the former fire chief, is cool with it....
I am looking out for you buddy......I thought the Sunset Rum reminded me of the Butter Rum Lifesavers back in the day. You seem to have picked up some of the same notes as I did. Your home blend of SR and BP sounds like something I will need to try very soon. I wonder what the SR with some Molto Dolce might render? Maybe so sweet that it could cause cavities?
This is what I love about the Pipe Life, you can just experiment your heart out. We are limited only by our imaginations and our tastes. What is the equivalent in tobacco to a sommelier (sp?)in wine? Maybe we can invent a new occupation and make a bundle (yeah right).
And enjoy that chimnea, goes great with cool temperatures and a good pipe and tobacco.
These days, I try to avoid the sugar.