Sunday, February 20, 2011

Good Morning

This morning, as I sat at my computer, I was smoking an english blend that I threw together. Mostly Virginias, a little latakia, and just a breath of oriental. I left the room to take the dog out, and stayed outside in the crisp morning air for a few minutes. Upon re-entering the room, I was greeted by the light, earthy aroma of my morning's smoke. It still hung thinly about head-level in the room, just enough to see in the weak sunlight starting to stream through the window, and the smell made me smile. Fine way to start a day.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Talking pipe, Vol. 1: Know your tobacco

Here are the basics: Pipe tobacco is usually ALL tobacco (with few exceptions, which I'll get to later). If you've been smoking cigarettes, and nothing else, you're missing that. Brand name cigarettes, at their worst are only 82% tobacco. What's the rest? Filler. Don't take my word for it, go to the R.J. Reynolds website (camel, etc.), or the Philip Morris website(yeah, you know who they are). They don't list percentages, but thanks to an ever nosy uncle Sam, they've got to tell you what they add. Go ahead and look, I'll be right here when you're done.
  Find it yet? The fillers? It took me a while to find it, too, but there they are :water, vegetable matter, and celluloid. CELLULOID! This is why I took up the pipe. Well, that, and because it looks, tastes, and even smells better. Probably due to the lack of celluloid.
  Enough of the moral abjection, on to the lecture. Know your basic tobaccos.
Pt.1 BASE tobaccos
Virginia: There are a lot of different strains, each having their own name, but they are all the same leaf deep down: red, orange, lemon, Carolina, Brazil, and so on. Several are simply named for where they were grown (something you'll see again.) This is a smoker's bread and butter, if you will.The base of most blends, and at least 80% of what IS tobacco in a cigarette. Hot burning, mild flavor, medium nicotine, High sugar content, and a sponge when it comes to added flavors.
  Burley: More nicotine and sugar than Virginia's, harder to keep lit, but warm and pleasant, with a nutty flavor and aroma. This will also soak up introduced flavors, but it keeps more of it's original character. It's said that this tobacco won't ferment the way Virginia's will, but just "mature" This crop started life as a Virginia tobacco, but sprang mutated in one lucky farmer's crop in the late 19th century. About 10% (give or take, depending on brand) of a cigarette is Burley.
  Orientals: considered a "spice" tobacco because of it's high level of flavor, it has the lowest nicotine content of all the tobaccos, and only makes up about 5% of a cigarette, if you're lucky. Again, the different strains are named for where they are grown. Turkish, Xanthe, Smyrna, Samsun, and so on. Coming form an area not known for it's high rainfall, productions is limited, and cigarette companies snap up what little there is, leaving tobacconists to squabble over what's left.
Pt. 2, The other "base" tobaccos
  Cavendish: Not a separate strain, but rather Virginias that have been cured and fermented to bring out their natural sweetness. Another common base for many blends.
  Latakia: A specially cured Oriental tobacco, named for the only port that once exported it. the leaves are hung in special barns where smokey fires are fed to smolder for months, imparting the smoke from native hardwoods and herbs into the tobacco. The nicotine level raises, and the leaves turn a tarnished silver or black color. A very pungent tobacco, the smell of the smoke reminds me of a wet tire fire. Blended sparingly with other tobacco's it cools the smoke, and adds a mellow, earthy aroma. 
  Perique: This is a specially fermented Virginia Tobacco, produced only in St. James Parish, Louisiana. It's secret has supposedly never left those borders. Extremely strong, both in flavor and nicotine content, it should be blended very lightly indeed. In hotter burning blends, it is said to alleviate "tongue bite" that ails many new pipe smokers.

Thanks for staying with me through that. I'm not sure what I'll discuss next time, but eventually I'll continue the lecture series with tobacco cures, cut styles, base blends, and pipes themselves! But there are SO many tobacco blends to sample, I can hardly wait to try another!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Higland Whiskey, fron Perfect Blend.

I gotta be honest, I'm a little distracted, but I'm gonna TRY to stay focused.
This blend is a little too sweet, and burns a little hot. It's not enough to keep me away from it, and both of those points are pretty common for alcohol scented tobaccos. I would crumble a bit of latakia into the whiskey blend I would get from Hardwicks, and I remember that mellowing it out just perfectly. If I could FIND latakia around this town, I would do the same to this.
  With all that said, it's an interesting, easy smoke. It's got a pleasant aroma (assuming you like whiskey in the first place) and it stays lit with the least attention possible. It's flavor is near incorruptible as you reach the bottom of the bowl, and apart from the sweetness, seems mild and manageable. A good smoke for a beginning pipe smoker, or anyone who prefers the scent of scotch.
  I realize the description is short, but let that be a testament to the beautiful simplicity of this blend. I'd give it a B+, possibly an A with some latakia.
  Tune in next time, when I'll review a pipe smoker's basic vernacular! (types and qualities of base tobaccos, cures, and aromatic casings.)

Monday, February 7, 2011

Nougat, as offered by Cigars Ltd.

It was dry to begin with. The tobacco had been allowed to sit unhumidified too long, and it was dry. That MAY have been the initial problem. It smoked too hot, and wasn't very pleasant. After a week in the humidifier, it brightened up a bit, and while I am still not overjoyed with the flavor, the aroma of the smoke is quite pleasant indeed.
  This is a Burley and Cavendish blend, lightly cased with vanilla and chocolate. Sounds awesome, right? I guess that depends on your taste. I couldn't detect chocolate or vanilla in the scent, nor the taste.Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it was just past it's prime. I may be persuaded to try again in a month or two, and I'll see if a fresh batch changes my mind.
  Perfect Blend Cigars also carries a blend called Nougat. Maybe I'll pick up some of that and see how they stand up to each other. Is that a good idea? My overall impressions of this were poor, but I've had worse. It's something that I wouldn't mind smoking around my friends, when my focus isn't solely upon my pipe, and the flavor isn't as important. As I said, the smoke is pleasingly fragrant, and at least company should warm up to it.

Tune in next time when I'll FINALLY look at something from Perfect Blend in the tower district: Highland Whiskey. (My guess is that it will fair better, I'm already loving the smell of the pouch.)

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Pipe Dream, as offered by Cigars Ltd.

I was fortunate enough to have a large supply of pipe dream on hand when Hardwicks went out of business. So fortunate, in fact, that it lasted me until last month, when I discovered that Cigars Ltd. had what they claimed was the same blend. They weren't lying. I had just enough left to sample the old and the new side by side. My palate may not be as complicated and discerning as some, but I actually could not detect a difference between the old and the new. Maybe they really are exactly the same. Maybe I just WANT it to be the real thing so badly, that I'm not willing to question it. The end result is the same, and I'm perfectly happy with that.
  I realize that I may not be very impartial in my analysis of this tobacco, because of the emotional investment I've just disclosed. This was the first tobacco I ever tried that I really loved. When I can't decide what specific blend I'm in the mood for, I reach for pipe dream. I'm not saying it's the best of all possible blends, but I am saying that there's never a time when it's not great. A fine blend for the beginner and the veteran pipe smoker alike, I'm overjoyed that it hasn't disappeared from the landscape.
   In addition to being fun to smoke, because of how easy it is to produce thick, velvety clouds of smoke, it is cool-burning, sweet, and fragrant. The raw tobacco has a tart, sweet scent, indicating it's overall tone. The smoke is far more fragrant that many aromatics I have sampled, and pleasant, delicate taste holds flavor to nearly the bottom of the bowl. If I were to grade this tobacco on my own likes and tastes(which I suppose I should, otherwise, what's the point of reviewing?), It would be a strong "A". Quite near the top of my own preferences, but depending on my mood, I MAY reach for something different.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

965, From Cigars Ltd.

As I take the lid off of my humidifier, I become aware of what I can only describe as a dark aroma. I am aware of the latakia in the blend, but that is not the source of what I smell. Indescribable. After I pack and light the bowl, I realize that the smell of the smoke is actually remarkably similar to the smell of the raw blend itself, certainly not an ordinary trait. I puff too frequently, and the bowl is already hot. Slow down and enjoy it. It is a real feast for the senses. The smell, the taste, the mellow sense of being that seems to accompany it. It is a quite strong tobacco, more so than anything else I have sampled thus far. Uh oh, I've slowed down too much and almost extinguished it. Maybe next time I'll wait until I've finished a bowl before commenting on it.
  I've been told that this blend strongly resembles Dunhill's 965 "My Mixture", but I've never sampled it, or any other tinned tobacco, for that matter. This is definitely not for the faint-hearted, or casual aromatic-loving smoker. I also don't envision my wife wanting to cuddle up to me while the wreath of pungent smoke this produces is still hanging about me. It doesn't have that wet tire-fire aroma of a dark English blend, but it is sill definitely darker, more earthy than others may delight in.
  Smoking this blend seems to produce a euphoric, almost giddy, sensation in me, and I begin to see why Dunhill is able to charge so much for a tin of their brand of it. I find myself quite pleased that I can obtain a two ounce pouch from Cigars Ltd. for a mere $8.50, compared to a name-brand tin at an outrageous cost for a 50 gram tin. My complements to the blender.

  Though, this isn't something I could smoke too often, for fear the euphoric sensation might dull with time.

Tune in next time when I will explore Cigar Ltd.'s "Pipe Dream", which they assure me is form Hardwick's own recipe!