Came and Went

Yesterday was international pipe smoking day, and it was just over too fast. I smoked 3 different blends, in three different pipes, and all of them were ho-hum, at best. That's what I get for trying new things: joy mingled with disappointment. They were all house blends from pipesandcigars.com, under their house brand name: Hearth and Home. I've sampled some truly wonderful blends from them, and some that I didn't care for at all, but that's true of all tobacco companies. The three I tried yesterday fit into neither category.
  The first was called "LJ Heart Burley" a blend made specificly for pipe maker Lannes Johnson, who selected this mixture to send as a sample to his pipe customers. In their own words, it's "Two different types of nutty Burley are laced with an unusual cube cut Virginia and a Burley-based natural toasted Black Cavendish for a splash of non-flavored sweetness." In my words, it's a somewhat mild, extremely dry blend that produces a decent amount of smoke with very little flavor. I've smoke several bowls of this, as of this date, and my opinion hasn't changed. It's not BAD, per say, but not something I'll seek out to buy more of.
  The needs of family call, so I'm off, but hopefully I'll find time to send up the rest of my ho-humbug soon.

My new hero.

A recent experience with A website finally has me off my rear, and putting up a new post.
  I've ordered several times from pipesandcigars.com, without any issue. My most recent order arrived with two obviously different tobacco blends having the same label. A simple mistake that anyone could make. I knew what I ordered, and knew that one was a Virginia blend, and one a burley, but my nose just wasn't up to snuff to determine which was which. I decided to call customer service, and they handed the phone over to Russ Oullette, who blends Hearth and Home tobaccos. He quickly straightened me out with a simple description of what the burley blend looks like. Apparently, if there's a problem with one of his own blends, he just handles it himself!
  If you haven't tried Hearth & Home tobaccos, I strongly recommend it.I've sampled 9 of their blends so far, and I guess that I should start reviewing them soon, because they make almost everything I've written about so far pale in comparison. I've been finding more time to smoke my pipe lately, so there's really no reason to shy away from writing about it.  Just this morning I was smoking my first bowl of Hearth & Home "Old Companion", and loving every puff.
   I won't have time to write more for over a week, but more will be coming. I just wanted to take an opportunity to share my fantastic experience with pipesandcigars.com, and thank my new hero of blending AND customer service, Russ Oullette!

Villager 1888 Mid Day

"A mixture of double steamed black Cavendish, blended with Burley, Oriental, and light Virginia tobaccos.  A delightful aroma and top note vanilla and exotic fruit make this a mild and pleasant smoke in the early afternoon."
  If you were at the memorial day party at the ranch, This is what smelled so good.  Now you all know my secret. If you weren't there, if you didn't smell it, I'm not sure where to start describing it. That "exotic fruit" seems to be mostly coconut, and "mild and pleasant" pretty much nails the flavor. I actually had people yell at me because it smelled so good!  There's very little I can say about this besides how wonderful it is! If you're lucky enough to find it (a tin runs about $6.50. The cheapest tinned tobacco EVER) just buy one. I think the whole line of Villager is great, but this one takes the cake. That's why I saved it for last.  I'm not into the sugary sweet stuff as much any more, but this is so mild that it doesn't bug me enough to put me off. It's GREAT around other people, because everyone seems to like the smell. If you're not really a pipe smoker smoker, but WANT to look dignified, get yourself a glossy black pipe (always stylish) and a tin of this (tins just make you look classy) and light with a match. Within no time, people will be asking where you attended finishing school. Don't tell them the truth. As a matter of fact, fuck the truth. If wanted the truth they wouldn't have asked such a stupid question.
  Sorry. I'm a little off track. Got some bad medical news from my mechanic, and it has me in a mood. Guess WHICH mood, and win a prize! See y'all next time, when I may just admit I was way off about something I already reviewed.

Villager 1888 Late Night

It took me a while to figure this on out. It's a partial flake, made of Virginias and black cavendish, and flavored with Irish whiskey. It sounds good right? and it is, but only if you smoke it right. Flake tobaccos are unique in that they give the smoker a myriad of options for preparation. MOST flakes are best when worked to the level of fineness the smoker prefers, and then dried for an hour or so before loading the pipe. Not this one. In the spirit of convenience, they packed this in the tin at the optimal level of smokability . I tried working it to a finer consistency (which I usually prefer) and it was unpleasant. I let it dry for a while, and it burned too hot. Finally, I gave up the fancy stuff, retreating to a "Fold and Stuff" tactic, and presto! A wonderful smoke. It's surprisingly not as sweet as other Virginias, or cavendish, but mild and refined. The room note is pleasant and sweet, and also the only place one might detect any evidence of whiskey. I certainly couldn't TASTE whiskey. A good all day smoke, nothing extraordinary, but certainly not lacking anything either.

  Out of the three blends from Villager, this is the most mellow. Early Day is pungent and smokey (as an English blend should be) and Mid Day is.... well, I'll tell you about it next time.

Villager 1888 Early Day

First, let me apologize for taking SO long to get back to the keyboard. It's been a hell of a month. Second, let's jump right in. This is my first ever review of a tinned tobacco, Villager 1888 (by Peter Stokkebye) Early Day. This is an English blend, described on the tin as "Mature golden Virginias blended with oriental leaf and Latakias from the Balkan region. The rich share of Latakia makes this blend a true English classic with the characteristic smokey room note"
  The orientals are taste-ably present, but the latakia definitely dominates the blend.  The virginias do sweeten the blend, but cause it to burn a little hot for an english blend. The villager 1888 line is a good bang for the buck, being one of the cheapest tinned tobaccos around, but holding a flavor and quality of a premier blend. The early morning blend isn't AS fine as some other english blends I've smoked, but the convenience of the tin definitely balances that out.
  I've had to relight once or twice near the bottom of the bowl, but with minimal maintenance, it burns to a fine, white ash every time. I'd definitely  buy a tin of this for vacation, or when I know I won't be around the house for a few days, for the security of a well kept english I can pack anywhere, anytime, and enjoy well enough to sate my own spoiled tastes. A well done job for a nominal cost.
  Thanks for staying 'till the end! Hopefully, I'll be able to post once or twice a week for a while now, so stay tuned for the rest of the Villager 1888 line!

The delight and terror of blending your own.

I have a small Hermetic jar simply labeled "English". When I have a non-aromatic blend that just doesn't quite cut it, for one reason or another, in to this jar it goes. The first was far too strong, the next, too pungent, Then too mild, and so on. An English blend only requires a strong base of Orientals, and hopefully a good portion of Latakia, so it all works out in the end. I have managed to balance a tasty and dark blend in this manner, adding some blending Latakia to the mix every now and again, when it gets too light for my taste. Delight!
  Now, the terror. As the jar gets more and more full, I find it harder to actually BLEND said blend. Simply shaking and rolling the jar is no longer possible to mix the interred leaves. I have taken to stirring it with a dowel, but alas, this morning I find it quite insufficient. While smoking my customary morning bowl, I found the flavor pleasantly spiced with copious light Orientals. At first. then a brief period of quite strong spice, then several minutes of pure black Latakia, and finally, at the base of the pipe, all the flavors hit ma at once and changed dramatically. It might seems exciting to experience these layers of flavor. A gobstopper pipe, you may say, but it wasn't. While trying to relax with a morning smoke, it's downright disappointing. Maybe I need a paint-can shaker like they have at the hardware store....

Long time gone. Oh, and two different so-so blends.

I haven't had much keyboard time lately, and I know that you're all torn up about it. Wait for the laugh......and continue. Now while I will USUALLY dedicate an article to one individual blend, neither of these seem do deserve a dedicated spotlight. Neither were great, neither were terrible, they were just....there.

  Cherry Bonbon: This blend started life as Stokebye's wonderful black cavendish, (which is mild, mellow, and delicious by itself) and then they flavored the hell out of it. It smokes easily, it's fanciful, it's tasty, and you'll be washing the sickeningly sweet smell of cherries out of your hair for a day and a half. You take the good with the bad, I suppose. I'm exaggerating the smell, but it is EXTREMELY sweet smelling.

  Mocha: There are so many blends labeled mocha, that I'm not sure which one Cigars Ltd. carries. It's not bad, it smokes well, has a pleasant room note (like coffee and vanilla) and a mellow flavor. All in all, it's a real feast for the senses, just not the senses you'd expect. In the pouch, it smells like fine coffee candy, and feels like spun velvet. I almost don't want to lite it on fire. All of that adds up to a totally mediocre smoke.

In conclusion, these weren't bad smokes, I just didn't have alot to say about either. I may keep some Mocha on hand, as my wife seems to like the smell, but the Cherry Bonbon isn't something I'll be getting more of any time soon.
  Tune in next time (which hopefully will be soon) because I've got a whole variety of flake tobaccos to investigate, and more pipe-wise educational topics to tackle!