| Brand: | McClelland | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Blender: | UNKNOWN | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tin Description: | The flavor of a fine, mild cigar in a satisfying tobacco for the pipe. This blend of premium aged Dominican cigar leaf is seasoned with Matured Virginia for balance and refinement and is presented in a wide ribbon form for the best of both worlds. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country of Origin: | UNKNOWN
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| Brand: | McClelland |
|---|---|
| Tin Description: | The famed Drama leaf is sweet and subtle with a natural olive oil fragrance. It is grown on the Southern slopes and foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, the Classic Drama Basma District in Greek Eastern Macedonia, and includes the renowned Mahalia. It is refreshing, delicate, intriguing. This blend is designed to demonstrate just why the classic top-grade Drama leaf is so celebrated. |
| Country of Origin: | US |
| Curing Group: | Air Cured |
| Contents: | Virginia Oriental |
| Cut: | Ribbon |
| Packaging: | 50g Tin McClelland's Drama Reserve is a tasty smoke giving way to beautiful billows of thick white galvanized smoke. This is a hard smoke to define for me for its not quite like any other Virginia/Oriental I have smoked before. The taste is both sweet and spicy with an added layer of something else that feels like a hint of latakia but is not...perhaps that is the olive oily Drama leaf. This an exotic blend and surely worth a try. |
| Brand: | Cornell & Diehl |
|---|---|
| Blender: | Craig Tarler |
| Tin Description: | A revival of a classic American blend that smokers of 30 years ago will instantly recognize. Contains burleys, Latakia and bright Virginia. |
| Country of Origin: | US |
| Curing Group: | Air Cured |
| Contents: | Burley Virginia Latakia |
| Cut: | Broken Flake |
| Packaging: | 2oz Tin C&D Junkyard Dawg is a wonderful blend and something off the beaten path as far as blends go for me for I am not a Burly guy. However, with the Dawg you get Burley/Virginia/Latakia mixture that is a decent smoke. My only issue is the bulling the Burley seems to do here for it surely smacks down the Vir/Lat every time their flavors attempt to come through. From the tin this stuff is beautiful and dry out to perfection. Just not my cup of tea but I can see why this is a popular blend. A nice offering and worth a try. |
| Brand: | GLPease |
|---|---|
| Blender: | GL Pease |
| Tin Description: | Westminster: The very essence of the traditional English mixture; rich, elegant, refined, and exquisitely balanced. New World red Virginias are enhanced with a gentle caress of bright leaf, then lavishly seasoned with rich oriental tobaccos and generous measures of noble Cyprus mountain Latakia. Westminster is a satisfying blend, presenting layers of flavor to delight the senses and develop in the bowl. A perfect everyday English mixture. Full-bodied. |
| Country of Origin: | USA |
| Curing Group: | Fire Cured |
| Contents: | Virginia Latakia |
| Cut: | Ribbon |
| Packaging: | tin G.L. Pease Westminster is one of those rare blends that come along that have your jaw dropping and your mouth watering from the first bowl on. This blend is nothing short of being bloody brilliant. With the new year just getting off to a start I now can say, "bring it on!" The red virginias will have your mouth watering and will proceed to be soaked up nicely by the rich Cyprus mountain Latakia. This smoke leaves you in the tranquil and peaceful zone. This stuff is consistently yummy down to the bare bottom of the bowl leaving white ash. For those of you who do not smoke a bowl back to back...that will all change here! With a market full of just okay blends we thank you Mr. Pease for standing out with Westminster. Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! |
As a general rule you should allow at least 1 to 2 hours for your pipe to rest after you finish smoking. This allows enough time for your pipe to properly cool down and dry out ... for the most part. The time of tobacco you smoke plays a role too. Aromatic tobacco burns slightly wetter and tends to cause a pipe to retain moisture longer. Virginias tend to burn cleaner and drier and sometimes the pipe can be put back in action in as little as 30 - 45 minutes. If you are accustomed to smoking your pipe enough to conflict with these suggested times then you should be using 2 or more pipes in your daily rotation. If you are a "wet" smoker or have a few cherished pipes that matter to smoker a tad on the wet side than you should also be using 2 or more pipes in your daily rotation. It is best to dedicate a pipe for each type of tobacco that you smoke. So, if you smoke more than one type of tobacco during the coarse of the day than you'll need to add more pipes into your daily rotation. Each pipe in your rotation should have the minimum of 2 days off after being used for the day and cleaned every 5 - 10 bowls depending on the tobacco smoked and your smoking habits.
Hmmmm ... So let's do the math ... well let's not and say we did and sum up with the following general rules of thumb; If you smoke on a daily basis and have a good pipe cleaning and care schedule established the bare minimum amount of pipes in your rotation should be no less than 3. 7 would be the ideal minimum and would ensure well rested, fresh pipes and spread out your time spent cleaning. What's right for you? Simply take these suggested minimum rotations and factor in the four questions above.
Chris Rehers writes: I use a minimum of 10 pipes but I also clean mine after complete cooling. So I am able to smoke the same pipe 2-3 times in a 24hr period. I also like to have a couple pipes dedicated to particular blends that are always in my pipe tobacco rotation. For instance I have one pipe I smoke nothing but Frog Morton out of. Then I have a pipe dedicated to random english blends and another for aromatics. Your pipe dedication is completely up to you and how much you want to devote to your hobby. Also the more discerning your palate becomes the more you will probably move toward a consistent pipe dedication.
Hope this helps and until next time, may your pipes be lit and your cellars full!
partial source: vegassmoke
There are basically three types of tobacco pipes commonly used:
COBCORN - A great beginner pipe; if you decide pipe smoking is not for you, you haven’t spent a lot of money. Actually made from corncob, it is easily cared for, very durable, and disposable. Eventually they wear out but you can always buy another one for about $5.
BRIAR - This is the closely grained burl joint between the stem and roots of the Heath tree, which grows in rocky slopes on the hillsides of Mediterranean countries. This burl is very tough, close-grained, and porous. It will not crack when exposed to heat. Good briar is hard to find, as the larger shrubs take a very long time to mature. The most suitable root may be 80 to 100 years old, and the finest pipe briar may be from a shrub that is over 200 years old.
he easiest way to tell if you have a well-aged briar is by the weight. A pipe that is made with well-aged briar will be very light in weight. If you hold two similar pipes together by the stem, the lighter, more balanced pipe will inevitably be made with older briar. Many of the very inexpensive drugstore pipes, like Dr. Grabow, are made with very young or flawed briar. Many of these cheaper pipes rely on filters to keep the smoke cool. A properly aged briar does not need a filter because the briar is extremely porous. Briar pipes are rated by the purity of the grain. A perfectly straight grain or Birdseye grain (little tight grained swirls), will command a very steep price. These pipes are purely for aesthetics and prized by collectors. They do not smoke any differently than a less-than-perfect grain. You can also save a considerable amount of money if you are not concerned with grain quality.
f you really want to find a good pipe for a bargain, you might want to opt for a sandblast briar. The briar used for these pipes have flaws in them such as very ugly grain or little holes in the wood. These pipes are then sandblasted into a rough grain. Sandblasted pipes are extremely porous and smoke very cool. Briar pipes are also sold as seconds. The tiny holes or imperfections in these pipes are filled with putty and then stained. Many of these pipes can be purchased for $5 to $20. If perfect, these pipes would sell for considerably more money.
MEERSCHAUM - Composed of the fossilized shells of tiny sea creatures that fell to the ocean floor millions of years ago, the highest quality meerschaum is found in only one place in the world: Eskisehir, in central Turkey. Many meerschaum pipes are hand carved into works of art. The meerschaum pipe gives the tobacco a very unique, cool smoking flavor. It absorbs far more moisture than a briar pipe. The pipe starts out pearl-white and eventually becomes a beautiful deep-brown color as it breaks in. This is one of the most appealing features of this type of pipe. Meerschaum pipes are a prized addition to many smokers’ collections.
Q: I'm a relatively new pipe smoker. .... how much should I spend on a pipe? Rich S.
A: There are several factors to consider when purchasing a pipe as a new smoker. The first, and probably the most obvious, is a function of your individual financial situation. $100 for some is a lot of money and for others not. Secondly, what brought you to pipe smoking? Cigars? Quitting cigarettes? Curiosity? What I'm getting at is ... might this be a fad or is it something you are willing to put the time into? Lastly, do you plan on smoking mainly outdoors or in the comfort of any easy chair? Based on your thoughts about what I've posed to you, here are our recommendations;
Buy the most pipe you can afford at this time. Whatever you do, do not buy a cheap drug store type pipe. They simply do not smoke very well and will give you a bad first impression of pipe smoking in general. The smoking quality of pipes does increase as the cost of the pipe increases until you get to the $100 - $150 range. After that you start to pay for the aesthetic qualities of the pipe. There are some great smoking $40 pipes on our web site such as the Savinelli Budget Pipes and the Brindisi line. A step up from there would be the main line Savinelli, Brebbia and Stanwell. When selecting a pipe I believe pride of ownership plays a role as well. Also remember to leave a little room in your budget for a decent tamper and tobacco pouch. These two items will greatly enhance your smoking pleasure. As to why I asked where you'll be smoking your pipe for the most part ... the answer is simple. If you plan on doing a lot of smoking outdoors, while working in the yard and such, you might what to consider a rusticated pipe. The wear and tear of being outdoors will be far less noticeable on a pipe with a rough finish. Rusticated pipes generally cost less than smooth pipes. If you'll be smoking mostly indoors treat yourself to a smooth, polished pipe with as nice a grain pattern as you can find in your price range. As you sit and enjoy your pipe indoors you'll find that your senses will come alive. Smell, taste and touch all play a role. With a handsome pipe even sight becomes a pleasure.
Q: I'm interested in buying my first pipe. Should I get a bent style pipe or straight? Malcom T.
A: Pipes are like shoes in many respects. What is attractive and comfortable to one person might be all wrong for another. From a technical stand point, here are a few considerations. Straight pipes tend to burn a little more evenly, cleanly and perhaps even a little cooler. The trade off is that holding it firmly in your teeth requires much more effort than a bent pipe due to basic leverage. If you tire of holding it in your teeth you'll need a free hand to hold it. Also, those of us who, over the course of time, have traded in our natural teeth for the man made kind might not have an easy time with larger straight pipes. I find straight pipes with saddle stems to be the most comfortable ... but that's me. Bent pipes are much easier to hold in your mouth and do not exert nearly as much leverage as a straight pipe. They also allow the smoker to catch an occasional whiff of their own tobacco directly from the bowl. Most people find them much easier to light and keep lit because you can see more of what your doing. The downside? When holding a bent pipe in your mouth over an extended period of time saliva tends to run down the stem causing moisture in the bowl which leads to a hot, gurgling pipe. Some less expensive bent pipes will not pass a pipe cleaner through without taking the stem off. That's OK when the bowl is cool but a major no-no when the bowl is hot.
partial source: vegassmoke
