Pipes Anyone?

Back in the day (say 12 to 15 years ago, before job and kids when I was in graduate school) I used to smoke pipes a lot, say 6 to 8 bowls a day for 3 to 4 years. When I started working it was maybe 2 bowls a day, then when I got married and had kids it became a few times a year unfortunately although at some point, I would love to take it up again.

Once you get a few pipes, the tobacco is a bargain compared with cigars, 50gr of excellent pipe tobacco costs about the same as a nice cigar and lasts a lot longer. I also find that (to paraphrase Freud) a cigar is just a cigar whereas there is a huge variation of pipe tobaccos in a similar way that we have huge variety in our whisky world from say a sherried Scotch to a peaty Islay to a soft Canadian or bold Bourbon, pipe tobacco has the same flavor comparisons. I cannot really say though what type of tobacco would go with which whisky, in fact I might want to do them apart just so I was not missing anything flavor wise.

My advice would be to get a few pipes and dedicate a style of tobacco to them and keep your pipes clean, otherwise the flavors get mixed. Try out the Esoterica pipe tobaccos, it is a small company in the UK. Samuel Gawith (also in the UK) makes some nice flakes. If you want to see how a pipe tobacco can make you feel drunk without inhaling try 1792 Flake by them, it is so strong I can barely walk after smoking a bowl. In the US, Mcclellands makes some very nice Virginia blends, think they make the Frog Morton you mention.

I smoke a pipe on occasion. I also have a Peterson's of Dublin. It's a lot of work. ahaha but it is relaxing and cheaper than cigars.

@JeffC: I used to do cigars until I tried a pipe at a bonfire...I'm not going back :) I may have one occasionally, but gave my humidor to another friend.

I don't tend to smoke too much, maybe one bowl on one particular day where it's nice out and when I have time. I tend to do 1/2 bowl at a time on the Peterson or 1/3 bowl on the Bjarne, which is why I decided to grab the smaller Stanwell.

For some reason, having scotch or cognac with my smokes seems to ruin the enjoyment of the drinks. Once they mix with the tobacco, I seem to get the same flavor. So I either stick to beer, bourbon, wine, or coffee until I find one that holds up to the blends I have (haven't tried them all though, haha).

I certainly agree about using different pipes for different blends. Currently, the Peterson is the go to for english/balkan blends and the Bjarne is for a few aromatics. I'll probably start the Stanwell out on the heavy side and if I like the pipe enough, I may grab another one from that series--or a Parker--for the aromatics (and sell/give away the other two pipes).

Yeah, McClelland and SG make some fine tobaccos. I'm a little on the fence with Mac Baren and certain Davidoff blends. Have you tried Balkan Sasieni? It's rather good. Certain house blends have been pretty amazing as well.

@OCeallaigh: Yeah! That was another reason for my "conversion", haha. After the initial hit with the pipe cost--which will last for years--the tobacco is very affordable. Plus, it's easier to control the smoke time, as you can just dump your bowl out if you have to stop.

When the Stanwell comes, I'll post some pics/thoughts : )

If it's tobacco and not in the form of cigarettes, I use it. Pipes, cigars, and snuff are all dear to me. As far as pipes, I have about 15ish, nothing major, Pete's, Stanwells, Savinellis and a few others. My favorite tobaccos (today, it changes often) would be:

GLP Meridian GLP Lagonda SG Best Brown Flake McClelland's Dark Star Rattray Red Rapparee Rattray Hal O' the Wynd

To name just a few.

@Zanaspus I started doing Gentleman Snuff when I moved to Germany. hah, a good Greek/British friend and mentor gave me some.

@rwbenjey, I have tried Balkan Saseni. I believe it uses the same recipe as a classic English blend, now discontinued, called Balkan Sobranie. Sobranie still makes cigarettes though I believe. I really like that style of Enlish pipe tobacco blend.

Latakia based English blends are kind of like Islay single malts. The Latakia tobacco is cured over fires and has a very smoky taste. I could not really get into Danish style blends although they were nice earlier in the day. Orlik flakes were very nice, Mcbarens were a little too sweet and burned too hot for my tastes. The pure Virginia blends from McClellands might go well with a bourbon, both are kind of tangy and bold.

I have about 30 pipes, Stanwells, Petersons, Savinellis, a Meerschaum (very nice and highly recommended, smokes cool), a Calabash, a Bonfiglioli (small Italian pipemaker in Bologna). I used to have a few pipes for English blends, a few for Virginia tobaccos, and a few for flavored Danish style blends.

By far my favorite tobacco was Esotericas Blackpool. It is nominally an English blend but has an unusual flavoring to it, it's hard to explain, try a 50 gram sample and see if you like it.

@OCeallaigh, in Germany check out Dan Pipe from Hamburg. I used to buy from them when I lived in Frankfurt. They have an amazing online catalog, hundreds of pipes and their own blended tobaccos.

@JeffC: I had the same issue with Mac Baren; burns hot...not good : (

Alrighty, the Stanwell Featherweight arrived yesterday : )

Here are some pics: flickr.com/photos/roybenjey/…

It's small and classy, smokes well, and weighs hardly a thing. I wouldn't hesitate to take this on a walk downtown or camping. It's awesome! Started to break it in last night with Frog Morton on the Bayou.

Rwbenjey, nice looking Stanwell Billiard. I like the classical shapes like Canadians, Bulldogs, Billiards, etc. Stanwell also make some of the Danish freehand style pipes which are distinctive but can be kind of heavy.

Thanks! Same here. I'm also looking at this one: smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/…