At the tobacconist

[machinebacon]

If you see tobacco reviews in which they call a blend an "acquired taste" - get it :D

(Ok, not really! Just don't confuse 'room note' with 'tin note' and the actual taste of the smoke, the three are often quite far away from each other)

[pidsley]

Here's another one of my favorites. This image should tell you how much I like this one.

Yes, I purchased a full kilo (there is significantly less in the cellar now).

Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Kentucky. If you are looking for "natural" Kentucky tobacco, look no further (odd that such a pure Kentucky tobacco comes from across the pond, but it's actually grown in Africa from Kentucky seed). On initial light you might catch a whisp of "kendal sauce" (what some people call 'old lady perfume' or 'rosewater essence') but this quickly dissipates into sweet Kentucky goodness. It's a shag cut, so pack it tightly in a larger pipe, and enjoy. This one has strength and flavor in abundance, and I promise it will make your day.

[ivanovnegro]

^ Whoa, I will fill my pipe right away.

[machinebacon]

^^ Indeed, thanks for sharing!

[slartie]

Orlik Golden Sliced has been a permanent citizen in my Land'o'Pipes since 2004, and from the looks of things, that's not likely to change.

However. Lately, I've fallen back to my Burley Brother. No label, just pure burley. Keeps me nice and chipper all day long. Can't complain about that. I'll sneak in a few bowls of OGS every day, just to keep my priorities straight.

[machinebacon]

Found a tobacco review with following statement, about flake tobaccos:

I have recently realized a simple technique for the preparation of pipe tobacco flakes which has recreated my (mainly 9mm filter) pipe smoking enjoyment to a notable degree. Many reviewers on site remark on the desirability of airing and even of drying out divers blends before smoking. This is, IMHO, an error. The friable condition of Scottish Flake, as received, and its subsequent further dehydration led me to what I now consider to be a masterstroke. Using a thin sponge to which a small quantity of mineral water is applied, the sponge not dripping but moist, the flakes are hydrated in situ, in the tin. The flakes may be turned in the stack before retiring and should be found to be evenly moistened on the following day. The product of this action is at once realized to be a boon. Previously, we regarded hydration of this sort as a therapy for dried up tobacco, for resuscitation, but now, by virtue of pre- hydration, the mollified tobacco is a consistent delight to smoke. Where formerly, the first half of the pipe was somewhat 'bread and bread' followed by more engagement with the smoking experience in the second and perhaps the enjoyment of a juicy heel, we now experience a gratifying smoke which quickly delivers taste and flavour without harshness or bite and which exhibits a satisfying and homogenous character throughout the smoke. At once, your pipe is more of a pal and you look forward confidently to more congenial flake smoking than previously known. After practicing this course for a month, I am now convinced of its value and would estimate my pipe smoking enjoyment to be 50% to 70% enhanced. I preclude any prospect of smoking a flake blend without this timely tip for treatment and strongly recommend smokers to try it. Here's why; Flake tobacco, as received, could be said to be in a torpid condition. The moisture present is locked up in the tar and oil of the tobacco. Prehydration of the flakes avoids the repeated tussle with that locked in moisture and opens the door to pipe smoking bliss. Experience it and you know that this is how the blend should perform. Hydrate!

IMO this is one of the worst things one can do to his tobacco (even if tobacco is stored too warm or in humid surroundings it can produce mold), I would "rehydrate" the bowlful I wanna smoke using steam, rather than using a sponge. Secondly, how is the tobacco stored after rehydrating? In a closed container it will (definitely!) change the nose, and keeping it in an open container will just dry it out again, changing the properties of the flakes. With every rehydration, and subsequent drying, there is a bit of flavour evaporated.
OTOH, though, it's so humid over here that I never got this problem - quite the opposite, especially with Sam Gawith's flakes, that they are damp.

Any thoughts?

[slartie]

Leaf that goes dry will change regardless. The rehydration will simply make it smokeable again. The rehydration won't be the culprit of the aroma changes, the loss of oils in the leaf due to drying will.

Your choice of method for rehydration is up to your own preferences. I prefer a porous stone encased in plastic. I soak it in demineralized water for a few minutes. Shake off the excess, leave it and the leaf in a tight-seal jar overnight, remove the stone, and leave the leaf for another day or two.

People have been using potatoes, apples and a ton of other shit. They'll all do the job - transfer water from A to B, but I can't recommend giving mold a chance, so I use what I mentioned earlier.

From the quote you posted, it sounds like he enjoyed the bowl as he got further into it. No doubt that's because he should've let the flake rehydrate longer. the steam generated in the burn made the leaf further down puff up more and give off more flavor, thus making it more enjoyable as the bowl progressed.

Whatever you take away from this: Don't let your leaf dry. 1) you lose flavor/aroma permanently, 2) it's a hassle to rehydrate, 3) you'll know what it was supposed to taste like, 4) you'll kick yourself for letting leaf dry out.

[ivanovnegro]

No idea Bacon. Seems like too much hassle. There are even people baking the baccy to make it like aged one.

http://www.pfeife-tabak.de/Artikel/Taba ... backen.htm

Go down to see the English part.

[machinebacon]

Lol, and I always rehydrate my tobacco by filling a bowlful and breathing into the bowl 2-3 times. Works wonders. Thanks for the link, Ivan.

Is tin baking the same as stoving? Hell, I don't know but I suppose so. Actually, I don't know what the hell I am doing.

noidea_huh.png (243.45 KiB) Viewed 12748 times

[machinebacon]

Some pipemakers:

http://www.koziolek-pfeifen.de/shop/
http://www.dotterpipes.com/pipes.htm
http://www.romeobriar.com/pipesite/gallery.html
http://www.scandpipes.com/group.asp?group=26
http://www.klaus-buhles.de/pfeifenseite ... fenmacher/
http://www.moritz-pipes.com/Bitmap/Albu ... bum_01.htm
http://www.zenz-pipes.com/english/pfeifen.html
http://www.david-wagner.at/ (http://www.david-wagner.at/fotos.htm)
http://teipenpipes.com/store/
http://www.knudsen-pipes.de/
http://www.thepiperack.com/brands/

Just leaving this here for reference :)

[ivanovnegro]

^ Thanks Bacon, bookmarked. :)

[machinebacon]

Little addendum - of course 100-150EUR for a pipe is a bunch of money (IMO, for us poor folks at Linuxland), especially because some of us (we all? I definitely know Pidsley, Ivanov and me) use pipes as smoking tools and not as penis extensions. Sure, there are more expensive ones. But with great price comes greater responsibility. TBH, I would probably not really enjoy smoking a (comparably) expensive pipe. There's so much to fuck up about it, especially around the rim.

[ivanovnegro]

Absolutely as a tool, penis works without. Sure, some pipes are a bit more expensive, I have only one of that segment (birthday present) but it behaves perfectly, just do not treat it like a child and you have not to worry about it. But in the future, such expensive pipes will always be in a minority. I really do care more about the good baccy in a decent but well priced pipe. That does not meen if I see something I really like in that price range and have the money, that I won't buy it. But then it has to look outstanding and also perform as wished. But more than 200 Euros would be just crazy in my case.

[machinebacon]

Stichwort Baccy!

And a little hooray for two tobaccos which I smoked alternating in the last days (due to availability)

Today, the first one: Samuel Gawith's Scotch Cut Mixture



One of the few Scottish mixtures (VA, BC, Lat) that also contain Burley (hello Pidsley!) I've got to say that there's a little glitch around certain SG mixtures recently. Not sure if that's now a pattern in their production line, but some VA mixtures (like the flue-cured Zimbabwe VA in Grousemoor or the air-cured Squad Leader) contain debris, or branches. This is no big deal if the mix contains Orientals, but in case of Scotch Cut it really spoils the party. Think I emphasized this dozens of times: skim through the SG tins and remove those small things that look like pieces of wood. I suppose the dear folks at SG have decided to save money on the costs of the smoker's wallet. Hand-ripped, as their brochure says? No way. This is simply laziness and greed. And I do love SG, usually!
So, back to the tobacco. This is the same bronze-bright VA we know from Perfection, Grousemoor (to some extend!) or Westmorland. There are some strings (broken flakes) of Black Cavendish (around 50%), some fine ribbons of Latakia (not much, I estimate no more than 10%) , and around 20% of Burley. It's mixed very unevenly, one half of the tin is completely golden, the other one black with brown spots. Quite damp, the wrapping paper glues to the tobacco (and vice versa). I mixed the surface a bit, made a little hill and kept it open for a day. Indeed on the next day the mixture was perfect to smoke. Had to remove the fu***ng branches and pieces of junk, though.
Upon popping the seal there was a very interesting sweet-sour smell tin note (which disappears after 2 days): a bit of ketchup (blame the VA), dark bread, smoked bacon, apple juice. This does not carry over to the smoke: the charring light brings a malty, nutty, full, but not strong taste. As the bowl develops, the Latakia brings its full smokiness, I guess this is thanks to the Burley which underlines the Lat and adds a wide, creamy, mellow base. There's nothing of the fragrant sweetness like in Rattray's Scottish mixtures coming from the BC. And again, the Burley makes this smoke pleasantly well-behaved, cool, and really tasty. Even puffing hard doesn't impact the taste and the heat, and it burns down very cleanly. The VA tastes more and more like the one in Best Brown Flake, with its typical hay/roasted peanut side-stream. Very hard to say how much Nic is inside, as I'm also a cigarette smoker (quite a lot), and I don't really react on Nic. Usually, SG products are medium to full in Nic level, but nowhere as hefty as 1792, Commonwealth or Bracken. Once I had a bowlful with a comparably high amount of BC flakes in it, and it was slightly stronger in every aspect, but still very cool.
The Scotch Mix is a very good all-day smoke, suitable for those who like a natural, clean and smokey taste. Room note, by the way, is awful.

Reviews are here: http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend_det ... S&TID=1032

The next write-up will be about Dunhill's Standard Mixture (which was previously the Standard Mixture Medium, slightly upgraded)

[ivanovnegro]

What a nice review. Room note awful, gets always stars at the BBQ. I have to admit, some days when it is very stressful I light some cigarettes too and because it happens so rarely I react on nic.

[machinebacon]

Dunhill Standard Mixture

Some tobaccos or brands are mythical, somehow, especially if they are not widely available or too pricey. Pipe smokers can totally relate to this, the Europeans are highly interested in trying the American blenders (C&D, GLP), while the Americans sometimes have hard times to get European tobaccos (and hey Guys, 90% of the European blends are simply rubbish - mostly coming from 3-4 bigger producers - more on this, later)
And even for Europeans, there are some blends that are either hard to find (depending on your geographical location) or the price tag leaves room for consideration :) Davidoff is one of those blends that are ridiculously expensive, Samuel Gawith is close behind, and then there is Dunhill. But Dunhill is not Dunhill anymore. It used to be blended in London, then sold to Murrays in Northern Ireland (the gentlemen who also blend Erinmore, though IIRC the Dunhills were not blended exclusively in N. Ireland - gotta find some references to prove), and now Dunhills are being produced by Orlik (which is, as far as I know, part of the Scandinavian Tobacco Group)
And before you jump into the bashing/discussing which Dunhill blender is the real and original Dunhill - let your taste buds decide.

Dunhill's Standard Mixture was introduced in 1921, originally in three flavours (mild, medium and full - depending on Latakia content). Today, there is no "full" variant anymore, and while the 'mild' version is just hot air with a bit of salty flavour on top, the 'medium' variant is basically the only "Standard Mixture" (without 'medium' in the name) worth to talk about.
The round 50g tin label states "A balanced blend of Virginia and Turkish Tobaccos" and "Fine Rich Flavour". Well, I do love turkish tobaccos, so let's pop this babe!



In fact, the "Virginia" is a mix of different, matured tobaccos. An old brochure reads:

A blend of the choicest matured Virginia and selected Turkish tobaccos, each specially imported by Alfred Dunhill, the Virginia gives a rich flavour and touch of natural sweetness while the presence of the Turkish leaf imparts a grand aroma, this mixture possess a soft mellow flavour difficult to define but recognized at once by every pipe-smoker: probably best described as ‘nutty’. Latakia and Oriental tobaccos blended with flue cured grades from East Carolina and Georgia, lightly toasted in our drying drum.

Well, this is obviously from a time when Dunhill was blending in London (so before 2001). The tin I've got here is the common Orlik variant, and these guys definitely know how to blend! Nightcap and London Mixture are my staples, the MM965 is always a welcome addition to the rotation (I'm not a huge fan of Scottish mixtures with BC), Royal Yacht is a natural, chocolatey-rasinish outdoor smoke, the Dunhill (Light) Flake one of the best Virginia Flakes on earth, and the Early Morning Pipe a benchmark for other Oriental-forward English blends.
The Standard Mixture has a fragrant, salty, slightly sour (as in yogurt - a trademark of recent day Dunhill tobaccos), dark bread tin nose. The leaves are cut perfectly, to long ribbons. Moisture out of the tin is optimal, you can directly pack and puff, the tobacco is springy but does not glue to the fingers. There are no branches, no chunks. Let's fill the unfiltered Peterson 999!
It takes the charring light easily. It's a bit bitter at that point, let's wait until the surface of the tobacco is chilled out again, tamp once more, and let it smoke.
So the first magical point is: SM doesn't like long, strong puffs. It's always a bit on the bitter side when puffed too hard, though it stays cool. When puffed slowly, lightly, it develops a very peppery spiciness, and even tastes a bit like beer. Wheat beer. Must be the VAs here, they taste malty when smoked with side-stream. Retrohaling brings the described nuttiness, actually quite a lot of sweetness, as in licorice or Woolong tea. SM is not a strong mixture, but it delivers enough N and taste. Yes, it's a tasty tobacco, though always tending to have the "Pilsner" bitterness in the back of the throat. If you prefer the delayed gratification method (http://briarfiles.blogspot.jp/2008/05/d ... nique.html) you will get bitterness and strength slapped into your face. Not really recommended, IMO.
A perfect day starts with EMP, has SM for lunch, London Mixture for afternoon tea, MM965 after dinner and Nightcap to see you off. SM is really a middle-of-the-road English mixture, there are no "Wow!"s along the way, it does exactly what it says on the tin: nothing. It might be considered a bit more "boring" than my beloved London Mixture, maybe even better suited for outdoor smoking (heck, even outdoors I got told that my tobacco stinks!), and many people criticized SM for being "cheap cigarettes from The Balkans in your pipe". What they don't know is: that's one of the best advertisements for smokers of English blends. Indeed, SM has the punch of Maltepe, the sourness of Samsun and the fragrance of Tekel. I give it a 4 of 5 stars bowls - the first third of the bowl is quite uninteresting, the second third absolutely fantastic, and the the last third of the bowl is a bit too robust (and nearly too minty) for me. The notorious bitterness dancing polka on the backseat of my tongue wants me to drink the third coffee while I write this :) As a plus, it burns perfectly, down to fine gray ash. Very little to no condensation.

Ask for a sample if you get the chance. I can understand why some people don't like SM :D It is indeed "neither fish nor meat" as we Germans say. No surprises, no highs and lows, just a plain old boring English mixture, and very good at it :)

http://tobaccoreviews.com/blend_detail. ... =S&TID=462

Added a link to a write-up (slightly outdated) about Oriental/English/Balkan blends: http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.jp/2 ... lends.html

[ivanovnegro]

^ What a fantastic review, one of the best written! 5 bowls for it. Was highly enjoying it while puffing on my pipe. I have to get this one. You won't believe it but it is not possible to get it from my tobacconist??? They only have the very boring, light and bland lighter variant of it.

You describe perfectly what I enjoy about real English blends like this one and indeed they are expensive but I do not care, for me the Dunhills are worth the price. The bitterness you describe is also something I encountered recently in EMP e.g., puff it slowly and you will get the great taste. They are indeed nothing for aro smokers and damn, you are so right, we have a ton of shit baccies flowing around here in Europe.

Btw, Murray is not blending anymore either, Erinmore is now also from Scandinavian Tobacco Group/Orlik.

[machinebacon]

Thank you, David. Many people criticize the Standard Mixture, for being too pricey and too 'uninteresting' - but then, OTOH, why is there no real alternative in a lower price segment? The fucking German blenders can not simply just blend a classic English mixture without adding some damned aroma on top (champagne, red wine, vanilla, honey), the Danish alternatives are very, very sparse, and the competitors from the British Isles either don't blend anymore or not widely available (G&H, SG, Germains)
And you are totally right about Erinmore, I completely forgot that they are not the real Murray anymore (shame on me!), though I admit I only smoked two tins of Erinmore (nothing wrong with it, just got fed up of the aroma)
A pity to see how all the small blenders disappear (also on the cigarette market) -- how great it would be to have your small, local tobacco blender from whom you buy cigarettes and pipe tobaccos, and maybe cigars (though, there is still a cigar maker in Bavaria http://www.wolf-und-ruhland.de/index.ph ... g_Virginia)

[Verändert]

I used to smoke pipe, too (Peterson's University Flake preferably). Until i went to Cuba for my honeymoon. I had for each pipe model i had matching matches with a picture and the name of that pipe model. So if i wanted to smoke a billiard model, i lit it with the matches with the billard pipe on it. I thought that was very cool. Until i landed in Havana (the beautiful capital of a beautiful country). Smoking is allowed about anywhere in Cuba, even at the airport. And the pipe i lit with the matching matches was a pot type pipe. So the matches said in bright red letters: "Pot". And a pipe underneath. Did i mention nobody smokes pipe in Cuba ? They really all smoke cigars. Everyone over the age of 3. Now i realized while i lit my pipe some guy in uniform looking at my matches. I smiled and nodded at him while he kept staring at my matches which i held between to fingers while lighting the pipe. Suddenly, all Cuban hell broke loose (Cuban hell is pretty relaxed, there's always rum and cigars around, still it's hell were talking about). Lots of people in uniform, as far as i understood, accused me of drug smuggling (which is unfortunately prohibited under death penalty in Cuba) They wanted to hand them my pipe and my tobacco. I handed them the tobacco which was, as we remember, University flake. They clearly never had seen that type of tobacco and kept yelling even louder at me. I should confess right now and they wouldn't shoot me. Since i didn't want to confess, they called for the dog. Whose name was Laika. No i began to feel a bit stressed since i was a bit uncertain what i had had in that bag before with my spare types and even more tobacco. Could it still smell of illegal substances ? In came Laika. I swear that dog was about as old as the original Laika and nearly as dead. That dog just looked around with that "why the fuck did you wake me from my dream"-expression. Now the whole bunch of people opened, with a triumphant grin towards me, the tobacco boxes and my bag and everything in front of Laika. All i could think of was : "don't drool, old dog, that's all the tobacco i've got". But Laika didn't move. That dog just kept looking around and then left even though the funny guys kept shaking the boxes right in front of her nose. So they put everything back, saluted and wished me a pleasant stay in Cuba. I was just a little bit relieved and started smoking Cigars (Trinidad Fundadores: delicous) while at the same time quitting the pipe smoking right away.

Smoking is dangerous.

Even in Cuba.

[ivanovnegro]

@Jules: Cigars from Bavaria, how cool is that.

@Verändert: Damn, what a story. University Flake, good choice and I too, love cigars, specially Cubans.