Kevin Godbee
Thank you for joining us for The Pipes Magazine Radio Show—the only radio talk show for pipe smokers and collectors. We want to thank you for listening and being one of our loyal 15,000 weekly fans. Your host is Brian Levine and in tonight’s "Pipe Parts" segment we will recommend some specific tobaccos. Two weeks ago, Greg Pease recommended some different tobaccos in his line that represent different genres. Tonight Brian will mention some other brands and blends that are also good examples of different styles that you might want to try. Our featured guest is Pipe maker Chris Morgan. Chris makes some extremely creative high grade pipes, and he has also made name for himself with his unique "Briar Cigar".
E. Roberts
How does one describe the Chicago show? Superlatives are easy to pile on, and most of them try to encompass the fact that it’s big, really big. Make that really, really big. It’s awe-inspiring to see so many thousands of pipes, fresh from the maker’s hands or vintage estates; it’s heady to be surrounded by clouds of smoke from hundreds of happy puffers; and it’s just a whole lot of fun to be around folks who are as fanatical as I am about pipes and tobacciana. This was my first trip to the Big Show, and the way I’ll always think of it, the essence of it for me, is that it is all about making connections.
E. Roberts
“Burley doesn’t age” is a common wisdom that any pipe enthusiast who’s begun building their cellar has certainly come across. The truth is that all tobacco will age, though differently, with the greatest flavor changes dependant mainly on the sugar content of the constituent tobacco. The noble Virginia leaf, being a sugar factory, of course ages wonderfully, and often takes all the surrounding leaf along with it for that wonderful ride. All-burley or burley-forward blends, I feel, unfairly get a bad rap for not taking on the epic qualities we often hear of in Virginia-based blends. As proof of a burley-forward blend that has the ability to age gracefully, emphatically and deliciously, I submit for your approval Mac Baren’s Burley London Blend. It is primarily a white burley that has been aged in wooden casks, along with a sprinkling of Virginia. This is a blend that, for all its inherent simplicity, is certainly memorable as a solid, tasty smoke. The review is based on a comparison of a 1980s vintage tin with a current production tin from December 2012.
The Care & Feeding of the Pipeman - by G. L. Pease
Indulge me. Take a moment to close your eyes and reflect on your earliest experience as a budding pipe smoker. It could have been months ago, years, or even decades. Imagine that first bowl in as much vivid detail as you can conjure. How does the memory compare to your current experience?
Most of us, without much effort, can recall our first pipe, our first tobacco, our first smoke. For some, it was the opening of a sensory door that would lead to a wonderful new world of taste and aroma; for others, it was like entering a chamber of horrors, a dread-filled experience that, if lucidly recalled, makes us wonder why the hell we ever again chose to wander those darkly haunted halls.