Ask G. L. Pease (Volume 24)
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Kevin Godbee - Apr 16, 2013
- 13 min read
G. L. Pease
This edition marks the second anniversary of this column. Where has the time gone? I had no idea when I first proposed it that it would be so long-lived, and I hope it continues to bring as much enjoyment for those who read it as it does for me to write it. As long as the great questions keep coming, I’ll keep scribbling.
I’ve spent the morning with the weed-whacker, a device I think of not as a surgically precise electric scalpel, but more as a sort of brute-force mechanical machete, hacking and slashing at the jungle that I refer to only loosely as "the back yard." I’ve always envied those with carefully tended gardens, but have neither the patience nor the skills to create one myself. It’s a huge space, and an overwhelming one, so about as much as I can manage is a spring-time haircut, so at least the dogs have a place to run about.
As I settle in to write, physically spent, surveying the results of the hours-long toil in the sun-drenched fields, enjoying a bowl of some well aged leaf in a large briar, I’ll invite you to join me in a good smoke, and will try to offer some diverting words for your reading pleasure.
Buddy asks: I have a Savinelli straight stem pipe and an older Peterson dry system full bent pipe, both pipes need new stems but I cant find a pipe repair outlet. Could you recommend someone that repairs pipes?
A: Sadly, good pipe repair people are rare, and becoming rarer. It’s a highly specialized trade requiring a great deal of skill, the proper equipment, an excellent eye, and the ability to solve sometimes challenging problems, and the pay isn’t very good. Recently, I’ve learned that a couple of good repairmen have left the business, and those I know of who do very fine work are so overwhelmed, they’re currently not taking anything new. As pipe smoking seems to be increasing in popularity, and more and more people are getting wonderful old pieces, often needing restoration and repair work, the workloads of the guys that are still doing it won’t be shrinking anytime soon. Of course, with some encouragement, new people may enter into this venerable trade to take up the slack, but it’ll take time before that does much good for any of us who need their services today.
Some repairmen do excellent, usable mouthpiece replacements, while others specialize in exact replicas for precious collectibles, which are much more difficult to produce, and therefore much more costly, so your requirements will dictate who you’ll entrust your briars to. A list of qualified repair professionals would be an excellent resource, but I don’t know of such a thing currently, and, the only guys whose work I have personal experience with are in the category of "Not taking new work," so I’m afraid I’m at a loss, but I’m sure the readership will have some excellent suggestions from their own experiences, and encourage them to offer their suggestions in the comment section below. (How’s that for a whole lot of words to say, "I don’t know?")
If you’re interested in one pipe maker’s perspective on the thankless job of doing repair work, and why he won’t do them, give Trever Talbert’s article, The Deadly Trap of Pipe Repair a read.
[Editor’s note: If you scroll near the bottom-middle of our Links Page, there are a few links for pipe repairs. These are links and not recommendations.]
Flip poses: I’ve been smoking a pipe for almost 6 months now and I absolutely love it! I started out smoking sweet tasting blends because as a new pipe smoker I liked the sweeter taste and that was actually all I knew of. As I began searching for other blends to try I came across your blends and was very intrigued by everything you have created. At the time I never heard of Latakia before so I ended up buying Blackpoint to see what Latakia is all about, having no idea of what it would taste like or smell like. When I got the tin and opened it up for the first time I was so surprised, almost shocked at the smell of it because it had such a smoky aroma to it, almost like smoked fish! At the time I have never smelled or tried anything like this before and I didn’t know what to make of it! So, I packed a bowl and gave it a smoke and I was confused and bewildered at the taste.
A: Latakia can have strange effects on those who aren’t expecting it. The smoke-curing creates a unique and unusual product. It’s impression on some, like my friend Marty Pulvers, who says that the only regret he has in his long career of pipe smoking is that he didn’t discover Latakia sooner, is one of those eye-opening, "Where have you been all my life?" things, while to others, its smoky intensity is met with somewhat less enthusiasm. Considering my own catalogue of blends, I’m sure it’s no secret what side of that fence I’m on.
In very small quantities, Latakia plays a supporting role, adding depth and body to the flavor profile of the tobacco to which it is added. A little more, and it begins to sing with its own voice, adding some leathery, campfire notes that are sometimes more noticeable in the aroma of the smoke than in the taste. Still more, and a sort of sweetness can be found, and it begins to become more dominant. By the time we get in the range of 35-45%, or even higher, the other tobaccos in the mix had better be quite assertive, or the spice of the smoky stuff will just bully them until they run crying from the playground.
There are blends with well in excess of 50% Latakia, appealing to the hard-core, and there are even a couple blends on market with 70% or more. (Some people refer to these as "LatBombs," and they’re certainly not for the meek. If you’re not acclimated to the stuff, you’d be well advised to get your tongue a flak jacket before entering that territory.)
For me, the size of the pipe has much to do with the fullness of the mixture I want to fill it with. A large bore pot can bring out the best in more delicate formulae, but become quite overwhelming with a more intense one, but that palate bruising beast can be tamed into a gentle companion in a smaller chambered pipe.
I think everyone should at least try to get to know some of the excellent Latakia mixtures that are available. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but getting to know it can add some nice variety to the smoking repertoire.
Kevin wants to know: I suspect this question is a bit different than most you receive (and hopefully a refreshing change of pace), but it’s something I’ve often wanted to ask many blenders: How do you name your blends?
A: I have nearly as many answers as I have blends. I try to find names that will evoke a certain feeling, at least to me, that is appropriate to the blend, but there are other strategies behind some of the names, as well. For instance, the Classic Collection, with the exception of Blackpoint, is named after areas in or around London, and, alphabetically, they go from the fullest (Abingdon) to the lightest (Stratford). Abingdon, specifically, was named after Abingdon on Thames, the home of the legendary MG motorcar. For me, something about that wonderful, oily, intense smokiness of the tobacco recalled the wonderful smells of my old MGA, so it seemed fitting. For Stratford, I could certainly imagine Shakespeare puffing away on a clay full.
With each, I either try to find a name that is catchy, unique, evocative and memorable, or I just entrust my beloved late grandmother’s antique OUIJA board to work its magic for me. (My uncle, Llellewyn, actually was named by the board. It’s not a typo. Who knew OUIJA boards could be dyslexic?)
From Pete: We pipesmokers are often refered to as "Brothers (or Sisters) of the Briar". However, I am aware that there are many different materials commonly used to create tobacco pipes (olive wood, morta, meerschaum, corn cob, cherry wood, beech etc.). Could you shed any light on these other materials with regards to their relative smoking qualities, durability and any special care requirements. Have you had much experience with alternative pipe making materials? Do you have a favourite (aside from briar)?
A: I’ve smoked pipes made from a quite few alternative materials, including olive wood, the legendary "Mission Briar" pipes of WWII, made from Manzanita, a relative of the Erica arboria from which briar is mined, cherry, morta, and a few others. Each has its own unique characteristics. I’ve enjoyed the taste of cherrywood pipes, but they tend not to last very long. Strawberry wood seems very promising, from what I’ve seen, though I have yet to smoke one for myself, and morta is in a class of its own. Because of its apparently unique characteristics, briar has been the king of pipe woods for about 160 years, and to my mind, nothing yet has come close to accomplishing an effective coup d’etat. Personally, I enjoy exploring pipes made from other materials, but always find myself coming back to the tried and true. Maybe I’m just a traditionalist at heart.
Tonyy is concerned: Gregg, a very short while ago I purchased a pipe wipe made by Dunhill from a choice of two kinds at a particular website, the other I don’t remember who makes it but it is impregnated with carnuba wax and the Dunhill with silicone.
I used the Dunhill wipe on only a few older pipes like Everyman and a Ben Wade freehand from the seventies. Man the grain just exploded to life, they’re gorgeous! But then I got to thinking about the silicone and old briar wood that still gets smoked. Something suddenly doesn’t seem wise about this. What’s your take on that? Would the one with carnuba wax be more conducive to beautifying and protecting old briar that still gets smoked?
A: These products are formulated from waxes, either hydrocarbon or silicone based, dissolved in a carrier. When applied, the carrier evaporates, leaving the wax behind. At least, that’s the theory, and it seems to work.
My gut reaction is that silicone isn’t something we really want on our pipes. Though similar in behavior to hydrocarbon waxes in that they produce a durable, glossy finish, have predictable phase transitions from solid to liquid, and are protective against water, they also may be more permanent, and can be slippery feeling. Carnauba wax, on the other hand, provides a fairly durable finish, has a relatively high melting temperature, is protective, and can be buffed to a nice patina over time without reapplication. Further, carnauba isn’t toxic.
I like the way hard carnauba wax finishes wear over time, losing their high shine and developing a depth that is hard to describe. While my pipes are still warm, I simply buff them with a soft cloth, and their beauty is restored. When they begin to get very dull, a quick trip to the wheel with a block of hard carnauba does the trick. My feeling? Stay away from the silicone.
From Eric P: I recently tried some Sam Gawith Best Brown and really wasn’t satisfied with the flavor profile (my preference leans towards Union Square and Briar Fox) so I thought I would try to change it up a bit. I mixed up a solution of muscovado sugar, water and a bit of Pusser’s rum, let it soak for a couple of days and then let it air dry. I was attempting to give the tobacco a deeper molasses type note. I noticed very little change at all other than maybe making the tobacco smoke a little hotter due to the added sugar. I’ve tried similar experiments like this by immersing tobacco in 100% rum, drying and then not detecting any rum flavoring at all. Which brings me to a tobacco like Cornel & Diehl’s Blockade Runner which is soaked in rum. A lot of folks on Tobacco Reviews say a rum smell and taste predominates. But, being a rum drinker, Pusser’s blue label, Pusser’s 15 year (neat) and Appleton 12 year (neat), I can’t for the life of me taste or smell any rum. I say what the reviewers are smelling/tasting is the cavendish process in making this tobacco. So where did my experiments go wrong and what’s the deal with rum soaked tobacco?
A: I think you might be going too far with the sauce; this is a case where less can be more. By soaking the tobacco, and then evaporating it to bring the moisture content back down, you’re losing not only alcohol and water, but also many of the volatiles that make rum what it is.
When you’re sipping your rum, what your actually experiencing is more the result of the aromas than the taste itself. (I’ll be discussing this in slightly more depth in an upcoming Out of the Ashes column.) As the liquid is warmed on the palate, volatile components are delivered to the olfactory sense through the retro-nasal passages at the back of the tongue. It’s these volatiles that are responsible for much of the difference between drinking rum and drinking vodka, which is closer to pure ethanol. If you leave a glass of rum sitting out for a few days, it’ll still smell like rum, but not nearly as intensely, and the taste will be similarly muted.
So, instead of soaking the tobacco, try infusing it. Put it in a glass jar with a cotton ball soaked with a little rum, seal it up, and let it sit for a few days. You just might find more of what you’re looking for.
Mark from the UK asks: As a British reader of your column I was pleased to see that some of your blends are now available from a retailer here in the UK. Assuming they go well, will you be increasing the selection available, or does the cost of shipping & tax mean it will always be a small market?
A: Part of that is up to you and the rest of their customers. I worked closely with them to develop a good initial product offering, with the notion that over time, the available blends would be broadened. There’s really no reason, other than economics, that they can’t stock the full range, but that will only happen if demand drives it.
The costs of getting the tins into the UK are high. First is the high cost of shipping. Unless we’re shipping over a very large quantity, it goes via air freight, which is much more spendy than sending by ship. Then, there are the extortionate taxes due upon the tobacco’s arrival in the country. Finally, there are packaging requirements that must be met. By the time it’s all totted up, it’s actually a wonder they can put it on the shelves for such a low price! (And, really, it’s not that much more than other premium brands, when you consider the fact that my 2oz tins contain approximately 13% more tobacco than the 50g of the other brands.)
So, the best way to ensure a wider selection is to give them your patronage, and make your specific requests. Believe me, no one would like to see a wider selection of my products on the shelves of UK tobacconists more than I.
That’s it for this month’s. Keep those cards and letters coming!
-glp
 Since 1999, Gregory L. Pease has been the principal alchemist behind the blends of G.L. Pease Artisanal Tobaccos. He’s been a passionate pipeman since his university days, having cut his pipe teeth at the now extinct Drucquer & Sons Tobacconist in Berkeley, California. Greg is also author of The Briar & Leaf Chronicles, a photographer, recovering computer scientist, sometimes chef, and creator of The Epicure’s Asylum. See our interview with G. L. Pease here. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 635. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with James Ravenwood. James is the boutique tobacco blender of Ravenwood Blends. His blending started out as a fun hobby, and he now has professionally packaged commercially available products with some great tin art. Part of his interest in pipe smoking goes back to fond memories of a retired Navy Veteran that lived on his street while he was growing up that would sit in his driveway smoking a pipe all day. Later, in 2011 he began smoking pipes and soon after started experimenting with mixing different tobaccos. His other hobby, that he has been doing for 30 years, is photography. He takes wonderful photos of outdoor spaces, and still life pictures of pipes and tobacco. You can see them on his Instagram @thebriarfellowship. At the top of the show we’ll have an Ask the Pipemaker segment with renowned pipe artisan Jeff Gracik.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
My favorite was the last question. I would have done the same thing as Eric. I would have never known to try infusioning it, and wouldn’t know how to do it.
It’s actually quite amazing that this column has had new material every month for two years straight.
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I think demonstrates how unique and special our hobby is.
Another great addition, thanks Greg. It doesn’t surprise me that even after 2 years there are still plenty of questions that are fresh and interesting. There are so many aspects to this hobby that do continue to change, so interesting questions should not be an issue to continue this column for years to come.
Thanks for two years of terrific content. I learn something new from nearly every submission (I didn’t know you own (owned?) and MGA, a fine classic Brit. Now, realizing the connection, I’ll have to try some Abingdon!
Al, a few classic roadsters have been through my hands. I’ve still got a 68 Triumph Spitfire Mk3 waiting for the time and the extra money to finish up. One of these days…
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Glad you’re enjoying the feature, and thanks to all for the encouragement. Keep those cards and letters coming, and I’ll keep writing. (My Out of the Ashes column has been going even longer.)
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-glp
Greg, congratulations on the anniversary & thanks for all the answers.
Regarding Buddy’s question another route for getting a pipe repaired is the Danish Pipe Shop ( on their website look under ‘Information” on the grey bar across the top of their “Front”, ie home, ). I have not used this service but have found them to provide an efficient, helpful and friendly service while buying pipes, accessories and tobacco (indeed they are one of the sponsors -bless them all – of this magazine!).
If Greg sounds just a little defensive about the price of his tobaccos in the UK he should not be. Even the relatively limited current range is easily the best selection in the UK, certainly in terms of quality but also in variety of genres covered. The service offered by Gauntleys is second to none and includes a re-packaging required by UK law (on all tins sold over here we are required to get lurid pictures and warnings that have a very tenuous connection with pipe tobacco). In general the GLP price is only about ten per cent above other tinned (ten years ago I would have termed it quality) tobacco and is less than buying from the cheapest source in the USA (buy ten or so 8 ounce tins to get the discount and to absorb the fixed cost of freight and including all costs your $31 dollar tin finally costs about $90 and about $53 has gone on UK tax).
However, thats all relativistic and subjective (and true) but in a way irrelevant. In straight cash terms (even without corrections for short or metric measure) the most expensive tin on the UK market does not carry GLP’s much admired insignia because it is a Davidoff tin – their Medallions in fact costs £17.40 for 50 grams (that is about 30 bucks for 2 ounces) on the only site that I can find quoting a firm price for it. So, yes, GLP tobaccos are less expensive than we have a right to expect and their introduction is the brightest occurrence on the UK scene for years.
Thanks again Greg.
Ed T