First Ultimate Bowl

[aquadoc]

Originally, it was a blend of my father's in a 61 Dunhill bent , blast he was given when I was born. He smoked Blue Boar, SWR (maybe aromatic), and some English that came in a cellophane wrapping in a drawstring pouch. It was not about the tobacco as much as the experience. My ex destroyed that pipe.

After jumping back in a few years ago, it has to be the aged Billy Budd gifted to me by CigrMaster. I smoked it in a Weber pot and it was amazing. The stars aligned.

 

[hauntedmyst]

I I thought about this some more and I remember even before I worked at Sir Timothy walking into the Tinder Box at Woodfield and feeling at home. It was marvelous! Hundreds of pipes and dozens of jars of tobacco. I was a kid and this was my candy shop.

 

[wolflarsen]

Mine was Mississippi River in an estate Savinelli Tortuga 673 (bent rhodesian). I had just come home from a grueling mid winter commercial crab fishing trip. The rain stopped right as I pulled into my driveway sometime in the dark pre dawn hours. I packed the bowl, put my rain gear on so I wouldn't get my ass wet, and smoked it on an adirondack chair in the middle of my yard while watching the sunrise over the redwoods. It must have been at least 10 years ago now but I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a definite game changer. Been chasing the experience ever since.

 

[oldtoby]

Wish I could remember. Sometimes getting old sucks....

One I can remember was while driving on the Parkway many years ago. It was a Burley/ Latakia blend I'd purchased at a B&M nearby. My first taste of Latakia, and I was smitten.

 

[stogie37]

Late 90’s walking into a cigar shop I used to visit occasionally, the guy behind the counter said; “You smoke a pipe?” I told him I did infrequently. He said, “Here, get this cat piss out of here” and handed me a recently opened tin of Ashton Old London Pebblecut, blended by McClelland. I took my first ever whiff of McC’s signature scent and thought twice about ever putting it in my pipe. So glad I did. That first smoke was an epiphany. Began a love affair that has lasted to this day (and until the 20 or so tins I have left are gone!) Game changer.

 

[thedbs999]

My first ultimate bowl was Prince Albert, I loved the smell of Grandpa's smoke, followed by Carter hall and Dunhill Nightcap.

Dan

 

[ray47]

I began 52 yrs ago so it's difficult to remember. I can't tell you the last bowl I had yesterday. If I had to guess it was probably an OTC blend because that's all I could buy back then. Didn't have any pipe shops close by where I could buy house blends or non-OTC blends. I was in the Air Force so I believe I bought maybe Prince Albert or some OTC aromatic. I do remember buying a Dr. Grabow Viking metal pipe at the base BX.

 

[cigrmaster]

I was in this strip club getting a lap dance as I was smoking my pipe. I knew then pipe smoking was for me.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I supsect my "ultimate bowl" will follow closely on my penultimate bowl, with both followed shortly by death. At least that's my plan.

 

[sandollars]

My very first bowl was my Ultimate bowl.... I just couldn't believe that an amount of tobacco equal to 1/10th of a cigar or less, could deliver so much relaxation and enjoyment for over an hour!

Oh, and my first bowl was a Lane 1Q in a Peterson Donegal XL90. I still smoke the pipe on occasion and the tobacco is still one of my mainstays..... Of course, we are only talking about 6 months ago....

I have an Ultimate bowl every night.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Well, I understand what you're trying to say: these are great bowls for you!

But ultimate is the highest or last one, so I hope my ultimate bowl is many years away.

 

[redglow]

I bought a couple of pipes back in 1996 or 97 at the Columbus, Oh. Pipe Show. Stopped off on the way home and bought a pouch of Captain Black. I was a big cig/cigar smoker back then. So, the Captain was basically flavorless and left me disappointed. Went back to the pipe tobacco store Burning Leaf on S. High Street and picked up tins of Nightcap, Early Morning and 965.

Nightcap instantly became my tobacco and I smoked nothing but Nightcap from then on. Fast forward 20 years. I hadn't had a pipe in about 19 years but that heavenly Nightcap was something that I could never forget.

Now, I'm enjoying many different blends. But, Nightcap was the mixture that pulled me in like a black hole and never let me go.

 

[David_Lawrence]

While it wasn't the single best smoke I've had (in my entire month of pipe smoking tenure), I think it has to be the huge bowl of Samuel Gawith's Full Virginia Flake mixed with Gawith & Hogarth's Skiff Mixture.

I bought and mixed those two upon reading a reviewer noting how this was what he'd settled upon as his closest replacement for that Dunhill Nightcap I've read about it legend and lore. I immediately loved the scent of the Skiff, which is far nicer than it's name suggested to me, and of course the Virginia Flake is pure and delectable.

It was smoked in the second pipe I purchased, a Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob Cobbit Wizard Churchwarden—a lengthy name for a lengthy pipe as seen here (https://www.mysmokingshop.co.uk/newShop/images/products/17591__big.jpg) and the reason it's solidified as the game changer is twofold:

I managed to actually taste the tobacco for the first time, previously having been disheartened by some wonderful whiskey scented aromatics bought in a pipe shop after smelling them and thinking I was going to taste that rich sweet aroma, so actually getting even a small fraction of the peppery English scent when smoking was a huge achievement as I was going to write the whole thing off if it all just tasted of airy smoke.

Secondly, it lasted a long time, maybe 45 minutes, which actually isn't very long at all considering how absurdly deep the bowl is. Before I could keep a pipe lit for more than a handful of draws, I'd burn through the tobacco through a combination of frequent lighting and rapid puffing to keep it going, and so the whole thing was over in about 15 minutes. I now find that even an average sized bowl lasts about 45 minutes, which is fantastic and another thing I'd wanted from my new indulgence.

All in all, it's more akin to managing to ride a bike without stabilisers and go in an almost straight line without falling off - I've had more amazing bike rides since then but the thrill of 'doing it right' and the successful feeling of knowing you hadn't spend that money on a failed venture made it the most memorable.

 

[tg51]

Took my dog on a walk on a beautiful and crisp fall day and before I knew it I was four miles away. Didn’t come out of the pipe euphoria until I sucked the last ember straight into my mouth. Was smoking a Moonshine Canadian with some froggy.

 

[EvergreenPiper]

It was last year on my way to work. I was smoking Dunhill Durbar in an unknown meerschaum pipe that I purchased from Ebay. It is soooo good and I even parked my car to enjoy it. I believe I was late for work on that day...

 

[hobie1dog]

Back porch of my old house, just after starting back up smoking and tasting the exquisite flavor of my first bowl of Penzance.

 

[trouttimes]

It was 35 to 40 years ago. I don't remember the blend but I'm sure it was OTC and the pipe was a Dr.G. I have had many more great smokes since then but few better than Frog on a log. Sure wish that was still around. I know, lots of good blend out there now but none are as good in my book and believe me I've looked. I have over 100 blends in my cellar.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I hope all of us are many years from having that ultimate smoke, and also die with our boots on. Or go like Nelson Rockefeller.

 

[timt]

The bowl that convinced me that pipe smoking was going to be a long term affair was when after spending the first few months smoking aros and codger blends, I had my first bowl of Orlik Golden Sliced folded and stuffed into a little Rossi apple. That little bowl lasted 90 minutes. It was citrusy, spicy, my sinuses and eyes were stinging and I kept glancing into the bowl wondering how it kept smoking. It was wonderful.

 

[davek]

I always hear about smoking slow, and I always tell the new guys to do it too, but never do it myself.

And now I truly understand. Ha!
?

I get what you say. I try to follow advice given and I do smoke slowER. Still the perfect bowls usually seem to involve a couple adult beverages and sitting outside on a beautiful night so that the bowl is not the goal.

There's a Koan for you. "The bowl cannot be the goal, grasshopper"