One of Shelby Foote's pipesx

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JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,862
554,032
He did. Foote used 2/3 EGR and the other third would be an OTC like Half&Half, SWR, etc. Eventually, he used Barking Dog as the one third component.

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,223
5,350
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
The summer 1999 issue of "The Paris Review" featured an article titled "Shelby Foote, The Art of Fiction No. 158." It authors (Carter Coleman, Donald Faulkner, and William Kennedy) noted that, "During the interview, Foote sat at his desk or paced to and fro in his slippers, frequently refilling his pipe from a humidor with a mixture of Half & Half and Edward G. Robinson tobacco."
Here is a link (Shelby Foote, The Art of Fiction No. 158) to that article.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,862
554,032
Hunter: a former member of this forum was buying Foote's last version of the mix from the same shop, which is how I learned Foote was cutting EGR with Barking Dog.

 
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csharp

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 28, 2015
115
11
@JimInks- Always wanted to tell you how great I thought it was that you were able to spearhead a campaign to save EGR.
Would EGR mixed with RL-BD be a good match for the Foote mixture?

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,862
554,032
csharp: thank you for the kind words. It's hard to answer your question only because that's such a personal choice, but you've got nothing to lose by trying it. Or if you're looking to recreate Foote's last version, try using Match Barking Dog, which P&C sells (maybe others, too?). I liked it when I tried it, though I really prefer EGR on its own.

 

csharp

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 28, 2015
115
11
Sounds like EGR and Match Barking Dog(RL-BD) is the way to go. Thanks Jim.

 

johnnyreb

Lifer
Aug 21, 2014
1,961
612
The pipe belonging to Jefferson Davis has been written about & discussed here a couple of times also.
http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-smokers-of-the-past/jefferson-davis-president-of-the-confederate-states-pipe-smoker/

 

huntertrw

Lifer
Jul 23, 2014
5,223
5,350
The Lower Forty of Hill Country
"Hunter: a former member of this forum was buying Foote's last version of the mix from the same shop, which is how I learned Foote was cutting EGR with Barking Dog."
If I recall correctly, Mr. Alley, the former proprietor of the Memphis Tobacco Bowl, did not provide Mr. Foote with a mixture, but rather only with the component tobaccos which Mr. Foote subsequently blended himself.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,862
554,032
Hunter: Here's the complete story. The former member I was referring to was Pipe Dreamer. He was getting Shelby Foote's Mixture from the same shop Foote had. That shop closed, and Eric was trying to figure out what Foote was mixing with Edward G. Robinson's Pipe Blend to get what he was smoking. He called Foote, and Foote wasn't entirely sure what the addition was. The shop (Memphis Tobacco Bowl) called the blend "Swinger” (later known as “Mellow Mix”), and according to PD, sold it as a house blend.
PD sent me a sample of the “house blend” to see if I could determine what it is. He managed to get a sample of the "other" component from the shop, so I had both at my disposal. As soon as I smelled the "other" component, I realized it was Barking Dog, which I have smoked a lot of in the past. Smoking a bowl confirmed that for me. I smoked the "Foote Mixture", and of course, it was Barking Dog that was used. That's what I know.

 

fnord

Lifer
Dec 28, 2011
2,746
8
Topeka, KS
OGS & Hunter:
Thank you both for taking me to school this evening. I've always known Shelby Foote as a Civil War historian and never as a novelist. (My reading list has grown dramatically.) I'd also only heard of the "The Paris Review" interview and finally reading it tonight was most enjoyable.
Wow. What a great thread.
Thanks, Johnny, for the link to to the Jefferson Davis meerschaum pipe. One of my kiddos was in Virginia Beach this past weekend and, I know for a fact, he missed this.
Fnord

 

johnnyreb

Lifer
Aug 21, 2014
1,961
612
Thanks, Johnny, for the link to to the Jefferson Davis meerschaum pipe. One of my kiddos was in Virginia Beach this past weekend and, I know for a fact, he missed this.
Your welcome, Fnord & good to see you again. If you're interested in more you might search the threads. Besides the article I recall discussion about the pipe & his imprisonment. As I recall his pipe & some writing instruments were the only pleasures he was allowed to have.

 

thefalcon

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 23, 2012
241
2
Hello All,
Like Jim said I had the good fortune of having several telephone conversations with Mr.Foote. We discussed his writings of The Civil War, William Faulkner and Pipe smoking. He was very courteous and easy to talk to. As far as his favorite Tobacco, that's easy, it was Edward G. Robinson. As already mentioned in previous posts, this was stated in the Pipes and Tobacco magazine interview with Shelby Foote. Mr.Foote felt like the EGR was cut too fine and packed too tightly in his Pipe, this is when he told me he began Mixing in about a third of H&H or SWR with the Edward G. Robinson as jim said. Later he discovered Memphis Tobacco Bowl's House blend named Swinger and used it to roughen up the Blend instead of the Drug store Tobaccos he had used in the past. I still have some of the Swinger on hand and know it was made by Red Lion/ House of Windsor, who is no longer in business. After this component was no longer available he told me he started using the one that Richard @ Memhis Tobacco bowl had that replaced it named mellow mix. As hunter mentioned above Mr.Foote did the blending himself, as he told me he knew exactly what he wanted it to taste like. Later on Richard began selling the blend in his shop in honor of Shelby and named it Shiloh. After Memphis tobacco Bowl closed its doors, I began trying to find a replacement for the rough cut Tobacco as I wanted to duplicate as close to possible Shelby's Favorite tobacco, and to do this you need that 1/3 rough cut. I contacted Jim and we discussed the matter and I in turn sent him some of the Swinger from MTB and after receiving the sample he called me back and told me that he believed it to be Barking Dog. As a lot of you will know Barking Dog had been made for a good while by HOW, and I'm talking about before the last release of the vintage blends. I wanted to get as close to possible on the rough cut, because i liked the blend like Shelby mixed it. So thanks to Jim for saving EGR and his help in determining a blend so we can still enjoy Shelby Foote's Preferred blend.
Happy Smoking All!
Eric AKA PipeDreamer :)

 
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