Los Angeles Pipe Club - Fabulous Time!

The Los Angeles Pipe Club met today at Cigar Warehouse in Sherman Oaks and it was great fun. We had about a dozen participants, all of whom came loaded down with tobaccos to share and pipes to show off. I brought along a jar of St Bruno. Great conversation on a variety of topics, including the issue of beginner artisan carvers charging huge prices and its effect on the market, and the low quality of briar being foisted on American carvers. Hearing these carvers discussing their business was both interesting and enlightening.
There was a lot of sampling. I picked up a bag of Margate that had a few years on it for less that you will ever find it online. Another participant, hearing what I had just paid for the Margate, raced over to the stack of bags and grabbed two bags of Ramsgate, one of which he opened to share. The contents were liberally dusted with sugar crystals and the scent was sweetly fabulous. I packed a bowl, lit up and found it a very enjoyable smoke. The others beat me to the remaining bags after sampling it. But I found myself with half of the opened bag offered to me in a zip lock and it's going into a jar to be enjoyed. In addition, another participant insisted on giving me a tin of BlackHouse.
Altogether we had a very enjoyable time. The Club will be meeting again toward the end of July at the same location, the Cigar Warehouse in Sherman Oaks. If you live in the LA area, or will be visiting, come to the meeting, meet some great people, and have a ball.