My second convert.

Hello all

About 18 months ago a very nice Canadian teacher came to my old school on a temporary contract. He was beginning to explore cigars and wanted to become familiar with Single Malt. We become firm friends. So one day we went down to my local pipe shop and he nearly had a heart attack at the prices of cigars in China, not to mention the questionable use of the humidor by the owner. He had noticed my pipes and to cut a long story short, quickly became a total pipehead, ending his four-month stay with the purchase of a Castello Sea Rock, his 5th pipe in that time.

Last Friday, one of my colleagues who had expressed an interest in learning how to smoke a pipe, came round. We had a bottle of Caol Ila 12, some good movies and a pipe. I opened all my storage jars and asked him which tobacco smelled the most appealing, then gave him the appropriate pipe, my beloved Don Florian rugged straight Dublin. I packed it for him and coached him. The bowl lasted about 90 minutes. He is now eager to get to a decent pipeshop and start smoking on his own. :D

I know. I once converted a friend too well. He used to hate coffee and didn't really drink whisky. A few years after we met he had a cafetiere, was considering a grinder and had become an established customer at my local Gaelic pub which has over 100 single malts on the back shelf.

Stay away from that Special Afghani Black Tobacco. It ghosts your pipe like nothing on earth!