By Bob Tate

The tin aroma of this blend is a nice sweet and smoky smell. You can tell that there is Latakia in the blend from the smoky aroma, but it is not an overpowering aroma of Latakia. The moisture content is perfect for smoking right away with no drying time needed. I loaded up my pipe and proceeded to the charring light.

On the charring light, I was greeted by the nice smoky aroma of the Latakia with some sweetness to it. Although the Latakia stood out in the aroma, it was not heavy like most other Latakia blends. It was a little more subdued. Flavor wise, I tasted a smoky, sweet taste with a hint of something that is difficult to describe. I finished lighting the pipe and settled in for a relaxing smoke.

At the beginning of the bowl, I taste the smoky, sweetness from the Latakia and Virginia tobaccos. There are some hints of citrus as well as another flavor, or two, that I can’t quite put my finger on. The bowl has barely started and it is already pretty complex…and it tastes very good. The flavor profile stayed the same from start to finish. It was a very nice and tasty complex flavor. At times the citrus notes became more pronounced and then faded back into the background. The finish is very nice as well; I am picking up on hints of a toasted flavor and what, to me, tastes like hints of black coffee.

This is a very good blend and I like it a lot. It smokes cool, dry, and doesn’t bite. It has a nice complex flavor that keeps it interesting. This is a nice medium Latakia/English blend where the Latakia isn’t overpowering turning the blend into a Latakia bomb. Not that there is anything wrong blends that are Latakia bombs, but sometimes a nice medium blend hits the spot. If you like Latakia, especially in a medium flavor profile, I think that you will really enjoy Namaste’. I Highly Recommend it!

Brand: Hearth & Home (pipesandcigars.com)
Blend: Namaste’
Description: In honor of our good friend, Robert Tucker, this is a complex, light English blend. Sweet, citrusy notes combine with a floral/toasty flavor and is finished off with the rich smokiness of premium Latakia. Cool-burning, this is a smoke for any time.
Country: US
Cut: Ribbon
Tobaccos: Virginia, Oriental, Latakia
Strength: Medium
Taste: Smoky, Sweet, Citrus, Toasted, Hints of Black Coffee
Room Note: Tolerable to Strong

Hearth & Home Namaste’ - Click Here to Order Now!

By Bob Tate

The tin aroma of this blend is a nice tobacco smell with a pretty tart and tangy aroma of, what I can only describe as, plums. The tart and tangy plum aroma is a smell that I get with a lot of blends that contain dark fired Kentucky tobacco. The moisture content is perfect for smoking right away. I loaded up my pipe and proceeded to the charring light.

On the charring light the aroma was a nice, semi-sweet, tobacco smell. Flavor-wise I tasted a straight forward tobacco taste with a very light sweetness and a touch of a spicy, tangy feel to the mouth. I finished lighting it up and sat back to where this blend would go.

At the beginning, there is the same flavor that I tasted on the charring light; straight forward tobacco that is slightly sweet with the spicy, tangy feeling in the mouth. Around the mid bowl point, there is more sweetness to the blend and there is a little bit of spiciness that is showing up in the flavor that compliments the sweetness. I am also starting to notice the tart and tangy plum like aroma in the room note. This blend gets better tasting as the bowl progresses.

This is a solid Virginia blend that uses quality tobaccos. It burns cool, dry, and doesn’t bite. The flavor seemed a little lack luster at the beginning, but it picks up as the bowl goes on. If you like Virginia blends; Montgomery is definitely worth a try. I Recommend it.

Brand: G.L. Pease
Blend: Montgomery
Description: Virginias, Virginias, Virginias! Several grades of wonderful flue-cured leaf, from soft yellow to deep red, are combined with just a touch of dark-fired Kentucky for a little added richness. A special process, recovered from ancient archives, provides the finishing touch to this wonderful blend. Naturally sweet and possessing subtle complexity, Montgomery presents delightful new dimensions for the lover of sophisticated Virginia blends.
Country: US
Cut: Coarse Cut
Tobaccos: Virginia, Kentucky
Strength: Medium
Taste: Tobacco, Sweetness, Very Light Spice
Room Note: Pleasant to Tolerable

G.L. Pease Montgomery - Click Here to Order Now!

By Bob Tate

[Note: This tobacco has been opened for over a year. I do not recall the original tin aroma. I am just describing what I smell now. It could also explain the lack of rum flavor and aroma for me in this review.]

The tin aroma of this blend is of a grassy/hay type smell with some tanginess and a slight sweetness. The moisture content is perfect for smoking right away with no drying time needed. I rubbed out a couple of the flakes and loaded my pipe and proceeded to the charring light.

On the charring light, I was greeted by the nice, sweet taste of the Virginia tobacco. I didn’t pick up on any noticeable rum in the flavor, but there was an extra sweetness that was very pleasant. The aroma smelled quite pleasant. I finished lighting the pipe and settled in for the smoke.

At the beginning, the flavor was of a straight forward tobacco taste with some sweetness to it. I am still not picking up on any of the rum flavor, but there is a depth to the flavor that I am tasting that is a little different than other Virginia flake blends that I have smoked. I am also picking up on a light spicy feeling on my tongue. It is not a spicy flavor, but a feeling. It is a little hard to explain. I have picked up this spicy “feeling” from other Virginia blends before. The flavor profile stayed the same from start to finish.

This is a pretty good straight Virginia blend. It burned cool and dry. Like most straight Virginia blends, it could bite if pushed too hard. But if it is smoked slowly, there is no problem with bite. This is a one dimensional smoke, but most straight Virginia blends are and it is a good dimension. If you enjoy Virginia blends and Virginia flakes, I suggest giving After Hours a try. I Recommend it.

Brand: Cornell & Diehl
Blend: After Hours
Description: A Toney/Tarler blend. A night out wasn’t complete without a trip to the “private club” for a Cuba Libre or two. Round out your evening or any other time of day with this Virginia flake sweetened with the elixir of the Islands, Dark rum. One of our “Simply Elegant” Series.
Country: US
Cut: Broken Flake
Tobaccos: Virginia
Strength: Medium
Taste: Tobacco, Sweetness
Room Note: Pleasant

Cornell & Diehl After Hours - Click Here to Order Now!

Cornell & Diehl After Hours - Click Here to Order Now!

By Bob Tate

To dedicate or not to dedicate? That is a question that is asked frequently by pipe smokers. Before I give my answer to this question, I would like to explain a few things. There are some advantages to dedicating pipes to certain tobaccos and there can be some disadvantages as well. The reason why piper smokers wonder about this is; ghosting can and does occur while smoking pipes. A lot of piper smokers wonder if the ghosting will affect the next blend that they smoke in the same pipe. Dedicating pipes to specific tobaccos mainly apply to briar pipes. Briar pipes have the most tendencies to ghost than other types of pipes. Ghosting is pretty easy to define and understand. It is when the flavor of a blend stays with the pipe after you have smoked it. It can and will affect the flavor and aroma of the next blend that is smoked in that same pipe.

Now a lot of you are going to say, “I must dedicate my pipes because I don’t want any ghosting to happen!”. Ghosting is going to happen to some degree or the other with every blend that you smoke. Since every blend tastes different, no matter how small the difference is, it is going to have some type of an effect on the next blend. Sometimes ghosting can be a good thing, so don’t get carried away just yet. When it comes to pipe smokers and pipe dedication, there are basically three groups;
Those who don’t dedicate at all (No Dedication*)
Those who dedicate a pipe to one particular blend (Strict Dedication*)
Those who dedicate pipes to different genres of tobacco (Genre Dedication*).

Now I will explain a little bit about each of these groups and some of the pros and cons to dedicating pipes to different tobaccos.

[Editors Note: The terms marked with an * are just terms that I made up to simplify the length of the wording.]

——————————

No Dedication*
The pipers that don’t dedicate their pipes just don’t want to deal with the hassle of dedicating pipes to certain tobaccos. If they want to smoke a particular pipe, they just grab that pipe and load it with whatever blend that they want to smoke at that time. They don’t care about ghosting and actually like the way that some blends play off of each other that way. It is also cost efficient because you don’t have to own a lot of pipes to enjoy a lot of different blends.

Pros
•You can smoke whatever pipe you want without regard to the blend
•You can smoke whatever blend you want without regard to the pipe
•No hassle in picking out a pipe and tobacco combo
•Sometimes the ghost can have a really tasty effect on the smoke
•Less expensive (than Strict Dedication and Genre Dedication) - You don’t have to own a lot of pipes to enjoy a lot of different blends

Cons
•You will have a ghosting effect on other blends
•Ghosts may take longer to smoke out
•You may lose the subtle nuances of blends
•You may not taste the intended characteristics and flavors of a particular blend

Strict Dedication*
The pipers that dedicate one pipe to one blend enjoy tasting every single nuance of a particular blend. They don’t want any other flavors intruding on the flavor of whatever blend that they smoke in that pipe. They don’t want any ghosting at all to take place. They have one pipe dedicated to one blend and that is the only blend smoked in that pipe until they want to change the blend. If you smoke less than ten different blends, this is OK. But if you are an eclectic smoker, who likes a lot of variety and smokes a lot of different blends, it will get very costly because you will need a lot of pipes.

Pros
•You will get the true flavor of a blend and every subtle nuance
•You will taste the intended characteristics and flavors of a particular blend
•There will be no ghosting effects on other blends because you smoke only one blend per pipe

Cons
•More expensive (than No Dedication and Genre Dedication) - You will have to own a lot of pipes if you enjoy smoking a lot of different blends
•If you want to smoke a certain blend, you have to smoke the pipe dedicated to it
•If you want to smoke a certain pipe, you have to smoke the blend dedicated to it

Genre Dedication*
The pipers that dedicate pipes to different genres of tobacco may have the best of both worlds. They fall in between both of the other groups. They dedicate pipes to each genre of tobacco. They have pipes that are dedicated to English/Balkan blends, Virginia and Virginia/Perique blends, and Aromatic blends. This gives them a variety of choices of different pipes and tobaccos to choose from for a smoking combination. There is a small amount of ghosting that can happen, but since the pipes are smoked with blends from the same genre, the ghost can be smoked out very quickly. It is a lot more economical that Strict Dedication and not much more expensive that No Dedication.

Pros
•You can smoke whatever blend you want with any pipe from the genre dedication
•You can smoke whatever pipe you want from the blend genre
•Less hassle picking out a pipe and tobacco combo
•Ghosts are easily smoked out
•Less bowls (than No Dedication) to pick up on subtle nuances
•You can more easily taste (than No Dedication) the intended characteristics and flavors of a particular blend
•Less expensive (than Strict Dedication) – You don’t have to own very many pipes

Cons
•Light ghosting effect may happen
•Slightly more bowls (than Strict Dedication) to pick up on subtle nuances
•Slightly more expensive (than No Dedication) – You need to own a few more pipes

——————————

These are just a few of the differences between the groups. Don’t take them to be the ‘end all, be all’ for pipe and tobacco dedication. I wanted to give everyone a good starting point. Now back to the original question of “Should I or shouldn’t I dedicate my pipes to certain tobaccos?” The only correct answer to this is; do whatever makes you happy and is enjoyable for you. If you enjoy Pure Dedication, then dedicate your pipes that way. If you don’t enjoy dedicating your pipes at all, then don’t. Don’t get caught up in all of the ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ of pipe smoking. There are very few absolute rules, most of them are opinions. I will say that you should give every technique a chance to see if you would like it or not and whether or not it enhances your enjoyment of pipe smoking, but other than that, there is only one absolutely right way of doing things in pipe smoking. And that is; if you are enjoying it, you’re doing it right.

Happy Puffing!

By Bob Tate

The pouch aroma of this blend is a nice sweet and smoky aroma with a very light tang. The moisture content is on the dry side, but I prefer my tobacco that way and consider it perfect for smoking right away. The cut of this blend is large and chunky. Because the blend is so large and chunky, and it is on the dry side, I suggest some extra care and time when loading the bowl. This blend doesn’t pack as easily as a lot of other blends. I loaded my pipe and proceeded to the charring light.

On the charring light, I was greeted by the smoky, woody, campfire like aroma of the Latakia. In the flavor department of the charring light, I tasted the smoky and lightly sweet taste of the Latakia. That was accompanied by a black coffee taste that had a nice, light bitterness to it. I finished lighting the tobacco and settled in for the smoke.

At the beginning, the flavor was sweet, smoky, and woody with hints of hay. There was a light nutty taste with a hint of sweetness on the finish. So far the flavor is very nice. By the 3/4 point of the bowl, the woodiness became a little more pronounced and the finish had switched to a more woody taste with a light coffee bitterness and the nutty taste faded almost completely away. In between the 3/4 mark and the mid-bowl point, there was some spiciness that showing up. It was a nice compliment to the woodiness. A little bit after the mid-bowl point, the spiciness started fading into the background but it never left completely. It just became subdued and would poke out a littler here and there.

This is a good English/Balkan blend. It smoked slow, cool, dry, and didn’t bite. This blend also has some complexity to it and it didn’t get boring. This blend contains a lot of Latakia, so if you don’t like Latakia or you only like it in small amounts, you will probably not like this blend. But if you like a lot of Latakia in your blends, I think that you will enjoy Star of the East.
I Recommend it.

Brand: Cornell & Diehl
Blend: #066 Star of the East
Description: One half Latakia with a generous portion of Turkish and sweetened with stoved red Virginia.
Country: US
Cut: Coarse Cut
Tobaccos: Virginia, Latakia, Turkish
Strength: Medium
Taste: Smoky, Woody, Slightly Sweet, Spice, Light Nuttiness, Light Bitterness
Room Note: Strong

By Bob Tate

The pouch aroma of this blend is a smoky and semi-sweet smell with a hint of a tang to it. It smells quite nice. The moisture content is perfect for smoking right away without any drying time needed. This tobacco comes in a crumble cake form and you can break off pieces and rub them out fairly easily with your hands. I broke off a chunk and rubbed it out. This tobacco, when rubbed out, stays kind of chunky. It is almost like a cubed cut form. I loaded up my pipe and proceeded to the charring light.

On the charring light, I was greeted by a nice smoky aroma. In the flavor of the charring light, I picked up on a smoky, sweet flavor that was accompanied by woody and earthy tones with a light hint of citrus. I finished lighting my pipe and settled in for the smoke.

Once the tobacco was fully lit, the wood and earth tones faded far into the background. They were still detectable, but they were just lurking around giving very subtle hints. There is a very nice smoky, sweet flavor going on and the citrus flavor has become more pronounced. Around the half bowl point, I have noticed that I no longer taste any hints of the woody flavor that I was picking up on at the charring light and the beginning of the bowl. I am still picking up on the earthiness. The citrus flavor is still going strong as well as the smoky sweetness. This flavor profile lasted through to the end of the bowl.

This is a very tasty blend and I like it. It smokes cool, dry, didn’t bite, and has a very pleasant finish to it. The complexity of this blend is a little hard to describe. I would say that it is complex because of the different flavor nuances, but the flavor did not change with the progression of the bowl. All of the different flavors were present from start to finish and they were intermingling with each other making for an interesting smoke. If you like Balkan and English blends, I think that you will enjoy Ten to Midnight.
I Recommend it.

Brand: Hearth & Home (Pipesandcigars.com)
Blend: Ten to Midnight
Description: A dark, full Balkan-style tobacco containing bright and matured Carolina and Virginias, a healthy mixture of Turkish, and plenty of flavorful, fragrant Latakia. A superb late-evening smoke that can stand up to a sturdy single-malt scotch, small-batch bourbon or hearty port.
Country: US
Cut: Crumble Cake
Tobaccos: Carolina, Virginia, Turkish, Latakia,
Strength: Medium
Taste: Smoky, Sweet, Citrus, Earthy, Woody
Room Note: Tolerable to Strong

Hearth & Home Ten to Midnight - Click Here to Order Now!

By Bob Tate

Peter Keller, Owner of The Smoke Shop

When I first stepped into The Smoke Shop, it was like stepping into a time machine and going into the past. They are a true tobacconist shop with a lot of history. The Smoke Shop first opened for business in 1948 and during all of this time; they have kept the nostalgic feel in their shop. Once I walked into the shop, it felt like the world slowed down and I forgot about the hustle and bustle of the people outside running around doing their tasks. When I left the shop, it felt kind of strange stepping back into a fast paced world where everything is hurry, hurry, hurry.

When I say that they are a “true tobacconist shop”, I mean that they have, and cater to, every type of tobacco and tobacco user. They also carry a full line of pipe smoking accessories. Most of us have been in shops that focus on mainly cigars with pipes and pipe tobacco as an afterthought. The Smoke Shop does not focus on one particular type of tobacco and tobacco user. They are equally focused on everyone who enjoys tobacco products, no matter which type it is that an individual prefers. Nothing is an afterthought to them. They are also a full service shop. They will take the time to walk the customer through all of the steps to get the most enjoyment out of the experience. The staff is friendly and they are knowledgeable in everything that they sell and know their products very well. That is becoming a rare thing in this day and age. A lot of other shops seem to focus on selling their products and not necessarily helping out the consumer, especially those that are new to the enjoyment of premium tobacco products.

I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with the owner Peter Keller and he was kind enough to take the time to have an interview with me for PipesMagazine.com.

——————————

PipesMagazine.com: According to your website [smokeshopusaltd.com], The Smoke Shop has been is business since 1948.

Peter Keller: Yes, 1948. It was started by my great uncle and aunt Archie and Anne Marie Korsunski. Then in 1966, they brought my dad [Francis Keller] over from France and he started working here. In 1974, my dad purchased the business and ran it himself until January of this year [2010] when I purchased it from him. So it’s been in my family now for three generations.

PM: That’s great to hear. So this is an old fashioned, three generation tobacconist shop.

Pete: Very much so. We blend our own tobacco, we carry a full line of pipes, we have recipes going back 60 years and we have customers going back that far as well.

PM: So you do actually blend your own pipe tobacco blends?

Pete: Yeah. Most of our blending is with our natural blends; American, Scottish, English mixtures and things like that, but we do have a number of Aromatics that we blend ourselves as well.

PM: How has the pipe end of the business been lately? Has it been doing good?

Pete: Our pipe business has always been pretty good. We’ve been lucky and I guess that we’re kind of known for being good about pipes. I’ve been told several times that when people go to start smoking, if they run into someone that knows us; they say “You should go there. They know what they’re talking about”.

We also have the U.S. Naval Academy which kind of has a pipe smoking tradition and St. John’s which is a small liberal arts college, so we get a number of “Johnnies” coming by wanting to learn how to smoke. But it’s actually a lot of the people that live in the area coming in too that want to learn; people who are smoking cigars and either just because they want to try something new or because pipes are by far the most economical. You get the largest variety of flavor and cigars really can’t compete with that. They come to see us and they want to try it.

PM: As far as the Naval Academy students who come in here for pipes, do they seem to stick with it?

Pete: A lot of them do. You know, it’s one way that they can relax and spend their free time, especially at the academy because they’re pretty much only allowed out on the weekends. So that’s one thing that they can do. They can find a nice quite corner at the academy, sit down, smoke a pipe, and relax.

PM: With the anti-tobacco movement that is running rampant right now, have you had any opposition, such as complaints, in this location because you allow smoking in the shop?

Pete: Occasionally people will walk in off of the street, either accompanying someone or poke their head in, and say something about the smoke. It does happen from time to time and the only thing that you can really say is; this is the last public space that smokers have and if you really dislike smoke, I don’t understand why you’re coming in here anyway. Our employees smoke, our customers smoke, and it’s our last refuge aside from your own private home or outdoors.

PM: Do you actually own the property or do you lease it?

Pete: My family does.

PM: So you don’t have to deal with a lease. The reason that I ask is because I know of a few tobacconist shops and cigar shops that lease and the property owner is telling them that they are no longer allowed to smoke in the shop.

Pete: Yes. I have heard that has recently happened to a cigar shop in the area and it has really hurt their business.

PM: That’s good to hear that you actually own the property and you will always be allowed to smoke in here.

Pete: Yeah and I recently installed a new vent that leads straight to the outside with a pretty decent fan so it helps to keep the smoke down as well. When you get more than a half a dozen guys in here smoking, it can get a little thick. We can also leave the doors open and no one really complains. It’s actually a decent form of advertising because people will come by, poke their head in and say, “We can smell you down the block”. The majority of non-smokers that come in here say, “I love the smell of tobacco shops”. It’s just once in a blue moon that you’ll get someone that will give you a little bit of a guff.

PM: It’s so hard to believe how many people actually believe anything that these so called scientists say about any type of tobacco. Like with the “Third Hand Smoke” and now they are starting to come out with “Fourth Hand Smoke” propaganda.

Pete: I don’t disagree and as far as “Second Hand Smoke”, the guy who wrote that report said that he was pushed to exaggerate the results. It is what it is and I’ve always tried to be a considerate smoker myself because it’s something that I enjoy, other people might not enjoy it, and I’ll try to be considerate about that. But on the other hand, it would be nice if other people would be considerate of it. If I’m staying away from them, then leave me be.

PM: I can understand, and I do agree, that non-smokers should have some establishments that are smoke free because they have the same right to not smoke or smell smoke like we do, but we should also not be pushed into becoming second class citizens because we choose to smoke and enjoy tobacco products. The thing that’s really irritating me lately is all of the outdoor smoking bans that are being implemented.

Pete: It is a little bit excessive and what it boils down to unfortunately is a lot of business owners are losing the right to run their business the way that they choose. With what happened with the smoking ban here in Maryland, there were a lot of restaurants that testified here in Annapolis. I believe a lot of the motivation was that some of them wanted non-smoking establishments and most restaurants here have bars. They tried it [to go non smoking] in the past and they lost money so they didn’t want to have to compete [with the smoking establishments].

Tobacco has kind of become the whipping boy because it’s easy and nobody fights too hard when a new tax is proposed or limitations on smokers’ rights and it definitely seems that the government is taking the easy route as far as placating a group of the population that dislikes it or collecting revenue. Unfortunately at the state level, in a state like Maryland, they end up losing out. Because in 45 minutes in any direction, you can go to another state and buy it much cheaper and even though the regulations in Maryland that says that it’s illegal to bring back say more than two packs of cigarettes, people still do it.

PM: Getting back to the subject of pipes and pipe tobacco, do you have a best selling pipe brand or is it all over the board?

Pete: It’s kind of all over the board. The mid and high range pipes. Peterson has always sold very well for us, Savinelli as well. Some of the pipes that we carry are Savinelli, Peterson, Ben Wade, Big Ben, Stanwell, Ferndown, which is produced by a former carver of Dunhill and started his own company with his wife. We generally have anywhere from a few to a dozen estate pipes on the board ranging from mid grade to high grade. But probably the better sellers are Peterson and Savinelli, especially for starting out.

We actually had Erik Nording stop by the other day. We haven’t carried his stuff in awhile and he was showing me his new stuff and probably in the next couple of months I might bring it in because he had a lot of interesting stuff at a really decent price. They are producing some more of the traditional English shapes which I think will help more in the American market. A lot of our new pipe smokers, and pipe smokers in general, tend to like the traditional English shapes.

PM: What is your best selling tobacco blend?

Pete: In the natural it would probably be our Trafalgar, which is a fairly full bodied English mixture.

In the aromatic it would probably be our Billy Budd, which is a light and dark Cavendish topped with vanilla. A lot of guys like to start on that because it’s very smooth, very little bite, and has the aroma that people expect when they think of a pipe.

A lot of people expect that sort of cherry or vanilla aroma because that’s what stands out. A lot of people stick with the Billy Budd, but then we have a lot of customers that start moving their way up and trying different things. We carry a bulk aromatic from McClelland which is a broken Virginia flake that’s topped with chocolate that’s very good. I’m not a huge fan of aromatics myself, but that’s the one that I enjoy and I’ll smoke at home to get the smell of cigars and Latakia out.

PM: Have you noticed the younger adult crowd getting involved with pipes and pipe smoking?

Pete: Yes actually. A lot of the guys that come in, that just live in the area, are a little bit younger. A lot of people do start out smoking cigars, but then start getting interested in pipes.

We have a fairly high retention rate, it seems, because we really do try to inform a new pipe smoker. We have a pamphlet that goes over the breaking in process that we pass out to each new pipe smoker. Selling a pipe in here takes anywhere from a half of an hour to an hour, especially with a new pipe smoker, because we’ll go over how to pack it, how to break it in properly, how to maintain it, how to store it, everything like that. We always tell them to feel free to stop by whenever you want to and you can fill up a bowl with any of our house blends or whatever tin we happen to be smoking at the time. So we have a lot of people that come back. If they’re having problems they come by, fill up a bowl, I’ll show them directly how to light it and everything like that and it usually works out very well for us.

PM: It’s great to hear that you are an actual full service tobacconist shop, you don’t find that much these days. Even in most cigar only shops these days they don’t walk the new smoker through the process of properly enjoying a cigar. They don’t ask what their flavor preferences are or anything like that. They just say here you go, enjoy.

Pete: We do the same with cigars and even cigarette tobacco, I mean everything in here. The first thing I do is ask questions like; What have you smoked before? What did you like? What did you dislike? Etc.

I’ve been back for a couple of years now. I worked in here when I was younger and left the country for a few years and have been back for a couple of years now. I got to know all of the new stuff in the humidor and I have smoked everything. Right now I am working through all of the tins of pipe tobacco. Over the years I have smoked all of our house blends, but I have re-smoked all of those and I am now working my way through the Rattray’s. I’m going to get to all of the McClelland blends at some point because I have to know my product. If I’m just shoving something into someone’s hand because it’s just going to make me money because it’s a more expensive product, people are not going to come back. I enjoy tobacco and I want other people to as well.

——————————

If you live in the Annapolis, Maryland area, be sure to visit The Smoke Shop. It is a great tobacconist shop and they have everything that you will need for your pipe smoking pleasures!

The Smoke Shop
56 Maryland Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone # (410) 263-2066
Website: http://smokeshopusaltd.com/

By Bob Tate

The tin aroma of this blend is a nice sweet and tangy smell with a light hint of spice to it. It smells really nice. The moisture content is perfect for smoking right away with no drying time needed. This tobacco is in flake form. I took a couple of flakes, rubbed them out, loaded my pipe, and proceeded to the charring light.

The aroma on the charring light was a straight forward tobacco aroma with a hint of sweetness. The flavor on the charring light was a straight forward tobacco taste. I did not detect much sweetness at all in the flavor on the charring light. I finished lighting the pipe and settled in for the smoke.

As soon as I finished fully lighting the pipe, I picked up a straight tobacco taste with a light hint of nuttiness to it. This caught me a little off guard because I normally pick up a nutty flavor in most Burley blends and not in Virginia and VA/Per blends. The nutty flavor was very light and it took me a second to realize what I was tasting. It also didn’t last very long; only for a few puffs at the beginning. After about a 1/4 of an inch into the smoke, I started picking up on a nice sweetness. There was also a sort of spice flavor that accompanied the sweetness. It was not the typical Perique spiciness, but something different and a little more complex. It was a very nice unique flavor that I enjoyed quite a bit. Around the same time that I was tasting these changes, I also picked on a light hint of black coffee. Like the nuttiness, the coffee taste was very light and didn’t last long. They were both very fleeting flavors.

Around the mid-bowl point, the typical Perique peppery/spiciness started stepping into the mix. The Perique slowly became noticeable and started building up like it is known to do in a typical VA/Per blend. During this entire time, the sweetness slowly but steadily increased so that it ended up matching the pepper/spice from the Perique in a balanced flavor. Around the 3/4 bowl point, the Perique started fading back a bit but it never disappeared. This last change in flavor remained for the remainder of the bowl.

This is a very good blend and I like it a lot. It burned cool, slow, dry, and didn’t bite. It has a very pleasant finish as well. This is a pretty complex blend and it is almost like smoking two different blends at once. The first half of the bowl was nothing like the typical VA/Per blend. It had a lot of complex, unique, and pleasant flavors to it. During the second half of the bowl, it switched over to the more traditional VA/Per blend with the sweet and peppery/spicy flavors that you would normally find. This is a VA/Per with a little something special added to jazz it up and make you take notice. If you like VA/Per blends and are looking for something a little different, but want to stay in the same genre, you should give Sunday Picnic a try.
I will definitely be smoking more of it and I Highly Recommend it!

Brand: Cornell & Diehl
Blend: Sunday Picnic
Description: Golden Virginias are combined with Perique and Izmir Turkish for a delicious and memorable flake tobacco. One of our “Simply Elegant” Series.
Country: US
Cut: Flake
Tobaccos: Virginia, Perique, Turkish
Strength: Medium
Taste: Tobacco, Sweetness, Spicy, Peppery,
Room Note: Pleasant

Cornell & Diehl Sunday Picnic - Click Here to Order Now!

By Bob Tate

I have just found out that Dan Tobacco Manufacturing (DTM) has re-introduced the old CAO “U.S. Revolutionary Themed” pipe tobacco blends.

After speaking with Russ Ouellette from Pipesandcigars.com and Rich Gottlieb of 4noggins.com, I have received this information about the blends available from Dan Tobacco.

These are not old stock tins; they are new stock tins that are being manufactured and are now available for purchase. From what I have been told, they are the original tobacco blend recipes with the original tin art. The only thing that has changed is that they are no longer produced by Dan Tobacco for CAO International. They are produced by Dan Tobacco for Dan Tobacco. The blends became available about two weeks ago.

The “U.S. Revolutionary Themed” blends that have been re-introduced are:

•Patriot Flake
•Midnight Ride
•Old Ironsides
•Independence
•Liberty *[Editors Note: I am not 100% sure if this particular blend has been re-introduced]

Dan Tobacco is still producing their other blends such as Hamborger Veermaster, Gordon Pym, The Malthouse, etc. They have not cut back production and they are producing the same amount of these blends as they always have. There is no shortage of these blends from Dan Tobacco. There might seem like a shortage because of the popularity of some of the blends.

In the case of the “Revolutionary Themed” blends, their re-introduction might spark a shortage because of the fans of these blends that have been waiting for them to make their appearance again. They may buy a lot of tins at one time forcing the blends to be out of stock at the retailers. Rest assured that they are being manufactured again and they will be available from Dan Tobacco.

These blends have recently been in stock at the following retailers:

4noggins.com

Pipesandcigars.com

Cupojoes.com

By Bob Tate

The tin aroma of this blend is a nice sweet and tangy tobacco smell. The tanginess hits my nose with some strength and starts my mouth to watering. The moisture of this tobacco was perfect for smoking right away with no drying time needed. This tobacco comes in a pressed cake form. I used a really sharp knife and cut off slices of the brick (Fig. 1) across the grain. Once the slices were cut, the tobacco basically crumbled apart and I only needed to lightly rub out some of the larger chunks (Fig. 2).

I loaded the pipe using the Three Step Method and proceeded to the charring light. On the charring light, I was greeted by a nice sweet aroma. The flavor was a nice straight forward tobacco taste with a light underlying sweetness. I finished lighting the tobacco and settled in for a nice relaxing smoke.

From the beginning of the bowl, there was a nice straight forward tobacco taste with hints of sweetness accompanied by a light tanginess. The flavor profile stayed the same from the beginning through the end. This is a one dimensional smoke, but it is very good. The only change was with the strength of the tobacco. It got a little stronger as the bowl progressed.

I normally don’t mention anything about the ash of a blend in my reviews, but this is one time that I thought that I should. The ash burns down to a light gray, powdery type of ash that gets pretty dense. In larger bowls, I had to dump some of the ash to keep a good burn going. The ash was so powdery and dense that it was smothering the burning tobacco. This happened about mid-bowl and once again towards the end. This is not a bad thing. I am just letting all of you know about it so that you can be prepared for it and not think that this blend is hard to keep lit, which it is not.

This is a very good blend and I like it a lot. It smoked cool, dry, and didn’t bite. This would be a good blend to enjoy with a book or movie. It has a good flavor that you don’t have to focus on for flavor nuances. You will taste it without paying much attention to the blend. It does get a little strong at times and for some people, it is quite strong. So if you are looking for a straight forward tobacco blend that packs some Oomph to it, I think that Night Train will fit the bill nicely. I Highly Recommend it!

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Brand: Cornell & Diehl
Blend: #417P Night Train
Description: Bright Virginia ribbon, bright Virginia flake, Cavendish Cut brown Virginia Burley and Perique combine to form a smoke as smooth as a train gliding effortlessly through the late night hours.
Country: US
Cut: Pressed Cake
Tobaccos: Virginia, Burley, Perique
Strength: Medium - Full
Taste: Tobacco, Light Sweetness, Light Tanginess
Room Note: Pleasant to Tolerable

Cornell & Diehl #417P Night Train - Click Here to Order Now!