Last time I checked, Skiff Mixture by Samuel Gawith wasn’t really on anyone’s radar.  Well, besides being among those more recently a tad difficult to purchase in the US.  I’ve spent time with this tobacco when I first started smoking, and since then I’ve kept the occasional tin handy. I was never really wowed by …

Read more…

We live in times unable to cope with the satisfaction of others. Whether it’s parades, mermaids or bumper sticker election campaigns, if someone is enjoying or into…well, anything, this makes others upset. It becomes then a mission to upend them. Reactions to pipe smoking is not exempt. Much like all things misunderstood or misinformed, it …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss Three weeks before summer, and three more feet of snow fell in the upper elevations of the Sierra Nevada mountains nearby. I’ve never been one to enjoy summer, with perfect bodies glistening on pristine beaches, kids screaming and running about, music clashing from open windows, cars and camps—none of that is me or …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss Italy might not be widely-known for its tobacco cultivation, but like most European countries, it has locales and regions that a few hundred years ago were found suitable for just that.  Sansepolcro is a Tuscan town roughly two hours north of Rome and in an area favored for climate and soil. Tobacco seems …

Read more…