The Charring Light
-
G. L. Pease - Dec 8, 2022
- 4 min read
Sometimes, fortunately not too often, I forget stuff, and it bugs me. What’s worse, though, is when I don’t remember that I forgot it, though I guess that bugs me less because I don’t even know I should be bugged. When something is out of mind long enough, though, it can be fun to rediscover what it was, sometimes in a whole new way. This happened recently in a couple ways, and it’s been a blast.
First up, the charring light. Some time ago, my friend Quinton reintroduced me to the advantages of using the first light to gently warm the tobacco at first, not drawing deeply to get an ember going, but to take very soft puffs to draw a bit of heat into the bowl, letting the tobacco bloom a bit, and pull the volatiles that are released softly through the tobacco below. It’s no great revelation, but it’s something that I’d been ignoring. Too often, I find myself rushing the process, wanting to get the pipe lit before scurrying off to do something else. Not ideal.
His method? Instead of pulling it into the bowl on the initial light, hold the flame a good distance from the tobacco, about ⅜” (1cm), and draw delicately while moving the flame in a “Circular motion hitherto unknown to the people in this area.” (Apologies to the late Frank Zappa, but bonus points if you catch the reference.) When the tobacco is ready, it will begin to glow and smolder and dance, sort of spontaneously lighting itself. Tamp delicately, let it just sit for a few relaxing minutes, and re-light, again gently. It might take a couple times to get the hang of it, but the reward is a noticeable amplification of the flavor and aroma, an enhancement of the tobacco’s natural sweetness, and just a more beautiful smoking experience.
To be clear, this is not the same thing as the once popularly discussed Delayed Gratification Technique, or DGT. Honestly, I was never, and still am not a big fan of that. The idea was to get the pipe lit, then put it aside for some hours, even overnight, and return to it later. Perhaps the worst aspect of this technique is the inconsistency it can produce. If all is done perfectly, the initial light gently applied, not too much distillate finding its way to the bottom of the bowl to oxidize and potentially foul the smoke and so on, it can present an interesting difference in taste, but too often, I would find the result harsh, acrid and far from satisfying. I don’t like re-lit cigars for very much the same reasons. This isn’t that. It’s about taking time, slowing down, lighting the pipe with intention, gradually building the ember to maximize the smoking experience. Try it. You might like it. (Then again, you probably already do it, and I’m just talking to myself. That seems to happen a lot these days.)
Next up, the idea of letting a tin of tobacco breathe once it’s been opened, especially young tins. When tobacco is tinned, it begins a new journey, undergoing a unique sequence of chemical changes that are different from those that occur when it’s sitting out in the open, or even in plastic bags. These changes start out happening quite rapidly, and slow down over time, but once the tin is opened, everything changes. And, the first bowl from that freshly opened tin can be awkward, disjointed and unbalanced, not revealing all the goodness the tobacco has to offer, and even present some “off” tastes. Like a good wine, it can benefit dramatically from a little breathing room to develop its full flavor and aroma profile.
I was reminded of this very recently, and posted something about it on Instagram. Here’s a paraphrase of what I wrote: “I’ve enjoyed quite a lot of this one over the years, usually with some age behind it. As I’ve often written, the first year of a tinned blend’s life is its most dramatic. After that, the processes involved and the changes begin to slow down, and while tobaccos will continue to develop over five, ten, even twenty years or more, never is the change so noticeable as it is in that first year. So, I decided to open a tin produced within the last couple months to re-experience the leaf in its fresh state.
“I found the first bowl from that freshly opened tin disappointing. It did not exhibit the character I’ve come to know.” In the enthusiasm of my curiosity, I’d ignored, or more correctly forgotten about the breathing time. But, after just a couple days, everything had come together, and the blend was smoking beautifully. The character it exhibits when aged is certainly deeper, more complex, a little richer as the Virginias ferment more and develop substance, but in its younger guise, there’s a vibrance I found myself really enjoying. It’s sparkling and exuberant. Kind of like a Beaujolais Nouveau as compared with a nicely aged Cru.
Yeah, aged tobaccos are wonderful, but it’s nice to remember that even when young, blends can be delightful, as long as we don’t light them too aggressively, and remember to let them breathe a bit. Thanks to Quinton and a tin of young tobacco for the reminders. Thanks, too, to Mr. Zappa for the bonus points. I’m off to St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast to steal the margarine. I just hope Father O’Blivion doesn’t catch me and send me into the Cosmic Debris. The Excentrifugal Forz can really make my head spin.
Photo by G.L. Pease
Written by G. L. Pease
More Pipes and Tobaccos Articles
1 Response
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 640. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Ben Rapaport. Ben has been known internationally as an avid pipe smoker, antique pipe collector, and book author. His first book on pipes was published in 1972, and his latest book – his 10th – is out now in very limited quantities. The distribution has already sold out, but you can still get a copy of “The Wide World of Wood Tobacco Pipes. Two Centuries of Craftsmanship and Creativity” by contacting him directly at ben70gray@gmail.com. At the top of the show we’ll be turning the tables on our recurring Ask the Pipemaker segment. This time, Jeff Gracik will ask the questions, which Brian will answer as a pipe collector, and you can give your answers too.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 639. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Per Billhäll. Per is the owner of Scandinavian Pipes, which is an online retailer of high grade pipes. He started smoking pipes in the 1960s. His first high grade pipe was made by Hans “Former” Nielsen, who is one of the living legends from Denmark. That led to Per becoming a huge pipe and tobacco collector, and show attendee where he became well known. Along with pipe book author Jan Andersson, they started The Pipe Club of Sweden in 1991. Then in 1999, Per started “Scan Pipes”. He is now one of the pipe retailing legends from Sweden. At the top of the show Brian will talk about holiday blends, and other special pipe tobacco blends.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 638. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Fae “The Sassy Pipe Lady” Simmons. Fae is the owner of Tobacco Treasures, which sells new, vintage, & estate pipes, and smoking accessories on Etsy. She has been in business since 2017, and has been surrounded by pipes and tobacco most of her life. Her father and his brother smoked pipes, and so does Fae. Her husband is also a retired tobacconist that worked all over the industry from coast to coast for several different companies in the industry. She has a great story of how her business got started with a great inventory of unsmoked vintage pipes. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, so it’s that time of year, as we all know. Family feasts, houses, yards, and big trees festooned with lights and dangling ornaments, just high enough to keep the cats from reaching a paw into the greenery. It’s also the time of year when your pipe-smoking-significant other makes vast hints about a new pipe. That’s to be expected since he or she was a good boy or girl during the year. Yes, ladies smoke pipes, too. Oh, you want an example? Okay, try Actress Greta Garbo, Millicent Fenwick, Mary Frith, and my late grandmother (who died when she was 93) dipped snuff and smoked a cob occasionally. So now that we have settled that the gentler side of life will puff a pipe too, let’s move on to the upcoming biggest holiday of all. Of course, that huge event is brought to us by the hefty fellow in a red suit, puffing his pipe all the way in a sled filled with presents, being led by a reindeer with a red nose. Or some such. That’s Santa Claus, of course. Becoming a bit more serious, Christmas is such a wonderful time for families and friends. It’s also quite special for pipe puffers. For many of us, this brings up a nostalgic look back to our pipe-smoking or cigar-smoking friends who have died during the current year. A great journalist pal whom I often joined in a local brick-and-mortar pipe and cigar shop. I puffed my pipe, and occasional cigar, as he enjoyed a cigar. He died in October and will be missed. On the happier side of things, Christmas is also a time when mind workers of the world renew their collections with fresh additions. Pundit included. A French passion has overtaken Pundit, from reading more Albert Camus, a heavy cigarette smoker, as were many French intellectuals of a certain time. Instead of cigarettes many of us prefer the more relaxed enjoyment of pipes for that “calm and objective judgment” in the comings and goings of the world. This brings me to French pipes. While visiting France once in the long ago, I happened by a “Tabac” shop in Paris, Tabac Des Vosges. I purchased a beauty of a Chacom bent. I also later bought a Ropp made from ancient briar. To learn more about the dawn of briar pipes and beginnings, take a peek at a well-done piece by Davin Hylton in Pipe Line on April 12, 2023, on Saint-Claude, France, the birthplace of briar. Also in the long back when, on a cold Christmas afternoon, Pundit wandered into an Atlanta bricks and mortar pipe shop to look around. There, resting in an enclosed glass counter was an exquisite Comoy. An older gent, smoking a beautiful bent, asked me if I wanted to look at that pipe. It had a $100 price tag. A college student working for a grocery store chain to help with college tuition at the time, Pundit didn’t have one hundred cents, let alone a C note! I declined and found a $5 basket pipe. A Christmas tradition had just begun. Since that early time, Pundit has made it a holiday ritual to either reward himself, or a special friend, with pipe or tobacco. A Claudio Cavicchi would be nice. Just sayin.’ And now for a couple of December-born Pipe Smokers of the Past: Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on Dec. 30, 1865, and died on Jan. 18, 1936. I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble—Rudyard Kipling. Martin Van Buren, born Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862, U.S. President, 1837-1841 As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it—Martin Van Buren. And one more note to recall a deceased World War II veteran who loved William Somerset Maugham, the author. Maugham, a pipe smoker, was born in Paris, France, on Jan. 25, 1874, and died on Dec. 16, 1965. One cool afternoon as the veteran and I talked while sitting in his backyard patio, he looked off into the distance as if studying something. Nothing in particular. Just looking. He turned to me and said if I wanted to learn about life, “read Somerset Maugham.” I did. It wasn’t until late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say, ‘I don’t know’ –W. Somerset Maugham And now a Parting Shot: Any day with an old friend with pipes and tobacco is a good day.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 637. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Nate King. Most people know of Nate as an excellent pipe artisan. He also has an honorary Master of Pipes degree from the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club, and is a member of the prestigious Confrérie des Maitres Pipiers de Saint-Claude. To be inducted into the Confrérie, this past May Nate travelled to Saint-Claude, France with master tobacco blender G.L. Pease, who was also inducted. It was quite a time in France, and at the ceremony. We’ll hear all about those adventures on the show. At the top of the show we’ll continue the virtual tour of Brian’s pipe collection with six of his Satou Dublin-shape pipes.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 636. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Barry Kane. Barry started smoking a pipe in 1961 when he was 14-years old. Back then it seemed like everybody smoked, and you could buy pipes and tobacco just about anywhere. Barry is a true old-school pipe smoker, sticking to just one blend. See if you can guess which one before listening. At the top of the show Brian will give his take on Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s purchase of Mac Baren and Sutliff Tobacco and their announcement that they will be shut down.
Good article. Has me re-evaluating my ignition style. Oh, and nice reference, re, F. Zappa: “Nanook…” Good stuff my man. Good stuff.