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• March 12, 2025 McCranie’s Catawba River Tobacco Review

  There has been a lot written about the Lakeland style of tobaccos over the past couple of centuries. Perhaps nothing else in the tobacco world is quite as polarizing, tending to segregate folks into camps of loving it or despising it with uncharacteristic vehemence. This month’s inspection of an American rendition of the Lakeland style will add just a few more words to the volumes that have come before, but in the interest of topicality I’ll avoid the larger debates, histories, and comparisons, limiting our purview to the experience of this blend alone. Though it’s the earliest hint of an impending spring now, I began sampling this tobacco in the fall. At first, it was mild and pleasant, lightly aromatic, and earthy in a very appealing way. However, when winter’s foul weather hit, I moved on to other tastes. Through no particular fault of the tobacco, it just didn’t fit for my tastes at the time—as is often the case, and, I’m sure, an experience shared with the vast majority of pipe smokers out there. But now the world is thawing, and the faintest scent of the re-emergence of all things growing is in the air. Unscrewing the jar of Catawba River once again, I am treated to a soft and slightly sweet aroma perfectly concomitant with the weather and my mood. “McCranie’s Catawba River is a lakeland style aromatic tobacco. Notes of honey and berries give the blend an outstanding aroma. Comprised of cavendish, burley, and a dash of perique. A singular mixture sure to entice every aromatic smoker.” The first thing to note is an appreciation for the McCranie’s Choice Reserve blends being offered in full 2-ounce glass jars, as it’s the surest way to keep them properly intact when shelved for longish periods—I naturally have a predilection to hopscotch around between a dozen or so open blends at any given time before finishing the tins, and this saves me the trouble (which I admittedly rarely do anymore) of transferring them to a truly airtight container for safe keeping. It also affords a gander at the leaf before opening; in Catawba River’s case a nicely balanced mottle of dark and mahogany brown interspersed with the occasional raw umber-toned leaf. The first thing to note when opening the tin is the rush of rich aromas: milk chocolate and cherry predominate, with a defined floral tilt; sweet fringes of honey and melon; even hints of a complex background note of root beer or sarsaparilla, likely the telltale sign of Perique in the mix. It’s not a cloying sweetness, and is rather transparently layered atop the earthy and acrid tobacco smell. It is a fine balance, and the leaf is as soft and supple as the aroma. If one is expecting or searching for it, yes, there is the intimation of a baby-powderish vanillin tone, but in all respects it functions as any other Cavendish-forward aromatic blend. In the bowl, Catawba River certainly has an amenably lazy flow to it, much like the river itself flowing through McCranie’s hometown in North Carolina. As noted from the bouquet, the added aromatics are layered rather transparently over the tobacco, accentuating rather than masking or overpowering the natural taste from coming through. Allowed a short drying time, it lights easily and releases the aromas and flavors in warm tones, rich and substantial. The tenor of the Cavendish predominates, with an excellent pillowy mouthfeel to the smoke and a smoothness on the palate. The floral sweetness translates directly from the aromas, and adds the woody, earthy notes of the tobaccos perfectly—the soil, oak, and leather of good tobacco is the star here. Perique, then, is the guest star: in turns offering its deep stewed-fruit aspect and then evincing a spiciness that tickles the nose, always fluttering in the background with wavering spice. Floral notes remain in the range of tuberose and rosehips and honeysuckle, with sweet clover honey lining the edges. Retronasal olfaction is equally as smooth, and the room note is reported as “sweet and homey”.  Puffing through to the heel requires a relight or two, owing more to a faltering of attention span that the properties of the leaf. But how “Lakeland” is it? This is surely the question on the tip of every reader’s tongue. While it’s only been a couple months of tasting, no appreciable ghosting of pipes has been noted, aside from the vague remnant of aromatic-ness one would expect. As too often happens with my reviewing efforts, I think of the burning questions, as it were, far too late—but fear not, a conference call with the blender is scheduled, so there will be an addendum to this write-up forthcoming. My suspicion is that Catawba River is just a good Cavendished blend that relies on garden-variety tobacco casing and saucing, along with the intrinsic flavor of the Perique, to impart an American impression of the Lakeland style, rather than an importation of the ancient and secretive Kendal sauces. No ravening and long-deceased grannies arose unbidden from the bowl to clobber my senses with candy bowls and urinal cakes; no, it was altogether a pleasant and promising early-Spring smoke that made an afternoon of repotting some plants an absolute delight. EDITORIAL UPDATE: Matthew McCranie was kind enough to take some time from his day to answer my questions last evening, and I’m delighted to share the revelations. First, Catawba River does indeed contain Kendal-processed leaf in addition to its locally processed components—meaning, of course, that this is truly and definitively a “Lakeland” blend, albeit from our very own shores. He further explained that the McCranie’s Choice Reserve blends were precisely that—choice, small-batch blends, made by hand from purchases of the small quantities of the best leaf available to him at any given time. The downside of this, of course, being that when the ingredients run out, it’s up to the caprice of the marketplace to find some more to restock. He assured me that Catawba River and the other blends […]

• March 11, 2025 Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 652

  Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 652. Our featured interview tonight is with J.B. “Brandon” Frady. Brandon was first on the show as a new pipe maker back in 2023. He was already making amazing pipes then, and now he has evolved to even better pipes that are functional works of art. His pipes are freehand and artistic shapes and designs. He is also a freelance writer for any type of project, but has been published for music reviews, concert reviews, and other writings in a couple dozen professional publications. On March 12, he will be performing in a live comedy competition. At the top of the show, Brian will have what he thinks will be an “unpopular and controversial tobacco review” on McClelland 5100 that Brian blended himself in 2019, and has been aging since then.

• March 4, 2025 Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 651

  Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 651. Our featured guest tonight is Glen Whelan. The first time we had Glen on he was  the Director of Sales for Peterson of Dublin. Now he is the Managing Director. Peterson is a family tradition for Glen. His father worked in the factory for 50 years, eventually serving as Factory Manager. Although Glen now serves as Managing Director, he started as a part-time retail associate in the Peterson store at the age of 16. After more than a decade in Peterson retail, Glen joined the sales team in Sallynoggin, and kept moving up from there. At the top of the show, we will have another edition of the virtual tour of Brian’s pipe collection with four more pipes that are not the usual shapes and styles that he collects.

• March 3, 2025 Reflections in Smoke

  This might strike some of you as weird, but I think I’m in a time warp. On a recent trip to South Carolina, I looked for the old-time bricks-and-mortar pipes and tobacco shops. I know there were some somewhere, but nary one did I find while driving around in a couple of shopping districts. Oh, there were a plethora of vape shops. But tobacco pipes bricks-and-mortar shops are more to the Pundit’s notions. Now, before you run out to the nearest shrink and send them my way, this was not the only strange oddball occurrence. I covered the legendary Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., four times, back in the day. So, while I was so close to the famed course during my South Carolina sojourn,  I visited Augusta, Ga., and decided I would drive down the beautiful Magnolia-covered lane to the main area once more. The trees, planted on both sides of the road to the clubhouse, are 175 years old, according to Master’s history. Nope, didn’t get to do that either. It’s a private club, I was told by a half-smiling gate guard manning a far-away entry from the main gate entrance to the famed golf course at Augusta National.   Yes, dear friends, the times are a-changing. No trip down memory lane for an old sports writer, and, sadly, pipes and tobacco stores were difficult to find in the once great state of tobacco barns and tobacco fields.   Ok, sorry for the old-fashioned rant. On to more important thoughts.   Usually on International Pipe Smoking Day, I pull out a vintage tobacco blend from the cellar and fill up a classic old friend.   I began reminiscing this IPSD about my beloved pipes and tobacco cellar. So, I hauled out a couple of my favorites along with an aging Mason jar of Virginia, Latakia with a dab of Orientals.   It was a rare delight for an old-fashioned pipe and tobacco day. When you are puffing your pipe in the fluffy ease of an afternoon, all worries seem to fade away. More pleasant thoughts arise, like a puffy cloud of pipe smoke.   I looked up a recent column by Chuck Stanion in his “History of International Pipe Smoking Day February 19, 2021, in SmokingPipes.com’s Daily Reader and Tobacco Talk.  Chuck outlines the history of the IPSD and its purpose. It’s a must-read for pipe smokers to find a refreshing view of our hobby.   And now it’s time for Pipe Smokers of the Past:   Jack Kerouac was born: on March 12, 1922, in Lowell, Mass., and died on Oct. 21, 1969, in St. Petersburg, Fla.   Kerouac was one of the leaders of the Beat movement in the 1950s along with Allen Ginsberg,  Gary Snyder, Gregory Corso, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, among others.   His most famous work was “On the Road” published in 1957. That book spawned beat poets across the nation and produced broad cultural influence.   Quite naturally, Pundit ran right out and bought a first edition, fancying himself something of a beat poet.  And, sadly, that first copy has been lost, but replaced. Oh, the woes of youth! However, I did visit Kerouac’s home in Florida, just to soak up the muses of that long-gone era. The beat continues! Several online sites say the beat author smoked a pipe and even one site showed photos of his old pipe stands. However, I was unable to find certifiable pipe tobacco he smoked. All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together—Jack Kerouac   Next up is Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was born Sept. 1, 1875, in Chicago, Ill., and died March 19, 1950, in Encino, Calif.   He was the famed author of the Tarzan of the Jungle novels. And although I found evidence of his pipe smoking history, his tobacco preferences remain elusive.    Love is a strange master, and human nature is still stranger—Edgar Rice Burroughs.    A parting shot:   I have been a pipe smoker for many years—from my college days through the middlemarch.   However, I did cease for a good long span to take stock of things entering the senior geezerhood era. And then I returned with a passion. The embers of my pipe ardor have not waned, though I do smoke less now than in my younger days. Some time back, I decided smoking a pound a week was a little too much intensity.   My pipes and tobacco still give me much pleasure. It continues to fulfill a relaxing afternoon or mornings with coffee. And there are those moments of contemplation on life and its many twists and the unexpected. And at times, recalling the roads not taken, to steal an apt phrase from one of America’s greatest poets, the pipe-smoking Robert Frost.   I call it reflections in smoke.

• February 25, 2025 Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 650

  Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 650. Our featured guests tonight are Jonni Adams and Grey Van Kuilenburg. Jonni makes the J. Adams line of pipes. He is originally from Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, and moved to the US in 1997. Grey makes the Van Kuilenburg line of pipes. He is a tattoo artist full time, and also hand carves custom electric guitars and basses for the last 30-years. Both Jonni and Grey have been making pipes for five years. They will be telling us about their trip to Denmark to work with Tom Eltang. At the top of the show Brian will answer a listener question about aging flake tobaccos.

• February 18, 2025 Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 649

  Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 649. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about sales trends for pipes and tobacco at the shop, and other news. This will be an extended conversation, so we will skip the usual Pipe Parts opening segment.