Hey Buddy …Whatcha Smokin’?
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Kevin Godbee - Apr 24, 2015
- 5 min read
E. Roberts
The smoke from my pipe was drifting over to the next table where a couple sat, smoking cigarettes and chatting over drinks in the backyard garden of a local watering hole in Brooklyn. We were there to enjoy the first glimpses of spring and sunlight, I with my notebook and pipes in hand to fill out my tasting notes, he and his girlfriend with their beer. "That almost smells like a cigar, only spicier," he continued, and explained that he smoked cigars but had never tried a pipe, though they intrigued him. I explained to him that it was a Virginia / Perique mixture that was custom blended by my friend at Nat Sherman; at that point the well-dressed couple was more than politely intrigued as we went on to chat about all things tobacco for the next several rounds. I had fortuitously brought along an unsmoked Missouri Meerschaum, and was able to gift them their first pipe experience—she enjoyed the occasional cigar with him, she said, and was as eager to try it as he was—which made for one of those chance meetings that new friendships are made of, and possibly new pipe smokers.
"To travel is to own the World." – Burton Holmes
The blend in question is called Wayfarer, a creation of Christopher McGrath at Nat Sherman. Chris joined Nat’s about two years ago, making the move down to the Big Apple from Upstate with his wife. With an enthusiasm easily described as unbridled, he has already taken great strides in lifting the pipe and tobacco presence at their flagship Fifth Avenue location. One of his aims is to foster a return to the golden age of tobacconists by expanding the Nat Sherman branded labels, presenting custom and limited edition mixes, and offering bespoke blends. Naturally, Chris set himself to the task of mixing up some tobacco; Dragoon was the first of these experiments, a stunner of a Latakia mix, which was recently followed by Wayfarer. While they are not regular production run tobaccos, one can order them directly by calling up Chris at the store. His batches are truly hand-blended on a made-to-order basis, and have already garnered an ardent local following.
"Genuine travel has no destination. Travelers do not go somewhere, but constantly discover they are somewhere else." – James Carse
So what does this Wayfarer taste like already? As you may have guessed from the gentleman who thought it smelled rather like a cigar, this is a powerfully pungent blend. "Piquant" just doesn’t do it justice. "Hearty" likewise falls far short of the mark. Comprised of a whopping 30% Perique (!) complemented by red, bright, and stoved Virginias, this is a gentle giant of a tobacco—strong enough to kick you to the curb and take your wallet, but much too refined for that. As a confirmed fan of Perique, I was in love at first taste, of course. Perhaps counterintuitively, the über-rich leaf does not destroy the blend in this immoderate amount. Its peppery aspect is there in all its glory, of course, with the fruity notes largely subsumed to a background color in the richness. And oh, what richness! This is hardly an apéritif smoke; it’s a meal unto itself—just don’t smoke it on an empty stomach.
"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." – Martin Buber
The Virginias here are to be congratulated for standing up against this proportion of Perique and being able to balance it while presenting their own flavors with clarity. They manage to frame the composition just so: with a brightness on the light that is classic lemon VA, followed by a sweetness characteristic of the red and stoved that directs the melody toward the succulence to be found in this much of the condiment leaf. Always plying their flavors on the edges of the smoke, keeping it from becoming too dark and bass-heavy, they succeed in showcasing the depth and complexity available in the Perique. Hints of liquorice play through sweetly, then swing to a salty tang that tickles the edges of the tongue, then back to a thick, truffle-like earthy body. In the retrohale is where the peppery burn is boldest, at times enough to make the eyes water.
"My inspiration for the name comes from the idea that a VA/Per should be smoked slowly and with care, in order to taste the nuanced, changing flavors. Much like a wayfarer travels from place to place, this blend changes as you smoke it." Chris couldn’t be more spot-on with his characterization of the blend. It sets its own cadence, encouraging an ever-so-slow smoke that lazily swings between spicy and savory. Fans of VaPers will be enthralled, and perhaps a bit surprised, at how heady and singular an experience this one is. If your interest is piqued, and I know it is, give Chris a call at (212) 764-5000, shoot him an email at CMcGrath@NatSherman.com, or stop by Nat Sherman at 12 East 42nd Street to order up a few ounces of Wayfarer, and let us know in the comments section where this blend takes you.
"One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." – Henry Miller
After a tobacco like that, what can I review next? That’s a good question—why don’t you tell me? Is there a tobacco out there you’ve been curious to try, but you haven’t seen an in-depth review of? Or perhaps you’d like to compare how your tasting notes of one of your old favorites measure up to scrutiny? PipesMagazine.com invites readers to submit their requests for a tobacco to be reviewed in an upcoming column by yours truly. Blends must be widely available current-production blends—I’ll need to get a tin to smoke, after all. State your requests in the comments section below, and stay tuned to see if your pick is chosen to be reviewed next month!
Christopher McGrath of Nat Sherman
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. 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.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. 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 what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
Vegas Baby The show started out strong on the 14th floor hospitality suites hosted by the Vegas Pipe Show and Smoking Pipes as well as room hopping to carvers, estate sellers, and vendors to pre-game for the festivities. If you’re interested in what that looks like I’ll refer you to last years pipe show round up. I circled with Brian Levine to get the totals in comparison to last year: This year’s show numbers: 108 Exhibitor tables, 445 attendees, 3,250 Raffle Tickets, 100ish dinners, 172 Rooms in the Hotel. Last year, by comparison, 107 exhibitor tables, 425 attendees, 2,200 raffle tickets, 104 dinners, and 175 rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. We were at capacity, basically, when it came to vendor tables and the dinner, so there is no physical room for growth at this point except for attendees. That said, we filled that smoking lounge to the brim. New Carvers Spotlight Garret Woo (Pipes by Woo) How long have you been carving? Garret: I’ve been carving since 2021, and I’m guessing your next question is probably how’d you get started carving? James: Yes. Garret: In 2021 I took a break from my full time job – that included machining and assembly work and I thought maybe it was time I made something that I would like and I started looking at youtube and Instagram and putting together my shop. I did struggle on the stems to start and there was a lot of failure at the beginning. James: How many pipes have you made so far? Garret: I number my pipes, so I just finished up 186. James: What is your favorite shape you’ve been making? Garret: I really dig Canadians and pipes with longer shanks and lovat Canadian blends. I like to play with different shapes of stems on the longer shanked pipes. The billiard would be my go-to shape but I want to learn more techniques on freehanded shapes. I like to put brass and copper adornments on my pipes with my machining background it helps. James: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen at this show? Garret: The first thing that comes to mind is the table over there with C-Pipes with the shapes and the size and petiteness and the intricate details they did. You can check out what Garret is working on by going to his Instagram. Stefan Cashwell James: how long have you been carving? Stefan: about 3 years. James: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at the show? Stefan: The Adam Davidson pipe with the clear shape and the bamboo—I don’t know if it’s 3D printed or what, but it’s amazing. James: What’s your favorite shape to do? Stefan: That’s a tough question. I think they’re all the same shape, but what’s fascinating is that Dublin, volcano, and blowfish are all the same depending on how you turn them. Playing with that, with all its variations, is a lot of fun. My favorite accent to use is also horn; it’s finicky, but it’s a great accent on pipes. You can check out Stefan’s work on his Instagram. Science: Meet Pipes I chatted with Chris from the San Diego Pipe Club; he started off doing stem replacements for estate pipes but also improved the airflow. James: How are you doing 3d printing? What is the thought process? Chris: It’s a 3D-printed pipe with a briar insert. The design is a calabash meets a Peterson system meets a metal Falcon/Kirsten radiator style. It is a bottom draft smoking bowl like a radiator like those metal pipes. The inside chamber is a calabash. The stummel and accent rings in the stems are all 3d printed. The insert is briar, olive wood, or I have the potential to use meerschaum as well. This idea came about through the San Diego Pipe Club, wanting to see if we could 3D print a pipe and being curious about the technology; I have a printer and design ability, so here we are. James: What’s the type of plastic you’re using? Chris: It’s all PLA plastic, a renewable potato starch plastic that is food-safe. The stummels are printed with a plastic that has wood in it 40% wood fiber, bamboo, rosewood, ebony, redwood, and walnut are the woods I’m printing. For the accent rings I just got a new material that I’m printing that has 40% copper, so its real metal that you can sand, and polish the same as wood filament. The stems are 3d printed as well. The concept is renewable and cheap from a production standpoint, with the ability to make a very high quality smoking pipe based on the experience. By combining the calabash system pipe and bottom draft hole and using 3d simulations to see airflow, I can see where I’m having eddies and ripples in my current, and see where my moisture and all the particles are dropping back out from a vapor to a liquid. Most people who have tried these say the stems are clean, and they don’t even have to run a pipe cleaner afterward because everything collects at the bottom. Chris has also been experimenting with color-changing plastics so you can see the hotspots. Chris said he was able to use this to slow down his cadence, which, of course, could mean you could get a slow-smoke training pipe to teach yourself to perform better. If you’re interested in learning more or want to check one out, you can contact him on Instagram: Copper Beard Pipe Works The Negative Space The show was buzzing about one specific pipe, which had everyone guessing how it was made. I chatted with Adam Davidson briefly about it. James: How did this idea come to fruition? Adam Davidson: Smokingpipes.com had an expo back in August open to all of the makers they carry. The theme was to make a pipe utilizing bamboo. Given that the last time we had the expo I made a smooth Almond with three bamboo shanks, […]
Whoopee. Sounds like the Thai dish with three chili peppers on the menu.
Nice write up and a good promo for Chris and Nat. Since this blend has so much Perique should we call it a PaVer?
I’ll have what he’s having! 30% sounds challenging seeing that 5% is the norm from what I’ve heard or read. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to try some Wayfarer though.
Yes please, Bill! I love Glyn Quelch’s blends with 20% Perique, so this sounds like a winner. Just got to see if Chris delivers to England. On the tasting request and sticking with VaPers, I’d be very grateful for your notes on Peter Henirich’s Curly Block. I hear it’s a dead ringer for Murrays’ DNR, so should be right up my street, but I can’t find a proper review of the blend. Thanks for the heads-up on Wayfarer!
Andy
And it seems this crowd-sourcing idea needs a little kick-start, so here it is: A CONTEST!!
Suggest a blend to be reviewed in the comments section of the article. I’ll put the eligible blends suggested into a random selector spreadsheet, and whomever submits the one chose will win a tin of the previous month’s review blend, courtesy of me. This time around it’s Wayfarer, of course, and I’ll send off at least a 2 oz. bag direct from Nat Sherman. I’ll contact you via PM once selected. This is run by me personally, not by PipesMagazine.com, so don’t call Kevin complaining if you don’t win.
@ kcghost : I resisted the urge to call it a PerV, didn’t I? It’s damn good though, and I think a lot of cigar smokers will appreciate the intensity of flavor, as well as Perique fans. Don’t forget the 70% Virginia!
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@ Andy: It seems that the closest available on this side of the pond is Heinrich’s Curly Special–remember, I have to be able to source it as easily as any of the readers, and our site sponsors are the first place to look. Let me know if you can find it on the InterWebs for US and I’ll enter it in the hat!
How about your thoughts on C&D Billy Budd…
This sounds like a skillful crafting of a high Perique, if not Perique forward, blend that lets the dark leaf shine in its own right. If I understand, it is currently available in bulk directly from Nat Sherman in Manhattan, and I wonder if it will later be offered in tins as is their 536 English and some other blends. Based on my enjoyment of 536, which I first met in the Nat Sherman smoking lounge, I look forward to trying this one too.
I’d love to see a review of the limited release of Sam Gawith’s Squadron Leader with Perique!
Like your writing style. Very good idea to have an un-smoked cob on hand, just in case. You never know when you might meet a new friend. I have been newly intrigued by Tudor Castle. A Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia blend. The Yenidje seems to be the key component that makes the magic happen. It is just goodness all around.
I enLanejoyed your review, for your next one how about Lane’s new Medal of Valor.
So far the eligible blends are: Billy Budd (see the 2009 review here: https://pipesmagazine.com/python/pipe-tobacco-reviews/cornell-diehl-412a-billy-budd-pipe-tobacco-review/ ), Medal of Valor, Tudor Castle, possibly Heinrich’s Curly Special, and Squadron Leader w/ Perique. Keep ’em comin’, folks!
Just smoking my first bowl Wayfarer right now (thanks Bill!). What a fantastic taste! 30% Perique sets your tongue atingle and the nose atwitching, with sweet and tangy virginia providing relief and depth. Far and away the best of the Nat Sherman offerings I’ve smoked.
Andy
Hi Bill. Sorry for the delay, but if you’re still up for it then you can get Peter Heinrich Curly Special at http://www.4noggins.com/peter-heinrichs.aspx. All the best.
@JackSwilling and @SettersBrace are the winners! While I would have loved to review all the selections, I’m limited on time. Stay tuned to PipesMagazine.com for the upcoming review article.