A Trip to Tobaccoland
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Fred Brown - Jun 2, 2022
- 5 min read
We are not in Kansas any longer, Toto. No. We are in Tobaccoland, nirvana, land of honey and Virginia, latakia, perique, and cavendish blended to a taste of the extraordinary.
No, the Pundit hasn’t quite lost all of his faculties yet. He just puffed some of the C&D latest by the genius blender Jeremy Reeves, his Palmetto Balkan.
If you haven’t grabbed a tin, you owe it to yourself to give it a go. It is a mite pricey, but ever so worth the price.
Why is Pundit so over the moon? This is a superb blend, something out of the old school if you recall the old-time Balkans of yesteryear.
Some of us old-time coots grew up on Balkan Sobranie. It was on the counters and shelves in about every bricks-and-mortar pipe store on Earth. There have been many an imitation, but few could match it.
Now, I’m not saying Palmetto Balkan is an exact, leaf for leaf match. It just takes me back to the days when leisure was a pipeful of Balkan Sobranie, a good book, and time.
A wonderful review of the new blend is found in Smokingpipes.com’s Chuck Stanion’s “Tobacco Talk” May 13.
In his usual literary and enlightening prose, Chuck explains Cornell & Diehl’s latest small-batch creation from the fertile mind of Jeremy Reeves, head blender. Or should we say, virtuoso blender at C&D, or anywhere else.
Reeves and C&D stuck to their sources in South Carolina in this production. Having spent a great deal of time near the Laudisi grounds during former vacations to the Grand Strand Low Country, and having attended college in South Carolina, my memories of the Palmetto State wear fondly in my heart.
Now a quick trip into nostalgia for a bit of tobacco land backstory.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a fairly large Tennessee tobacco farm. Was that ever an enlightening event!
The farmer who owned the acreage told me in that interview years ago that he wasn’t in tobacco farming for the money. “It gets into your blood,” he said.
He grew up tobacco farming with his father and other family members. And in that day, tobacco was a significant portion of the family budget.
But the work was neither easy nor short. A day went from before sunrise to after sunset. Lots of hands-on labor.
Not until mechanization arrived, did tobacco farming become somewhat easier. Tractors and planters lessened some of the sweat, much better than urging a stubborn mule to plow long furrows.
After all the demanding work of planting, harvesting, curing in his tobacco barn, and then transporting to a fall tobacco auction, the farmer said he made maybe enough money to give his family a good Christmas. Or pay down credit on equipment and taxes on the farmland that produced the tobacco.
Remembering this event has gotten the Old Pundit to daydreaming about our tobacco blends today and how it all comes together for us pipe smokers.
It’s not an easy process from field to curing to aging, blending, and then to the tin.
After harvesting the tobacco leaf, the farmer (whose name has been lost in the mists of time) then had to bundle the leaf and haul it to the nearest auction barn.
And like many other parts of our past, the tobacco auction barn has practically faded from the rural scenery, at least in Tennessee’s tobacco lands.
So isn’t it a nice release to push aside all the chaos and calamity in the world today by just pulling out your pipe and loading with your favorite blend. Puffing on the good old times.
Seems as if many of us are so submerged today in technology and hurly-burly that we sometimes fail to see our true realities.
What brought me to this is looking at some of the old pipe smokers of the past. They had to deal with their everyday problems but hovering in the smoke plumes was a relief.
Maybe we need more pipe smokers today, puffing away our troubles.
I digress, of course. But with all the worldly problems, we need more pipes and tobacco, or as Mr. Einstein said: ”I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.”
Amen and amen.
And now a couple of important dates of pipe smokers of the past:
Shelby Foote, born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. Shelby was best known for his three-volume work, The Civil War: A Narrative, a deeply-researched and 20-year writing effort of the American Civil War.
And, ahem, the Pundit purchased the volumes as they were published.
I like this quote from Shelby that I believe is still relevant. It reminds me of the time he told me in an interview that unless we as Americans understand fully what took place before and during the Civil War, we can’t understand our country:
The Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things… It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads—Shelby Foote.
And just to emphasize the work that went into his narrative of the great war, he wrote it out in longhand—no typewriter, no computer. He later typed the manuscript and never owned a computer.
And one more great Canadian-American writer and pipe smoker of the past:
Saul Bellow was born June 10, 1915, in Lachine, Quebec, and died April 5, 2005, in Brookline, Mass.
He was a three-time National Book Award winner, a Pulitzer Prize recipient, and a Nobel Prize in Literature winner.
One of Bellow’s finest quotes:
The best and purest human beings, from the beginning of time, have understood that life is sacred—Saul Bellow.
A Pipe Pundit Parting Thought: Please remember our veterans this month. D-Day was 78 years ago, a day that changed the face of World War II and the world.
Written by Fred Brown
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 641. Our featured interview tonight is with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl and is featured in our recurring series, “Ask the Tobacco Blender”. However, tonight he will be the interviewee as we learn about how he became a pipe smoker and collector, when he got his first pipe and how he progressed from there. At the top of the show, Brian will have a review of the rare German tobacco blend, Tumblin’ Dice.
I remember the first time I heard someone else say it. “How many pipes do I need? Just one more.” It’s glib, sure, a bit of a joke, but it also rings a bell of truth, at least to me. I certainly have “enough” pipes, but pipes are seductive little things. Just when we think we’re all set, we have enough, another will come along that tempts us beyond any sense of reason. I suppose it’s the same way with any sort of collecting. There’s always another white whale we’re in pursuit of. When we finally track that one down, though, another will almost inevitably breach the surface, taking its place as the new object of our desire, enticing us to change course and set sail once again. But, there’s a potential problem with having a lot of pipes. Maybe. The more pipes we may have, the harder it can be to keep them in rotation. It makes sense. We tend to gravitate towards our current faves, the ones that most appeal to us for whatever reason, and sometimes, maybe they stay in rotation longer than they really should. The side-effect of this, of course, is that another favored pipe might end up too-long forgotten. That’s exactly what happened recently. Exhibit A: The Castello pictured is one that has been long overlooked. It’s a Trademark shape #55. It’s a really nice example of the shape. The red pearlized stem is beautifully done. The wood isn’t really anything special to look at, but it’s evenly covered, without any bald spots. When I look at it, I wonder why it wasn’t done in the more typical dark ruby-red finish that adorns most Trademarks. I’ve seen a great deal of variation amongst the grade over the years, including one really nice bent-bulldog that left the factory with a brown sandblasted finish. (For those who don’t know, Trademark has long been the lowest Castello smooth grade, usually finished in a dark red.) Was this a stamping/grading error, or is there just more leeway in the grade than we’ve come to expect? I might never know. This example is from the early 1970s, maybe even the late 1960s, identified by the upper case Ks in the grade designation. (On Sea Rock and Old Antiquari pipes, the Ks reflect the size, while with the smooth finishes, Trademark, Castello and Collection, the Ks represent the relative grade.) It has been living in a different rack than the one housing the majority of my #55s. I don’t recall why I put it there, but as many of us can relate to, rack space is often at a premium. I stumbled upon it while looking for something completely different. “Oh, you? Why are you there? I remember you smoke pretty well.” Yeah, I sometimes talk to my pipes – one of many quirks, I suppose. I won’t begin to worry until they start talking back. I grabbed it from the rack, dusted it off, and decided to give it a fill with a bowl of a slightly aged VA/perique blend, Telegraph Hill, from 2018. What a delightful smoke! At five years, the tobacco is expressing a lot of the complexities of aged Virginias and the perique adds a delightful fruitiness. When young, the composition is a bit brighter, maybe a little spicier, but time has polished any edges, and amplified the sweeter notes. Like the pipe, I’d forgotten about this blend for quite a while, but one evening in March, after chatting with my good friend Nate, who is quite a fan of it, I decided it might be time to revisit it. I got a couple of fresh ones, and excavated a couple older tins from the library. I normally reach for Fillmore when I want a VA/perique thing because of its boldness and depth, but in revisiting this one, I’m finding something soothing and comfortable about it that I’ve really been enjoying, both young and aged. Sticking with the theme of the forgotten, and as a perhaps interesting tidbit to the photographically inclined, I shot the pictures for this month’s column with my old Nikkor-O 35mm/2.0 mounted on my trusty Nikon Df. The last time I used this lens, it was adapted to one of my Fujifilm bodies, and I didn’t care much for the results, so I put it away and pretty much forgot about it. But, I’ve recently been exploring some of my old kit, deciding what to keep, what to pass along, and this one once again came to my attention, kind of like that old Castello. On the Df, there’s something about its vintage rendering that I find truly appealing. Another forgotten treasure, and just like with that old pipe, it seems that, at least today, everything old is new again. If your collection is on the large side, are there pipes or tobaccos that you’ve all but forgotten, only to come back to them one day to find yourself wondering why? Maybe it’s just another fun dimension to this endlessly fascinating journey.
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.
