Recent content by Skippy Piper

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  1. Skippy Piper

    Air in jar: friend or enemy

    A bit of air in the jar will help the tobacco develop it's flavor and aroma, and allow it to continue improving with age. To test this for yourself take a freshly opened tin or a newly received bulk blend then give the tobacco a sniff, smoke a pipe of it, and note the aroma of the tobacco and...
  2. Skippy Piper

    Skippy's Blend of the Week

    On a side note, I just put in an order for samples the new STG versions of the four Sutliff blends that are remaining in production: Black Cordial, Rum & Maple, Vanilla Custard, and Creme Brulee. I've had the original Sutliff versions of all of them except for Black Cordial, so comparing the new...
  3. Skippy Piper

    Skippy's Blend of the Week

    Everyone is a bit different, but for me C&D manufactured blends (which does include G.L. Pease) are by far the worst offenders when when it comes to giving me a sore throat; especially their Dark Burleys and Red Virginias. A year or so back actually started keeping a list of all the blends I've...
  4. Skippy Piper

    Skippy's Blend of the Week

    Thanks you two, it's really good to be back! I was still smoking a pipe just about every day during my absence, just sticking to mellow Lane aromatics that I knew wouldn't bother my throat since it took so darn long to recover. I was still finding that my throat was getting a little irritated if...
  5. Skippy Piper

    Minimal Happiness Requirements?

    Out of curiosity, for someone such as myself who is an unapologetic Captain Black enjoyer, how similar is Visions of Celephaïs to Captain Black Grape? I've never had CB Grape before since it's last production was a bit before my time in the hobby but a grape pipe tobacco sounds pretty...
  6. Skippy Piper

    Skippy's Blend of the Week

    Could it be that after three months of delays I'm finally posting my Prince Albert review? It's a Christmas miracle, Charlie Brown! 🎄 Blend of the Week #35: Prince Albert The exact contents of Prince Albert are a little bit mysterious. It's well known to be a Burley blend with a light...
  7. Skippy Piper

    Minimal Happiness Requirements?

    Ya know, I tried to be all sensible picking a Virginia, a Burley, an English blend, and a dark fired blend in addition to the couple aromatics; but truth be told I haven't actually smoked any of those in months. Aside from trying out a few samples I was sent the only blends I've actually smoked...
  8. Skippy Piper

    ***What Are You Smoking, December 2025?***

    Trying out Peter Stokkebye Peaches & Creme in my old faithful Country Gentleman cob tonight. puffy It is absolutely bonkers how peachy this stuff is! There's not many aromatics that just sledgehammer you over the head with whatever the flavor is supposed to be, and make it delicious on top...
  9. Skippy Piper

    Minimal Happiness Requirements?

    Ennerdale almost made my list too! It's not quite a "need to have it" blend for me, but it is the one I reach for 9 times out of 10 when I'm in the mood for a Lakeland. Great summertime blend too! Oh, and if you like Yorktown then give D&R Windsail a try. It's verrrrry similar to Yorktown, but...
  10. Skippy Piper

    Minimal Happiness Requirements?

    Lane Limited - RLP-6 Smoker's Pride - Cherry Cavendish Daughters & Ryan - Windsail Cornell & Diehl - Haunted Bookshop Peterson - Early Morning Pipe Gawith Hoggarth & Co. - Kendal Dark That oughta do it. puffy
  11. Skippy Piper

    Is Wilke Having Trouble?

    I think the problem in the current market is less of a matter of acquiring tobacco, and more that without Sutliff there's no one to process that tobacco into a usable state for blending. Sutliff was the essential middleman who turned all that unrefined raw leaf into something mellow and smooth...
  12. Skippy Piper

    Gawith and Hoggarth #7 Broken Flake Discontinued?

    Have you given a recent production batch of Kendal Dark a try? It's remarkably similar to the old Kendal #7, so much so that I'd be hard pressed to tell the two apart in a side by side comparison.
  13. Skippy Piper

    Lighters vs Matches

    Well, if you use them long enough then one is almost guaranteed to accidentally set your pants on fire at some point and the other isn't. 😅 The matter of freshly struck match heads flying off aside, I personally prefer a soft flame butane lighter. There are plenty of fancy refillable butane...
  14. Skippy Piper

    What's your 2025 Lazarus blend?

    I'd go with Super Value Bourbon Whiskey for the tin blend (it's technically a pouch/bag blend, but close enough!), Sutliff Strawberry Delight for the bulk, and Sutliff Private Stock Taste of Summer for the boutique. I'd give my eye teeth to have any of those back, if I still had 'em! puffy
  15. Skippy Piper

    Is Wilke Having Trouble?

    This sure sounds like one of those cases where the blender used Sutliff leaf, the supply of which has now fairly well dried up, and there just isn't any replacement for it. Watch City, Boswell, Peretti, Country Squire, Ravenwood, and Ken Byron Ventures are all in the same boat where the supply...