Good thing I hate Latakia, I won’t have to lie about the name
LOL... well, if you ever change your mind about Latakia you have a blend to try. Haha
***What Are You Smoking, December 2025?***
- Thread starter JimInks
- Start date
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LOL... well, if you ever change your mind about Latakia you have a blend to try. Haha
A pleasant bowl of Peretti Tashkent in the Country Gentleman.
Still nursing the same coffee.
Still nursing the same coffee.
Half way through this bowl of year 2001 Wessex Campaign Dark Flake in a smooth dark brown medium bend year 1924 Dunhill 136A double patent apple with a tapered black vulcanite stem. Ice water and bergs is my drink. Daisy the Feral Princess went out and back in again. Tomato the Brave would be proud of her intelligence level.
Last night I dreamed of an old lover dressed in grey,
I’ve had this fever now since yesterday.
Wake up darlin’, they’re knocking, the colonel’s standing in the sun,
with his stupid face, the glasses and the gun.
(Yeah, one of my top 5 all-time desert island albums.)
One of a handful of albums that I would rank as absolutely flawless in both execution and production.
Pour me a Cuban Breeze, Gretchen.Last night I dreamed of an old lover dressed in grey,
I’ve had this fever now since yesterday.
Wake up darlin’, they’re knocking, the colonel’s standing in the sun,
with his stupid face, the glasses and the gun.
(Yeah, one of my top 5 all-time desert island albums.)
One of a handful of albums that I would rank as absolutely flawless in both execution and production.
It’s been a very busy day visiting with family, so no time for a pic today.
But so far my smokes today have been as follows, in sequential order:
Half & Half in an MM Country Gent,
C&D Star of the East Gold in a ‘60s rusticated “ripple grain” Old-Vic Dublin #192 (a Lorenzo sub-brand, with the “Century-old Briar” stamp),
and Watch City Cigar‘s Jim’s Golden Ticket in a ‘70s Amphora X-tra #733 Canadian.
I plan to finish the evening out with PS Bullseye Flake in an old knock-around English-made Zulu labeled only as “Mattox Pipe Shop, Eugene Oregon, Made in England”. Based on its design appointments, I suspect this pipe to be from one of the Cadogan facilities (maybe even one of their French facilities, despite the stamp), and near the bottom in terms of acceptable briar grade. Why? Well, it is finished smooth, but I count no less than 17 sand-grain putty fills in the surface, which tells me that It is probably Algerian briar, and should have probably been sandblasted or rusticated, and was likely sold as a house basket pipe back in the ‘60s. The grain itself isn’t bad looking, in spite of all the fills, and it smokes great for a cheapie house brand pipe. And since I got it in an eBay lot many years ago for next to nothing, if it goes south or breaks or gets lost, it’s not a huge loss. Thus, A near perfect workhorse/travel briar in my book.
When traveling for 5 days or less, I usually pack around 1/2 dozen pipes and 5-6 blends, and work through permutations of that arrangement.
But so far my smokes today have been as follows, in sequential order:
Half & Half in an MM Country Gent,
C&D Star of the East Gold in a ‘60s rusticated “ripple grain” Old-Vic Dublin #192 (a Lorenzo sub-brand, with the “Century-old Briar” stamp),
and Watch City Cigar‘s Jim’s Golden Ticket in a ‘70s Amphora X-tra #733 Canadian.
I plan to finish the evening out with PS Bullseye Flake in an old knock-around English-made Zulu labeled only as “Mattox Pipe Shop, Eugene Oregon, Made in England”. Based on its design appointments, I suspect this pipe to be from one of the Cadogan facilities (maybe even one of their French facilities, despite the stamp), and near the bottom in terms of acceptable briar grade. Why? Well, it is finished smooth, but I count no less than 17 sand-grain putty fills in the surface, which tells me that It is probably Algerian briar, and should have probably been sandblasted or rusticated, and was likely sold as a house basket pipe back in the ‘60s. The grain itself isn’t bad looking, in spite of all the fills, and it smokes great for a cheapie house brand pipe. And since I got it in an eBay lot many years ago for next to nothing, if it goes south or breaks or gets lost, it’s not a huge loss. Thus, A near perfect workhorse/travel briar in my book.
When traveling for 5 days or less, I usually pack around 1/2 dozen pipes and 5-6 blends, and work through permutations of that arrangement.
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4/20 Special Brown Flake in an Altinay.
GL Pease Westminster in a Savinelli for the ride home from work. We went to Charleston SC to visit family and had to stop at Primo’s to get a hoagie and a roast pork sandwich. Well, it’s after midnight and I just ate the leftovers, mama mia. I need some Sambuca for digestion. 
Just finished smoking first production Watch City American Cut Plug Mixture in a straight smooth brown undated Gesandt Canadian Made in England with a tapered black vulcanite stem. This pipe was originally owned by Poul Schluter, who was the Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982-1993. Been editing and rewriting an interview done about me. The guy used AI to transcribe it, and quite a bit of it was a mess that needed fixing. Going to enjoy some low calorie snacking now.
Smoking RMC Heritage Black Flake out of a Luciano Virgin Sandblast Chubby Dublin (GL Pease / Di Piazza Design, 2014) — slow cadence, cool smoke, proper flavor development.
At the same time, a different kind of ritual is happening in the kitchen: a 15.4-pound salmon going into the oven. As always, the head and fins get their own pot — peppercorns, bay leaf, a splash of Japanese sauce. Cheeks and eyes? Absolute delicacy — just like a well-behaved flake, best enjoyed unhurried and with respect.
Good tobacco, good food, right pace — that’s a proper pipe man’s day.
At the same time, a different kind of ritual is happening in the kitchen: a 15.4-pound salmon going into the oven. As always, the head and fins get their own pot — peppercorns, bay leaf, a splash of Japanese sauce. Cheeks and eyes? Absolute delicacy — just like a well-behaved flake, best enjoyed unhurried and with respect.
Good tobacco, good food, right pace — that’s a proper pipe man’s day.
While, according to Lt. Colonel Kilgore, ”Charlie don’t surf!”,
unfortunately, AI does surf, and therein lies the the main problem.
Wow, @Benedict Munsinger that is quite the ritualistic endeavor, both on the tobacco side and the caloric sustenance side. Well done, and looks delish.
BTW, I love your "solution" to the "ugly" tin warnings. 
Enjoyed some low calorie snacking, and am almost a quarter of the way through this bowl of year 2012 St. James Flake in a straight 1968 Dunhill Tanshell octagonal paneled EK F/T billiard with a square shank and tapered black vulcanite stem. Fed my cats, and Daisy the Feral Princess before I let Tomato the Brave come in to eat. He ate well, and has been hyper since. When I walked by him, the goofball tried to grab my leg and sunk a claw in me. Luckily, it wasn't bad. I got the message gave him a little play time. I'll do more in a minute or two, but it's time to let Harry the Hairy in to eat.
I agree. Not happy about it either. I have friends no longer employed because of it.
Yes, also sorry to hear bud. I, like you; tried to spend as much time w Pops as I could in his last few years. Tried to make him comfortable, and not have to worry about anything. Was great when he would get chatty and tell me stories of Italia from the 30’s and 40’ whilst he was growing up.
Wow, @Benedict Munsinger that is quite the ritualistic endeavor, both on the tobacco side and the caloric sustenance side. Well done, and looks delish.
Thanks JaZZ, the main thing is to remove the eye lens from the eye, otherwise the teeth will break.
Fires on the Levee in a bent billiard Castello. This stuff is fantastic!
Now smoking year 2014 Esoterica Tilbury in a straight smooth Danish gold straight grain undated W.O. Larsen Hand Made in Denmark dublin with a tapered black vulcanite stem. This pipe is from the estate of David Cuneo. Harry the Hairy came in to eat and I took that opportunity to play rope with Tomato the Brave. As soon as Harry realized what was going on, he came to the den to play, too. I tried taking turns with them, but their responses were muted because they didn't want each other playing when they did. Harry went back to the kitchen and after a couple of minutes, both Tomato and I heard some scrambling going on. Harry was chasing a bug, but Tomato caught it, and batted it around, I got a paper towel, picked it up and put it in the trash. After that, Harry went out, Tomato attacked a catnip sock, and then wanted out. Daisy the Feral Princess snoozed through the entire affair. So did my cats.
Irish Flake in a Peterson Sterling 338 for a late night nightcap.
