Cigars as pipe tobacco

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carter

Lurker
Jun 6, 2014
6
0
I know this question has been asked before, but I haven't really seen a good definitive answer or any good suggestions about what to do. Since I live in AZ, I can't buy pipe tobacco online (it's a felony charge that I would like to keep off my record). I only have one tobacconist near by, and they specialize more in cigars than pipes and pipe tobaccos. All I've seen are some Peterson aromatics and Captain Black, things like that. They do, however, have a great selection of cigars and a staff that seems knowledgeable on them. If I were to buy a good cigar and cut it up, would it taste like a regular cigar in my pipe? The reason I ask this is because part of the reason I enjoy pipe smoking are the pipes themselves, and I don't like having to commit a lot of time to a cigar. So, would smoking a chopped up cigar in a pipe be pleasant? And if so, what kind of cigar would be good?

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,043
402
I would say get the finest Cuban cigar, a Cohiba Esplendido and chop it up and smoke it in the pipe, for a true pipe experience.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
Elsewhere, I have expressed my strong favor for pipes over cigars. But a good cigar is a beautiful piece of

engineering and art and is rolled together to deliver flavor in a particular way, which can be spectacular.

I think when a cigar is dismantled, it loses much of its flavor magic. So I won't go with andrew on chopping

up a good cigar to make pipe tobacco. (He's likely done it, and I haven't, so maybe I'm just blowing smoke.)

I am, however, interested in tobacco blends that incorporate cigar tobacco in pipe blends, like the

McClelland blend. Done just right, it should be good, and eventually I'll try it. As an aside, I was surprised to

learn, years ago, that Connecticut is a big cigar tobacco leaf growing state. Connecticut! Not what I think of

as a tobacco state, but there it is.

 

carter

Lurker
Jun 6, 2014
6
0
Would it possibly be a good idea to buy some of the cheap pipe tobacco that is offered there (I've seen Prince Albert there, which I've yet to try but supposedly isn't bad) and add some cigar leaf to it to liven it up?

 
Mar 31, 2014
385
1
A felony?! I knew Arizona to be hard on marijuana, but I didn't know they were hard on tobacco. I guess I should've figured. I hear they'll give you a speeding ticket for going 1 mile over the speed limit right after you pass the traffic sign...

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
You can't purchase pipe tobacco online in Arizona!

Not according to THIS.
Also, as the Arizona law states (dated April 22, 2014):
Delivery Sales of Tobacco Products Are Prohibited (Except Pipe Tobacco and Cigars):
Pursuant to A.R.S 36-798.06 ("Delivery Sales Statute") it is unlawful for any person, other than a person licensed under A.R.S. § 42-3201, or a retailer ordering from a person so licensed, to order or purchase, or cause to be ordered or purchased, a tobacco product via mail, phone, the Internet, or any electronic means (except for pipe tobacco and cigars). Simply put, under this law, Arizona consumers must buy tobacco products in a face-to-face transaction at a retail establishment (except for pipe tobacco and cigars). Penalties for violating this law include, among others, a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 per violation, and each order or purchase of tobacco products constitutes a separate violation. Further, a violation of this law constitutes a felony. A.R.S. § 36-798.06(H).
I don't live in Arizona so it may be possible that this law has changed since April of 2014. If it has you can join the ranks of Washington state which really sucks (not the state, but the law).

 

carter

Lurker
Jun 6, 2014
6
0
I should have just checked it out directly from the source myself! I looked through some news stories about it but that's all. Every single one failed to mention that pipe tobacco is an exception (local news fails the public yet again here in PHX). That's great news, you guys just made my week.

 

carter

Lurker
Jun 6, 2014
6
0
A felony?! I knew Arizona to be hard on marijuana, but I didn't know they were hard on tobacco. I guess I should've figured. I hear they'll give you a speeding ticket for going 1 mile over the speed limit right after you pass the traffic sign...
It depends in where you are. Sheriff's deputies show no mercy, but most city cops, with the exception of Scottsdale, seem to be more lenient. AZ remains one of the few states where one can buy a firearm with no background check on the internet, but for whatever reason they wanted to make it a felony to buy cigarettes online. I don't have a problem with guns by the way, just a problem with felons and the mentally I'll having easy access to them.

 

phil67

Lifer
Dec 14, 2013
2,052
7
Just thought of something. If the law was indeed the way you thought it was it would have to be stated, as far as I know, on whatever online store you went to such as Pipes & Cigars, Smoking Pipes, etc. Bottom line... you're good to go! :wink:

 

sallow

Lifer
Jun 30, 2013
1,531
3,771
I agree with the comment that a cigar is engineered to be smoked as a cigar. It has a wrapper, binder and filler meant to be smoked in the designated proportions. I have however on occasion stuffed a cigar nub directly into a large bowled pipe to smoke it down with good results. As a bonus it also makes you look like a real codger. I find that that is the best way to get cigar flavor from a pipe.
If your B&M stocks Peterson see if they can get some Perfect Plug or University flake or Sherlock Holmes, all first rate tobaccos, in my opinion.

 

conlejm

Lifer
Mar 22, 2014
1,433
8
Just thought of something. If the law was indeed the way you thought it was it would have to be stated, as far as I know, on whatever online store you went to such as Pipes & Cigars, Smoking Pipes, etc. Bottom line... you're good to go!
+1 Phil67
I always see on Pipes & Cigars the disclaimer that the tobacco product cannot be shipped to Washington State. I assume that if the same were true for AZ, it would be listed as well.

 

cobguy

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
3,742
15
Hey Carter ... welcome to the forum!
There's a few "Desert Rats" here from AZ and we have been buying loads of tobacco with no problems.
Keep your cigar experience separate from the pipes, IMO.
Where are you located? 17 years in Flagstaff for me and now 3 years in Prescott.

 

carter

Lurker
Jun 6, 2014
6
0
Where are you located? 17 years in Flagstaff for me and now 3 years in Prescott.

Born, raised, and currently living in North Phoenix. I've actually never lived anywhere else in my life.

 

wallace

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 20, 2012
126
1
Great, some more Zonies to get me homesick. Been away for eight years and have missed it since I left.
Enjoy that UV index guys!

 

derfargin

Lifer
Mar 3, 2014
2,028
28
Kennesaw, GA
Ex Phoenician checking in.
I was there most my life, and sold my house in Gilbert last Sept and moved to Atlanta. Glad to be gone, the only thing I can honestly say I miss is the golf, since most the f*&king golf courses here in GA are private. The parents still live there, and were telling me it's supposed to hit 111 already. I don't miss that at all, however the summer here its going to be steamy as hell.

 

carter

Lurker
Jun 6, 2014
6
0
So you remember when Bell Rd. was the "edge" of town? lol

I'm a third generation Phoenician, not old enough to remember Bell Rd. being the edge of town, but my grandparents went to North High school back when that was considered the northern edge of town. Hard to imagine Thomas being the dividing line between the city and the desert back then...

 

sfsteves

Lifer
Aug 3, 2013
1,279
0
SF Bay Area
To speak to the question of cigars as pipe tobacco, based on my experience, I think you'll find the results to be disappointing ... I love my pipes and I love good cigars ... I experimented with cutting a cigar and smoking it in one of my pipes ... disappointing is the best I can say about the results ... awful wouldn't be overstating it much ...
Once I thought about it, the reasons for this became obvious ... the wrapper on a cigar is the major factor in how it tastes, but it gets completely lost in the mix when put into a pipe, whether you chop the cigar up or simply cut off a chunk to insert in the bowl of your pipe ...
I gave the idea a failing grade and won't be experimenting further with it ... but, as they say in car commercials, your mileage may vary ...

 

jbbaldwin

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 1, 2012
557
42
According to this site, P.G. Wodehouse preferred crumbing cigars into his pipe to using pipe-tobacco.
This information is apparently from Robert McCrum's Wodehouse: A Life.

 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
8,052
27,196
New York
I had read that as well as Woodhouse was too mean to buy pipe tobacco which I though was quite funny! I tried it once many years ago in a pipe and thought it tasted horrible.

 
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