Do you dedicate a pipe to each tobacco style?
- Thread starter thnaks
- Start date
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
Lots of good information here, thank you all. I gather that Meers, since there is no cake, hold less 'ghost' than briars, and so could be used to test new tobaccos (and cleaned well afterwards)...instead of buying cobs and just throwing them away. I'm a New Englander. We don't like throwing useful things out.
Maybe two cobs (or Meers) one for Lakeland blends, which I'm fascinated by the idea of, and one for richer cased tobaccos (like cherry or something).
On a related note, is there an ongoing discussion somewhere here about which shapes/types of pipes work best for which types of tobacco?
I have read that tall, narrow pots for those that tend to burn quickly, larger/wider bowls for wetter, cased tobaccos (more air to keep them lit, plus lets the flavor mill around inside the bowl a bit?) Did I get that basically right? Is there more thorough info out there?
I like the idea of a nice bent pot or author to hold in my hand by the fire outside with guests...maybe with a crowd-pleasing aromatic in it...assuming I can find a sophisticated light-aromatic that I like.
Maybe two cobs (or Meers) one for Lakeland blends, which I'm fascinated by the idea of, and one for richer cased tobaccos (like cherry or something).
On a related note, is there an ongoing discussion somewhere here about which shapes/types of pipes work best for which types of tobacco?
I have read that tall, narrow pots for those that tend to burn quickly, larger/wider bowls for wetter, cased tobaccos (more air to keep them lit, plus lets the flavor mill around inside the bowl a bit?) Did I get that basically right? Is there more thorough info out there?
I like the idea of a nice bent pot or author to hold in my hand by the fire outside with guests...maybe with a crowd-pleasing aromatic in it...assuming I can find a sophisticated light-aromatic that I like.
It seems like most people do, but I'm with Warren. It's just not worth the attention and complication to me.
It may help that I don't really smoke any subtle or delicate blends, so while some ghosting sometimes shows through, it never overpowers what I'm smoking at the time.
A little whiff of Ennerdale while smoking Old Dark Fired (or vice versa) just makes either blend more interesting.
I do think grabbing a few cobs is a good idea, though. You can maybe even keep some "pure" and switch others up to see if the ghosting bothers you.
It may help that I don't really smoke any subtle or delicate blends, so while some ghosting sometimes shows through, it never overpowers what I'm smoking at the time.
A little whiff of Ennerdale while smoking Old Dark Fired (or vice versa) just makes either blend more interesting.
I do think grabbing a few cobs is a good idea, though. You can maybe even keep some "pure" and switch others up to see if the ghosting bothers you.
I do. I've never found a pipe that smokes a VA and an English equally well. I generally keep pipes in three categories. Most are dedicated to either Latakia blends or VA/VaPer. I have a few pipes that are more singularly dedicated to my favorite type of all, the VaOr, and one Digby 9438 Rhodesian dedicated solely to Red Rapparee.
Yes, in so far as certain blends pair particularly well with certain pipes. But, I do have knock-about pipes that will see any blend.
No i don't... I just smoke what I want in whatever I want.
Ive never understood the need to segregate certain pipes for only a certain type of tobacco, but I have known people to do it, as I see some here do as well. To each his own I suppose.
Ive never understood the need to segregate certain pipes for only a certain type of tobacco, but I have known people to do it, as I see some here do as well. To each his own I suppose.
Isn't that like saying I'll only drink Jamaican Blue Mountain out of this one mug and Kona Coffee out of this other one?
Actually, I started to say I'm not that anal about labeling my pipes for one specific tobacco or another but then I realized that when I grab an aro I generally put it in either a meer, a cob or one of my beater estate pipes. My better briars usually get loaded with my non-aromatic and my private blends that tend to be 35% Latakia with a touch of perique.
So I guess the answer would have to be yes but not intentionally.
Actually, I started to say I'm not that anal about labeling my pipes for one specific tobacco or another but then I realized that when I grab an aro I generally put it in either a meer, a cob or one of my beater estate pipes. My better briars usually get loaded with my non-aromatic and my private blends that tend to be 35% Latakia with a touch of perique.
So I guess the answer would have to be yes but not intentionally.
Just load the pipe and enjoy.
I am with Warren also.
The tobacco I smoke does not seem to conflict, as a general rule. One exception, and I do not smoke it, I cannot even identify it, is a blend someone had smoked in a gourd calabash and kept in a pigskin tobacco pouch I once bought on e-bay. The stuff reeked. Smelled like an old ladies cologne.
I am with Warren also.
The tobacco I smoke does not seem to conflict, as a general rule. One exception, and I do not smoke it, I cannot even identify it, is a blend someone had smoked in a gourd calabash and kept in a pigskin tobacco pouch I once bought on e-bay. The stuff reeked. Smelled like an old ladies cologne.
Nope. With my trusty Brylons all I have to do is wash'em out and good to go. Try that with a stinki'n briar. Hahahahahah
I have a lat blend rotation and a Virginia rotation. Two of my lat rotation are dedicated to a specific blend,simply because they smoke that blend so brilliantly.
My aro smoking has been very irregular, so it has tended to be in one old large drugstore Dublin. I have been enjoying the Larsen 150 I got at the CPS enough,however,that I am thinking about an upgrade in that pipe, and keeping something Like the Larsen 150 on hand. :
:
My aro smoking has been very irregular, so it has tended to be in one old large drugstore Dublin. I have been enjoying the Larsen 150 I got at the CPS enough,however,that I am thinking about an upgrade in that pipe, and keeping something Like the Larsen 150 on hand. :
:
I can see why one might dedicate a certain pipe to a particular tobacco. For certain lingering tastes, it just makes plain good sense. However, I prefer to dedicate my pipes to fallen soldiers, lost while fighting a futuristic war that takes place almost five centuries from now. These warriors had... or rather, will have families who loved them. If I can bring even a moments peace by dedicating a pipe to the futures fallen, then I'll be damned, that's what I'm gonna do. Long live the New Union!!
I've recently dedicated a number of pipes to specific tobaccos, as I am in sort of a test mode now, trying a lot of blends.
I have certain pipes that smoke different blend types better. My stack is great for full Virginias where as my tomatoe smokes the complex blends better. Large pot for complex Kentucky dark fired blends. Full bent egg for complex Latakia bombs. Canadian for vapers. Bulldog is currently a OGS pipe. Bent Dublin is a Vabur pipe. Billard is a non complex Kentucky pipe. My poker freehand is for Balkan styles.
I don't. I don't want to have to buy a new pipe each time I explore a new style. Besides, the differences in tastes and flavor are so subtle to me that I really don't mind if they blend together. I buy styles based more on burn quality, moisture, etc. than taste.
I have a few pipes for aromatics, a few for Balkan English blends, a couple specifically for va flakes, burleys I smoke in cobs, I use one of my aromatic pipes for Lakeland blends.
I absolutely keep similar genre tobaccos in separate pipes, but I've found that it's important to have a few different bowl and pipe shapes in each group. I have been utterly amazed at how different the same blend tastes in different pipes. I change it up as I'm beginning to get to know one, and I can't tell you how often a tobacco I think is lackluster becomes something I truly enjoy in a different pipe. The reverse has also been true. Best to mix it up and not give up on something till you've tried a few permutations
- Status