Drucquer’s Inns of Court is an appropriate name for this blend. The Inns of Court in London are about as “old school” and conservative as it gets. Not only did many buildings survive the Great Fire of 1666, and the blitz of World War II, but it’s inhabitants are London’s lawyers, a very waist coat and button-down-suit crowd. Drucquer’s Inns of Court is an old school blend that took me back to my days working as a tobacconist in Kansas City with Carl Ehwa, founder of McClelland Tobacco with his wife Maria.
Before Carl left Diebel’s, where I managed one of Fred’s stores, Carl created a number of Fred’s blends. He was also working out his first blends for his future company, McClelland Tobacco. Carl loved Virginia leaf in all of its forms. In his book Pipes & Tobacco, one of the first of its kind outside of Alfred Dunhill’s books, he devotes 17 pages to Virginia leaf, only 13 pages to Burley. Carl appreciated Burley, especially White Burley, but had disdain for the heavy casings, glycerin, and flavorings applied to Burley because the leaf absorbs it well. As we all know, it leaves a soggy gunk in the bottom of one’s pipe - Americans have always been addicted to sugar! He felt that pipe smokers, especially those used to drug store blends, would smoke high quality Virginia based blends if more were available to the public. Drucquer’s knew this, which Greg Pease learned when he went to work there. However, you had to live or visit B&M stores in larger cities to have access to high quality Virginia based blends.
I ordered Inns of Court, in part because the description on the back of the label notes that this was the blend used by Admiral Byrd’s crew during their Antarctic expeditions. That caught my eye because I deployed to Antarctica and the South Pole with the Air Force in 2005 and among my “Awards & Decorations” (Ribbon Rack) proudly wear the Admiral Byrd Medal for being in Antarctica. I enjoy immersing myself in history and what fun to smoke something they used and most of the early explorers were ardent pipe smokers. However, I have never found out what brands Scott’s and Shackleton’s men smoked. I know I am digressing from my review of Inns of Court, and I don’t want to turn this into an “atta boy” (bragging) column, but I never figured out how they smoked their pipes in the extreme cold; I never had much luck at the SP where the temperature was 75 degrees below Fahrenheit on a “good” day. Most days with a light wind it would be 100+ degrees wind chill and my hunch is they were mostly limited to smoking in their huts, tents, ships - something, thank God, I didn’t have to endure.
I will not soon forget when Carl sent me a sample of a Virginia blend, a flake, he was working on; I think it became McClelland’s #10. I smoked it at the shop and after several bowls picked up the phone and called him at Diebel’s warehouse/factory where he worked. I asked him if this was a pure Virginia blend, because I was tasting Oriental leaf in the blend. I have no idea if Inns of Court contains Yenidje, Xanthi, Drama or other types of Oriental leaf. I just know its there along with Red Virginia, some Bright, Burley, Latakia and Perique. As Carl wrote in Pipes & Tobacco, For years manufactures have been using…Oriental tobaccos to increase the mystique of their mixtures.
Inns of Court smokes dry - call it astringent - with the slight sweetness of the Virginia and Oriental leaf combined with the earthiness of Burley and woody overtones of Latakia. The Perique is very subtle, as is the Latakia while smoked. However, the prominent aroma in the tin and on the nose is Latakia and a very subtle smell of Virginia/Burley/Oriental leaf. I cannot detect any flavoring or top spray on this mostly ribbon cut with smaller cuts of condiment tobaccos. Inns of Court is an old style, mild, American/English blend and as I noted already very traditional. There is no bite. The room note might note be as pleasing as an aromatic, but I could care less. It is very smooth. I don’t inhale, so no nothing of “nicotine hit”. When I fired a bowl for the first time I could only think “wow, wonderful, I don’t want this to end”! And as the Orientals (not the Latakia) kicked in it was, for me, an OMG moment. I have missed this style of tobacco for a long time, being a smoker of mostly Va/Per and some Burley Flakes.
If I had any complaint about Drucquer’s Inns of Court, it’s the label, not the content, but the cheapness of the paper, ink and printing. Carl was an artist, not just of tobacco blends, but also his labels. The colors and embossing was more grand then anything on the market. We all remember the annual editions, in their own paper bag sealed with wax. Carl was at Diebel’s when he often talked about packaging. When I was a young boy I can recall walking past Diebel’s on the Plaza and staring at the tobacco tins on the shelves. I am sure after one of my visits they had to clean the nose prints off the glass. The mystique and attraction of the labels left me wanting to know more and that will never change. Thank you Greg Pease for bringing back a classic mixture.
Before Carl left Diebel’s, where I managed one of Fred’s stores, Carl created a number of Fred’s blends. He was also working out his first blends for his future company, McClelland Tobacco. Carl loved Virginia leaf in all of its forms. In his book Pipes & Tobacco, one of the first of its kind outside of Alfred Dunhill’s books, he devotes 17 pages to Virginia leaf, only 13 pages to Burley. Carl appreciated Burley, especially White Burley, but had disdain for the heavy casings, glycerin, and flavorings applied to Burley because the leaf absorbs it well. As we all know, it leaves a soggy gunk in the bottom of one’s pipe - Americans have always been addicted to sugar! He felt that pipe smokers, especially those used to drug store blends, would smoke high quality Virginia based blends if more were available to the public. Drucquer’s knew this, which Greg Pease learned when he went to work there. However, you had to live or visit B&M stores in larger cities to have access to high quality Virginia based blends.
I ordered Inns of Court, in part because the description on the back of the label notes that this was the blend used by Admiral Byrd’s crew during their Antarctic expeditions. That caught my eye because I deployed to Antarctica and the South Pole with the Air Force in 2005 and among my “Awards & Decorations” (Ribbon Rack) proudly wear the Admiral Byrd Medal for being in Antarctica. I enjoy immersing myself in history and what fun to smoke something they used and most of the early explorers were ardent pipe smokers. However, I have never found out what brands Scott’s and Shackleton’s men smoked. I know I am digressing from my review of Inns of Court, and I don’t want to turn this into an “atta boy” (bragging) column, but I never figured out how they smoked their pipes in the extreme cold; I never had much luck at the SP where the temperature was 75 degrees below Fahrenheit on a “good” day. Most days with a light wind it would be 100+ degrees wind chill and my hunch is they were mostly limited to smoking in their huts, tents, ships - something, thank God, I didn’t have to endure.
I will not soon forget when Carl sent me a sample of a Virginia blend, a flake, he was working on; I think it became McClelland’s #10. I smoked it at the shop and after several bowls picked up the phone and called him at Diebel’s warehouse/factory where he worked. I asked him if this was a pure Virginia blend, because I was tasting Oriental leaf in the blend. I have no idea if Inns of Court contains Yenidje, Xanthi, Drama or other types of Oriental leaf. I just know its there along with Red Virginia, some Bright, Burley, Latakia and Perique. As Carl wrote in Pipes & Tobacco, For years manufactures have been using…Oriental tobaccos to increase the mystique of their mixtures.
Inns of Court smokes dry - call it astringent - with the slight sweetness of the Virginia and Oriental leaf combined with the earthiness of Burley and woody overtones of Latakia. The Perique is very subtle, as is the Latakia while smoked. However, the prominent aroma in the tin and on the nose is Latakia and a very subtle smell of Virginia/Burley/Oriental leaf. I cannot detect any flavoring or top spray on this mostly ribbon cut with smaller cuts of condiment tobaccos. Inns of Court is an old style, mild, American/English blend and as I noted already very traditional. There is no bite. The room note might note be as pleasing as an aromatic, but I could care less. It is very smooth. I don’t inhale, so no nothing of “nicotine hit”. When I fired a bowl for the first time I could only think “wow, wonderful, I don’t want this to end”! And as the Orientals (not the Latakia) kicked in it was, for me, an OMG moment. I have missed this style of tobacco for a long time, being a smoker of mostly Va/Per and some Burley Flakes.
If I had any complaint about Drucquer’s Inns of Court, it’s the label, not the content, but the cheapness of the paper, ink and printing. Carl was an artist, not just of tobacco blends, but also his labels. The colors and embossing was more grand then anything on the market. We all remember the annual editions, in their own paper bag sealed with wax. Carl was at Diebel’s when he often talked about packaging. When I was a young boy I can recall walking past Diebel’s on the Plaza and staring at the tobacco tins on the shelves. I am sure after one of my visits they had to clean the nose prints off the glass. The mystique and attraction of the labels left me wanting to know more and that will never change. Thank you Greg Pease for bringing back a classic mixture.
