Failure to Communicate

[dryseason91]

I think one of the more mysterious, endearing, yet also frustrating aspects of the hobby is the vagaries of interaction between pipe and leaf. We all know how an underwhelming blend can, when it seemed beyond hope, 'click' with a certain pipe and smoke like heaven. Case in point: Mick McQuaid Plug is one of my favourite tobaccos, rich, round and full in briar and meer, but I tried some in a cob last night and it turned to hot air. Anyone else find this?

 

[huntertrw]

Given the title of this thread, the following might be appropriate:
Failure to communicate

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I find that some pipes can make a naturally light and sweet tobacco taste and smell like a stronger, nasty tobacco. And, the same pipe can make a stronger blend really shine. My girlfriend usually notices this first. She'll complain about a blend that she usually loves, but the pipe just makes it turn to crap. I'm not sure what this is, the minimal cake of a stronger blend left in the pipe or some alchemy of the briar.
The only blends that I can stand in a cob are burleys like Carter Hall. The rest all turn to hot air for me, mostly I think it's because of the corn based part of the cob. It imparts a strong corn smell, and I don't eat corn at all.
I love my Becker strawberry wood pipe. It really makes the tobacco stand out by itself. I have one old, old meer, but I just don't like the way it "feels." I really need to get a few more meers to see how I like them.

 

[layinpipe]

First thing i thought was the intro from Guns n' Roses "Civil War". Came from Cool Hand Luke, but i guess that shows the generation gap.

 

[dryseason91]

Yeah I was trying to think of a title and 'Civil War' popped into my head. Also reminds that I really ought to watch 'Cool Hand Luke' at some point.
Cosmic, +1 on the...erm...corniness of cobs. I find that dry, bland taste hovering in the background whenever I smoke one. It's actually more of an anti-taste, sapping the flavour out of the tobacco. On top of that, I think the draw on my MM Country Gentleman is just too open. I mean, I can fit a folded over cleaner comfortably into the airhole. I know an open draw is usually desirable, but in this case it has the effect of washing the flavours out.
Not trying to go too hard on cobs, I do see their advantages, they're just not really my thing.

 

[schaum]

I think cobs have their limitations and are relegated to a diet of burley based smokes in my house also. I've found pulling nuances out of a flake just doesn't happen for me with a cob. I guess this is where meerschaums shine with their neutrality. Just my two cents.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I just think that cobs have certain blends that do better than others. I haven't tried any of Russ's new H&H MM blends designed specifically for cobs. But, this tells me that if a blend has to be made for the pipe, then others probably have the same issues. If I was just dying to smoke a cob, I would most certainly try them.
I have tried the forever stems too. I have six. I went through so many because I was looking for one that was lightweight and felt good to the teeth, but nope. IMO they make the cob pipes into an even worse smoker.
I prefer to just save my cob for burning Carter Hall while mowing the yard. But, other people love the things, and I respect that.

 

[dryseason91]

Yep I think the depth and nuance of flavour to be had from a meer is unparalleled.

 

[dryseason91]

Definitely, if I'm going out somewhere and want to bring a pipe for just a plain, non-taxing smoke then a cob's the thing I'll throw in the bag.

 

[lochinvar]

Every pipe is different, not just every shape. I love the GBD 9438 and have 6 of them, even a meerschaum one, and every one of them is different. One smokes anything with Latakia ok, but really shines with Scottish mixtures like Black Mallory and Black Duck. Another, a French production perspex stem 9438, smokes Latakia heavy Balakans great, but makes anything even slightly Oriental forward taste like acidic alien pee.
The cob is a flavor washer for me. It's got to be a really big tobacco, and even some of them turn blah. I really have no use for them, save times when the odds are pretty good I may ruin my pipe.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Even with briars, I have some that seem to suck the love out of a blend. But, like I said, I am not sure if it is the cakes of tobaccos past or the briar itself. I have a Savinelli Piuma prince that just seems to turn VAs and VaPers to crap. I suspect that it is the briar. I had a Pete that had a green taste to it no matter what I smoked, but the Piuma prince is different, like maybe the briar root was rotten or something. However, I have many other Piumas that are my best smokers. Go figure.

 

[maxpeters]

I guess I'm lucky. My palate must not be as sophisticated as some. A blend will pretty much taste similar to me in whatever I smoke it in.

As for films, if you have never seen Cool Hand Luke, there really MUST be a generational gap. Then I will suggest to you that you also watch The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. Also staring Paul Newman. This movie's message still rings true to me. Hell, I actually went to Langtry Tx. back in the 70's. Twice.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Cool Hand Luke was a great movie, but it hit close to home for me. I used to watch the prisoners go by coating the macadam roads as a kid. My dad used to rent slave prison labor to clear our fields in the Spring up until the 90's. I always wondered why there never were any white prisoners.

 

[dryseason91]

And there was me thinking that Cool Hand Luke starred Steve McQueen. That doesn't say much good about the cultural literacy of your average millenial. Must do better.
PS Having just had a bowl of Irish Flake from my MM Pony Express I can confirm that yes, cobs and burleys go well together. Nice smoke.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

The question this thread really brings to me is... How does lochinvar know what acidic alien pee tastes like? 8O

 

[lochinvar]

Well I was driving in southern New Mexico one night...... 8O

 

[huntertrw]

Here's a clip showing lochinvar's "close encounter":
Lochinvar's encounter

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Oh crap, when you guys were talking about aliens, I though that you were talking about illegal Canadians crossing the border, phhht...

 

[cobguy]

It imparts a strong corn smell, and I don't eat corn at all.

That made me chuckle ... aren't you from the south? :D
I just pulled some huge Bantam Yellow Sweet Corn ears from my garden yesterday ... future smokers!
All these "problems" with Cobs that people have listed here have a solution.
A cob is not a briar and needs to be "deliberately" broken-in, packed slightly tighter, smoked much slower, etc.
Believe it or not, cobs require as much or possibly better technique to get the full enjoyment.
YMMV, but I'm slow smoking some McClelland Blackwoods Flake in an MM Washington right now. ::

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ha ha, corn is yankee food. I have never ever seen corn survive an Alabama summer. They grow that out there in Nebraska. We just eat peaches and sweet potatoes, and we like it that way :wink: