Well, first bowl and a half. I started this morning by getting a fire going in the chiminea on my back porch. Once that was going I made a good, simple American breakfast -- scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast, eggs topped with some Valentina hot sauce. With the fire going strong I made myself a mug of tea and got situated in front of the fire to smoke my first bowl.
I started with my Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe packed with some Peterson Aran. Figuring out the appropriate technique for the charring light took a few attempts, but I think I finally got it down. I enjoyed that first pipe for a good 30 minutes before accidentally blowing through the stem and getting a nice face full of ash. I was about 2/3 of the way through, so I decided to empty it out and try my second pipe.
The second pipe is a non-branded curved stem pipe made in England. Looks like briar, but who am I to say? The bowl holds about 3/4 or less that of the corn cob does. I packed this one with some Sutliff Mixture #79. My technique had significantly improved after the first pipe, and I only had to relight a few times. However, I needed to use the bathroom, and decided that 1 1/2 bowls was enough for my first outing. I followed the session up with a thorough oral rinse with water, followed up by brushing my teeth and using some mouthwash.
Some observations:
1) I definitely see the appeal of the ritual and forced down time smoking a pipe requires.
2) Having never smoked anything I wasn't sure what to expect. The smoke wasn't as harsh as I expected, but I was expecting a bit more flavor from these aromatics. Perhaps they are fairly mild? I'm generally not a fruity person, but I wonder what a cherry tobacco would be like.
3) I actually enjoy relighting.
4) Having never smoked, I wasn't sure what kind of nicotine "hit" I might experience. Since you don't inhale like cigarettes you aren't going to get as much nicotine, but still wasn't sure. I can't say I am experiencing anything I would attribute to nicotine, however.
5) Smoking is very much like drinking bourbon or scotch. It will take some time to develop a "taste" for it and to learn to tease out all the subtle differences between tobaccos.
I'm thinking I might like to try some stronger aromatics. I've got some Lane 1-Q, Orlik Golden Sliced (non-aromatic, I know), Sutliff Burma Road, and some Peter Stokkebye English Luxury on the way to try.
I started with my Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe packed with some Peterson Aran. Figuring out the appropriate technique for the charring light took a few attempts, but I think I finally got it down. I enjoyed that first pipe for a good 30 minutes before accidentally blowing through the stem and getting a nice face full of ash. I was about 2/3 of the way through, so I decided to empty it out and try my second pipe.
The second pipe is a non-branded curved stem pipe made in England. Looks like briar, but who am I to say? The bowl holds about 3/4 or less that of the corn cob does. I packed this one with some Sutliff Mixture #79. My technique had significantly improved after the first pipe, and I only had to relight a few times. However, I needed to use the bathroom, and decided that 1 1/2 bowls was enough for my first outing. I followed the session up with a thorough oral rinse with water, followed up by brushing my teeth and using some mouthwash.
Some observations:
1) I definitely see the appeal of the ritual and forced down time smoking a pipe requires.
2) Having never smoked anything I wasn't sure what to expect. The smoke wasn't as harsh as I expected, but I was expecting a bit more flavor from these aromatics. Perhaps they are fairly mild? I'm generally not a fruity person, but I wonder what a cherry tobacco would be like.
3) I actually enjoy relighting.
4) Having never smoked, I wasn't sure what kind of nicotine "hit" I might experience. Since you don't inhale like cigarettes you aren't going to get as much nicotine, but still wasn't sure. I can't say I am experiencing anything I would attribute to nicotine, however.
5) Smoking is very much like drinking bourbon or scotch. It will take some time to develop a "taste" for it and to learn to tease out all the subtle differences between tobaccos.
I'm thinking I might like to try some stronger aromatics. I've got some Lane 1-Q, Orlik Golden Sliced (non-aromatic, I know), Sutliff Burma Road, and some Peter Stokkebye English Luxury on the way to try.
