Haunted Bookshop

[deathmetal]

I was reading about Old Joe Krantz's younger brother, Haunted Bookshop, and someone linked this book from TR:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/172/172-h/172-h.htm
It's "The Haunted Bookshop" by Christopher Morley. Quite good, insightful and semi-circular in the way of older books.
In the meantime, I've never tried Haunted Bookshop tobacco blend because, well, OJK is one of my mainstay all-dayers. If they are similar, it probably makes sense to stick with the XXL version.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I really enjoy HB, but have heard it described as harsh, and can become quite "cigarette-ish" if pushed too hard.

 

[cortezattic]

I like HB a lot, but chasingembers is right. For me, slow puffing generates a musty taste and keeps the Burley bitters from dominating the smoke.

 

[cobguy]

I had HB first and then OJK ... never looked back!

 

[pitchfork]

I smoke more of Haunted Bookshop than just about anything. I've heard OJK described as a stouter version or whatever, but really they're just different. Haunted Bookshop is more complex, has less Perique and includes some bright VAs not found in OJK. I like them both, but HB is definitely worth a try if you're a burley smoker. To me, HB sets the bar for those sour and nutty flavors most of us look for in a good burley.

 

[misterlowercase]

I've read the book and have a copy of it,

but never have smoked it.
Note to self:

git up off yer lazy ass and getya some HB,

it's a Runowski blend ferchrissakes!

Can't believe I haven't gotten around to trying such a classic C&D blend that is always so highly rated.
That will soon be corrected though.

::

 

[maxx]

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice... and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart.
Gilbert Highet, The Immortal Profession

 

[misterlowercase]

Great quote Maxx,

thanks for sharing.

::

 

[aikatal]

I've yet to try the tobacco by that name, but that book is an old favorite of mine. Morley wrote an earlier book that featured Roger Mifflin, the pipe-smoking proprietor of the Haunted Bookshop-- Parnassus on Wheels.

 

[jaydublin]

Thanks for the heads up on this book - one I've never read but have now just begun tonight. Coincidentally, I ordered and received a 50g tin of HB this past week and now the book will be a nice smoking companion -- it hooked me within the first couple pages. I'm a novice pipe smoker just beginning to peruse and educate myself on the amazing varieties of tobaccos. So far HB's qualities have been beyond my palate's ability to appreciate, but I will soldier on!

 

[newbroom]

I was binge watching youtube tobacco reviews one day, and this blend was highly rated by one of the more regular presenters as his longtime favorite.

Now that there's a sale on bulk C&D blends @ SPC? I'm tempted to pick up a pound or two or their blends and am doing my best to research which might be most enjoyed.

jaydublin seems to have the right idea that palates evolve and change and I find this to be true for me, but I think that using reviews from people you've come to know through this forum help decisions, to a certain extent.

I'd participated in the PaxCrawl that featured C&D blends and did pick up a pound of Autumn Evening as a result.

The blend I wish were offered in bulk is Five O'clock Shadow, but, I'm still tempted to get a blend or two that weren't on that particular list. Billy Budd and Old Joe Krantz are calling my name, but so is Habana Daydream.

Two other C&D blends I'd like to try are Exhausted Rooster and Oak Alley.

I'm a bulk buyer, not a tin man due to my stingy New England roots, but 5O.S. could be an exception.

This is one rewarding and smooth blend. I'll keep my eye out for a sale on the 8oz. tubs, which seem to be scarce these days.

If my good friend cobguy likes Old Joe Krantz, I think it'll be one I won't regret.

Great thread!

 

[jttnk]

First bowl of HB. This is the first pipe tobacco I’ve gotten the hit from. Feel it in the back of my throat. Even a a little buzz. Not sure I dig it. Is this afairly typical burley blend? Do aged burley’s mellow? Pretty dry and woody as I’ve heard it reviewed by the great jiminks. It does burn well without to many delights. Maybe I’ll let this one chill in jar for a bit.
Mostly like English and Balkan blends and some crossovers. Virginia is still difficult fir me to handle. But, time technique/ experience I’m sure I’ll get it.

 

[oldtoby]

Lay with it, jttnk. It'll come to you. HB is good stuff.

 

[danimalia]

I think it's a bit atypical in the sense that the burleys from C&D in blends like this aren't flavored very aggressively, if at all. Most of the non-C&D burley blends I've had use some type of toasting or casing or topping to settle things down a bit and add some additional flavor. These C&D types of burley blends tend to taste pretty raw, and especially when combined with perique, can be pretty damn spicy. At first I didn't care for them much, but they grew on me. I smoke a fair amount of Old Joe and often crave that mix of spice and mustiness. I usually smoke it while driving because it burns easily and fairly quickly.

 

[jttnk]

Thanks guys. I’ll keep it and try it here and again. Now on to Maltese Falcon. Or as I heard today Molten Chicken!

 

[seanv]

Definitely try to stay with it. Try a few different pipes and you may find the perfect combination. Haunted bookshop needs to be smoked slow to keep the temperature down or it can be unpleasant. Good luck and I hope not becomes a favorite of yours like it is mine

 

[pitchfork]

Agree. I found HB harsh as heck when I first tried it. Now it's the blend I smoke more of than anything else. Smoking it right now, in fact.

 

[writingraav]

And don't forget, if you're in the Philadelphia area our monthly pipe club is the Christopher Morley Pipe Club -- going on 25 years.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have gone all of these years without once trying this, and it is within my preferred genre. I have no idea why I haven't tried it, unless it is all of the accolades members have bestowed it. Maybe I just figured if so many people like it, it must be pretty average. Ehh, who knows.

I am glad that so many like it. Maybe if it pissed more people off, I'd break down and try it myself. ::

 

[p40warhawk]

Tried it, it was too cigarette-ish for me. So, with most in can, my wife brings that out with my Peterson Dracula Pipe for her Halloween set-up on the table...