Hi! Am a new member and new pipe smoker! I actually posted about how I got started with pipe smoking on another thread, without saying hello here! So this is me.
My impression of the world of smoking pipes was through the images of Einstein, Arthur Miller, Satyajit Ray and of course Hugh Hefner. Then you also get to see quite a few folks smoking pipes in old films, both from Hollywood and India. What really aroused my curiosity was a picture of gent waiting in line to cast his vote in the first elections in independent India. He definitely looked part of the elite, but here he was, waiting in line for his turn, just like the others around him, sipping his pipe, waiting for his turn.
That for some reason really got me thinking about whatever happened to pipe smoking here. Cigarettes took over like anything, in addition to the already other well-developed local nicotine delivery systems, especially oral tobacco. And then I forgot all about it and moved on. Then another day, out of nowhere, outside my office on my smoke break, I can smell a very different kind of tobacco around me. I looked around to see if anyone was smoking anything funny and then I see this man, puffing on with his pipe, hurriedly getting inside a cab and off he went. Was smoking a straight billiard from what I can remember and whatever tobacco he was smoking was different in a good way.
Fast forward to maybe a year and I am on my way to London for work. As soon as I am outside Heathrow, I see an older gentleman smoking his pipe, chatting with somebody. I surely must have been staring at him for eternity, since that's how long it took my ride to arrive. When I was on my way to the hotel, I didn't see many like him but during my brief stay, I did encounter a few more pipe smokers and was quite intrigued by the whole thing. I still thought of it as something quite old -fashioned (not that being old-fashioned is a bad thing, but yeah it's not what so see the younger folks with).
Fast forward to now. A friend here was looking to try some 'real' cigars, not the strawberry/chocolate flavoured ones you get at the local cigarette shops here. With a little research, we found a couple of online shops selling cigars and also pipes. All of this research was done on my computer and the folks at Google and Facebook obviously sniffed an opportunity. After that everywhere I go I can see something related to cigars or pipes!
Was just discussing the powers of search engine optimization with my cousin who then tells me that our grandfather was a pipe smoker once upon a time. We still have a couple of his pipes, where exactly nobody knows but he has seen those before. It almost felt like the powers that be have joined forces with FB & Google!
I just dived into this world then. Saw a lot of videos, read a lot of posts, articles, tobacco reviews, got totally sucked in! Placed an order with 4noggins and a month later I had my very first bowl. My Mixture 965 is what I started off with. I couldn't catch all the different flavours that everyone talks about but any cigarette smoker should be able to tell the difference before their first bowl is done with. Quite obvious that this is quality stuff and very tasty.
The one advice I have not followed is to invest more on tobacco than pipes. I still only have my 965 and an MM Legend. But I have more than a couple of pipes on their way already! These are just so beautiful, I worry I spend too much time browsing through endless online catalogues and tobacco reviews.
About my first few bowls, I am really enjoying the smoky taste of 965 and that's pretty much I can say about the taste. I think I have figured out how to pack my pipe and smoke with a couple of relights at most. I am working on slowing down a bit. The flavours definitely are more noticeable then.
And for any beginners like myself reading this, it does satisfy my nicotine craving but not like the way a cigarette would. I'd compare the later to shot of espresso or a cup of black coffee while smoking a pipe is more akin to having a cup of tea. The caffeine is more gentle and tranquil. Likewise for pipe smoking. The coffee drinkers here wouldn't agree with this bit, but there you go!
Thanks for having me here!
