JimInks, I've Gotta Ask.

[JimInks]

Wondering if this was as much of an inspiration for you as it was for me to get my two 309's (a smooth & a rusticated Donegal Rocky)? Pic below ....
Also, my admissions:
1) I have 10 Peterson System Standards, various shapes & models, but all were specifically ordered with Fishtail Stems. I didn't want to gamble on P-lip suitability, plus I don't clench. I like to hold the pipe in my hand. Having said that, if I found a P-lip that would fit one of my Systems, so I'd have two stems, I'd probably be willing to try it. Love the Systems.

2) I have about 35 (+) pipes & have never dedicated any to just one or one type of tobacco. I'm one of those who just grab a pipe & smoke whatever. Probably SACRILEGE to many (?) ... I know, I know.

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Cleef was not an influence on my thinking in any way regarding the 4AB. Only Rathbone was. But, I can certainly see why the pipe Cleef smoked would influence you. He looks great and distinguished with that pipe.

As far as your heathenistic, sacrilegious and scandalous approach to smoking, I can only say one thing to you in your hopeless decadence:





Sorry, man. I just couldn't resist having a little fun back with you.

 

[JimInks]

Sorry Jim. I didn't see your previous post on the subject.

No worries, man. I shouldn't have mentioned that, and meant no harm by it.

 

[Sandblast]

Cleef was not an influence on my thinking in any way regarding the 4AB. Only Rathbone was. But, I can certainly see why the pipe Cleef smoked would influence you. He looks great and distinguished with that pipe.

As far as your heathenistic, sacrilegious and scandalous approach to smoking, I can only say one thing to you in your hopeless decadence:





Sorry, man. I just couldn't resist having a little fun back with you.

Re: The Pic of Lee Van Cleef ... I read somewhere that the pipe may actually have been a Wellington, not a 309. Regardless, the little kid in me still loves the Pic & makes my 309's special (!!!). Short of any proof, I will continue to believe it's a 309 (or 4AB). NOTE: The little kid in me always treasured any Christmas or Birthday presents linked to all those 50's Westerns = Maverick, Colt .45, Sugarfoot, Gunsmoke, Rifleman, Lawman, Wanted: Dead or Alive, etc, hence my love for those Spaghetti Westerns with Clint & Angel Eyes (Lee), especially his quote when identified as "The Smoker -- now c'mon, you light another match" ... and he replied "I generally smoke just after I eat. Why don't you come back in about 10 minutes." Was awesome!

Re: The joshing you laid upon me ... my reaction is that I'm now curled up on the couch in the fetal position, sucking my thumb, tears streaming down my cheeks, sobbing.
But don't be upset. I'm thinking a nice glass of Canadian Whisky with a splash of Canada Dry along with a good size chunk of Baked Salmon will alleviate my sorrow.

 

[JimInks]

Re: The Pic of Lee Van Cleef ... I read somewhere that the pipe may actually have been a Wellington, not a 309. Regardless, the little kid in me still loves the Pic & makes my 309's special (!!!). Short of any proof, I will continue to believe it's a 309 (or 4AB). NOTE: The little kid in me always treasured any Christmas or Birthday presents linked to all those 50's Westerns = Maverick, Colt .45, Sugarfoot, Gunsmoke, Rifleman, Lawman, Wanted: Dead or Alive, etc, hence my love for those Spaghetti Westerns with Clint & Angel Eyes (Lee), especially his quote when identified as "The Smoker -- now c'mon, you light another match" ... and he replied "I generally smoke just after I eat. Why don't you come back in about 10 minutes." Was awesome!

Re: The joshing you laid upon me ... my reaction is that I'm now curled up on the couch in the fetal position, sucking my thumb, tears streaming down my cheeks, sobbing.
But don't be upset. I'm thinking a nice glass of Canadian Whisky with a splash of Canada Dry along with a good size chunk of Baked Salmon will alleviate my sorrow.

Good man!

I made pizzas for m'lady and myself tonight, and she made strawberry ice cream.

Dunno what pipe Cleef was smoking, but that's not an AB stem.

 

[Chalaw87]

I have answered this question before. I had no luck signing on there for a few months, and gave up. I've been posting the majority of my reviews here. My KBV reviews are on another forum.

I've thought about trying to log on there again, but I haven't had many spare moments in months, so I haven't had time to devote to the process.

Which forum are you KBV reviews on? I’d love to read them.

 

[JimInks]

Which forum are you KBV reviews on? I’d love to read them.

I'll PM you.

 

[estate_cob]

JimInks, apologies if you've answered this in your many threads.

Any tobaccos you haven't yet tried that are on your radar?

 

[JimInks]

JimInks, apologies if you've answered this in your many threads.

Any tobaccos you haven't yet tried that are on your radar?

I'm sure there are some, but outside of the Gladora blends and most of the McClelland Grand Oriental series, I can't think of any as of this moment. Since I don't buy tobacco any more, it just may be a moot point in general.

 

[The Novice Piper]

Since this does indeed seem to be the unofficial JimInks "Ask Anything" thread, I have a couple questions for Jim:

1. How much of a blend do you smoke before giving it a review?

I typically find that I don't have a satisfactory familiarity with a blend until I've smoked at least one tin of it. Obviously, your mileage will vary, but with the amount of reviews you write it seems there'd be no time to smoke anywhere near that much. I'm curious what your personal "familiarity range" looks like.

2. What's your take on the popular practice of chasing "unicorn blends" like the original Balkan Sobranie?

You've smoked nearly everything under the sun, and smoked many blends as their historical stature has unfolded. I also imagine your cellar is as fully stocked with very exclusive or impossible-to-get blends as you might want it to be. In other words, there are no unicorn blends for you. It would be interesting to hear your perspective on this.



3. How exactly does one smoke without buying the tobacco?

Forget about developing a palate! This must surely be the most valuable skill to strive for here.

 

[JimInks]

Since this does indeed seem to be the unofficial JimInks "Ask Anything" thread, I have a couple questions for Jim:

1. How much of a blend do you smoke before giving it a review?

I typically find that I don't have a satisfactory familiarity with a blend until I've smoked at least one tin of it. Obviously, your mileage will vary, but with the amount of reviews you write it seems there'd be no time to smoke anywhere near that much. I'm curious what your personal "familiarity range" looks like.

2. What's your take on the popular practice of chasing "unicorn blends" like the original Balkan Sobranie?

You've smoked nearly everything under the sun, and smoked many blends as their historical stature has unfolded. I also imagine your cellar is as fully stocked with very exclusive or impossible-to-get blends as you might want it to be. In other words, there are no unicorn blends for you. It would be interesting to hear your perspective on this.



3. How exactly does one smoke without buying the tobacco?

Forget about developing a palate! This must surely be the most valuable skill to strive for here.

1. I don't need to smoke an entire tin of anything to figure out what I am smoking. I could be wrong about this, but I suspect most reviewers don't need to do that either. I have a very sensitive palate, and combined with my decades long experience and knowledge I gained from that as well from several blenders over the years, e.g. Per Jensen, Carl McAllister, Russ Ouellette, Ernie Q., etc., I feel mostly secure about what I'm tasting when I review. Smoking every varietal I could get my hands on from several companies have helped me, too. I'm fortunate that genetics gifted me the palate that I have (thanks mom! ), but without experience and knowledge, it would not be enough for me to do what I have done.

Essentially, I smoke as many or few bowls as needed in different pipes, mostly meerschaums. I can't smoke clay pipes because I taste the clay, too. I have no set number for anything. Some blends take longer to review than others, especially when they are complex mixtures.

2. There's been so many complaints about failed tins on old blends on forums and at pipe shows over the years, as well as a few that I experienced, that even if I could afford the high prices of historical blends, I would not take the chance of getting something that went wrong. Besides the possibility of tin failure, there have been times that age was not kind to a blend. Of course, I've had many great experiences in this regard as well. It's always a crap shoot.

3. I built my cellar over the course of many years, and took advantage of every big sale when the opportunity arose, so I'm not hurting for something to smoke. I under bought some blends and over bought on others as my tastes change from time to time. I think that is a common experience for those who cellar.

 

[The Novice Piper]

1. I don't need to smoke an entire tin of anything to figure out what I am smoking. I could be wrong about this, but I suspect most reviewers don't need to do that either. I have a very sensitive palate, and combined with my decades long experience and knowledge I gained from that as well from several blenders over the years, e.g. Per Jensen, Carl McAllister, Russ Ouellette, Ernie Q., etc., I feel mostly secure about what I'm tasting when I review. Smoking every varietal I could get my hands on from several companies have helped me, too. I'm fortunate that genetics gifted me the palate that I have (thanks mom! ), but without experience and knowledge, it would not be enough for me to do what I have done.

Essentially, I smoke as many or few bowls as needed in different pipes, mostly meerschaums. I can't smoke clay pipes because I taste the clay, too. I have no set number for anything. Some blends take longer to review than others, especially when they are complex mixtures.

2. There's been so many complaints about failed tins on old blends on forums and at pipe shows over the years, as well as a few that I experienced, that even if I could afford the high prices of historical blends, I would not take the chance of getting something that went wrong. Besides the possibility of tin failure, there have been times that age was not kind to a blend. Of course, I've had many great experiences in this regard as well. It's always a crap shoot.

3. I built my cellar over the course of many years, and took advantage of every big sale when the opportunity arose, so I'm not hurting for something to smoke. I under bought some blends and over bought on others as my tastes change from time to time. I think that is a common experience for those who cellar.

Thank you for the thoughtful reply!

 

[danimalia]

Everyone knows his favorite blend is the old Three Nuns. In fact, if I ever came across a tin in the wild, I'd feel obligated to send it to him. After all, I don't know what I'm missing, since I didn't start smoking pipes until long after it was gone/had changed.....

OK, I might pinch a bowl or two before sending the rest

 

[EMP27]

For Watch City: Rouxgaroux, Simply Orange, American Cut Plug Mixture, and Simply VOriental.

For Wilke: Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Wilke Lizzie Blood Virginia English, Wall Street, Back Bay, Rum and Maple, Mediterranean Nights, Red Oriental, Vice Cat, Dark Oriental, Little Round Top, Picket’s Charge, LIPC Dehavilind, and LIPC Long Island Sound. John consulted me on several others, too.

For Sutliff: 1849.

I recently purchased Wilke's Back Bay and Wall St. I've only had 1 bowl of each but I thought both were very good by my first impressions.

 

[trouttimes]

Over 3,200 blends, assuming at least 3 bowls a blend, that’s 9,600 bowls. Not counting your regular recreational smoking, how many pipe cleaners have you gone thru? I’m still fixated on cleaning pipes as much as you do.

 

[JimInks]

Over 3,200 blends, assuming at least 3 bowls a blend, that’s 9,600 bowls. Not counting your regular recreational smoking, how many pipe cleaners have you gone thru? I’m still fixated on cleaning pipes as much as you do.

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I can't even begin to imagine how many pipe cleaners I've gone through in over fifty years. Neither can my wallet.