When I was 17 years old, I had a part-time job at a local community bank. Like most people in banking, I started out serving clients as a bank teller. There was this amazing old fellow, an Attorney, who would always come in smelling like fine pipe smoke. My Grandfather was a smoker, so for me, the smell triggered great thoughts and memories. One day I ask the man about his smoking and instantly his face lit up, he started to tell me how great pipe smoking is, how he loved his Brigham pipes and how he wished more youngsters would smoke a pipe rather than cigarettes. Previous to this I had smoked a few cigars but I felt good tobacco was always in my blood, I was always intrigued by it, I think this was passed on from my Granddad, tobacco just got along extremely well with my paternal roots.
After this chat with the Attorney, I went out and bought an inexpensive rusticated Brigham system pipe and some aromatic tobacco. I told the Attorney about it and he was excited to pass down some of his knowledge. He gifted me a Czech tool, a pipe sleeve and a wind cap. He also passed on some tips about pipe smoking. The one tip I remember clearly is... "Never smoke down to the bottom of the bowl." He was adamant that one should only smoke 2/3rds to 3/4 of the tobacco because the tobacco at the bottom of the bowl acts like filter and grabs a lot of the tars and "bad stuff" from the tobacco.
To make a long story short, my first experience with pipe smoking didn't catch on. I blame the tobacco selection. I bought a rum topped aromatic that wasn't very good and after trying 10-15 bowls, I just wasn't hooked. It wasn't until I was about 30 years old that a friend re-introduced me to pipe smoking and gifted me some fine VAs (such as McCranie's red ribbon) that I really started to appreciate the pipe. The period in between I was mostly a once a week cigar smoker and even though I still smoke the occasional cigar in the summer or on vacation, my passion lies with pipe tobacco, especially fine VAs and Balkan blends.
I know that Mr. Davidoff advised only smoking a cigar half way but most people just accused him of telling people this to sell more cigars. Personally, I never believed his advice was to sell more cigars, because whether you smoke a cigar for 30 minutes or 45 minutes doesn't necessarily increase you cigar consumption.
I have usually stuck by the attorney's rule and only smoked my pipes about 3/4s of the way down. I notice when I do occasionally smoke right to the bottom, the flavor definitely changes and my mouth feels (for lack of a better word) tarry afterwards for up to 12 hours. When I stick to the Attorney's rule, sometimes even 15-20 minutes after the smoke I can barely notice that I smoked a pipe, my mouth feels un-abused.
I know this is one of those 'your mileage may vary' things and everyone will have their own opinion. I'm curious of the opinions of the community here...
A few of my local pipe smoking friends have mentioned that it's wasteful. "You are wasting good tobacco!" My rebuttal has always been... whether I smoke down 1/2 way, 3/4s or all the way to the bottom, the goal is the most enjoyable smoke... if discarding the last 1/4 of the bowl leads to a better experience, the value might actually be increased, not diminished.
Let your opinions fly, I'm curious if anyone else follows this technique taught to me by the old Attorney.
After this chat with the Attorney, I went out and bought an inexpensive rusticated Brigham system pipe and some aromatic tobacco. I told the Attorney about it and he was excited to pass down some of his knowledge. He gifted me a Czech tool, a pipe sleeve and a wind cap. He also passed on some tips about pipe smoking. The one tip I remember clearly is... "Never smoke down to the bottom of the bowl." He was adamant that one should only smoke 2/3rds to 3/4 of the tobacco because the tobacco at the bottom of the bowl acts like filter and grabs a lot of the tars and "bad stuff" from the tobacco.
To make a long story short, my first experience with pipe smoking didn't catch on. I blame the tobacco selection. I bought a rum topped aromatic that wasn't very good and after trying 10-15 bowls, I just wasn't hooked. It wasn't until I was about 30 years old that a friend re-introduced me to pipe smoking and gifted me some fine VAs (such as McCranie's red ribbon) that I really started to appreciate the pipe. The period in between I was mostly a once a week cigar smoker and even though I still smoke the occasional cigar in the summer or on vacation, my passion lies with pipe tobacco, especially fine VAs and Balkan blends.
I know that Mr. Davidoff advised only smoking a cigar half way but most people just accused him of telling people this to sell more cigars. Personally, I never believed his advice was to sell more cigars, because whether you smoke a cigar for 30 minutes or 45 minutes doesn't necessarily increase you cigar consumption.
I have usually stuck by the attorney's rule and only smoked my pipes about 3/4s of the way down. I notice when I do occasionally smoke right to the bottom, the flavor definitely changes and my mouth feels (for lack of a better word) tarry afterwards for up to 12 hours. When I stick to the Attorney's rule, sometimes even 15-20 minutes after the smoke I can barely notice that I smoked a pipe, my mouth feels un-abused.
I know this is one of those 'your mileage may vary' things and everyone will have their own opinion. I'm curious of the opinions of the community here...
A few of my local pipe smoking friends have mentioned that it's wasteful. "You are wasting good tobacco!" My rebuttal has always been... whether I smoke down 1/2 way, 3/4s or all the way to the bottom, the goal is the most enjoyable smoke... if discarding the last 1/4 of the bowl leads to a better experience, the value might actually be increased, not diminished.
Let your opinions fly, I'm curious if anyone else follows this technique taught to me by the old Attorney.
