Hello to all and sundry!
After lurking for the last six months, I finally created an ID and joined the forum. I've been learning about piping since college some thirty odd years ago. For me, pipe smoking is all about enjoying a simple pleasure. I do not pursue complex blends as a rule, preferring to focus on my never ending quest for the three perfect all day blends: an aromatic, a burley, and an English/Balkan.
I have a modest stable of 15 pipes from a wide range of makers, including Boswell, Savinelli, Peterson, Comoy, Genod, Butz-Choquin, and Rossi. My mild to moderate PAD tends to manifest itself when I see straight pipes of any sort, most especially the noble straight billiard.
Tobacco wise, I like a wide variety of mixtures from aromatics to English, but, I really like burley. In fact, I am a sucker for straight burley and burley forward mixtures. The only thing I really do not care for are heavy latakia blends. The "lat bombs" just taste like soap to me. I am not a believer in cellaring, though my TAD does overcome my rational mind and has led me to having about 30 mixtures on hand, weighing in at about three and a half pounds.
I am alone in the wilderness, as a pipe smoker, and look forward to the fellowship of this virtual pipe club.
Cheers!