Greetings friends. I Just wanted to thank everyone for the comments and warm smoky welcome. This is a nice welcoming community and it is appreciated.
So for those not following my adventures, I am new to this fine hobby. Earlier this week I received my first pipe, a MM Ozark Hardwood, and yesterday my second a MM Cobbit Elf. I decided to get two pipes to start, mainly 'cause the MM were fairly inexpensive, it would give me some options, and reduce the chance of getting a pipe that was a lemon or I just didn't like right out of the gate.
With these I purchased some Prince Albert, at the advice of, well pretty much everyone, and C&D Haunted Bookshop or no other earthly reason than I felt like it had a Really Cool Name.
So here are some thoughts in no particular order or importance. I was going to post a review of the tobaccos, but despite reading assiduously JimInks excellent body of work on tobacco reviews my terminology is not quite up to 'usefully descriptive' quite yet. That and I fairly well think from reading previous threads everyone here has a pretty good idea of MM pipes, Prince Albert, and Haunted Bookshop, thus my naive impressions are the real story here and i didn't want to bury the lead as it were.
So a couple obvious things.
The Ozark Hardwood and the Cobbit Elf are really different pipes. I kind of like the Cobbit better taste wise, but I also think that is because the hardwood isn't really broken in yet. The main thing is how much size I have to work with. The Cobbit is just bigger, I can pack a bigger bowl. This I think lets the smoke develop a bit more. I kind of prefer, actually the Ozark in the morning, and the Cobbit at night when I can sit for longer.
I haven't had a big problem with packing, keeping the bowl lit, tongue bite, or gurgling. Not sure why, but this just hasn't been an issue. I seem to give things a char, lite the pipe, puff away until I am about a third from the end. Tamp down the ash and light it again, and smoke it until it is all ash. Run a pipe cleaner through it and easy peasy there we are.
Prince Albert and Haunted Bookstore seem rather similar to me. PA is a little sweeter, and has a sugary taste particularly as a high note, while I think HB is quite a bit earthier, but the character of both seems similar. I feel like PA is perhaps a little better out of the gate, particularly in the smaller pipe, where HB benefits me sitting with it and letting it develop a bit.
I like both the blends for different reasons. PA has a nice sweet note, which I am thinking is the Cavendish? but is very direct. HB seems to me to be more complicated, and has some notes which only come out when I smoke it for a while and exhale through my nose a bit more, which for some reason I can't seem to do on my first couple of puffs, seems to be something that comes later in the smoke for me.
There is a spicy note to the HB I find pleasant and wish was a little more pronounced.
So while I don't want to pauper myself here, I probably can pick up a couple more tins of tobacco to have some options. I'm thinking from what I've read of something non Burley based like the HH Mature Virginia or a Virginia Perique blend, and then probably one I'll just pick out because it has a Really Cool Name knowing me. I'd kind of like to avoid the aromatics for a while, 'just 'cause, but other than that am open to suggestions.
It also looks like I am enjoying this enough that it is probably about a month away before I can talk myself into budgeting for a nice briar pipe. So there is that...
Thanks to everyone for their input. Oh, and check this out, I walk to work, and my current work walk seems to be right about the length of a smoke from the Cobbit, neat eh?
Cheers,
T
So for those not following my adventures, I am new to this fine hobby. Earlier this week I received my first pipe, a MM Ozark Hardwood, and yesterday my second a MM Cobbit Elf. I decided to get two pipes to start, mainly 'cause the MM were fairly inexpensive, it would give me some options, and reduce the chance of getting a pipe that was a lemon or I just didn't like right out of the gate.
With these I purchased some Prince Albert, at the advice of, well pretty much everyone, and C&D Haunted Bookshop or no other earthly reason than I felt like it had a Really Cool Name.
So here are some thoughts in no particular order or importance. I was going to post a review of the tobaccos, but despite reading assiduously JimInks excellent body of work on tobacco reviews my terminology is not quite up to 'usefully descriptive' quite yet. That and I fairly well think from reading previous threads everyone here has a pretty good idea of MM pipes, Prince Albert, and Haunted Bookshop, thus my naive impressions are the real story here and i didn't want to bury the lead as it were.
So a couple obvious things.
The Ozark Hardwood and the Cobbit Elf are really different pipes. I kind of like the Cobbit better taste wise, but I also think that is because the hardwood isn't really broken in yet. The main thing is how much size I have to work with. The Cobbit is just bigger, I can pack a bigger bowl. This I think lets the smoke develop a bit more. I kind of prefer, actually the Ozark in the morning, and the Cobbit at night when I can sit for longer.
I haven't had a big problem with packing, keeping the bowl lit, tongue bite, or gurgling. Not sure why, but this just hasn't been an issue. I seem to give things a char, lite the pipe, puff away until I am about a third from the end. Tamp down the ash and light it again, and smoke it until it is all ash. Run a pipe cleaner through it and easy peasy there we are.
Prince Albert and Haunted Bookstore seem rather similar to me. PA is a little sweeter, and has a sugary taste particularly as a high note, while I think HB is quite a bit earthier, but the character of both seems similar. I feel like PA is perhaps a little better out of the gate, particularly in the smaller pipe, where HB benefits me sitting with it and letting it develop a bit.
I like both the blends for different reasons. PA has a nice sweet note, which I am thinking is the Cavendish? but is very direct. HB seems to me to be more complicated, and has some notes which only come out when I smoke it for a while and exhale through my nose a bit more, which for some reason I can't seem to do on my first couple of puffs, seems to be something that comes later in the smoke for me.
There is a spicy note to the HB I find pleasant and wish was a little more pronounced.
So while I don't want to pauper myself here, I probably can pick up a couple more tins of tobacco to have some options. I'm thinking from what I've read of something non Burley based like the HH Mature Virginia or a Virginia Perique blend, and then probably one I'll just pick out because it has a Really Cool Name knowing me. I'd kind of like to avoid the aromatics for a while, 'just 'cause, but other than that am open to suggestions.
It also looks like I am enjoying this enough that it is probably about a month away before I can talk myself into budgeting for a nice briar pipe. So there is that...
Thanks to everyone for their input. Oh, and check this out, I walk to work, and my current work walk seems to be right about the length of a smoke from the Cobbit, neat eh?
Cheers,
T
