Going to try Savinelli Janus for the first time. I’ve been meaning to check it out for a year or two, but never got around to ordering it. This blend came up in conversation with
@JimInks when I was talking to him about looking for something with some complexity to smoke in my very special 60th Birthday pipe, an unfinished, virgin, sandblasted Extraordinaire Fan made by Savinelli. I figure I’ll try the tobacco in an unsmoked, unfinished pipe to create similar variables for the experience and evaluation—this 2019 Savinelli Apollo 11 Author 320 limited edition (number 32/50) that celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing seems like a good vessel.
View attachment 219094
View attachment 219095
There's a bit of a back story to my getting this pipe. Our friend, Chris G. had his 37th birthday on March 31st. Chris is a big fan of Star Trek and the moon (he has a tattoo of the moon). The Author is his favourite pipe shape. For starters, Susan and I gave him a Missouri Meerschaum Ryker Corn Cob pipe (launched in August 2022, and now oddly discontinued as of December 2022 for now) and a bulk bag of Squadron Leader, followed by an unbuilt model kit of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module from 1970. For his main gift, we gave him a tin of Savinelli 140th Anniversary tobacco paired with a limited edition 2019 Savinelli 320 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary pipe (number 37/50, of course!)
The shop where I found his number 37 pipe also had a number 32. While, the moon texture isn't ideal, I am also a fan of the Author shape and a sucker for numbered limited editions; my background in competitive darts has left me with a fondness for the number 32, as it’s a great double in the game to be on for a finish since it breaks down evenly all the way to 2. So, I thought, “Why not?” and got myself an Apollo 11 pipe, too.
View attachment 219096
I think I’ve narrowed down my choices to Savinelli 140° Anniversary and Savinelli Janus to smoke in the 60th Birthday pipe. I’ll evaluate the blends over the next few days before I decide.