***What Are You Smoking, August 2025?***

[dottlejockey]

Stuffed some recently opened Dockworker into a Tekin squashed tomato for the trip to town to run some errands.

 

[rakovsky]

Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed response! I’m actually smoking my experimental incense blend right now (I had enough for two bowls). I agree with you that this doesn’t really smell all that much like church incense — neither the individual components nor the two mixed together — and I’m not sure I’d really enjoy a blend that was basically church incense in a pipe. But I can’t shake that sometimes a bowl with Latakia and Orientals evokes incense. Must be a combination of the creosote, wood, and whatever herbs and essences are used to make Latakia.

Thanks, it's a fun topic, Singularis. My favorite experimental mix is to use Native American style herbs like sage, spearmint, basil, and lemongrass about 50-50 with tobacco. I got 4 legal Native style herb blends from MyWorldHut.com because they had both low prices and varied ingredients.

You can have fun with supposed incenselike blends even if you don't get the aroma.

There are two categories of incense broadly speaking: European/Jewish/Church incense that emphasizes resins and involves putting incense on charcoal and South/East Asian incense sticks/cones that emphasizes sandalwood and is directly lit on fire.

The three blends that I recommended on the church incense theme - Kelembak Kemenyan, Moroccan Bazaar, and Margate - are all good blends. Kemenyan Kelembak has actual Styrax resin and it must be fine and slight enough that it adds nice scentiness without being offputting. It's hard to find in the US, but easy to get in Indonesia. I got it from a fellow piper online.

I had a bowl of "Byzantium" at C and D's shop, and it mentally evoked incense, but I take that as a psychological thing: It had nice puffs of smoke and its title has a theme associated with Orthodox Christianity. The flavor and texture didn't especially remind me of incense compared to other Oriental blends.

Non-Syrian Cyprus Latakia specifically uses Mastic tree wood for processing, and Mastic wood produces a resin that can be used in incense. I burned some Mastic drops myself. The drops can also be chewed, and have a fresh taste that is like light licorice. I am guessing that this relates to the perceived incense smell that some people get from a lot of Lat. blends.

 

[JimInks]

Now smoking Watch City Jim’s Golden Ticket in a straight smooth brown mid-late 60s Corporate Era Barling 5579 London England (made by Charatan) lumberman with a black vulcanite double comfort stem. This pipe is from the estate of David Cuneo. This will get me to dinner time.

 

[abecox]

Chicken is marinating so why not have a bowl of Sun Bear Navy Cask in a Peterson slightly askew Dublin. Letting it dry was smart but the narrow bowl really sharpens the Oriental flavors and mutes the honey note some. I'll try a wider one later.

 

[samuelgawith01]

Cornell and Diehl Burley Flake #1 in this LaCroix Bulldog.

 

[Skink]

Peter Stokkebye PS2 Whiskey in a no name rusticated lovat with a cup of black tea.

 

[Goblin_Walrus]

Look, I know I made a lot of hay regarding first bowl, second bowl, etc in my last post but today was a real hum-dinger and I just didn’t have time to post. Hell, I don’t have time to post now; just let this stand as a testament to my love of the game. This morning I smoked Peterson Nightcap - in utter defiance of nominative determinism - in my Dread Pirate Roberts while desperately attempting to recall some statistics-related education. Later on, after lunch, I smoked some HH Bold Kentucky in my Pete Dracula 106 Sandblast. Then, as an after-dinner bowl, I smoked another in the cob, C&D’s Purple Cow. Now, for my after-after dinner bowl, I am smoking Carolina Red Flake ‘24 in my Peterson Junior straight bulldog

 

[renfield]

HU Nebari in a Willmer AAA billiard.

 

[Sandblast]

Just finished smoking year 2016 Peter Heinrichs Special Curly in the first pipe Trever Talbot made when he went to France many years ago. It's a smooth straight Algerian briar Lumberman with a long shank and a black vulcanite saddle stem, unbranded.
View attachment 408301

Swap out that saddle stem for a tapered stem (guessing you might have one laying around) & you'd have a magnificent Canadian (!!!).

 

[PrivatePiping]

First smoke of Sun Bear Navy Cask in my Sun Bear pipe, a Miscoi lovat.

My wife came out after I'd lit it up and asked "what is that?". The first thing that came to my mind was "here we go..." She took me off guard though and said it was one of the better ones she'd smelled! Not getting too excited yet because she's done that with other blends before, only to have short term memory the next time she smelled it.

 

[Sandblast]

Now smoking a simple parfait in an Edwards Bent Bulldog (Algerian briar, of course):
Top 1/3 = McClelland Eastern Carolina Ribbon
Bottom 2/3 = Mac Baren Roll Cake
NOTE: Probably will be dipping into my Mac Barens stuff a little more often as Fall Season arrives, in tribute to the sad discontinuance of so many of their fine tobaccos. I already pay tribute to McClelland tobaccos with whatever I still have in my cellar.
NOTE2: Typing the words "Fall Season" gave me a bit of a rush, recognizing that those cooler temps aren't far off.

 

[bobpnm]

Edisto in this Northern Briars Regal. Diet Dr. Pepper.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

8/18 F&T Special Brown Flake in an Altinay.

 

[cshubhra]

Monte Christo White Series

 

[dottlejockey]

Happily back in the lounge after a nice winner winner chicken dinner and now following it up with some well aged Wessex Burley Slices in an Armellini Calumet.

 

[JimInks]

Relaxing after a wonderful salad, chicken legs and green beans dinner with strawberries for dessert. I've a quarter of a bowl left of year 2012 Rolando’s Own in a smooth straight 1960s Lane era “William Conrad” Charatan Executive Extra Large stretch apple with diagonal channel cuts on the lower right and left of the bowl along with a black vulcanite double comfort saddle stem. Community Coffee, neat, is my drink.

 

[Sandblast]

Molly Danger is trying to set a record for hairball coughing.

 

[glub]

C&D Speakeasy in a Peterson Sterling Canadian with some botanical gin on the rocks.

 

[PaulRVA]

HU Director's Cut in a Merchant Service Bing Standard and Ginger Tea on the side.

 

[Goblin_Walrus]

To settle in, a small bowl of 2023 Escudo in my Peterson Junior lovat. The stuff just sticks with me, like old red wine. You know, I almost got rid of this little pipe a couple of years ago.