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C & D's Gentleman Caller

The tin really ought to have a pic of Kirk Douglas (from the 1950 version of Glass Menagerie) and/or Michael Moriarty (from the 1973 TV version with Katharine Hepburn). Aside from that quibble, the description and reviews I see make it sound intriguing. I haven't seen too much commentary on it here. The reviews often recommend that you dedicate a pipe to it. Perhaps an MM cob is in my near future.

Is it a strong nicotine-laden blend? And if I like burley blends like Half & Half, is it a good bet I'd like this? (One review mentioned that it smokes and tastes the way H & H used to, long ago.)
 
Just received the stuff, and as I wrote on the "June Acquisitions" thread, it smells of plums and, faintly, of rye bread. This should be interesting. ("Pepperidge Farm remembers what half & Half *used* to smoke like!")
 
And one of my colleagues at work, when I gave her a whiff of the tobacco just now, murmured that it reminded her of oatmeal cookies --!
 
The stuff is supposed to be less nicotine-strong and less deer tongue-laden than C & D's Crooner, so I went with GC. Is it a good idea to try a new tobacco right away in a new hardwood MM pipe? I bought the latter specifically for this, but you and Steve in the other thread mention that the new hardwood may have the scent of burning wood for the first few smokes. That might color my perception of the GC.
 
The stuff is supposed to be less nicotine-strong and less deer tongue-laden than C & D's Crooner, so I went with GC. Is it a good idea to try a new tobacco right away in a new hardwood MM pipe? I bought the latter specifically for this, but you and Steve in the other thread mention that the new hardwood may have the scent of burning wood for the first few smokes. That might color my perception of the GC.
I wouldn't base an initial perception of any tobacco on smokes from an unbroken pipe.
 
I'm sure it would color any first impressions. Might not be the worst idea to run an ounce of your preferred cake builder through it first. At least through the initial charring of the stem .

Or you can always say screw it. You got the MM for this blend. Form your impressions on the first 3/4 of your first few bowls. That is most definitely an option as well.
 
I'm sure it would color any first impressions. Might not be the worst idea to run an ounce of your preferred cake builder through it first. At least through the initial charring of the stem .

Or you can always say screw it. You got the MM for this blend. Form your impressions on the first 3/4 of your first few bowls. That is most definitely an option as well.
I think I'll do the latter, RG. No fun in waiting to try the blend, after all. I find myself smoking less often now that the weather is foully hot, and it would take me a week or 10 days to run a few bowls of Granger or Field and Stream through the pipe.
 
Awright, chirren,

My inaugural smoke of C & D's Gentleman Caller in a hardwood Missouri Meerschaum straight apple was just now. I kept it short, about 10 minutes, as the tobacco began to burn a a little hot in my mouth despite my sipping. Part of the problem: a sticky breeze outside that really kept the smoke streaming out of the bowl. I retreated to my kitchen and ran the stove fan to suck the smoke out as I puffed.

First impression on packing the pipe: the little greenish flakes in the ribbon cut that I presume is the deer tongue. It lit easily and relit the same, like the ribbon cut of Sir Walter.

Now you have to realize I'm no connoisseur and have no ability to pick out "earthiness" or "grassiness" or "maltiness," or the perique, or any other specialized flavors. That said, I did get a sort of tart flavor from it which seemed worth savoring, like a white wine (though I haven't touched any alcohol in decades, so I may be misremembering; and I was no connoisseur of that, either). It left a not unpleasant taste. That might be partly due to the "burning wood" aroma I've read about here as prevalent in the first few smokes of a cob or hardwood pipe -- from the scorching of the wooden extension of the stem at the bottom of the bowl. Certainly, when I tapped the bowl out, the wood bit was darkened. So I must have burned a little of it. Again, not unpleasant, sort of like being in your den with a good wood fire going. Or maybe the tartness had to do with the perique in the blend?

It's a little early to tell if I will like GC, but I certainly did not dislike it during this very short smoke. Yeah, yeah, damning with faint praise, but as I say, it's early days yet.

ETA: Went out for a few moments to clear my senses, and came back in. No real room note that I can tell -- but maybe that was too soon.
 
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AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
With a cob, you only get that scorch if/when the coal lands on the birch insert forming the botton. With the hardwoods, you get that scorch all the way down on the first few smokes. The bowl is made from the same stuff, but stained.
 
With a cob, you only get that scorch if/when the coal lands on the birch insert forming the botton. With the hardwoods, you get that scorch all the way down on the first few smokes. The bowl is made from the same stuff, but stained.
Ah. Then a good deal of what I was perceiving was probably due to the wood. It may be some little time before I can really tell what GC is like without that, I guess.
 
Smoked about a half bowl of GC in the Missouri hardwood. It was nice at first, but then the smoke and the bowl itself began to get hot after only 10 minutes. Is that normal for a hardwood like this, or will it develop some cake after a while? I didn't really have time to get into the flavor of the tobacco.

The pipe does cool off quickly, though.
 

Columbo

Mr. Codgers Neighborhood
Smoked about a half bowl of GC in the Missouri hardwood. It was nice at first, but then the smoke and the bowl itself began to get hot after only 10 minutes. Is that normal for a hardwood like this, or will it develop some cake after a while? I didn't really have time to get into the flavor of the tobacco.

The pipe does cool off quickly, though.

I’ll chime in here. The bowl material plays a part in how the initial smokes behave, but the tobacco itself will as well. And that early dance between the two can cause a wide variety of outcomes until equilibrium is reached … provided your mouth can put up with it.

For instance, a hardwood pipe (especially the cheaper ones) does not break in quite as gracefully as say a cob or meer can, and is more sensitive to those early smokes. And that can affect how whatever tobacco you are smoking is going to behave. Worst case, you might even experience a distaste similar to smoking briar peaks in a poorly reamed pipe.

And some tobaccos burn hotter or wetter than others, and are not necessarily optimum for a new or young pipe, or with a pipe that can exhibit a cantankerous break in.

Combining the worst of those two is a bit daring, IMO. In other words, a hot smoke in a new pipe with an attitude is asking for ‘new experiences’.

So with a brand spankin’ new hardwood pipe, I would err towards the coolest possible loads for the first dozen or so smokes, so it can settle itself in. Maybe not a cake, but enough surface char and scorch to flush out the virgin attributes of the bowl material. I’m no expert on GC, but it may be a better choice in either a more seasoned pipe, or in a more forgiving pipe type. Once the pipe settles down, then you would transition it over to whatever you plan to dedicate to it.
 
I never thought I was being daring in combining a new pipe and a new tobacco. So I guess I should:

1) have bought a cob to begin with;

2) try some Field & Stream Match or Granger in the hardwood until it breaks in or settles down; and

3) try the GC in a briar I don't smoke often?
 

Columbo

Mr. Codgers Neighborhood
I never thought I was being daring in combining a new pipe and a new tobacco. So I guess I should:

1) have bought a cob to begin with;

2) try some Field & Stream Match or Granger in the hardwood until it breaks in or settles down; and

3) try the GC in a briar I don't smoke often?

If you are not happy with how the GC is behaving in a new hardwood, then those are all good alternatives.

That, or stick it out until the smoking improves with the present combination. It likely will.

You sounded like you are not happy with the present situation. I'm just not one to suffer through a difficult pipe situation when pleasure and relaxation is the point of it all.
 
Well, I tried Granger in the MM hardwood. I got about 5-6 minutes before I felt that the bowl was getting far too hot, and I was feeling it a little on my tongue. So I tapped that out. After dinner I loaded some GC into a GBD bent apple, and got a more pleasant 20-minute smoke, part of the time out in the heat. I got fleeting whiffs of something like cookies or cake, and a little throat dryness but not much.

The tobacco is good. I think the hardwood pipe is either not right for this blend, or not ready for it, or not right for me!
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Give the pipe some time to break in and I think you'll be pleased. Breaking in a hardwood is more troublesome then breaking in a briar, you're going to have to endure the hardwood flavor for a bit. It'll gradually improve with smoking.
 
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