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So you talked me into it

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
So it turns out @steveclarkus wasn't feeding us a line of bull about Sutliff Ready Rub. That's really a very good smoke. Subtle cocoa flavors that compliment the natural taste of tobacco. Definitely one in only going to run out of once. Once it was lit, it took off to the top 3 codger blends (along with CH and Field and Stream Match). The only drawback from the smoke last night was somewhere in the first third of the bowl a small chunk got lodged in the airway of the bowl causing a bit tighter draw and some gurgling. The gurgling was an easy fix, turn up the volume on my headphones. But I couldn't get a cleaner through the bent stem of the other new pipe I got.

I ended up with 4 new pipes this week. My 2 Brigham pipes, that Old Dominion, and this little number. A Savinelli bent billiard that was a gift from a friend/ mentor.View attachment 1166599 Yes, I've been waiting for those Brighams for too long and I've really been looking forward to trying them. But this one means more to me, being a gift from someone I think very highly of. It turns out that bowl is absolutely perfect for scooping tobacco from a jar. And it's big enough to spend a serious amount of quality time on the porch. Solid in the hand, light in the jaw as a good pipe should be.

To tell the truth, last night was the first evening front porch pipe I've had since I think Tuesday. Work has been kicking my butt lately. I've been going to bed early. Usually a pipe on the porch is my reward for surviving the day. And I can't be done with the day if the kids are still up, because the kids will follow me out and keep me from really relaxing with a book and pipe and music with headphones. But I've been too worn out to do that this week. I've been going to bed at the same time as the kids. And next week will be just as bad.

But I've wrangled some quality time amongst the trees of my local state parks this weekend. Just me, that bent Dublin, and a good vaper. I hope to have that first bowl sitting on a log listening to the birds and wind rustling through the leaves.
I’m very happy you like the Ready Rubbed. While I enjoy codger blends, I don’t really consider SRR to be a codger blend. It is a cut above and in the top of the straight burley tobaccos. I smoked Edgeworth slices back in the 70’s and it was considered a rather high class smoke then. I prefer ready rubbed simply because I don’t like to play with my tobacco before I smoke it. I do violate this rule for Orlik Golden Slice though. Back to the SRR, the more you smoke it, the more you will enjoy it as your awareness of the subtleties become more apparent. Looking forward to your experience with Victoria.
 
I can really see where to you're coming from, Steve. It has all the hallmarks of the codger, but taken to the next level. Almost puts it out of that line. Perhaps instead of "codger" or "drugstore", that label "American burley"? Either way, a damn fine smoke and I thank you for introducing it to me.

But that was last night. Tonight I had CH in my new Canadian. Smoked it down to ash as I was sitting by the fire pit out back. And it was everything I hoped it would be. Tobacco and pipe worked together as well as with my micro distilled whiskey (a rye distilled within 20 miles of my beloved front porch called 1794 Rye). It all worked together that I'm not sure I can provide an accurate report. But I'll give it the old high school try.

Like I said, I had it by a fire at the end of a physically busy day. And along with whiskey, which I don't usually drink (been a rough week) with Mrs. Rookie and various Rooklets running in and out of the fire's calming glow. But it worked! I was able to solve some of the world's problems with everyone. It burned incredibly well, only took one relight. Mrs. Rookie also enjoyed the few puffs she acquired from me. But gently sipping that dark fruit flavors while not quite as gently sipping the rye and ginger ale just put me in a happy place after such a crappy week. Which, considering that it's primary job is smoking tobaccos, it preformed admirably. But that might be the rye talking.

Seriously, the pipe has a magnificent feeling in the hand. The smooth finish feels good no matter how you hold it. While it didn't offer the grip of a rusticated, it felt more refined. The length allowed me to rest my elbow on the arm of my chair holding the bowl and the stem reaches my lips. I like that. The draw was good. Not wide open like a cob, but it still allows effortless sipping. While firelight wasn't the best for showing off that gorgeous grain, I could still see the glowing coal for most of the bowl. I didn't realize how nice that is! I can direct my eyes down and see as well as feel if I need to tamp how much is lit, how much of the pipe I've smoked. Plus, it's a shape that I feel in love with when I first started looking at pipes. Like motorcycles, form counts for a lot. Al, I'm sure you can attest to that. If it doesn't start your motor running, you're not going to like it no matter how well it smokes. And this shape does it for me.

All in all, if anyone is on the fence about a $107 pipe in the Klondike line from the Brigham brand, based on the first smoked I'd recommend it. For the price compared to other brands, it holds its own very well.

Tomorrow I try a vaper in my bent Dublin.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Al, I'm sure you can attest to that. If it doesn't start your motor running, you're not going to like it no matter how well it smokes. And this shape does it for me.

Absolutely!

My Parker Zulu that Brandon is now custodian of, smoked brilliantly! It felt really good in hand too, as well as looking at least half decent. However, aside from my usual gripe on not being able to put the bugger down without it keeling over, I found the canted bowl an obstacle.

Much like you describe with peering into the bowl of the Canadian, I like to have the rim of my bowls in line of sight too... even if they're a bit too close to be in focus. As part of my neurological disorgers, one of the key elements is that my spatial awareness is wrecked, and muscle memory alone won't guide flame and tamp to where it needs to be. As such, I could have issues trying to "find" the chamber. Bear in mind that on a bad health day, I can miss when trying to wipe my arse.

One of the things I liked about the look of the Tortuga I just returned, was the top was cut to allow line of sight. That Zulu taught me to look at pipes in that way now, and all the Dublin/Zulu/Horn pics I see, I'm imagining how they'll sit in my pie hole, and whether I have line of sight to the landing zone for flame and tamp. It's little things like that which you only come to understand and appreciate over time... like being able to leave your elbow on the armrest while having a toot.
 
I'm glad Brandon got that zulu. If anyone got it, I'm glad it was him if not me. I was really digging that and it made me a little sad for you that you had to rehome it.

The Canadian is the first I've been able to look and see inside the bowl. Most are too short or the angle is wrong. This isn't a deal breaker moving forward, but cool when it happens.

My personal neurological disorders are anxiety driven. I have this NEED to know 1) everything going on around me at all times, and 2) where the people I care for are when out together. I get super intense in crowds. Always have to know the quickest routes to the exits, or to put a finer point on it, how do I get me and my loved ones out of danger right the [expletive] now. Situational awareness is what we used to can it.

Some here know my real name. If one were to Google it, they'd see what I lost in a house fire. Along with 2 war zone deployments (one was a "NATO Peacekeeping Mission that looked a lot like a war). So that's where some of my love of pipe smoking comes to play. It forces me to sit down for 45 minutes and relax. Sit on my porch swing and do nothing but listen to happy music (Alice in Chains) and smoke my pipe. My therapist, oddly enough, wholeheartedly endorces it, claiming smoking a pipe is probably better than a McDonald's habit. I think she's happy I'm not on anything harder than I am.
 
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AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I'm glad Brandon got that zulu. If anyone got it, I'm glad it was him if not me. I was really digging that and it made me a little sad for you that you had to rehome it.

I'm glad he got it too. It can't annoy me any more now 🤣 It was a necessary and valuable step in the journey though, and I'd rather learn the lesson with that, than something more expensive.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I can really see where to you're coming from, Steve. It has all the hallmarks of the codger, but taken to the next level. Almost puts it out of that line. Perhaps instead of "codger" or "drugstore", that label "American burley"?

As a non-American, I've started to group all those tobaccos together as American Burley in my mind. I haven't tried any of them, but as a family of blends, Burley based tobaccos seem to have either not caught on over here, or been allowed to fade out through lack of interest/sales. The Codger blends here are typically either Virginia, or Virginia led VaBurs, from what I can tell (Condor for example, is 100% Virginia I believe) and the thought of a drugstore (pharmacy) selling tobacco, would cause a national outcry. :lol: Here, it's supermarkets or newsagents to head to for a pouch of the Big Tobacco offerings, and some newsagents will have an assortment of Gawith Hoggarth bulk. American Burleys seems a better classification, I think, or certainly in terms of not clashing with UK tobacco cultures. I don't know how it all compares elsewhere on the continent, as I only every bought cigarettes or rolling tobacco back when I was travelling.
 
American Burleys or other American tobaccos are not or no longer (e.g. Half & Half) sold in the EU, because of violations of EU standards for tobacco additives. That's also the reason why EU cigarettes tastes different from the Amverican ones, the same goes for American tobaccos produced in the EU under licence (e.g. Rum & Maple, Captain Black). And that's also why for some classic tobaccos the recipes were changed over time (new regulation, changed recipe).

But there are a lot of Burleys around, but more the old Danish style then American, before Virginia took over the game in Denmark. The classic ones (and competitors) are Stanwell White (former Extra Mild) and Mac Baren Golden Blend, the Stanwell as far as I know was the most sold pipe tobacco in Germany in the 1960s. There are also newer ones, like the 7 Seas Line by Mac Baren or Solani Aged Burley Flake or some HU tobaccos. But of course something like Carter Hall you can't find in the EU for the mentioned reasons.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
American Burleys or other American tobaccos are not or no longer (e.g. Half & Half) sold in the EU, because of violations of EU standards for tobacco additives. That's also the reason why EU cigarettes tastes different from the Amverican ones, the same goes for American tobaccos produced in the EU under licence (e.g. Rum & Maple, Captain Black). And that's also why for some classic tobaccos the recipes were changed over time (new regulation, changed recipe).

But there are a lot of Burleys around, but more the old Danish style then American, before Virginia took over the game in Denmark. The classic ones (and competitors) are Stanwell White (former Extra Mild) and Mac Baren Golden Blend, the Stanwell as far as I know was the most sold pipe tobacco in Germany in the 1960s. There are also newer ones, like the 7 Seas Line by Mac Baren or Solani Aged Burley Flake or some HU tobaccos. But of course something like Carter Hall you can't find in the EU for the mentioned reasons.

What kinds of additives are in the blends, which are banned in the EU? Preservatives? Flavourings? Burn control chemicals?

Of the ones that you say are available in the EU, I've only seen Solani Aged Burley Flake in the UK. The 7 Seas blends available here are Virginia led from what I can see, and there's no Golden Blend that I can see, except 7 Seas Gold Blend, which is again Virginia based. There's also no Stanwell brand at all, unless it's sold under a different name, and I don't even know what HU is.

That said, Europe's tobacco has become so fragmented by the TPD, that there might be a vast wealth of stuff that's gotten EU approval and registration somewhere, but not here.
 
The additives thing makes a lot of sense. I was wondering if it was that or taxes that kept our pouches from each other's store shelves.

And, FWIW, tobaccos of all stripes have been disappearing from our drug store shelves. At least in my area they have been. It's getting harder to find cigarettes in a drug store. The cigarettes and cheap cigars (Phillys, Dutch Masters, Backwoods) have migrated to gas stations. The only pouch pipe tobaccos I've been able to find in the wild have been Amphora (Original and Aromatic) and Captain Black, and those have been in either "discount tobacco shops" or "tobacco only 😉😉" shops.

I suppose I should be sad by that. It would be nice to be able to run to a corner store and grab a pouch of Prince Albert, but that I can't isn't too worrisome. Not in the age of internet and current local government taxes.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
The additives thing makes a lot of sense. I was wondering if it was that or taxes that kept our pouches from each other's store shelves.

And, FWIW, tobaccos of all stripes have been disappearing from our drug store shelves. At least in my area they have been. It's getting harder to find cigarettes in a drug store. The cigarettes and cheap cigars (Phillys, Dutch Masters, Backwoods) have migrated to gas stations. The only pouch pipe tobaccos I've been able to find in the wild have been Amphora (Original and Aromatic) and Captain Black, and those have been in either "discount tobacco shops" or "tobacco only 😉😉" shops.

I suppose I should be sad by that. It would be nice to be able to run to a corner store and grab a pouch of Prince Albert, but that I can't isn't too worrisome. Not in the age of internet and current local government taxes.
Yes, it is getting very inconvenient. I searched “Maryland tobacco” to find the Characteristics of the tobacco on YouTube and all I could find was info on Maryland’s anti tobacco push. Apparently it is getting to be a big deal. Hell, vegetable oil is killing far more people than tobacco. I’ve just settled on finding a very few blends I like and buying bulk in quantity. It won’t be getting any better in the future. I can’t believe how difficult it is to find PA and Carter Hall.
 
The additives thing makes a lot of sense. I was wondering if it was that or taxes that kept our pouches from each other's store shelves.

And, FWIW, tobaccos of all stripes have been disappearing from our drug store shelves. At least in my area they have been. It's getting harder to find cigarettes in a drug store. The cigarettes and cheap cigars (Phillys, Dutch Masters, Backwoods) have migrated to gas stations. The only pouch pipe tobaccos I've been able to find in the wild have been Amphora (Original and Aromatic) and Captain Black,
and those have been in either "discount tobacco shops" or "tobacco only 😉😉" shops.

I suppose I should be sad by that. It would be nice to be able to run to a corner store and grab a pouch of Prince Albert, but that I can't isn't too worrisome. Not in the age of internet and current local government taxes.

Drug stores in Ontario have not sold tobacco products of ANY kind for years now. Grocery stores and convenience stores only. All kept behind bleand, grey panels, with little white labels to tell the cashier what products are where. Forget browsing. It is only in a true tobacco shop that you will be able to do that.
 
What kinds of additives are in the blends, which are banned in the EU? Preservatives? Flavourings? Burn control chemicals?

All of that.

Per Jensen (Mac Baren) said, that one major idea behind the HH line was to look what is possible with pipe tobacco that has no additives (exept a sugar casing) at all, because in his knowledge this is the way the EU regulation will expand within the next few years. Or, like a Kohlhase & Kopp blend master said i a German forum: "We only have reached TPD2, and there is more to come".

The UK is a special deal, because they even have a much more strict anti-tobacco policy (if that's possible) than the EU. If you look on prices and taxation of tobacco products compared to Germany or let's say Greece, you know what I mean.

HU Tobacco is a company that creates quite unique high end pipe tobacco blends (esp. Burley based ones), which are produced by Kohlhase & Kopp and Dan Tobacco (DTM).
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Wow...this has become quite the discussion!

I believe what we have here gentlemen is a solid argument for building and maintaining a quality tobacco cellar that is filled to the brim with the best leaf available 😉. I'm certain it won't be long before either price or availability make finding and purchasing tobacco the way we do now a distant memory. I'm happy I found pipe smoking when I did and I'll take the side ways glances at the size of my cellar over scrounging for good leaf when I want to enjoy it most (in retirement). I don't hold out much hope that by the time that day comes I'll be able to just go online and purchase my favorites at a reasonable price and find them three days later on my porch. We'll see though.

As for the Parker, its the only pipe I've had time to clean up and smoke and couldn't be happier with it. The shape, the draw and the lines are all fantastic. I'm excited to get around to the others as soon as things slow down here!
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
Zero tobacco duty on snuff, which is the bulk of the taxes, not sure on VAT. In the past, I've bought half pound jars for the same price as a 50g tin of pipe tobacco. In fact at one point, I was buying pound jars for that price.
Is it because there has been no ill health effect or because MP’s use it?
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Is it because there has been no ill health effect or because MP’s use it?

Not sure. I believe it was only within the last 15 years that the duties on it was abolished. Possibly as a harm reduction option, as I believe it was before vape really took off. No higher percentage of MPs use it than the rest of the general public, so far as I know. The snuffbox by the door of the Commons chamber is more nostalgic than of any frequent use.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
Wow...this has become quite the discussion!

I believe what we have here gentlemen is a solid argument for building and maintaining a quality tobacco cellar that is filled to the brim with the best leaf available 😉. I'm certain it won't be long before either price or availability make finding and purchasing tobacco the way we do now a distant memory. I'm happy I found pipe smoking when I did and I'll take the side ways glances at the size of my cellar over scrounging for good leaf when I want to enjoy it most (in retirement). I don't hold out much hope that by the time that day comes I'll be able to just go online and purchase my favorites at a reasonable price and find them three days later on my porch. We'll see though.

As for the Parker, its the only pipe I've had time to clean up and smoke and couldn't be happier with it. The shape, the draw and the lines are all fantastic. I'm excited to get around to the others as soon as things slow down here!
Unfortunately, the worm seems to be turning that way. Tobacco is still a big enough industry to buy sufficient Congress critters but who knows how long that will last. I’m going to keep stocking up Sutliff Ready Rubbed every chance I get as well as a decent stock of SWR and Victoria. Keeping it basic and affordable for the most part. It is the smoking of the pipe that interests me most so I just want to keep as large as possible pile of acceptable fuel for it. I’ve wandered around the tobacco unicorn search long enough now. I’m more concerned with obtaining quality pipes at the moment. Time for practicality in a new age of uncertainty.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
Not sure. I believe it was only within the last 15 years that the duties on it was abolished. Possibly as a harm reduction option, as I believe it was before vape really took off. No higher percentage of MPs use it than the rest of the general public, so far as I know. The snuffbox by the door of the Commons chamber is more nostalgic than of any frequent use.
Same way with the snuff boxes in our legislative chambers but not the little box I keep in my pocket smile 😊. I’m going to buy a can of American snuff and give it a try but am not expecting much. Snuff was invented here and perfected by the Brits. Thanks for that.
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Same way with the snuff boxes in our legislative chambers but not the little box I keep in my pocket smile 😊. I’m going to buy a can of American snuff and give it a try but am not expecting much. Snuff was invented here and perfected by the Brits. Thanks for that.
We have totally hijacked this thread :p

I find American snuffs are best described as sweet toasts. The smoke flavor is there but sweetened up front. I don't love them, but will happily enjoy them in a pinch (pun intended) ;)
 
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