Last night I embarked on the path towards a new AD. I have been an occasional cigar smoker for years; lately I have been having a cigar by the firepit outside and really enjoying it. But the creeping cost of cigars has been plaguing me, so I lurked around the Brown Leaf to see if a pipe would be more economical.
After reading for awhile; the recent thread about looking for a pipe tobacco that mimicked a cigar's profile pushed me over the edge. I went over to see the area's best tobacconist, Prabhakar of CB Perkins in Canton, MA, and explained what I was looking for in a flavor profile. He suggested a Virginian flake blend called Faneuil Hall. To strengthen the profile, he gave me another bag containing latakia (didnt catch the make) and suggested that I add this into the Faneuil Hall blend a little at a time until I hit the right taste for me. The 4 oz of tobacco was $9 and there was no charge for the add'l 2 oz of latakia.
I grabbed a Missouri Meerschaum Legend pipe for $5 and I was out the door to start my pipe smoking career for just $14 plus tax. Later in the evening, I was relaxing outside in front of the fire and gave the new kit a whirl.
I used the straight Faneuil Hall blend since it smelled really good, packed up the bowl and struck a match to it. The first bowl was frankly a huge disappointment. I was able to keep it going with gently puffs over the 30 minutes it lasted, but the draw was tough and the taste was weak.
I emptied it out, let it cool and then looked to see what was going on. I noticed that there was a filter, so I popped that out of the stem, reassembled and tried again. MUCH better. The draw was easy and I was able to really taste the pipe tobacco blend. The bowl lasted about 45 minutes and was close to cigar quality smoking.
I still would like a more robust flavor, so I will start blending in small batches. I have a watch list of pipes in my eBay queue and I think that I will be acting on one over the next week or so. I like the look of a bent with a rustic finish, so one of the Petersons might fit the bill.
Much like wet-shaving, the hardware startup costs are going to negate any "savings". That and I will continue to buy a cigar or two everytime I visit the store - cause I really like 'em.
After reading for awhile; the recent thread about looking for a pipe tobacco that mimicked a cigar's profile pushed me over the edge. I went over to see the area's best tobacconist, Prabhakar of CB Perkins in Canton, MA, and explained what I was looking for in a flavor profile. He suggested a Virginian flake blend called Faneuil Hall. To strengthen the profile, he gave me another bag containing latakia (didnt catch the make) and suggested that I add this into the Faneuil Hall blend a little at a time until I hit the right taste for me. The 4 oz of tobacco was $9 and there was no charge for the add'l 2 oz of latakia.
I grabbed a Missouri Meerschaum Legend pipe for $5 and I was out the door to start my pipe smoking career for just $14 plus tax. Later in the evening, I was relaxing outside in front of the fire and gave the new kit a whirl.
I used the straight Faneuil Hall blend since it smelled really good, packed up the bowl and struck a match to it. The first bowl was frankly a huge disappointment. I was able to keep it going with gently puffs over the 30 minutes it lasted, but the draw was tough and the taste was weak.
I emptied it out, let it cool and then looked to see what was going on. I noticed that there was a filter, so I popped that out of the stem, reassembled and tried again. MUCH better. The draw was easy and I was able to really taste the pipe tobacco blend. The bowl lasted about 45 minutes and was close to cigar quality smoking.
I still would like a more robust flavor, so I will start blending in small batches. I have a watch list of pipes in my eBay queue and I think that I will be acting on one over the next week or so. I like the look of a bent with a rustic finish, so one of the Petersons might fit the bill.
Much like wet-shaving, the hardware startup costs are going to negate any "savings". That and I will continue to buy a cigar or two everytime I visit the store - cause I really like 'em.
