If the weather stays cool, I may celebrate this weekend by opening either the Mac Baren Golden Extra tin, or the Capstan Blue Ready Rubbed tin. I want to save one for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Just replenished some of the jars with 1/4 mylar pouches. Rattray's Wallace Flake, Rattray's Dark Fragrant, Gawith Bright CR Flake, Gawith Best Brown Flake. I think a couple of other jars are down to their last couple of smokes too.
I don't know if I'll get to either of them today, but possibly tomorrow: a fresh tin of Capstan Blue Ready Rubbed, and one of MB Golden Extra. Perhaps I should open my choice today and let it breathe for twenty-four hours?
A couple years ago I decided I would stretch out my Christmas Cheer stash by rationing one tin per year at Christmas time. Popping the lid on a slightly puffy tin of 2015 C.C. right now.
I’d gotten to try a bowl from 2012 last Friday at the Houston pipe Club and it was delicious. I want to know how much the blend has changed. Fortunately, not that much, except the age difference.
After emptying a jar of Cavendish aromatic, I went fishing in the baccy drawer to find another pouch. None there! All the aromatics in the drawer were Virginia's and Virginia burleys. The drawer was visibly depleting too, so I dug out the shoeboxes from the wardrobe to top it up a bit.
Before
After
I managed to squeeze another 25 pouches in there (just over 6 tins worth). I think that's the first time I've had to do that since my last order, around eight months ago. That's a bit more smoking than I expected, as I have budgeted for smoking that amount per year, I'm still well stocked for a fair while though.
I also fished out a pouch of Gawith Hoggarth American Black and Brown to replenish the Cav Aro jar.
Not a tin, but my first pouch of the legendary St. Bruno. The stuff is dampish in the pouch, and had a plummy and almost barbecue-sauce aroma. I dried and rubbed it out, then smoked about 5-6 minutes of it yesterday after work -- my usual routine with a new blend, to see how it affects me. It lit and burned steadily in my Mastercraft straight billiard with the twin bores.
This morning with coffee, I fired up the remainder of the bowl. No bitterness, and a pleasant fifteen-minute session cleared my fuzzy early-morning head. So far St. Bruno seems worth the high price (about 2x that of a pouch of Sir Walter Raleigh).
And I love the packaging with the St. Bernard dog and the unavoidable nic warning set in small type instead of being an annoying headline!
I have a new tin of Peterson Early Morning pipe and one of MB Golden Extra. Saving those for Xmas and cooler weather.
I've just packed a bowl with mixed crumbs (Revor plug and Irish Cask) for tomorrow, to free up a couple more jars for refilling. Well, three actually, so I have just ripped open the following Mylar pouches
Sam Gawith Lakeland Dark (Aug '20)
Sam Gawith St James Flake (Oct '20)
Gawith Hoggarth No.27 Perique Flake (Mar '22)
'Tis the Season! I cracked open a tin of Cringle Flake Holiday Edition 2019. Looks and smells wonderful, hopefully smokes just as good. Out of the tin and into a jar for safe keeping.
A new tin of Peterson Early Morning Pipe. I liked the Match version I tried earlier this fall, so here I am with the real deal in a Peterson Arkow 606 pot-bowl.