Squadron Leader

As I fill my Viking bulldog this Friday evening with a healthy bowl of Squadron Leader from Samuel Gawith I realize how much this blend has grown on me since the first bowl I smoked in late January. Over the past 2 months after picking pipe smoking back up, with few exceptions, the only blends I have smoked more frequently have been my mainstay of aromatics. In contrast, my non aromatics have been there, but nothing that I was craving to smoke regularly with the exception of a Luxury Twist Flake (that has a extremely light topping) and Frog Morton on the Bayou, of which I only smoked about an ounce of each. In half the time I have smoked the same amount of SL .
Upon the initial light a nice barnyard/hay flavor fills my mouth, and sings the notes of coca and mild pepper when expelled through my nose. I think of how this is better than any Cuban cigar I have ever had the pleasure of smoking.
As the bowl hits the halfway point the spice mellows out and develops a woody tone that carries till the end of the smoke. There is just enough of everything and not too much of anything.
The nicotine is there, but not so much it knocks me to the floor. It gives me a nice feeling of softness in this late hour as if a cloud that wants to float me off to sleep.
I realize how this tobacco is just one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever smoked, and how it is the perfect close to a long day and a longer week.

Happy Smoking

Drugstore Challenge #1 – Dr. Garbow Vs. No Name Italian Briar

Just as a point of interest I thought I would match boutique pipes, those sold through tobacconists, and mass produced pipes head to head to see how they compare, and which would be the better smoker. In this initial “challenge,” a featherweight ranking if you will, between a no name Italian estate bulldog, most likely sold as a basket pipe before being acquired by myself through eBay, and a Dr. Garbow purchased new at a local Rite Aid.

In order to somewhat level the playing field a bit I have smoked the Garbow “challenger” regularly over the past couple weeks, building a slight cake on the bowl, always smoking a cherry blend, either Boswell’s Cherry Smash or their Pennsylvania Dutch Treat. The “defending” Italian Briar is also a pipe dedicated to cherry aromatics.

Each round represents the elapsing of 15 minutes for the Garbow, and about 20 for the Italian briar. The discrepancy is for the larger capacity of the defending pipe.

Round 1- Both pipes come out hot. The Garbow’s veneer seems to make it feel hotter, but his smoke stays cool, only displaying a slight bite. Meanwhile his larger opponent struggles to keep things dry. There is gurgling as a precursor to some tongue bite.

Round 2- After a hot finish both gladiators slow their pace and cooled off considerably, making each pipe easier to handle. The doctor though, is still clenched between the teeth, using his light weight to dodge and deflect handling, while Italian briar has to be pulled from clenching teeth that stress under his weight. Oh and what’s this!? The Defender has gone down and is need of a relight!

Round 3- This has been an upset not seen by this sportscaster ever before. Going into the match money was heavy on the defender. The perception on Garbow was marginal at best, but after three rounds of fisticuffs only one relight was needed to clean his chamber while remaining warm to the touch after a hot start! The defender, in contrast, struggled to keep lit in the closing round. He seemed bulky, heavy, and without the grace of his opponent.

In all seriousness I am really surprised that I preferred the Garbow in a head to head comparison. As I built cake on the Garbow it always felt really hot to touch, but I also generally smoked while driving, so I was likely smoking faster, and not realizing that I rarely had to pick up the pipe. In this match up the value is still in Garbow’s favor, being 10 dollars less than the average basket pipe if purchased new.

Going forward I will remove his veneer and refinish the pipe to see if that helps with the heat. Even if I kept the pipe as is, I am truly happy with the purchase.

Click here to see more pictures of the main event.

Happy smoking!

Boswell's Cherry Smash

Of the blend’s I picked up from Boswell pipes, this is perhaps my favorite, as evidence from the decimated remnants of the ounce of this tobacco that remains unsmoked after of only having for about two weeks.

The pouch note is that of maraschino cherries, and looks beautiful with blond reds contrasted with specks of black of ribbon tobacco. While the casing is obvious, it is only slightly sticky to the touch as the bowl is packed, as opposed to the goopiness of McClelland’s Take 6.

Upon lighting the fodder, it is very mild in flavor. Light whispers of hay and cherry can be tasted, the cherry being only slightly more predominant. At the mid-bowl a nice generic spice is tasted, and made more apparent when pulled through the nose. This profile stays consistent through the end of the bottom of the pipe.

On the nicotine front I would say it has a mild to medium content.

Overall it is a very nice cherry aromatic that is easy to smoke, even if it is for the most part lacking in dimension. A very good morning and social smoking experience.

Happy President's Day

Hello all,

Just got in from a long weekend in Savannah with a nice little surprise on my doorstep, a new pipe! Sitting back with a 1/3rd bowl of Luxury Twist Flake in a Boswell nosewarmer (the first pipe in the picture) as I write this.

The weekend also netted me a new basket pipe. I picked up the H.I.S. pipe (the second show in the picture) at a cruddy tourist cigar shop and some not so great bulk tobacco after leaving Decatur pipeless.

Just wanted to leave a quick post, more to come this week if I can find the time.

Another Reason....

why this person's music is also a background to my morning smoking enjoyment.....


I'm Smoking Boswell's Best this morning, very similar to 1-q by Lane.

Will be doing a review of Boswell's Cherry smash later this week

Happy Smoking

Maybe this is why Mingus is my favorite background music for smoking my pipe...

New Pipe, New Tobacco's.

My wife will probably kill me.
But, It was 30 bucks, and I love blonds.

Its from Brandt, a pipemaker I'm not familiar with, but it looks like it might smoke well, and it has some nice lines.

Maybe if i can snag a nice Boswell I'll be cured of my pipe desire for a while...

While I did not get a pipe I did call Boswell Pipes during my lunch and picked up a few tobaccos:

Christmas Cookie
Penn. Dutch Treat
Chocolate Cream
Cherry Smash
Boswell's Best
& Boswell's Premium Burley

Guess I'll have more fodder for Intoxico in the coming weeks.

Happy Smoking!

McClelland Take 6

When I decided that I would reintroduce myself to pipe smoking I was interested in trying to find a cherry aromatic to add to the fray. After smoking about 4 or 5 bowls of Take 6 all I can say for this blend is that it smells nice to those in the room.

The tobacco is very sticky because of its casing, so much so that I often want to wash my hands after packing the bowl. Keeping this weed lit is also a chore. In the course of smoking my last bowl it took no less than six relights.

Finally, keeping this tobacco off of my “buy again” list is a lackluster flavor is what I imagine a bar of cherry soap would taste like, for it leaves a mild, waxy, fake cherry flavor in my mouth. The experience was somewhat like drinking lukewarm tap water when you want a glass of water; it wasn’t unpleasant, just not good.

Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake

It's been a nice morning in my household. Woke up about 6 did some dishes, made some hot tea, and filled the bowl of my Savinelli Sharewood Rock briar with a healthy load of Luxury Twist Flake.
Right now, as I smoke, I am listening to Mingus Plays Piano, probably one of my top five favorite albums of all time for any genre, and Fischer is at my feet, sleeping, which is odd for he usually sleeps in the living room, which is a much softer and warm place.

Before i get into the smoke itself, I want to comment on the cut of the tobacco, which is as the name states, flake tobacco. Now for those that don't smoke, pipe tobaccos come primarily in ribbon and plug cuts. Ribbon as the name implies, come in small ribbons, and looks like cigarette tobacco. Plug tobacco is formed by applying heat and pressure to the weed, pressing it into a cube of tobacco. Flake is produced by cutting that block into sheets (flake is also known as sheet) about the width of a dime. To fill a pipe with flake it is generally rubbed out into smaller pieces and packed into the pipe as a ribbon cut would be, but the individual strands have more density.

This is the first flake tobacco I've tried, and I really like the way it smokes. It seems to last much longer and smoke a touch cooler than ribbon cut tobaccos. It also stays lit without much work. I let it sit for a good 2 minutes and I didn't even have to relight it to keep it going. I love the tactual quality as I prepare it for smoking, and unlike ribbon, I think it looks fucking beautiful.

It did have a little bite and a lot of moister when i starting smoking, but I would attribute that to puffing too fast when I initially lit up.

After three bowls I have nothing but praise for this mild tasting tobacco. Tasting the tobacco without pulling the smoke through my nose it stays pretty unflavorful from beginning to end, so much that i cannot discern any flavors, but it sings going through the nose. The first half of the bowl has a rich coffee and coco note with a nice pepper/spice finish, reminding me of a Cuban Partaga Short. At the midway point to the bottom of the bowl it mellows out and has a nice "tobacco" flavor with a hint of the pepper continuing to the end.

The room note seems mild. Hard to tell with my wife unable to comment as she enjoys a bath.

I love this smoke. Took me a good hour and forty-five minutes to finish.
I am finding a lot of good stuff in Virginias that I missed out on when I first starting smoking pipes. I'll have to try more plug and Virgina tobaccos in 09.

Happy smoking.

Abita Christmas Ale

Its the end of January, so its a perfect time for a review of a beer you'll have to wait 11 months for an opportunity to drink...

I've not been drinking as much as I have previously, so the world of beer has been somewhat ignored by myself, So much so a six pack I bought around mid December has stayed relatively untouched over the past 4 weeks.

This beer is just okay.

It has a mild hoppiness and maltness making it drinkable, but its nothing I will be waiting for with anticipation when the holidays roll around in '09.

Yeah, I'm a Dork....

Frog Morton on the Bayou - McClelland

For Christmas, as you should be aware if you read this blog, I was gifted a Castleford pipe and a tin of Frog Morton on the Bayou. A Cajun blend from my Cajun wife :) .

The tin note is that of ketchup, earth and pepper.

Because of the Perique in the blend it did share some similar pepper flavors from the Bayou Morning that I've reviewed previously, but overall was quite diffrent. Instead of the sweetness of a Virgina baseof the Morning, the contrast of Oriental and exhibited a more earthy, smokey flavor with a floral high note that complements the pepper notes really nicley.

The bowl burned quite well, staying dry despite the fact i can be a fast smoker.

I would say the blend has a medium flavor, not being as overpowering as a Dunhill Nightcap for example.
Meanwhile the mixture does have a mean nicotine punch, so smoke it on a full stomach.

I Highly recommend this blend. Happy Smoking!

Cornell & Diehl - Bayou Morning

Hello all, hope you're having a nice Sunday afternoon.

Today as my wife sits in her recliner, sleeping away the weekend, I have lit up a bowl of C & D Bayou Morning. This blend according to Outwesttabacco.com's description is "a strictly Virginia/Perique blend with stoved red Virginia" tobacco.

In the pouch is has a sweet and tangy nose akin to a sweet mustard.

It smokes quite nice, and has a mild to medium strait tobacco taste with a natural sweet taste. It has a subtle pepper note that really comes out when exhaled through my nose. I am through about half to three quarters of the bowl as I write this, and i can feel the nicotine, even after a large lunch.

I have never really enjoyed Virgina blends in the past, but this bowl has been the exception. I can definitely see myself smoking and purchasing more of this blend, and would readily recommend this to any pipe smoker.

My wife did not love the room note, but she tolerated it easily.


Happy smoking!

Peaches & Cream - Peter Stokkebye Pipe Tobacco

Happy 2009 on this New Year's morning. Thought I would start the day with Charles Mingus and a smoke before breakfast.

Filled up one of my new ebay pipes with a bowl of Peaches and Cream that was waiting for me in the mail yesterday from Outwest tobacco.com.

In the pouch/baggie it has a nice mellow sweet coconut smell to it, unlike 1-Q that kinda reeks of its vanilla casing.

Once packed into my pipe and lit it burned consistently and cool, never developing any bite. A slight gurgling did occur during the halfway point, but i would attribute that to not tampering the bowl regularly.

Becuase my wife isnt here, i cant really say what the room note is like, but if its simular to what i smell in my moustache then I would say its a nice, mellow sweet/fruity smell.

Unfortunately neither a peach or real tobacco taste developed during the smoke. It didn't have an unpleasant flavor, but then again it didn't have much flavor at all. If i can get over the fact that this was boring to smoke, the mild flavor and likewise nicotine punch might make this a good morning smoke. I will see if the flavor grows on me after a few more bowls.