Smoking pipe: knowledge, favourite pipes, tobacco

[KevinP]

Latakia was an acquired taste for me. But I acquired it in a big way.

[milk]

Latakia was an acquired taste for me. But I acquired it in a big way.

Can you describe the taste? One thing I always worried about was whether I needed to dedicate a pipe to it because I think the one time a tried it - it struck me as being radically different from a virginia-based tobacco so I figured a lingering taste would clash.

[KevinP]

First time I tried it (early on, when I had otherwise only known American aromatics), I thought the tobacco had gone bad. I couldn't believe it people actually smoked this crap.

I bought a few more blends with it, completely innocent because this was the pre-information age 1980s when you often didn't know what you were buying until you opened your purchase in your car. Eventually it grew on me.

This was when Syrian latakia was still around. That has a taste comparable to campfire. I don't think Cyprian latakia quite does. The latter is bolder and sharper.

Many pipe smokers do have dedicated pipes for lat blends.

[foxandpeng]

Ah, Clan. I remember that. Hehe.I also remember Balkan Sobranie which was a particular favourite. There are several matched blends out there now that seek to recreate it, so all good.

I don't dabble that often as it has always been a hobby rather than a habit, but enjoy it very much when I do. I tend to indulge only in the study, but when I do, I invariably find that my wife will come and sit in there and read. Even when it is a really potent Latakia blend 😁

[vandermolen]

Here I am with baby (now 34) and pipe.
The lower picture is of myself and my brother visiting the home of Sibelius in Finland in 2013:

[foxandpeng]

Here I am with baby (now 34) and pipe.
The lower picture is of myself and my brother visiting the home of Sibelius in Finland in 2013:

What a handsome chap. You are clearly a man of refined tastes. I envy your Sibelius visit!

[milk]

Here I am with baby (now 34) and pipe.
The lower picture is of myself and my brother visiting the home of Sibelius in Finland in 2013:

Looking smart w/pipe. So my kids are going to grow up?

I really cannot understand that people still smoke...." I love pipes too much" = I'm addicted....

Recently only 1 small bowl a day - about 10 minutes. I think I'll actually make it just on the weekends now. We've a small house; everything is small in Japan. It really is more of a hobby than an addiction. I love the pipes as objects but can't enjoy them much if I don't use them at least a little. My neighbor is a Japanese salaryman. When I asked him if he minded me sitting out at night and having a smoke he said, "Japanese don't smoke pipes." I don't know how many times I've heard Japanese people say that phrase to me since I've lived here. I should have showed him the Ivarsson on Japan Yahoo Auction going for 30,000$. Meanwhile the streets are littered w/cigarette butts in Japan.

[KevinP]

Japan has as much of a pipe-smoking culture as many other countries.

Although this goes against what most people think, I fully believe that we're in the golden age of pipe smoking and that there are more 'pipe smokers' now than before; it's just that we've been driven underground. And for the record, I support non-smokers' rights (despite some of them are total jerks about them).

This video explains it. Also why I put 'pipe smokers' in inverted commas.
https://youtu.be/-RT_oMkHePM

[milk]

Japan has as much of a pipe-smoking culture as many other countries.

Although this goes against what most people think, I fully believe that we're in the golden age of pipe smoking and that there are more 'pipe smokers' now than before; it's just that we've been driven underground. And for the record, I support non-smokers' rights (despite some of them are total jerks about them).

This video explains it. Also why I put 'pipe smokers' in inverted commas.
https://youtu.be/-RT_oMkHePM

I fully agree though I'll have to watch later. I hope my neighbor appreciates me asking though I don't think he did. I don't think he understands it at all. But Japan is a cigarette country, maybe the only developed country wherein there are no laws against smoking in restaurants and bars or even littering. I'm constantly complaining; it's disgusting. I'll check the video. Japanese on the auction sites love those pipes and spend a lot on the pricey ones.

[vandermolen]

What a handsome chap. You are clearly a man of refined tastes. I envy your Sibelius visit!

HAHAHA Thank you Danny

[foxandpeng]

Japan has as much of a pipe-smoking culture as many other countries.

Although this goes against what most people think, I fully believe that we're in the golden age of pipe smoking and that there are more 'pipe smokers' now than before; it's just that we've been driven underground. And for the record, I support non-smokers' rights (despite some of them are total jerks about them).

This video explains it. Also why I put 'pipe smokers' in inverted commas.
https://youtu.be/-RT_oMkHePM

Agreed across the board.

[foxandpeng]

Japan has as much of a pipe-smoking culture as many other countries.

Although this goes against what most people think, I fully believe that we're in the golden age of pipe smoking and that there are more 'pipe smokers' now than before; it's just that we've been driven underground. And for the record, I support non-smokers' rights (despite some of them are total jerks about them).

This video explains it. Also why I put 'pipe smokers' in inverted commas.
https://youtu.be/-RT_oMkHePM

Rewatched this excellent video today. I really couldn't agree more.

Opened a tine of Small Batch Carolina Red Flake today. My goodness, this is good stuff. I picked up several tins despite having only a growing appreciation for Virginia tobaccos, and am so glad I did. Red Virginias really are a different beast to the dark and yellow, aren't they? If I remember correctly, SG English Summer Flake or Autumn Flake have a similar taste profile, albeit less pronounced and deep. Both, I think. Thankfully I have a good number of tins of those ageing also. Fairly strong, though, for me at least.

Am I correct? If so, I finally understand the fuss about straight virginias. Only 30 years late!

The tin description is 9 lines long! "Deep, rich and earthy, with undertones of dried cranberries, orchard grass and citrus". Very much so!

[KevinP]

Virginias took me a while too as they reminded me of cigarettes, which I've never appreciated. I tend to prefer them pressed (whether in flake or rubbed-out), though there are some good ribbons about there. Hal O'the Wynd would be my first choice.

But actually it's burleys that I've only recently acquired a taste for, and for kind of a funny reason.

Many pipe smokers buy a new pipe with the intention of dedicating it to flakes, latakia, whatever. I've never followed this. When I buy a new pipe, I smoke every kind of tobacco in it. Sometimes, a certain combination clicks. When that happens, then the pipe becomes dedicated to that genre or even that particular blend. However, some pipes just never find a match and remain general smokers. On a few occasions, they find their match late in life, like when a 70s Caminetto I bought in the 80s found its companion tobacco around 2011, and now I can't smoke anything else in it.

So a couple years ago, I bought a Jacono pawn. (I collect Jaconos.) Turns out its match is burleys, and not being a big burley guy (pun intended), it took a while before I ever put a burley in it. But I love the pipe, as a smoker and aesthetically, so I was happy to find the combination and, smoking it more, eventually got the knack.

[foxandpeng]

Virginias took me a while too as they reminded me of cigarettes, which I've never appreciated. I tend to prefer them pressed (whether in flake or rubbed-out), though there are some good ribbons about there. Hal O'the Wynd would be my first choice.

But actually it's burleys that I've only recently acquired a taste for, and for kind of a funny reason.

Many pipe smokers buy a new pipe with the intention of dedicating it to flakes, latakia, whatever. I've never followed this. When I buy a new pipe, I smoke every kind of tobacco in it. Sometimes, a certain combination clicks. When that happens, then the pipe becomes dedicated to that genre or even that particular blend. However, some pipes just never find a match and remain general smokers. On a few occasions, they find their match late in life, like when a 70s Caminetto I bought in the 80s found its companion tobacco around 2011, and now I can't smoke anything else in it.

So a couple years ago, I bought a Jacono pawn. (I collect Jaconos.) Turns out its match is burleys, and not being a big burley guy (pun intended), it took a while before I ever put a burley in it. But I love the pipe, as a smoker and aesthetically, so I was happy to find the combination and, smoking it more, eventually got the knack.

Good to hear your journey 😊

[milk]

Virginias took me a while too as they reminded me of cigarettes, which I've never appreciated. I tend to prefer them pressed (whether in flake or rubbed-out), though there are some good ribbons about there. Hal O'the Wynd would be my first choice.

But actually it's burleys that I've only recently acquired a taste for, and for kind of a funny reason.

Many pipe smokers buy a new pipe with the intention of dedicating it to flakes, latakia, whatever. I've never followed this. When I buy a new pipe, I smoke every kind of tobacco in it. Sometimes, a certain combination clicks. When that happens, then the pipe becomes dedicated to that genre or even that particular blend. However, some pipes just never find a match and remain general smokers. On a few occasions, they find their match late in life, like when a 70s Caminetto I bought in the 80s found its companion tobacco around 2011, and now I can't smoke anything else in it.

So a couple years ago, I bought a Jacono pawn. (I collect Jaconos.) Turns out its match is burleys, and not being a big burley guy (pun intended), it took a while before I ever put a burley in it. But I love the pipe, as a smoker and aesthetically, so I was happy to find the combination and, smoking it more, eventually got the knack.

I still need to find my way into these other kinds of tobacco. I love virginias like Full Virginia Flake. Recently, I've wanted to try very high quality aromatic just because my wife is allowing me to smoke in my office inside. I tried Peterson's Connoisseurs Choice which I found isn't overly flavored. But I still want to give Burleys and some Latikias a try. They're so different though.

[milk]

Collecting pipes is an addiction as well. Bidding on old ones and refurbishing them is a lot of fun as a hobby. From cheap old Kaywoodies to chasing some of those beautiful Danish ones floating around these auctions in Japan, I find it to be a worthy pastime.