What's in your pipe today?

[vortex]

Broke out some 4 year old Penzance last night. This stuff is so GD good it's not even funny. I'm down to my last pound and resupplying has been a problem. I'm going to miss it when it's gone.

Funny thing, Alan. I completely lost my taste for Penzance. I have about 3 oz left from '08, too. I can barely stand latakia anymore. I still enjoy mild latakia blends to some degree but almost exclusively smoke VAs and VaPers and orientals. Go figure. ???


I cracked a tin of '07 Yenidje Supreme the other day that knocked my socks off. Packed the Stanwell and luxuriated in bliss.

You're just growing up, young fella. What's happening to you, happens to all of us eventually. It's quite common to eschew latakia blends as you mature. Most older pipe smokes give it up. Don't know why, but it happens. I only smoke vapers and straight VA. now. Latakia blends taste like creosote to me. I find them very unappealing now.

Doc.

I didn't know it was a common experience, Doc. Well, my cellar has very little latakia blends in it now so it's no great loss. I guess I'll find a home for them.

 

[cigarsarge]

I enjoy latakia in small doses but I lean to Va/Per, straight VA, and burley. Smoking some OGS in my Pete 999 today.

 

[LilBastage]

You old fellers....

I'm sure the time will come that I tire of the sweet stink that is latakia, but I hope it's not right around the corner. The time I'm smoking English blends is about the only time everybody leaves me alone and I get some time to think. :laugh:

 

[Macion Grey]

You old fellers....

I'm sure the time will come that I tire of the sweet stink that is latakia, but I hope it's not right around the corner. The time I'm smoking English blends is about the only time everybody leaves me alone and I get some time to think. :laugh:

Oooh man, I am going through a big craving for anything with Syrain Latakia at the moment. As to the 'pong' of a Full English... it doesn't offend my wife as much as a cigar might

 

[vortex]

I enjoyed some Christmas Cheer 2000 in the Stanwell Danish Reserve today! Quite yummy, too. I bought a couple of tins including another CC 2000 so I decided to crack one.

I also bought a tin of Full Balkan Reserve Syrian 1996 to see if my recent dislike extends to the milder Syrian latakia. 15 years of aging ought to help tone it down, too.

 

[Macion Grey]

Orlik Golden Sliced in my trusty butterscotch coloured meer.

 

[Fyodor]

Smoking Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake in an eighty year old no name pipe. Ordered eight oz. of Full Virginia Flake from 4noggins last night, they had it in stock for about twelve hours or so, gotta be on the ball these days!

 

[Macion Grey]

Smoking Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake in an eighty year old no name pipe. Ordered eight oz. of Full Virginia Flake from 4noggins last night, they had it in stock for about twelve hours or so, gotta be on the ball these days!

4noggins is a great supplier, esp to us poor sods across the ocean. Not the biggest inventory size though, so you do have to be quick.



Smoking PPP in my Meer.

 

[LilBastage]

I enjoyed a HUGE bowl of Boswell Countryside yesterday. I have a Boswell Poker that I traded someone here on CP for and the bowl is almost a stack. It took forever, but man, what a great smoke.

 

[Macion Grey]

I can never get used to the sheer amount of time required to smoke huge bowls. I usually just DGT them.

 

[LilBastage]

I can never get used to the sheer amount of time required to smoke huge bowls. I usually just DGT them.

It was a lazy day of nothing to do and it was absolutely beautiful outside for this time of year. I let the kids and the dogs loose out in the fence and just truly relaxed for the first time in months. The confluence of those events does not happen often, but it sure was nice.

It will probably be another year before I can smoke a full bowl in that monster again. :blush:

 

[BTcigars]

Sherlock's Choice in my Peterson bulldog tall bowl. Very pleasant!

 

[vortex]

Now I know my tastes have changed! I used to love Squadron Leader and now it tastes like every other cyprian latakia blend does to me. Like crap! Last night I filled a DiMonte with some and couldn't even finish it.

I then packed the Sav with Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky and loved every puff. There was a finality to realizing Squadron Leader, a blend I used to smoke and enjoy, was now only a part of my past. I bet I wouldn't even like Balkan Sobranie anymore!

 

[Macion Grey]

My Mongrel Mix, made of many different English blend dregs, some 5100 to smooth it out, and some shredded Davidoff cigar heads, taken whenever I light one up.

 

[kwaklikeaduck]

Tobacco Barn's My Pleasure blend... tasty.. so relaxing

 

[LilBastage]

Had a few bowls of McClelland Anniversary Blend (original tinning) yesterday. All I can say is that I'm going to search out a few more tins of this stuff. It is unbelievably good.

 

[vortex]

Had a few bowls of McClelland Anniversary Blend (original tinning) yesterday. All I can say is that I'm going to search out a few more tins of this stuff. It is unbelievably good.

How do you tell if it's original tinning?

I forced myself to try another Latakia blend. This one was better and older but ...

I also tried out my new flake bowl, the GBD Brunette 1604, with some CC 2000. Great flake pipe! :thumbs:

 

[LilBastage]

Had a few bowls of McClelland Anniversary Blend (original tinning) yesterday. All I can say is that I'm going to search out a few more tins of this stuff. It is unbelievably good.

How do you tell if it's original tinning?

The original 2002 release has the red wax seal, the 2005 re-release has the green wax seal, and the 2010 release has a "natural" (looks brown to me) wax seal.

If you happen to find a tin that no longer has the paper and wax seal, there is the regular McClelland date stamp on the bottom of the tin.

 

[vortex]

Had a few bowls of McClelland Anniversary Blend (original tinning) yesterday. All I can say is that I'm going to search out a few more tins of this stuff. It is unbelievably good.

How do you tell if it's original tinning?

The original 2002 release has the red wax seal, the 2005 re-release has the green wax seal, and the 2010 release has a "natural" (looks brown to me) wax seal.

If you happen to find a tin that no longer has the paper and wax seal, there is the regular McClelland date stamp on the bottom of the tin.

I never tried any of them. I found some green wax ones but no red ones. Are the greens pretty good, too?

 

[LilBastage]

Had a few bowls of McClelland Anniversary Blend (original tinning) yesterday. All I can say is that I'm going to search out a few more tins of this stuff. It is unbelievably good.

How do you tell if it's original tinning?

The original 2002 release has the red wax seal, the 2005 re-release has the green wax seal, and the 2010 release has a "natural" (looks brown to me) wax seal.

If you happen to find a tin that no longer has the paper and wax seal, there is the regular McClelland date stamp on the bottom of the tin.

I never tried any of them. I found some green wax ones but no red ones. Are the greens pretty good, too?

Yes. They only tinned this blend in 2002, 2005, and now in 2010 so the green seals are at least 5 years old. It's the same blend, but they're using fresh tobaccos (the 2010 is a fresh mixture, the 2005 is 5 years old, the 2002 is 8 years old. I think that makes sense??)

It appears to age very well. The Latakia is not strong at all to my taste, but someone with a distaste for Latakia may notice it more. The Lat is more pronounced in the later runs than the earlier as one would expect.

If you try some and don't like it, let me know. I would be happy to take it off your hands in a trade or outright purchase.