Good Day All;
There is another thread discussing pipe learning / purchase mistakes, by mso489. I believe that it’s more a pipe learning “evolution / learning to adapt” scheme.
Be warned this is more than a little long winded.
In the beginning, as pipe enjoyers, we begin with less expensive pipes. We learn about various tobaccos and work our way through all the possible variations of both pipes and tobaccos, until we find ( or some of us find ) what fits our needs and pocket books best. From there we build a collection that we enjoy.
However, that is not the only possibility, as I recently learned or have had to adapt to.
At the last West Coast Pipe Show I was offered some very old Penzance to smoke. I was solely a Virginia smoker. Alost all blends with Latakia did not work for me. The “campfire” smokiness was a flavor I did not find pleasant, as many others do. This old Penzance opened my eyes. It was smooth, cool, mild, yet flavorful. I began my search for some of this blend, but wanted old product. After seeing the prices being asked on E-Bay I decided that while it was enjoyable, it was not $200.00 for 8 oz, enjoyable.
It did also open my eyes and taste buds to the Esoterica tobaccos though, almost all of which I’d never tried. It’s not available in this market at the few places one might buy tobacco. So to tobacco reviews I went to learn what I could and happened upon two blends which sounded interesting. Dorchester and Dunbar. Both Virginia’s with ( according to tobacco reviews ), no topping agents. On the topping, tobacco reviews is incorrect. From the tin or bag, I can get the faint aroma of some type of topping or casing. Not unpleasant, nor over powering, but present.
To E-Bay I went and purchased an 8 oz bag of each. Plus a tin of each, which I bought from a member of this forum, as luck would have it. The tins arrived, but it was not just Dorchester and Dunbar. The seller added a tin of Tilbury. Thanks Tim!!
I have now tried all three and enjoy each one. They are similar, yet different. All smooth and very pleasant. That being said, the first bowl of Dorchester, did not impress me at all. It was like damp steam with no flavor. Luckily I read this forum and Jesse mentioned that these tobaccos need to be dried out. So I did as Jesse suggested and an amazing transformation occurred. Dorchester blossomed into a lovely Virginia. Flavor, with zero bite. Quite different that my normal Virginia blends of choice. Not that they are bad, but they all have a slight tongue tingle element. I did the same with the Dunbar and Tilbury with the same results. FWIW I am sitting at my work office with 2 ounces of Dorchester laying on some paper to dry out, to pouch and use for the next week.
That is not all the evolution I have gone through since the show.
After countless years of hen pecking by SWMBO, I finally went to the Dr to arrange a sleep test to see if there was something that might be done for my snoring. I am now the unhappy owner of a CPAP device, which indeed has helped my snoring, yet not without side effects. Sleeping with the device I now keep my mouth closed tight. Many of you that know me probably think that’s a good thing. Anyway, due to this I have found that the majority of my pipes have gone from clenchers to hand holders, as they bother my teeth. Any of my pipes with even the slightest stem thickness bother my teeth.
Time to cull and re direct my pipe collection. From pipes weighing around 50 grams I have now had to adjust / adapt to pipes under 30 grams, if I want to smoke while holding a pipe in my teeth. Hard Lucite stems are not comfortable in any way, so now I must move to Ebonite. All of my beloved Castello’s will be relegated to pipes that stay at home and are hand holders, or will need to find new homes.
So while there is a learning curve most of us have gone through, there is also learning to adapt to life’s little curves.
Michael J. Glukler
Ps – this is also a warning to all that collect smaller British pipes. There is now another player chasing the same pipes as you.
There is another thread discussing pipe learning / purchase mistakes, by mso489. I believe that it’s more a pipe learning “evolution / learning to adapt” scheme.
Be warned this is more than a little long winded.
In the beginning, as pipe enjoyers, we begin with less expensive pipes. We learn about various tobaccos and work our way through all the possible variations of both pipes and tobaccos, until we find ( or some of us find ) what fits our needs and pocket books best. From there we build a collection that we enjoy.
However, that is not the only possibility, as I recently learned or have had to adapt to.
At the last West Coast Pipe Show I was offered some very old Penzance to smoke. I was solely a Virginia smoker. Alost all blends with Latakia did not work for me. The “campfire” smokiness was a flavor I did not find pleasant, as many others do. This old Penzance opened my eyes. It was smooth, cool, mild, yet flavorful. I began my search for some of this blend, but wanted old product. After seeing the prices being asked on E-Bay I decided that while it was enjoyable, it was not $200.00 for 8 oz, enjoyable.
It did also open my eyes and taste buds to the Esoterica tobaccos though, almost all of which I’d never tried. It’s not available in this market at the few places one might buy tobacco. So to tobacco reviews I went to learn what I could and happened upon two blends which sounded interesting. Dorchester and Dunbar. Both Virginia’s with ( according to tobacco reviews ), no topping agents. On the topping, tobacco reviews is incorrect. From the tin or bag, I can get the faint aroma of some type of topping or casing. Not unpleasant, nor over powering, but present.
To E-Bay I went and purchased an 8 oz bag of each. Plus a tin of each, which I bought from a member of this forum, as luck would have it. The tins arrived, but it was not just Dorchester and Dunbar. The seller added a tin of Tilbury. Thanks Tim!!
I have now tried all three and enjoy each one. They are similar, yet different. All smooth and very pleasant. That being said, the first bowl of Dorchester, did not impress me at all. It was like damp steam with no flavor. Luckily I read this forum and Jesse mentioned that these tobaccos need to be dried out. So I did as Jesse suggested and an amazing transformation occurred. Dorchester blossomed into a lovely Virginia. Flavor, with zero bite. Quite different that my normal Virginia blends of choice. Not that they are bad, but they all have a slight tongue tingle element. I did the same with the Dunbar and Tilbury with the same results. FWIW I am sitting at my work office with 2 ounces of Dorchester laying on some paper to dry out, to pouch and use for the next week.
That is not all the evolution I have gone through since the show.
After countless years of hen pecking by SWMBO, I finally went to the Dr to arrange a sleep test to see if there was something that might be done for my snoring. I am now the unhappy owner of a CPAP device, which indeed has helped my snoring, yet not without side effects. Sleeping with the device I now keep my mouth closed tight. Many of you that know me probably think that’s a good thing. Anyway, due to this I have found that the majority of my pipes have gone from clenchers to hand holders, as they bother my teeth. Any of my pipes with even the slightest stem thickness bother my teeth.
Time to cull and re direct my pipe collection. From pipes weighing around 50 grams I have now had to adjust / adapt to pipes under 30 grams, if I want to smoke while holding a pipe in my teeth. Hard Lucite stems are not comfortable in any way, so now I must move to Ebonite. All of my beloved Castello’s will be relegated to pipes that stay at home and are hand holders, or will need to find new homes.
So while there is a learning curve most of us have gone through, there is also learning to adapt to life’s little curves.
Michael J. Glukler
Ps – this is also a warning to all that collect smaller British pipes. There is now another player chasing the same pipes as you.
