Rather than spending Saturday in front of the television watching college football, or behind a book (of which there are many I'm in the process of reading), I spent it here at Smokingpipes.com. I can hardly complain; who wouldn't want to allocate a half weekend around gorgeous briar and in the company of pipe people? However, because of my altered routine, I unfortunatly left behind in my office the pipes I've been smoking regularly as well as a few tins of tobacco I've been enjoying over the last few weeks. And unfortunately I didn't realize this until very late Saturday night.

Here's the quandary; there I was, staring down a trunk full of aging tobacco, a bookshelf and desk cluttered with a dozen or so opened and half-smoked tins of tobacco, and a pipe rack or two (or three) teaming with rested briar begging to be filled and lit. But I didn't want any of it. I craved for the pipes and tins I'd left at work. After all, that's what I've been smoking.

The beauty of this first-world predicament is that it forced me out of what's started to become, unbeknownst to me, a chronic norm; that is straight Virginia in a straight (or quarter bent), classically shaped pipe. Yet, after a little creative thinking, a bit of squirming, and a mild fit, by the end of the night, and after a proper measure of whiskey, I found myself surprised and delighted behind an old friend of a wildly shaped Ardor filled with a rather exotic Oriental blend I'd been meaning to taste-test. It was quite good. And the experience was quite enjoyable as well. Now I'm out of a rut that I didn't even know I was in. I suppose I should work the odd Saturday more often.

Should you, upon examination, also find your routine stagnant, tonight we've got the solution. In addition to another three-dozen estate pipes, you'll find new works from Kent Rasmussen, Paolo Becker, Radice, Castello, Savinelli, Dunhill, Butz-Choquin, Peterson, Tsuge, and Vauen to add more spark to your rotation. Also for you cigar guys, be sure to check out Aging Room cigars; the M356 Presto is particularly outstanding.

Ted Swearingen: Vice President, General Manager