Goats and Bollywood - that's how my weekend went. Two friends of mine, who happen to be roommates, double-booked the house forcing an odd juxtaposition of overlapping theme parties. Things like this happen when most everyone you know works in higher education.

The goat roast was the first event, and involved cooking the kid, along with a leg of deer, in a pit dug just for the occasion. You'd think that this would be the perfect setting for pipe smoking, but no, that came later once the Bollywood-style tunes began to fill the living room and someone said there would be dancing - strike that, they said I would be dancing. So I and a few other refugees snuck outside to sample a couple varieties of Oriental blends. I've nothing against Bollywood and I truly enjoy sharing culture, but when it comes to coerced dancing - I'd rather just share some tobacco. Many of you, I suspect, share these sentiments.

Enough about the weekend; you all are here for an update on our latest tobacciana offerings. We've got five new ceramic ashtrays of various shapes going up today, along with three new cigar packs and a special 2013 W.O. Larson Limited Edition blend. There are also a handful of exquisite new pipes from Alex Florov, shapely new pieces from Michal Novak, and two hundred and thirty-six other new and estate pipes, each just hoping you'll pick them as your dance partner, or failing that, at least choose their company to share good smoke with.

 John Sutherland: Marketing Mngr and Sr. Photographer