Eric G.
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Tampers & Tools - Tobacco Pipe Wind Cap
More than a wind cap
I don't often use these as actual wind caps although they work great. I sometimes like to pack a pipe for use later in the day and I use one of these with a piece of clear tape over the holes to keep the tobacco from falling out and from drying out as fast. With a little bend of the clips that stick out it is adjustable for many different pipe sizes.

Mac Baren - Vanilla Cream 3.5oz
Quality vanilla blend that bites a bit
Great qulity tobacco and sweet creamy vanilla that isnt overpowering. Just smoke it slow and careful or you will regret it.

Half and Half - Half and Half 1.5oz
Better than expected
This classic blend is simple but pleasant with a nice room note. It is a nice easy blend for smoking while working.

Dunhill - Royal Yacht 50g
Royal Yuck
If you were/are a cig smoker, this may apeal to you, but for somewhat of a nic lightweight like me, not so much. It has a harsh, strong, flavor and the smell isn't much better.

Cornell & Diehl - New Market
Least fav deer tongue blend
Crooner is my favorite deer tongue blend, then Gentleman caller, then this dead last. It is just a bad combination. My hope is that after the virginias age it will taste better.

Mac Baren - 7 Seas Royal 3.5oz
A close second to 7 seas regular
Very pleasant well behaved aromatic that tastes as good as it smells and isnt lacking real tobacco flavor like a lot of aromatics.

Lane Limited - BCA
Nice but a bit boring
Sweet and easy to smoke. Very pleasant room note but kinda boring to smoke. It is good for smoking while working as it requires no attention as there is not much there.

Peterson - Sunset Breeze 50g
Favorite amaretto blend
It is really a nice blend except that it always bites me a bit.

Lane Limited - Dark Red
pretty good
Like BCA but with cherry. It has a nice room note and smokes easily but nothing too exciting, but that is because i like a little actual tobacco flavor which black cavendish of course doesn't supply.

Mac Baren - HH Old Dark Fired 16oz
Full flavor, high nic hit
If i could get the flavor without the hard nic hit, this would be one i would smoke a lot more. It isn't really like a cigar, but it does remind me of one somehow. These flakes need some drying out or will require lots of relights. If aromatics are a dessert, this is the steak. Delicious!

BriarWorks - Bacon Old Fashioned 2oz
Confused
This is like an interesting experiment that shouldn't have gone to market. I love bacon, old fashioneds and all these component tobaccos. This blend just tastes strange. I am hopeful that a year or two of aging will improve this blend. My hopes aren't too high.

Peter Stokkebye - PS402 Luxury Twist Flake
The most beautiful flake
Each flake looks like a little work of abstract art. This stuff is my favorite VA. It has a light sweet casing that makes for a pleasant room note

Peter Stokkebye - PS403 Luxury Bullseye Flake
go to summertime working blend
I enjoy this in a cob on summer days when doing yard work. It's a smooth no fuss blend that makes my yard work not feel like work. A lot of people claim it ages really well so I am looking forward to trying it out again once the weather warms up.

McClelland - Craftsbury: Frog Morton's Cellar 100g
Favorite English aromatic
This was my first Latakia blend and although I've tried quite a few others, I keep coming back to this one as my favorite. I am primarily a light aromatic and VaPer smoker but when I want an English, this one is the one I pick 9 times out of 10. As a side note, the piece of whiskey wood stave that it ages with is not a part of the 100g weight. A lot of people seem to assume they are getting shorted on tobacco but there is 100g of tobacco.

Kramer's - Blend for Cary Grant
Very pleasant aromatic English blend
I would consider this a light to medium English blend. The Irish aromatic comes in and out of the picture while smoking and is very pleasant. I would consider this a great option for an aromatic smoker wanting to cross over to English blends. It's light enough to be an all day smoke but enough flavor to satisfy.

Mac Baren - 7 Seas Regular 16oz
Great quality aromatic
This is what I imagined Captain Black would be like when I started pipe smoking. I was wrong, it was horrible. After avoiding blends similar to CB for12 years I decided to take a chance on a tin of this stuff and it is terrific. I wish I had found it sooner! Bought a 1 lb. bag as it will become a regular in my rotation.

Cornell & Diehl - Crooner
My favorite deer tongue blend
I have tried all the C&D deer tongue blends and this is my favorite by far. It smells great (my wife loves it) and it burns clean down to a fine ash. My only complaint is the nicotine strength is to much for me so I have to smoke small bowls and carefully. I am considering mixing this with some Gentleman Caller to make it less strong so I can enjoy more of it. If you didn't already know, dedicate a pipe to deer tongue as it will forever ghost your pipe.

Cleaners & Cleaning Supplies - Brigham Regular Pipe Cleaners (75 pack)
pretty good
Better than BJ Longs. still linty but less so and unlike the BJ Longs at least these aren't bent on the ends. I also like that these come in a ziplock bag. The paper ring packs are useless once you use a few as they keep falling out.

Cleaners & Cleaning Supplies - B. J. Long Regular Pipe Cleaners (56 pack)
not great
Every time I get one of these packs these days one end of every single one is crimped so if I stick that end in by mistake it scrapes the inside of the stem.

McClelland - Special: Holiday Spirit 2016 50g
A favorite aromatic
The tin note, room note and taste are all really nice. It has a unique combination of flavors and I got several extra tins to last several Christmas seasons just in case it doesn't come back next year.

Mac Baren - Golden Extra 16oz
Everyday comfort food
This is my everyday blend. It is simple but comforting and pleasant. I use it for breaking in pipes and when i want a nice basic pipe tobacco. The room note is pleasant and the blend doesn't bite.

Cult - Blood Red Moon 50g
Cherry pie in a pipe
This has a VERY cherry tin note, The room note lets more vanilla through and the cherry becomes less overwhelming. Supposedly there is chocolate too but I don't pick up on that myself. Smells great and is a quality tobacco blend, not a goopy black cav. mess.

Sutliff - Molto Dolce 1.5oz
Goopy Goodness
I normally avoid heavily cased goopy aromatics, but I gave in to curiosity and bought a tin on MD and have not regretted it. It is like a dessert in your pipe. It tastes great and burns well in spite of the goop.

Dan Tobacco - Sweet Vanilla Honeydew 500g
High quality vanilla VA
This is my favorite aromatic for long term cellaring. People always say not to bother cellaring aromatics but I have a 12 year old tin that I tried when new and it was nice but I mason jarred the rest and forgot about it. I recently reopened it to discover the natural virginia sweetness shining through and the vanilla & honey flavor subdued but very pleasant. If you like heavy aromatics this won't be for you but if you are looking for a light aromatic that still lets the tobacco flavor come through check this one out. Like most VA blends it can bite if rushed so take it slow and easy.

Pipe Tools & Supplies - 8deco Brown Leather Double Ended Tamper
Ideal table tamper
The size is larger than I imagined from the picture...about 5 inches. Perfect for my side table, but not for travel. The cupped shape of the tamper is great for tamping from the edges and not flattening the center which would more easily extinguish the ember. The only negative is this shape with the holes also makes ash stick to it a lot more. The substantial weight and leather feels good in the hand. This large diameter tamper makes quick work of tamping but will not work well with narrow chamber pipes as the diameter is larger than most other tampers.

Pipe Accessories - Brigham Pipe Stacker Set 12 Pipe with Lidded Tray
Organized and protected
I'm loving this set. It's a very well made system and the lid organizes all my odds and ends. I have 15 pipes in it so far, there is easily room for 2 in each slot (24 total) excluding huge freehands perhaps. I store them grouped by type of tobacco used in them. The biggest advantage to me for this system is that you can store a lot in a small footprint. I have very limited space for my pipes and tobacco so this fits the bill. I wait a couple of days after smoking a pipe before putting it back in to ensure it is dry. Not sure why it is sold under the Brigham brand. Their name is nowhere to be found on it. Perhaps they collaborated with the manufacturer to size it for pipe smokers.

Cult
Blood Red Moon 50g

$13.50 $11.65
003-734-0001

Mac Baren
SALE! 
HH Burley Flake 16oz

15% Off Mac Baren Tins
Reg. $106.50 $65.95
003-039-0107

Mac Baren
SALE! 
Symphony 16oz

15% Off Mac Baren Tins
Reg. $69.55 $43.58
003-039-0063

Mac Baren
SALE! 
7 Seas Regular 16oz

15% Off Mac Baren Tins
Reg. $65.95 $41.38
003-039-0068

Mac Baren
SALE! 
Golden Extra 16oz

15% Off Mac Baren Tins
Reg. $69.55 $43.58
003-039-0038
    8 Advanced Pipe Smoking Techniques: Have You Learned Everything ?
  • ► I have seen hemp twine lighters on amazon if anyone wants to try the hemp without the extra step of lighting two things. I love the idea of layering. I can imagine trying to create a"3-course meal" in a pipe. A light virginia as an appetizer, a Latakia blend as the meaty main course, and a sweet aromatic dessert at the end. It might turn out horrible but would be fun to try anyway. Thanks for the idea!
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  • ► I always hear "store tobacco in a dark place" but no explanation of why. Is it the UV rays or just all light in general? I ask because I have jars stored in my closet that get some light from the bedroom light fixture, however they are LED lights which create virtually no UV rays unlike other light sources.
    Happy International Pipe Smoking Day 2017
  • ► Happy IPSD! I enjoyed hearing your stories. As for me...1.Two things got me started in pipe smoking. My only pipe smoking relative was my great grandfather, who I never knew but photos of him with a pipe always intrigued me. He was a well respected, important member of the community and a very kind man. The other thing is my parents in the 80's always watched old black & white movies and I saw countless pipe smokers in an age when most of my peers never saw pipe smokers. With both of those influences ingrained in my subconscious, when I turned 29, I decided I was old enough to be a pipe smoker myself. That was 12 years ago and I have enjoyed the relaxation occasional pipe smoking brings me ever since.2.While smoking a pipe I enjoy reading or just letting my mind wander. Although I'm too busy most of the time to just sit around smoking a pipe so I usually enjoy smoking while driving, working in my wood shop, or doing light yard work. One of my all time favorite times is when camping.3. A local pipe community seems non-existent for me even though I live in a city of over a million people. The online pipe community however is a fantastic group of people who are fun to chat with and without them I probably would have quit in my 1st month of pipe smoking without some kind guidance from veteran smokers on the forums.
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  • ► Very interesting, I hadn't thought about all the possible options with a plug tobacco. Now it doesn't seem so daunting. Thanks for sharing!
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  • ► @Scott J I just wanted to mention that I joined in May and while it wasn't the easiest to join, it does work. I think they make it a little difficult on purpose so they can screen out anti-smoking trolls and the like. I'm not sure of that but that's my assumption from the screening questions they asked. Pipesmokersforum.com is a great forum and was worth jumping through some hoops to get into. I wish you luck!
    Working in a Winter Wonderland
  • ► Merry Christmas to everyone at Smoking Pipes! You are a great bunch who make this hobby even better and I really enjoy doing business with you.