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Sutliff - 101 Black Kathy
Pleasant
Black Kathy is a smooth blend, perfect for smoking around any non-pipe smokers. The taste and room note are both extremely pleasant, slightly sweet and without any harsh or off-putting notes. The strength rating seems accurate, too. It was easy to light and to keep lit, and it was, in all other ways, an enjoyable smoke from beginning to end: the strength and flavors seemed consistent throughout the bowl.
Starter Kits - Highway Nine Deluxe Smooth Starter Kit Bent
A great combo
I will freely admit that I had my doubts: a pipe, plus a pipe tool, cleaners, and a pouch seemed too good to be true, given the asking price. It is not: the pipe is of good quality and well worth the cost, even if it were being sold by itself. When you add in the other items, this kit would be a bargain at twice the price. Fair warning given: I have recently returned to pipe smoking after a twenty-year hiatus. There may be experienced smokers who could point out the flaws in the pipe provided in the kit. For myself, I have not seen any, but I am only smoking inexpensive pipes right now. With all of that having been said, I think this kit is an outstanding deal.
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Blog's Commented on
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Mystery Cigar Review: March 2021
- ► This was another great review, guys! You did a nice job on the analysis, and the grief-giving was, as usual, outstanding.This sounds like cigar to watch for. Is there any way that you could set up a site wide alert if (hopefully, when) Ian puts this cigar into production? It sounds like you guys might have dibs on the first few boxes to hit the shelves (and I would not blame you), but I would definitely be interested in a few myself.
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Mystery Review: January 2024
- ► Best moment, right around 14:00:"It smells like it's burning."Seriously, guys, this is another great episode. Also, Darrick, Mark, Francois, Mike, et al. are right. This return to an in-person setting works.
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Mystery Review: March 2024
- ► All of you guys who have posted are right: this is a great episode. The horsing around was as insightful as the technical discussion. ("Ribs for Breakfast" forever!)Also, the setting is perfect. The shelves of tins and jars make a great backdrop. It feels like we have been allowed to drop into the brick and mortar store after hours. Well done, gentlemen! Bravo!
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Mystery Tobacco Review: August 2023
- ► Andy!!! Welcome back!I am certain that you have been busy, but I am also confident in saying that you have been missed.(N.B. That is not a slap at Truett, Alan, or Shane: Andy, you just bring a laconic twist and a deep knowledge that I enjoy hearing.)This was a great episode. Nice job fighting for the “biggest miss” award. That was fun to watch. Bravo! (*Golf clap* Well played, sirs; well played.)
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Mystery Tobacco Review: January 2022
- ► Before we say anything else, I think we should all give due tribute to Mr. Whelan for sharing a tin from 1976. Well done, and good on you, sir! That was a generous gift. Also, you _really_ stumped the boys. Hah! A tin from forty-six years ago is a challenge worthy of their talents.Andrew, Shane, Truitt: you did well. You worked through the cut. You danced around the variety, but you were right, ultimately, about the basic characteristics (given the age, after all). Also, thank you, Truitt, for calling our attention to Royal Yacht as an available substitute.Best,Matt
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Mystery Tobacco Review: March 2021
- ► Guys,Please do not give into the viewers who only want you to review the blends that are commercially available. Listening to you three work through the qualities that you find in the tobaccos is really instructive, even if I cannot find exactly what you are smoking. That kind of conversation tells me something about what I might want to try to taste when I encounter a new tobacco, no matter what it is. I like what you did, though, in the discussion of commercially available blends that might echo some of the qualities that you found in the "mix and match and 'toss into the blender to add confusion' blend" that you were given this time. (Good times, though, don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed watching you three talk through what you were tasting.)Shane, you mentioned that smokingpipes.com caries blending components. Do you have (or can you recommend) a list of unblended tobaccos that could allow a newbie smoker to develop a sense of what each ingredient can do in a blend? I see that Sutliff has a list, and that pipesmagazine.com has some pages on the topic. Where would you start? What would you start with?I'll throw this open to all three of you: if you were getting started in trying to learn what each component tobacco tastes, smells, and looks like, how would you go about it? (I mean, aside from smoking a lot: that's a given. I am not looking for short-cuts, just a course of study.)
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Mystery Tobacco Review: May 2023
- ► Everything else aside, Davis, it was VERY generous to share a 24 y.o tin. I mean, sure, it was a screwball pitch at ankle level, but how often does anyone get to try something that old? Guys, you are right; you gotta put Davis on the panel once or twice. Honor demands it. The question becomes: what do you serve on that occasion?
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Smokingpipes' Own Shane Ireland Has Joined The Confrérie Des Maîtres Pipiers De Saint-Claude
- ► Well done, sir! Bravo!!Shane Ireland has been a profoundly positive influence on the world of pipe smoking. I can attest to it: my love of pipe smoking (and my feeling of belonging to a community of pipe smokers) has been deepened by Shane's work as a reviewer of pipes and tobacco, as a video blogger in the _Tasting Notes_ series, and, most especially, through his consistent (and consistently engaging and informative) appearances on the _Mystery Tobacco Review_ podcast. Again, I say: well done and well-deserved!
Introducing Small Batch: Sun Bear Tupelo, The Latest Iteration of C&D's Most Popular Summertime Blend- ► Mr. Wike and Mr. Smith,Thank you for responding to Olmstead. I hope that appropriate attention is being paid to Levi, the poster who claimed (or appeared to claim) to have received a can prior to release.For my part, I am looking forward to the latest version of Sun Bear. I (along with many other pipe enthusiasts, I am sure) appreciate the appearance of a hard-to-find, rarely available blend. It adds zest to the search for good tobacco. It also adds frustration and screen addiction, but that is another matter.All of that having been said and while recognizing the financial limitations on producing a small-batch product at scale, I wonder if someone might pass a note to Mr. Jeremy Reeves (master craftsman, tantalizer, he who must be named, etc.). The suggestion is this: how about a retrospective? Would it be possible to recreate some of the batches of the past and to sell them as "sets", as bundles that include two to four ounces of each of the rarely available recipes?I would happily pay for such a set of exemplars of the Sun Bear series. There are also some of the Christmas themed aromatics that I did not get a chance to purchase.Best wishes for happy smoking, M