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A month ago, I visited Savinelli for the first time in a few months. Rather jet-lagged, having arrived in Italy the day before from China, I was making small-talk, catching up with Sonia Rivolta, Savinelli's CEO, and Luca Fontana, the export manager, and glancing through the pipes of interest list (which is the appellation I have mentally appended to the document that is perennially presented) that they'd laid out in front of me. ... Read More

This month we've seen new pipes from a number of talented carvers, including newcomer Gustavo Cunha of Martelo Pipes. If you missed any of these briars during the regular update, don't worry... many of them are still on the site. Here's a quick look at some of March's pipe highlights! ... Read More

Normally when I pick a mystery blend I choose something I think our test subjects (or my co-workers, as they prefer to be called) are unlikely to guess, or at least guess right. A blend that looks anonymous in its components perhaps, or something similar to a mixture I know at least one of them smokes, thus providing a red herring factor. ... Read More

Back on the fifth of March we received an email from a customer, one Christopher Sheets, directing us to a curious YouTube video. In this video Chris walks us through the construction and use of an amazing gift he made us — a lightweight cellaring cabinet made entirely of black paper-faced foam board! ... Read More

Well, it's officially spring, though having rained most of the day here on the coast of SC, the equinox was a less than auspicious occasion. Regardless, whether you're already enjoying warmer weather or still waiting for a change ... Read More

Ser Jacopo is one of the quirkiest marques in the Pesaro school, pressing the whimsical aesthetic even further beyond the style's already playful manner. From the massive and reaching, to the lithe and sinuous, to the insane and seemingly impossible, there's simply no mistaking a Ser Jacopo pipe. Here's a quick look at just what makes the marque so recognizable and innovative: ... Read More

Each year, at about this time, Smokingpipes.com creates a poster. This is something we all look forward to, as it's featured not only on our website, but as an insert in Pipes and Tobaccos Magazine, and, of course, on the walls of our offices. I've had my hand in helping with the poster in years past, and of course there were many impressive designs before that, but to me, the poster this year is quite special. ... Read More

With our Mac Baren HH promo in full swing, I thought it was about time to revisit some of my favorite blends in this natural tobacco line. Being the Perique fiend that I am, I immediately reached for our communal tin of Acadian Perique. It's certainly not a new blend to me; in fact, it regularly makes its way into my rotation. ... Read More

According to Stephen A. Ross, in his article "Tobacco Renaissance," in 1887 Harald Halberg, son of merchant captain Hans Nissen Halberg, who ran cargo including snuff, chewing, and pipe tobacco, decided that instead of going into the family business he would buy S. Bønnelycke, a tobacco factory located in their home town of Svendborg. ... Read More

In the beginning, there was France. Then England, and Italy — then sometime later Denmark, followed about a generation later by Japan. Then suddenly things were sprouting up in Russia and various points of Eastern Europe, then Greece and China. Thus goes the (very) abbreviated history of briar pipes. ... Read More