Tobacco Talk

In his 1908 apologetical work, Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton alludes to an idea that he had long had for a story: an English sailor sets out for an Island in the South Pacific, but through a navigational error lands back in England itself, believing that he had found an undiscovered country. ... Read More

I'd never heard of today's mystery tobacco until I stumbled upon it while searching for something else. That may seem a little odd, since (as you'll see, eventually) the maker is far from obscure; in my defense, though, let me just point out that we do have a hell of a lot of tobacco around here. ... Read More

"It's called Chenet's Cake," John announced, as he tossed a little brownie of tobacco onto my desk. Fresh from a trip to C&D's former operation in Morganton, NC, the Smokingpipes delegation returned bearing gifts ... Read More

Meet the Cornell and Diehl team as they take you through the meticulous and time-consuming process of making G.L. Pease's Union Square. In this exclusive video, head blender and production manager Jeremy Reeves will walk you through each step — from blending to pressing to slicing into delicate flakes — in making this popular ... Read More

I decided to revisit this classic Irish-style flake after many years. Since it had been so long, I didn't know quite what to expect. Popping the tin for the first time unleashed an "in-your-face" fruity aroma and very dark, neatly-stacked flakes. ... Read More

For us all-day pipe smokers, choosing which tobaccos to smoke can sometimes be a daunting and slightly overwhelming task. We have certain blends we prefer in the morning, some we save for after lunch, and those specifically reserved for the wee evening and late night hours. Think of it as a batting line-up. ... Read More

Dunhill devotees have been patiently waiting for quite some time for the return of this classic. Baby's Bottom is a mixture of Virginias and Latakia — stout and flavorful. In all honesty, I wasn't nearly as excited for the revival of this blend of legendary smoothness as I have been for others. At least not until I smoked my first bowl... ... Read More

Dunhill's Three Year Matured Virginia is back. Another blend with a cult following, we are proud to be able to offer the revival of this classic exclusively. Naturally, the anticipation over the last few months had me absolutely ecstatic when the product finally arrived. ... Read More

Summer is more or less upon us, and you know what that means — it's that magical time of year when most pipe smokers start to put the Latakia blends away, and bystanders breath a sigh of relief. So for this Mystery Review I've chosen a Latakia blend, figuring it might be interesting to see what our subjects' might ... Read More

We've discussed, at some length, music and pipe smoking before. Predictably, selections ranged anywhere from Bing Crosby to The Clash, and from Ella Fitzgerald to Fleet Foxes. Musical tastes, you see, are as varied and diverse as tobacco blends and the people that smoke them.

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