Recent Articles | Smokingpipes Daily Reader

10 Great Winter Smokes

January 19, 2023 by Gabriel Bass

11 Comments

As winter begins its gusty approach once again, I find myself returning to blends that offer rich, deep flavors, or alternately, old favorites that feature top notes of nostalgic quality. I can't say what exactly draws me to certain blend types in the winter months. Perhaps Latakia's smoky, incense-like flavors unlock ... Read More

Top Resources For Pipe Smokers

January 18, 2023 by Gabriel Bass

38 Comments

Pipe smoking, though quite traditional in some ways, is still an ever-changing hobby. From new tobaccos, to ultra-rare stampings or shapes, to the latest up-and-coming carvers, there's quite a lot to keep track of. How do we juggle it all? ... Read More

A Closer Look at Briar Grain

January 13, 2023 by Chuck Stanion

31 Comments

We've all admired beautiful grain on a fine briar. That grain is coaxed by the briar cutter and the pipemaker into sometimes spectacular visual enhancements for a smoking instrument, but it's difficult to understand grain without understanding the plants that create briar and the way that briar is prepared. ... Read More

Mystery Tobacco Review: January 2023

January 12, 2023 by Shane Ireland

4 Comments

Welcome back to the Mystery Tobacco Review! For this first episode of 2023, we asked our good friend, and head blender of Cornell & Diehl, Mr. Jeremy Reeves to return as our Guest Inquisitor for this month's review. Tune in as Truett, David, Alan, and I smoke through Jeremy's chosen mixture and attempt to guess its components ... Read More

David Bowie and Pipes: The Mystery of The Bewlay Brothers

January 6, 2023 by Gabriel Bass

10 Comments

In 1971, David Bowie returned to the studio to begin work on a follow-up to The Man Who Sold the World. While many consider that album to be a classic today, it was a commercial failure on its release, and the pressure was on to produce a hit, or at least something that would make it onto the charts. Hunky Dory's ... Read More

Ephemerality and the Cigar: A Meditation

January 5, 2023 by John McElheny

1 Comment

A major divergence between cigar smoking and pipe smoking is the relatively permanent nature of the pipe itself, being a tool used for smoking rather than the tobacco that is actually smoked. Pipe tobacco, then, is provided a degree of separation from the smoker, the smoke taken in through the stem as it passes down the ... Read More

Pipe Smoking Desktop Backgrounds: January 2023

January 2, 2023 by Andrew Wike

2 Comments

It's time for another round of beautiful pipe smoking desktop backgrounds! As in previous months, we've compiled some of our favorite shots and artwork to share with you. Below you'll find eight unique images, split between desktop and mobile orientations and available for download in two high-resolution ... Read More

Top Cigars of 2022

December 30, 2022 by Truett Smith

2 Comments

It's that time of year again folks: the week between Christmas and New Year's during which we digest holiday desserts, refine future resolutions, and revel in past reflections. Such a time also marks our top-cigars project here at Smokingpipes. While "pipes" may be in our name — literally — many of us also appreciate the nuance and complexity of cigars, and since 2019, ... Read More

Mystery Cigar Review: December 2022

December 29, 2022 by Shane Ireland

Welcome back to the Mystery Cigar Review, our final episode of 2022. And to ensure we end things with a bang, we asked John McElheny — one of our talented Copywriters here at Smokingpipes (whose voice was, indeed, made for radio) — to serve as our Inquisitor for this month's review. Tune in as Tyler, Alan, and I smoke ... Read More

2023 Pipe-Smoking Resolutions

December 28, 2022 by Davin Hylton

At the closing of every year, it's common practice for people from all walks of life to reflect on the accomplishments and improvements they would like achieve. Of course, pipe smokers are no different, and we can all agree that, no matter how long we've smoked a pipe, there is always more ... Read More

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