Andrew Wike
Andrew Wike
Originally from the foothills of North Carolina, Andy grew up on a tobacco farm where he watched his great grandfather cure and prime Virginias as a boy. Naturally, he soon developed a love for pipes and pipe tobacco. After taking up the hobby full-time during his undergrad at UNC Chapel Hill, Andy searched for a way to consolidate his love for pipes and his ambitions as a writer and marketing specialist. Luckily his search led him across state lines to join us here at Smokingpipes.com.

As our Email Marketing Specialist, Andy's known for wearing many hats, and also for juggling a variety of responsibilities. In addition to writing newsletters and blogs, Andy's also responsible for coding up our emails and blogs, as well as researching, testing, and implementing cutting-edge marketing trends across a variety of platforms. Andy loves Spanish food, and since his return from Seville, Spain in 2012, has been tirelessly searching for jamón ibérico. When he’s not writing or coding, he enjoys gardening, tea sipping, coffee gulping, traveling, learning new languages, and watching his beard grow.

Top 11 Best-Selling English Blends
November 7, 2017 by Andrew Wike
39 Comments

A while back, we compiled the top trending bulk tobaccos, and the results were pretty interesting. It got me thinking though, what are the ALL TIME best-selling blends? Since the cold weather's rekindling my love for Latakia and Orientals, let's start with the all time top 11 best-selling English blends:

... Read More

All Pipes Considered: Winslow Pipes
October 5, 2017 by Andrew Wike
4 Comments
In this episode of All Pipes Considered, Adam and Shane sit down to discuss Winslow pipes, including the Poul's rich history and how that tradition has affected his signature shaping style and unique aesthetic. ... Read More

Winslow Pipes: An Artistic And Energetic Approach
August 16, 2017 by Andrew Wike
3 Comments
In the late 1960s, a young man of the age of 15 walked through the streets of Copenhagen to his job at a local newspaper, where he worked alongside numerous pipesmokers in the graphics department. Both at work and in the various shop windows ... Read More

Name That Pipe Maker
August 2, 2017 by Andrew Wike
If you haven't seen it already, this year's Smokingpipes poster featured a tribute to the father of modern fantasy literature (and one of the most renowned pipe smokers in history) with a depiction of what the famous author's desk may have looked like. ... Read More

A Closer Look At Sergey Ailarov
June 16, 2017 by Andrew Wike
Sergey Ailarov is one of the most prominent names in Russian pipe making; yet, like many pipe makers who've gained fame abroad, Ailarov's work here in the U.S. is quite scarce. We hope to change all that, as we added him to our lineup of talented, artisanal pipe makers earlier this week. ... Read More

Barling Blog Redux
June 2, 2017 by Andrew Wike
5 Comments
Back in March, Joshua Burgess wrote an article describing a very special 4-pipe Barling set, discussing its historical and pipe historical significance. This is a guest post written by our fellow piper Ed, who took it upon himself to conduct further research into the set and shed some additional light on this curious narrative. ... Read More
Tagged in:  BarlingCustomersHistory

All Pipes Considered: Churchwardens
May 5, 2017 by Andrew Wike
3 Comments
In this episode of All Pipes Considered, Daniel and I take on the Churchwarden pipe. We discuss the history behind these long-stemmed offerings, as well as some of their modern iterations across popular brands and their terrific qualities as reading pipes. ... Read More

7 Words Every Pipe Smoker Should Know
March 31, 2017 by Andrew Wike
7 Comments
If you're new to pipe smoking, you've probably already noticed we have some pretty unique jargon. When we write our pipe descriptions, blog posts, and newsletters, we try to describe the pipes as accurately as possible; often that means using a specific set of terms recognized by the pipe community to mean very ... Read More

All Pipes Considered: NEW Super Giant Pipes
March 31, 2017 by Andrew Wike
7 Comments
In this All Pipes Considered video, Adam and Andy discuss some of the largest pipes to ever hit our site: the Super Giants. These elephantine, tubular numbers hit our site today, in two distinctive shapes (the Tubularos and the Destroyer). Check them out! ... Read More

Tasting Notes: Drucquer & Sons - Levant Mixture
March 23, 2017 by Andrew Wike
3 Comments
Today Shane reviews the last of seven blends in the Drucquer & Sons lineup with this Tasting Notes video of Levant Mixture: a rich, luxurious blend of Balkan and New-World tobaccos, comprising generous portions of small leaf Turkish and Cyprian Latakia, ripe red Virginia leaf, and a little bright. ... Read More