Articles by Shane Ireland | Smokingpipes Daily Reader

Smoke Rings: Muestra de Saka by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

December 10, 2020 by Shane Ireland

Welcome back to another episode of Smoke Rings. Recently, Steve Saka, the founder of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, stopped by our office here in South Carolina to visit our store and meet the team. While he was here, Tim had the opportunity to sit down with Steve and discuss Dunbarton's celebrated Muestra de Saka line, ... Read More

All Pipes Considered: J. Alan Jess Tribute Pipes

November 16, 2020 by Shane Ireland

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On this special episode of All Pipes Considered, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jeff Gracik of J. Alan Pipes to discuss the Jess Chonowitsch tribute pipes he made for us recently on commission. ... Read More

Aganorsa Experience

November 12, 2020 by Shane Ireland

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A few weeks ago, we were privileged to have Terrance Riley from Aganorsa Leaf in the office with us. The head of national sales and marketing, Riley invited us to take part in what he calls the "Aganorsa Experience," a taste-testing seminar focused on understanding the brand's signature flavor by sampling a few of ... Read More

Tasting Notes: Gold Block

October 13, 2020 by Shane Ireland

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Welcome back to another episode of Tasting Notes. In this installment, I continue my journey down Memory Lane, exploring Aromatic mixtures that I haven't smoked in ages. You see, for the past several years, the main focus of my rotation has been Virginias and Virginia/Periques, and before that, I was obsessed with English ... Read More

Tasting Notes: Chacom No. Three

September 30, 2020 by Shane Ireland

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Welcome back to another episode of Tasting Notes. Over the last several weeks, I've been tasting my way through four newly available blends from Chacom. I began with Chacom No. 4, because it was the blend I was most interested in. What's been really interesting about this exercise, however, is that it forced me to get out of my own comfort zone in terms of what I normally smoke and try blends like Chacom No. 1, a delicious medium-bodied and well-balanced English Mixture; Chacom No. 2, which renewed my interest in Aromatic blends in general; and now Chacom No. 3, a genre-bending Aromatic that I'm excited to review today. ... Read More

Smoke Rings: My Father The Judge

September 8, 2020 by Shane Ireland

Welcome back to another episode of Smoke Rings. Today we're going to discuss one of my favorite offerings from My Father's Cigars: The Judge. Available in four distinct vitolas, The Judge combines Nicaraguan filler with two Nicaraguan binders, all enveloped in a naturally sweet Ecuadorian Sumatran wrapper. ... Read More

Tasting Notes: Chacom No. Two

September 3, 2020 by Shane Ireland

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Welcome back to another episode of Tasting Notes, a video review series all about discovering (or rediscovering) some of the best pipe tobacco blends on the market. Continuing my journey through Chacom's tobacco portfolio, today I'm taking a closer look at one the brand's more recent additions ... Read More

Tasting Notes: Rattray's Bagpiper's Dream

August 13, 2020 by Shane Ireland

8 Comments

Welcome back to another episode of Tasting Notes. For this installment, I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone and revisiting Aromatic blends, starting with Rattray's Bagpiper's Dream. I've long overlooked Aromatic mixtures in favor of Virginia/Perique or pure Virginia tobaccos, but I've recently realized ... Read More

All Pipes Considered: Jeff Gracik and Ping Zhan

August 6, 2020 by Shane Ireland

On this special episode of All Pipes Considered, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jeff Gracik of J. Alan Pipes and Ping Zhan to discuss the two carvers' latest collaboration sets. Four years in the making, these amazing sets represent not only the artisans' influences and signature style, but their longstanding friendship ... Read More

Smoke Rings University: Cigar Humidification

July 23, 2020 by Shane Ireland