Cellaring

They say that the pen is mightier than the sword, but for pipe smokers, it depends on the pen. If it can write on glass, plastic, and metal so that we can accurately date our tobacco tins, then it is mighty indeed. Besides, carving a date onto a Mason jar with a sword is a clumsy and finger-menacing proposition. ... Read More

The first time I smoked Beacon, I hated it. Beacon is a McClelland tobacco that became a favorite many years ago and accounted for the bulk of my smoking budget, but it didn't start that way. I was transitioning at the time from English blends to Virginias because my wife disliked the scent of Latakia. I wanted to smoke indoors ... Read More

In this post, we'll take a closer look at Scandinavian Tobacco Group's most recent manufacturing codes for their US products, and teach you how to date popular blends like Orlik Golden Sliced, Erinmore, Peterson, and Escudo. ... Read More

Acquiring tobacco and letting it age for years is one of the most rewarding aspects of pipe smoking, granting us the opportunity to appreciate how the flavor profile of our favorite blends can change or improve with time. Often referred to as "cellaring," purchasing tobacco with the intent to let it age is a somewhat newer ... Read More

When time meets Virginia tobaccos, the results are smooth, deep, and delicious flavors, and few things are more enjoyable than opening a decade-old tin and experiencing the olfactory goodness it produces. Notes of figs and molasses greet the nostrils, prompting the mouth to water as the chamber is filled with delicately ... Read More

Recently we sat down with Jeremy Reeves of Cornell & Diehl to discuss the latest entry in the Cellar Series line: Vieux Carré. Originally released back in July of 2016, it's the second English blend and the second flake tobacco in the series — though quite unlike anything else. ... Read More

Having been equally excited by each of the previous releases in Cornell & Diehl's Cellar Series, I've been impatiently awaiting the newest installment: Bijou. What makes Bijou special, you ask? Well, it's the first Flake in the Cellar Series. It's also the first blend in the series to feature a very fine 2003 Red Virginia from North Carolina. ... 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

By now we all know the song of the Cellar Series: Designed to mature, delicious immediately. On Friday, we released C&D's latest entries into the Cellar Series lineup, Bourbon Bleu and Old Grove. But with so many tasty blends on the market to choose from right now, so many new mixtures yet to try, so many unopened tins in an-ever growing tobacco cellar, why pick up two more you might not get around to smoking this year? ... Read More

Last year, around this time, Cornell & Diehl released the first installment of the Cellar Series — blends which, while ready to smoke right out of the tin, were specifically designed to increase in quality with time. ... Read More