Late last year, I wrote a blog about my introduction to pipes, and I was happy to see it was so positively received. The post prompted conversations and comments on both our blog and social media; it was quite heartwarming. One of the most intriguing comments was from a long-time Smokingpipes.com customer, Gayl Liebman, welcoming me to the community and sharing some of her experiences as a pipe smoker and smoking contest winner. Although the act of commenting on a blog may seem simple or common these days, it led to an extraordinary email exchange between the two of us, as well as the following profile of Gayl and her experiences. Thanks again to Gayl for the conversation, and to all of you who reached out in comments and emails.

Background

A pipe smoker for almost 50 years, Gayl was inspired by her grandfather. She recalls that he often smoked a pipe with Granger tobacco, a commercial blend available in any Walgreens back then. Her first pipe was a heavily lacquered Dr. Grabow filled with what was, at the time, a small tobacconist's best-selling blend: Wine Cured #9. She's said,

As a result of that unfortunate incident, Gayl searched for information about the pipe smoking hobby and what she could do to make the experience more enjoyable. Her questions were answered at Iwan Ries, a well known pipe shop on Wabash Avenue in downtown Chicago, which established a relationship with them that spanned many decades.

Smoking Contests

Gayl participated and placed in two pipe smoking contests, both times winning first place in the women's competition, and once taking second place overall. Her timed smoke in these events lasted over an hour. Although she has no plans to participate in the future, she gave us the following insight into how the contests work:

At the last contest Gayl attended, she was given a pipe, a tamper, two matches, and two grams of tobacco.

"The rules which apply to smoking contests are quite simple and easy to follow," she says. As spotters watch to ensure nothing fishy is going on, pipes are filled then lit on cue. "Any tampering of the tobacco must be done while the pipe is in-mouth... Once a pipe no longer produced smoke the contestant was eliminated and the time recorded."

Helpful Tips:

Through experience, Gayl learned to try the contest blends before signing up, "to make sure [she] could tolerate it." She said that once before, "the customary two grams of Burley was used, and I found it most disagreeable."

Otherwise, she attributes those long, enjoyable smokes to "a firm commitment to puffing slowly and regularly." Not only did this help her win in competitions, she says her smokes have only gotten better outside of them:

Pipe & Tobacco Preferences

Gayl has pretty impressive collection of pipes, but she says her favorites are "those pipes made with very old briar... such as Charatans, Comoys, Petersons, Savinelli's, GBDs, and Castello Sea Rocks." She mentions two Peterson's pipes in particular, "in which the wood is so old you can actually see and feel hardness marks on the briar in the form of rings, like those that depict age in a tree. When briar is well aged... it ensures a cool, dry smoke."

This isn't to say she doesn't like new pipes, though. Gayl praises Brad Pohlmann and Rad Davis for their use of aged briar for some of their pipes and is also quite pleased with the smoking experience of the new Icarus pipes, but she says,

So what does Gayl put in all that aged briar? For about 30 years, her favorite blend was Scottish Ribbon by Ed Burak. She smoked it almost exclusively, until it became unavailable seven years ago. After trying other blends, none of which were exactly right, she eventually "found another source, a master blender, who was able to create an exact clone, allowing [her] to continue enjoying it." Otherwise, she says she prefers all-natural mixtures, using only natural flavorings, "such as Mexican Vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, Cuban rum, crushed rose petals," which she says highlights the quality of the tobacco and leads to a more enjoyable smoke.

Thanks again to Gayl for all the great information. Do you have any tips or tricks she didn't share with us? Tell us in the comments.