Cold Weather and Smoking Pipes

[n2ize]

The combination of this lengthy cold snap and the recent holiday spirit has prompted me (i.e. put me in the mood) to break out my tobacco pipes and enjoy some aromatic tobacco and catch up on the art and science of smoking popes for a while.. I dug out a modestly inexpensive piece of briar to take with me on the road and a somewhat more expensive Savinelli "church warden" pipe for those "relaxing at home in the evening" moments. Having not used them in a few years a little cleaning and they were as good as new. I picked up a pouch of nice aromatic Captain Black regular and enjoyed a light cool and pleasantly aromatic comfortable smoke. There is something very soothing and so incredibly relaxing and thought inspiring about a nice pipe on a cold day winter day or evening. I also joined ""smokingpopes.com" and "pipesandcigars.com". For me it's just one more thing to look forward to during the cold winter and until the warm weather returns. Most likely come the spring and summer I'll put my pipes back into retirement until next year. :)

[KG4CGC]

Do yourself a favor and visit a proper tobacconist for something to put in your pipe other than Captain Black. Today's Captain Black isn't even 100% real tobacco. I do not consider reconstituted sheet tobacco to be real. I say this not to hurt you, but only to help.
I have a few pipes myself, including a 1946 Weber Windproof and a 1976 Joby made in Canada. There are others but I don't smoke much these days.

[n2ize]

Do yourself a favor and visit a proper tobacconist for something to put in your pipe other than Captain Black. Today's Captain Black isn't even 100% real tobacco. I do not consider reconstituted sheet tobacco to be real. I say this not to hurt you, but only to help.
I have a few pipes myself, including a 1946 Weber Windproof and a 1976 Joby made in Canada. There are others but I don't smoke much these days.

Hmmmm... Interesting. I just bought a pouch of CB the other day and it still looks, smells, and smokes like the old stuff as I remember it. But then it's been a very long while so my memories of the old CB are not that vivid.. I do appreciate you letting me know. It will have to do for now until I can get over to a tobacconist. In any event I am planning to visit a good pipe tobacconist soon as I want to buy my favored type of tobacco, namely English mixtures that are rich in Latakia and maybe some perique. I like tobacco's with a medium to high Latakia content.

P.S. I don't smoke much either. For me the pipes are mainly a fall/winter thing.

[w2amr]

Whenever I smell pipe smoke, I think of my dad working on his Lionel trains when I was a kid.

[KG4CGC]

John, one of my favorite blends is Irish in origin, or so I'm told. You can make something similar. You'll need something sweet, something smoky and a fine cut bright Virginia made for hand rolling. Latakia is excellent smoky tobacco for this. For a sweet, you'll have to let your palette be your guide.

Blending it all into/with a fine cut hand rolling tobacco is both a chore and an art. A labor of love if you will. One part of each is a good starting point although personally I go heavier with the fine cut bright Virginia. You should achieve a blend that burns well, doesn't require a lot of relights yet has a nice balance. A small amount of Turkish will bring out the subtle nuances of the blend as a whole. I would suggest a large dome type bowl for mixing, preferable about 2 and a half gallons in size. After mixing, allow it to settle for a week and let the flavors marry and infuse into each other.

This should make for an enjoyable pope.

[w2amr]

John, one of my favorite blends is Irish in origin, or so I'm told. You can make something similar. You'll need something sweet, something smoky and a fine cut bright Virginia made for hand rolling. Latakia is excellent smoky tobacco for this. For a sweet, you'll have to let your palette be your guide.

Blending it all into/with a fine cut hand rolling tobacco is both a chore and an art. A labor of love if you will. One part of each is a good starting point although personally I go heavier with the fine cut bright Virginia. You should achieve a blend that burns well, doesn't require a lot of relights yet has a nice balance. A small amount of Turkish will bring out the subtle nuances of the blend as a whole. I would suggest a large dome type bowl for mixing, preferable about 2 and a half gallons in size. After mixing, allow it to settle for a week and let the flavors marry and infuse into each other.

This should make for an enjoyable pope.:snicker:

[n2ize]

Whenever I smell pipe smoke, I think of my dad working on his Lionel trains when I was a kid.
On a few occasions when I am smoking a pipe I have had people come up to me and complement me on the aroma of the tobacco. And a few times they have told me it brings back memories of their childhood and their Dad, Grandpa, uncle, etc. who smoked a pipe.

[WZ7U]

Tobacco in a pipe... how quaint. :snicker:

[n2ize]

John, one of my favorite blends is Irish in origin, or so I'm told. You can make something similar. You'll need something sweet, something smoky and a fine cut bright Virginia made for hand rolling. Latakia is excellent smoky tobacco for this. For a sweet, you'll have to let your palette be your guide.

Blending it all into/with a fine cut hand rolling tobacco is both a chore and an art. A labor of love if you will. One part of each is a good starting point although personally I go heavier with the fine cut bright Virginia. You should achieve a blend that burns well, doesn't require a lot of relights yet has a nice balance. A small amount of Turkish will bring out the subtle nuances of the blend as a whole. I would suggest a large dome type bowl for mixing, preferable about 2 and a half gallons in size. After mixing, allow it to settle for a week and let the flavors marry and infuse into each other.

This should make for an enjoyable pope.
Sounds good. In fact I have wanted to do some of my own blending for a while and this is probably as good a time as any. The mix you describe sounds similar to some of the English mixtures I've tried so it might be a good starting point for me. A fine cut bright Virginia and some Latakia and I'm thinking I could use a sweet cavendish for the sweet note. That would at least leave me a good starting point and I can then experiment from there. I think it will make for a great pope. ;)

Note: I scratch out the Cavendish unless they leave out the casing