A Better Pipe Smoking Community

I don't smoke all that often to be honest although I do enjoy it.

Mostly my pipe is loaded with a local blend called Gentleman Jack. It is mildly aromatic and has a very pleasant room note. Since most of my puffing is done on the down town walkway, it keeps the peace.

My 2nd go to is C&D pipe dreams. An organic Virginia blend that is very delicate and at times temperamental but good.

In 3rd place is English Oriental. I really enjoy this tobacco but usually save it for the local smoking lounge where most guys are puffing on cigars.

I have over 30 tins/ jars open at present - too many to list. I like the variety this gives me. Puffing on a bowl of Exhausted Rooster right now - a blend I haven't dug into for weeks. Mostly it's FVF, SG Navy Flake, PS Balkan Supreme, Fillmore at present. The rest are add-ins, depending on what takes my fancy.

I know muddler's song. I have twenty or so blends in containers, (thank you Walmart), here in the computer room at home where my stash is. I got seriously back into pipes a little over a year ago and had to do research. I smoke a lot of McC 620, Darkstar, 5110 and 2015. I go through a ton of Nording Retriever, (gotta black lab and hunt bird), there's a pound in the container and eleven unopened tins in the cubby. From Pipes&Cigars, it's Troutstream. From Milan's, Virginia Pride, Sunset Rum and Black Forest. Squadron Leader makes it into the bowls a couple of times a week. I've got four tins of Peterson 2009 Special Reserve that I have been trying diligently to figure out lately.

At work on the flight line, the coffee/chocolate seems to fit. At work prefer something that doesn't hold my attention, just something enjoyable to smoke.

Enjoy all...

I have humidors filled with bulk EMP, PS Balkan Supreme and good ol' Dunhill A21,000 (1Q)

Wessex Brigade
Full Virginia Flake
McCranies 9 to 5
C&D 965
Kendal Cream Flake
Anni Kake

To name a few ...

I try to keep my open stock down:

1. Riverboat Gambler, just cracked
2. Bombay Extra
3. Dark Twist Roll Cake
4. Irish Flake

Retired recently:

1. Escudo
2. Squadron Leader
3. Union Square
4. St James Wood
5. Penzance

I've got a lot more in the cellar, but like to work my way through a tin rather than taking a shotgun approach. But whatever works for you!

Tim

I was able to reduce the number of open tins to 5 plus OGS (1)

C&D Bayou Morning Flake (1)
GLPease Barbary Coast (2)
C&D Kajun Kake (1)
Peterson Univ Flake (2)
SG FVF (2)

Now I cut and move the contents of the tin of OGS immediately to a flask, I enjoy it more with a higher moisture content.

I have in 2 larger containers SG Squadron Leader (3) and Synjeco's Wenti Blend (3) and I move it to smaller flasks (about 50g batches) as needed.
I still have some bulk GH Balkan Mixture (3) and GH Mixture number 12 (3) but I think I'll move this two to the back row, I'm a bit tired.
I just found a forgotten flask with 1 SG Balkan Flake (2) and a jar with about 100g of SG Best Brown 6" flake (2).

And then I have smaller jars (less than 40g each) with things that I may never smoke again (4), SG chocolate flake, 4 Brazilian tobaccos, Finamore Cisne Branco and Candido Giovanella Mint (I smoke a bowl of this once in a blue moon), cherry and chocolate, Walnut, Hans Schurch's Tuli, Private Club Classic, Clan, Springwater and a jar with a leftover mix from the time when I was not able to smoke a tin till the end.

Class 1 is VAs and VAper and Class 3 is balkans, class 2 is a mix but it's more aromatic than 1 or 3. Class 4 is something that I only smoke when I need something completely different.

My daily routine is as follow.

Home -> work: 1 bowl of class 1
Work -> Home: 1 bowl of class 3
Night @home: Something from class 2, might be 2 or 3 bowls
weekends, a mix of everything including sometimes class 4.

Closed tins: 1 Union Square, 1 Erinmore flake, 1 Safe Harbor flake (never tried it), 2 OGS.

I think that my tobacco stash looks like my sci-fi collection, everything from Heinlein to Karol Kapek or Terry Pratchett and then some.

I have a bunch open, but my standards are at the top:

1. C&D OJK
2. C&D Miss. Mud
3. C&D Epiphany
4. C&D Billy Budd
5. McC Bombay Court
6. Esoterica Penzance
7. JJ Fox Bankers
8. Peterson Old Dublin
9. C&D Crooner

I think that's it.

I mostly just smoke 7485, G&H Best Brown #2, OGS, and some Park square as of now. I'd really like to try FVF when it becomes available in my area again, penzance, and after tasting EMP I'd really like to get my hands on some as well as some nightcap to try.

Cheers all and happy smoking

oh wow....

I have about 40 mason jars that I pull from regularly
just to name a few...

Skiff
SL
OGS
HH Vintage Syrian
HH Mature VA
Grousmoor
Spilman
Dunbar
Pembroke
Brighton
Hastings
Stonehaven
Vanilla Creme
Fox Hunt
Issacs Blend
Blue note
Danish Mixture
Sherlock Holmes
Apertif
And So To Bed

It's great to read. We're an interesting bunch of pipe smoker's that is for sure. Some really great blends being smoked! I've smoked many of them over my 47 years of piping.

There has been 99 reads and 11 posts. I hope more will join in with us. Very interesting indeed. We are a dedicated bunch of serious piper's.

Thanks for your participation. Very enjoyable.

the moment is as follows:

Peterson Old Dublin, Irish Oak, University flake and Special Reserve 2009
Three nuns
Walnut Flake
MacBaren Golden Blend
About 7 blends from my local tobacconists
Orlick Bullseye
Erinmore Balkan

I guess I like having something different all the time. On a different note, BOBb was saying that he was trying to figure out Peterson special reserve 2009. I'm having the same problem, what are your thoughts, if you've tried it?

Pity this poor South African (or not). I have the following pitiful selection open:

Dinglers Boxer & Van Erkoms Fox mixed 50:50 (My Dad's Blend)
Rustenburg Horseshoe (Phooey! But what a nic kick!)
Van Erkoms Assegai Export (Ask Stieltjie for a review)

From Sturk's Tobacconists:
Balkan (My daily smoke. See tobaccoreviews.com for review)
Nutty Unscented (See tobaccoreviews.com for review)
Black Velvet (See tobaccoreviews.com for review)
Three Bells (See tobaccoreviews.com for review)
PB 40
FB Special

Wesley's Houseblends: Latakia A

Condor: Both ready rubbed and long cut

From Petersons:
Irish Oak
Old Dublin
2009 Special Reserve
University Flake
Irish Flake (and another ten tins of this stashed away - lest I run out LOL!

Open

Half and Half
Frog Morton
SG Black XX twist
SG Kendal Cream
OGS
C&D Manhattan Afternoon
Blue Note
Fox and Hound
McClelland Cherry
Dunhill EMP

Now in storage... I have twelve pounds, all tinned, too many to name

Irish flake, Cap'n. Earles Honor Blend, Macbaren burley, Acadian Ribbon, Brown Bogey XX, Foxhorn, and Cannon Plug.
Down in the cellar: FVF, Penzance, Best Brown, Dark Brown Unscented. Squadron Leader , Sams Chocolate.(I'm trying to do this from a shaky memory) Bullseye, Twist Flake and Luxury Flake.
Standing by for upcoming vacation: Velvet, Kentucky Club, ?.

Too much in the cellar to list, but what's open is...
P&T H&H Burley Kake (Smoking right now)
MacB Mature VA
Conniston cut plug (Fresh from my latest trip to london)
Spilman's
Brebbia Preludio (Balkan)
PSLBF
PSLTF
Black and Brown X (Twists)
and my "House Blend" which consists of tobaccos I find unpalatable - usually aromatics, cut with about 30% black rope and 30% Brown Rope. (Right now the aromatic in the mix is mostly Rattray's Sweet Fragrant and Rattray's Bagpipers Dream - both heavily flavored and a bit bitey)

Right now:

GLP Barbary Coast
CD Pennington Gap
Frog Morton

hmm, i have:

maybe 1 bowl left of Squadron leader
1.5 bowls of SG FVF
the dreges of a can of frog morton on the bayou
half a tin of petersons irish flake
ditto SG navy flake
a couple ounces of stokkebye lux twist and navy flake (in mason jars)
half a mason jar of EMP
2 oz of some red va flake my tobacconist makes
and an almost full tin of brebba latakia flake no 9

My daily smokes are fairly predictable, as most MPCers know, but these are the current opens:

1. Orlik Golden Sliced
2. Mac Baren Navy Flake
3. Three Nuns
4. Capstan Navy Cut
5. Mac Baren Mixture

Tins:
C&D Safe Harbor Flake
Peterson's Perfect Plug

Jars/Tubs:
SWR
H&H
PA
ERR'd
Mc 5100
Mc 2015
Mc 5125
Penzance
SG Navy Flake
SG BBF
SG FVF
Nightcap
Peretti's 333
A jar marked "STUFF" (basically leftovers from tins that don't have a full bowl). As you can guess this tobacco changes in quality and taste from time to time. Right now it is actually pretty bad.

I currently have 60 tobaccos in mason jars and about 40 unopened tins and 1lb boxes.

I believe if I never make another tobacco purchase I have enough to last the duration. Of course I will buy more because I am afterall nuts. I smoke about three bowls a day give or take one.

Penzance, Black Mallory,Oasis, VirginnyFlake,DarkKentucky,HaddosDelight,SCTM,FirstSmoke,NavyFlake, Escudo, DarkTwist,GourmetEnglish,SL,Grandpas,PA,NightTrain.

I only have two maybe three tobaccos going at a time. I don't like to get too many into the mix because then I don't know where to go next. Usually this consists of an English blend for myself and a aromatic that my wife picks out. (I've found that a great way to keep the peace about smoking in the house is to give her some say in what I'm filling my bowls with.)

Currently I'm enjoying...

Peter Stokkebye #17 English Luxury
Black Forest Blend (Custom Blend from the tobacconist)

Esoterica Margate
G.L. Pease Abingdon
Samuel Gawith Balkan Flake
Three Nuns
Esoterica Stonehaven
Semois (shag cut)

I have lots of stuff open, but to minimize the paradox of choice, I only keep a few things at the ready. Currently, ready for smoking at any time:

Union Square
Chelsea Morning
Key Largo
Sullivan Powell Gentleman's Mixture (blended by Sobranie House, likely from the 1970s)
Garfinkel's Orient Express #11 (Also blended by Sobranie)
Benson & Hedges OVF

The rest of the stuff is in jars, or in tins in Tupperware. Too much to even think about listing from the top of my head. ;)

I have quite a few...but I tend to put my "open" tins into ball top jars...even though they aren't completely sealed, they seem to last for 8 or 9 months without noticeable change...so yeah...

1. FVF
2. Solani Silver Flake
3. Mac B VA Flake
4. Golden Glow
5. OJK
6. Solani Aged Burley Flake
7. Epiphany
8. Haddo's Delight

Cheers,

Josh

You're still alive... good to see. I expect a Christmas Contest entry from you my friend. Good to see you are doing well.

FVF
GH SRT
Solani SF, ABF and 633
C&D Burleys 1,2 &3
Union Square
Briar Fox
Maltese Falcon
Westminster
SPC Plum Pudding
Fillmore
HOTW & MF

Currently, I'm trying to finish off a couple opens before I crack too many more tins.

These are my opens:
Rattray's Hal o' the Wynd - Freshly cracked after a couple years in the "cellar," and its oh so good!)
Solani 633 VA flake w/ perique - I love VA/Per's! This one is up there on the list, but I'm still searching for the "Holy Grail."
GL Pease Maltese Falcon - This is my current go to medium English blend. Not too full, not too light, just right!
GL Pease Key Largo - A great change of pace blend. My one word descriptor, "Creamy!"
GL Pease Cumberland - This is a magnificent blend! However... I did make the mistake of pounding down a very large bowl of this once and, embarassing as it is, spent about an hour praying to the porcelain god!
McClelland Grey Havens - For the record, this tin was my attempt to find something at the local B&M that would be a temp fix for my lack of GLP's Haddo's Delight or Barbary Coast. As it turns out, its a pretty lame and bland substitute. Trying to finish the tin, but I'll be glad when its gone.
Aside from a bulk blend or two (to include SG FVF), that's what's currently on the menu.

On deck:
Wessex Brigade Sovereign Curly Cut - Next in line for the Ms. VA/Per Universe competition. I've heard mixed reviews, but a friend recommended it so I thought I would give it a shot.
McConnell Scottish Flake - I have sampled this before and liked it. I picked up a tin over a year ago, and I'm thinking it might be ready to go.
Astley's 109 VA flake - Love it! This is one of my fav VA flakes simply because its so smooth and delicious. I've got a tin with a couple years on it that should be ready to roll.

Others in the cellar for more than a year or two that might get cracked in the near future:
McClelland Grand Orientals Drama Reserve & Smyrna #1
Esoterica Penzance & Stonehaven
McClelland Royal Cajun Special - I'm hoping 3 years might have given this one a little extra magic.
Also, still have a couple first run tins of GLP's Maltese Falcon & Key Largo ready to go when the current supplies run out!

As I've only been getting seriously into pipe smoking in the last 3-4 years, I'm still trying to find my desert island blends, so that I can stock up on them heavily. However, there are so many great blends out there its hard for me to even narrow my focus at this point!

5100
Anniversary Kake
Frog Morton OTB
Waccamaw
Carter Hall
Prince Albert
SG Perfection
Larry's Blend