McClelland Grand Tour of Orientals

Having savored and stocked up on Tudor Castle by said company, I was intrigued by the Yenidje tobacco that was mentioned on the label.  Finding out that Yenidje was a significant ingredient in the Grand Orientals line, I decided to track it down.  So above are pictured the ones that most represent the Yenidje from the blends that I purchased. They all have a similar floral elegance about them without the sour Latakia to adulterate the flavor. If you like a little more English in your Oriental then Yenidje Highlander is what you want. Otherwise, enjoy the sweet bouquet (not cased) of fine ribbon-cut Yenidje in the above.  I personally feel that Tudor Castle is still a better flavor overall and I prefer the broken-flake presentation as it slows the burn just enough to relax by.

How much should you spend on a pipe?

Mac Baren Virginia Flake Impressions

Mac Baren Virginia Flake

Nice stuff. It's a mild smoke that burns as hot as any VA flake. It doesn't have the "tea leaf" flavor of Orlik's which isn't a bad thing. Very reminiscent of Dunhill Flake.

If you like VA's, then this is already in your rotation. It is good. Not outstanding so if you happen to see it on sale, pick some up, but you won't miss anything if you go straight to any other VA flake.

I still prefer Orlik and Dunhill over this. Boston 1776 still stands out at the most sublime VA I've ever had.

McClelland Jubilee Tobacco quick note

The best English blend I've had yet! This is what I hoped Elizabethan Mixture would have been (yuck). Mild with all of the notes that one expects of an English blend. Good job McClelland!

Sutliff Private Stock Black Swan Review

Sutliff Private Stock Black Swan

I received a tin of this unusual blend from the Pipes and Cigars customer reward box (see my youtube video). I finally got around to smoking it and...WOW! I'm not sure it's even tobacco.

Imagine, if you will, a dessert tobacco! Yes, sweet. Creamy. Vanilla. Caramelly and almost edible.  The image above is what the blend looks like. Black, through and through. It is about as far away from Virginias as you can get.

I'm not one for sweet blends, but this is amazing! Like any treat, I'm sure it's easy to have too much of it, but right now, it is a good break from my "serious" tobaccos.

Thumbs up!

New Rossi Salerno Pipe and Bonus T-Shirt

McClelland's Tudor Castle and Boston 1776: My favorite blends

 

Finally I can share my opinion! I have been stockpiling these two blends so that I will always (at least 6 months) have a supply on hand and have been waiting until I had at least that much before blogging about it.

 

 

These are amazing blends! Tudor Castle is sweet but not cloying. The yenidje in the blend must add the tasty cinnamon-like flavor that is very appealing. The room note smells like food not smoke.

 

Boston 1776 is the most refined smoke I've ever had. There is absolutely no edge to it. In fact, when I first smoked it, I thought I had mis-lighted the bowl because it was so light. All I noticed was a slight citrus/lemon taste. This tobacco requires careful attention because it is so subtle.

 

I highly recommend that anyone who wants a couple of classy smokes that you try these blends. You will be very, very pleased.

 



Dunhil Elizabethan Mixture re-issue

 

Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture re-issue.

 

I've only tried Three Nuns, one of the "re-issues" that has come out recently. They include Three Nuns, Capstan blue and Capstan yellow. Elizabethan Mixture is the latest re-issue of a classic blend and...drum roll...I like it! It's much nicer than Three Nuns (yuck, sorry) and tastes like a mild English blend. Imagine less Latakia and more dark Virginia.

 

It is a fine ribbon "shag" that lights quickly. Unfortunately that means that there is a tendency to burn too hot and produce a nasty bite.

 

Overall, I give it high marks and will become my English blend of choice for now.

Customer Appreciation Day unbagging addendum

Pipes and Cigars "Customer Appreciation" gift bag "unbagging"

Bell's Three Nuns Tobacco

Meh.

Sadly, this tobacco didn't live up to the hype for me. It tasted too much of cigarette tobacco and not of the rich tanginess of Virginias that I had hoped for. It's not bad, just not exceptional. It's a little on the dry side so tongue bite is highly likely.

I've been mixing this with the Savinelli Armonia blend to pretty good effect.

I wouldn't miss it if it was taken off the US markets again.

Savinelli Giotto 510 KS Bulldog New Pipe Unboxing

Savinelli Armonia tinned blend

Savinelli Armonia...fruity, plumby and strong!

First, let me say that Savinelli makes great pipes. I have a bent billiard that smokes great even though the polish isn't holding up too well.  I have just ordered my second pipe, a bulldog which I am anxious to try.

I smoked a tin of this when I first got into the hobby in January. I forgot how cloying this mixture is.

After opening it, I felt a tinge of regret because I am now a die-hard fan of Virginias. But I do keep an English, a pure Virginia and a "random" blend in my rotation. Never more than three blends at a time to choose from to avoid sensory overload.

So...Armonia, Italian for "Harmony" is anything but.

Plum,cherry, candy coated and cavendish underneath. It's very sweet so be prepared. I can not recommend this to anyone who doesn't already like super-sweet blends. Like I said, I've moved on to Virginias and their ilk, so I'm keeping this one around as my "third". But this will be the last time I smoke this blend.

Pipa Croci True

I just got this recently for $50 off ebay plus $8 shipping. I was hesitant about having to use 9mm filters, but boy oh boy did I change my tune quickly.

First off, this pipe is ergonomically well designed. It is easy to hold and has a generous bowl. So kudos to Pipa Croci. Pipa Croci has six grades of briar and True is their second-to-lowest. It's still a great pipe and for the price, can't be beat.

The filters need to be changed frequently. I change mine after every 3rd bowl. But they dry up the smoke nicely and, apparently, filter out some of the toxins. I think the filters are great. They cost about $20 for 100 of them, so at twenty cents each, it can add up, but it benefits the smoke so well that I think it's a good investment.

McClelland's Frog Morton's Cellar: First Impression by a Noob

Frog Morton's Cellar is, by far, the most interesting tobacco I've tried. Is it good? Yes. Is it strong? Yes. Is it a lifetime/daily smoke. Heck, no.

Opening the tin, I was greeted with a familiar sweet, highly flavored aroma. My hackles were raised, "another overdone, syrupy aromatic" I thought.

I dumped the tin into my glass jar and saw the (in)famous cube of a stave (from a barrel of rum/cognac/wine?, I forget). Very cool. And not as strong smelling as one would expect.

First smoke: sweet, aromatic and...clean. Yes, clean! Hallelu-yah! I was expecting a cloying, sticky mess and this was very easy to smoke.

In sum, it is a good blend. Strong flavor, but clean. I don't see this a regular tobacco, but it is a hot date whose memory I will cherish.

New Pipe Tampers from catniphill.com Unboxing

David Jones New Pipe Unboxing

Peterson Rosslare (shape 606) unsmoked demo

Capstan and Three Nuns have crossed the Atlantic once more

I just received this email announcing the return of Capstan and Three Nuns tobacco to the US markets. Since the original brands owned by Imperial Tobacco were sold some years ago, these are not the exact same mixture, so I will be curious, as many others, how they will taste. But I definitely want to try these out...

From www.smokingpipes.com:

The Capstans have arrived, at last! And, though fashionably late, they did bring girls -- Three Nuns, to be precise. Yes, that's right, the long-awaited reintroduction of these old Imperial blends to the U.S.A. is, at last, here. Not "at hand" or "to follow shortly", but here, now. As in, you can, at this very moment, rush over to our site and order tins - Capstan Blue and Yellow, both in either flake or ready-rubbed form, and Three Nuns coins -- and they'll be on their way to your door before the day is through.

Cheers!

-- Eric Squires

Fantasy Freehand Plateau New Pipe Unboxing Video