Peter Heeschen

A number of miscellaneous topics to cover this afternoon, but the big news is that I finally heard from smokingpipes.com yesterday and was exceedingly pleased with their offer for the thirty estate pipes I sent to them last month. It was more than I ever expected. I was able to choose a new pipe at a level I never would otherwise have spent and still ask for the rest back in cash and get a substantial check that can go toward more essential things than pipes. I am very pleased and heartily recommend doing business with them if you are looking to pare your collection in order to buy new pipes or not.

So, I chose a sandblast blow fish from Denmark's Peter Heeschen. I forgot to capture the picture before it was removed from the web site, so I'll have to wait until it arrives and take my own photo and put it up. But it looks delicious and I can't wait to try it out.

UPDATE: HERE IS MY PHOTO! not great, but you get the idea.

Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless

Even though, except for one night last week when I took a couple of trusty briars to the pipe club meeting, I'm still smoking corn cobs only. this too will, no doubt, pass. But they are very convenient and right now, at least, feel no motivation to go back to my regular rotation. The new pipe will be an exception and, who knows, may lead me back to my briars.

On the tobacco front, I finished the tin of Venice Agonya and decided to take a break from the McClellands. I opened the C&D Burley Flake #1 which I think is delicious but much stronger than I expected. So much so that I can only smoke it occasionally and after a good meal. Then I opened a tin of 2 Daughters Ramback which I find perfect for all day smoking.

New McClelland and New Cornell&Diehl

I ended up being pretty satisfied with the Samsun blend in the McClelland Grand Oriental series once I'd switched to the corn cob pipe. For whatever reason I haven't been able to go back to a briar since, though I've long finished the tin of Samsun. Perhaps it is the ease of just picking up the pipe and smoking it without having to give any thought to what I feel like smoking. I do sometimes get overwhelmed by choice on the one hand and bored of my pipes on the other. Coupled with the tremendous pressure of this holiday season for me, not having to think about which pipe or pipes to take with me in the morning is a blessing. And if I expect to smoke more than 2 or 3 bowls, I just grab a filter and change it appropriately and the pipe smokes as good as new. I did buy two more and can at least rest them for a day or two, but it is hardly necessary. So I am (I'm sure very temporarily) a confirmed corn cob pipe smoker!

So after the Samsun I moved on to Venice Agonya which I find not too dissimilar to it. I've finished about half the tin and neither of these tobaccos are going to threaten my earlier favorites, but they are enjoyable enough. Today, however, I really needed a break from this diet of orientals. So I opened a recently procured tin of a new blend from Cornell&Diehl: Burley Flake #1. I haven't smoked a plain Burley blend for years, though years ago I smoked them plenty. It is a very nice change and just what I needed. It is a blend of dark burley and red Virginia with a bit of Perique. What more could you ask for? Rich and deep but far from overpowering. The spiciness of the Perique comes through very well, and the Virginia is very well tamed by the burley to provide a cool, spicy smoke.

On To Classic Samsun

I "burned" through Katerini Classic in no time. I really loved it and it may emerge as my chief reward for sampling this wonderful McClelland series. Not that I haven't loved and/or like the other blends. Now I am on to Classic Samsun and, I must admit, it was slow going at first. It is a very different tobacco; heavier and sweeter at the same time, and really took some getting used to. In fact, I almost gave up on it and threw in the tin until the urge came over me one afternoon at Holt's to buy one of the new pipes in the natural series by Missouri Meershaum. That's right, a good, old fashioned corn cob pipe. I sometimes get in the mood and I had read something about their new series in which they were not applying the outer coating toi smooth over the cob and I thought I'd try it. So I lit it up with the Classic Samsun and what a difference. The second half of the tin, which I've smoked only in the corn cob, has been wonderful. Why is this? I've deduced that, for whatever reason, this particular tobacco does not mix well with whatever has been in a pipe previously. Is this possible? Perhaps someone out there can tell me. But experientially I have no doubt.