Discussion of tobacco pipes and cigars.
Good smoke for cooling fall days.
This is a dark fired burley with some kick to it. Paired with a black tea with honey.
Whittled a tamper this afternoon. Nice hand feel but next one I’ll probably make a thorn for the top end for utility sake.
https://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/9571/mac-baren-hh-bold-kentucky/
Weather pretty abruptly went from summer to fall last week.
Smoking Autumn Evening in this poker. Med-dark roast arabica cappuccino. Balcony garden.
Nice fall ambiance. Happier with this tobacco blend than in previous moments. It’s got several years of age on it if that makes the difference. Has some voluminous body and tobacco core now instead of just aroma. Maybe the weather. Maybe me. Anyway, nice chill time visiting with an ancient medicine.
Best to you all.
I've been barely getting by with 2 Xikar travel humidors, that for their size don't really hold a lot, once you factor room for the foam and humidity packets.
So I went wild and picked up this Yeti GoBox 15 on sale, then stuck a humidifier unit to the inside of the lid.
I'm currently waiting on 2 stackable cedar trays for the bottom, so that the lower cigars stay more organized and contained while in movement.
Price: ~$0.30 (from 1964 to 1990)
Production began in 1964 and was Czechoslovakia's highest quality cigarette.
smoking kills on the bottom
20 filtered cigarettes
Cooler days settling in. Sunny afternoon with a brief tantrum of hail.
Smoking a virginia flake with couple years on it. Fragrant plum fruity nose in the jar. Lightly sweet, a touch of pepper, and hint perhaps of woodsmoke.
Happy fall weekend to you all.
Why? If you open your tin or pouch it’s going to begin drying out over a few days and taste and flavor will eventually suffer.
You can store pipe tobacco in most any airtight container almost indefinitely. The tobacco taste can develop over time. A blend that you find over strong or pungent when fresh may become smoother and nuanced with a year or two in the closet.
The generally recommended solution is some kind of canning jar with a good seal. Remember to label what it is and when you put it in there!
Pipe tobaccos age in usually positive ways over time. How long is useful? Depends on the tobacco type. Virginias benefit the most - mellowing and sweetening. A year or two is likely enough to see benefits. Beyond 5-10 years you may do more harm than good.
Some more comments by blender GL Pease and others here: https://pipe-club.com/tobacco_aging_faq/eng/aging.php
Your pipe tobacco should NOT live in a humidor. Just air tight, stable temperature, and dark.
Watch out for mould - fuzzy hairy bad smelling growth on the leaf. Better to pitch it if that happens.
In the attached pic you’ll see a couple different size jars. I like the little 2-oz jars for travel. I’m a very occasional smoker so it’s nice to be able to pack around a little jar for days, weeks, even months until I’m ready. Bigger jars go in my tobacco “cellar” (a box on a shelf) until summoned.
A newer favorite in my rotation. A little lighter bodied than most sticks I smoke, but a real flavor bomb. One that I always want to smoke to the nub. Smells excellent as well, always gets a compliment or two.
Never had a Flathead in a lancero-ish size, I usually keep a few of their Sparkplugs in stock though. So far it's got a bit of a restricted draw on it, rolled super tight. We'll see.
SOL chelada is best chelada, just FYI.
I'm telling you, everyone needs a cigar knife in their toolkit.
Please downvote once if all you smoke are Rocky Patels.
Another sampler. A new favorite!
First let me explain "sampler". Whenever I stop by a local shop in person, I like to pick up 3 cigars I haven't tried before, that either the tobacconist or another customer recommends.
I picked up one of these in the "natural" wrapper which is a bit oilier. Unburnt, it smelled wonderful and sweet. Very clean presentation. The cap popped right off using my knife, with no unravelling.
Coffee, woodsy, sweet. No bite, but full bodied. Burned evenly and beautifully, requiring no touchups or relights. Had to break out my cigar spear, because I wanted to smoke this one until my nose hairs were gone.
Amazing. Gonna stock up.
Alec & Bradley is a cigar line, by the sons that makeup the namesake of Alec Bradley.
A gross simplification of Kintsugi (金継ぎ) is the Japanese art of reassembling broken porcelain items using gold and lacquer. Like any Japanese art, it is much, much more than that in expression and practice.
This is a new sampler for me. I was admittedly not impressed. The smoke was a lot lighter than I usually go for, and nothing to write home about. Comparable to a corner store stick, it tasted like a rollie. The particular one I got ran like hell, and required more than a couple touchups.
However, the manga is excellent. I highly recommend it.
95f today. Visiting the local shop with air conditioned lounge!
Postprandial smoke with a Cappucino and some water. Guillotine cut. Easy light with two long matches.
I find it to be light to medium in strength and body. Creamy leather wood and some hay. Nice with the coffee.
Bit of pepper kick whenever the ash gets long - goes away with ashing.
Nic hit builds up gently over 30-40 min. Not harsh but makes itself gently known.
About through it at 80 mins. Same nice profile throughout.
Thanks to all the hands that crafted it, the sun, earth, and water. Best to you all.
Doesn’t quite “get it” obviously but the elements are there.
So how could a computer understand smoking? (Or fingers…)
My first thought is you need an organic system that responds to all the stimuli. Feel of the pipe, heat, smell, taste, and the bodily response to the chemicals.
Then I thought, the computer might need to be able to suffer. To know stress, hurry, doubt, fear. Then to have an experience that elevates condition.
First a distraction of small details. Attention to moment. Chronology warps, wafts, disperses. Adrift gently in the eye of a storming world.
The Tabernacle, Havana Seed CT - No 142
I prefer most Tabernacle cigars in a lancero if possible, but this'll still do just nicely.
I love mine, and how utilitarian it is.
Obviously, first and foremost it can be used as a guillotine cutter.
Though for a while now instead I've been opting to only close the blade around the cap enough to pierce the wrapper. I will then carefully rotate the cigar, until the cap is delicately severed, and pops right off. This allows me to avoid any kind of pressure damage, and the results are much neater than the average guillotine nip.
Let's talk about some potential functions of the knife itself. Cutting pesky plastic wrappers or difficult bands are a given.
I've found it particularly useful in situations where I have had to step away from my smoke for a while, and when returned it needs a full relight. You can use the razor sharp blade tip to carefully "trim" away the ash and scraggly bits, resulting in a more clean and even surface area for a relight.
If you're a fan of punches or V-cuts, this won't serve as a replacement. But I think it's an excellent tool to carry, for many other reasons.
So you’re getting started with cigars or you’re on the move. You’d like to store a couple sticks but don’t know if you’ll get to smoke them this weekend or months from now. Also… humidors… how do I even…?
No problem. Just get an airtight food safe storage case (glass, food safe plastic, etc) from wherever you get your kitchen stuff. Grocery store may have them.
When you pick up your cigars, get a couple of humidifier packs (e.g. Boveda packs). They have a humidity number typically between 65-72%. Avoid mixing humidity levels among your packs.
If you’ve got a cigar shop you could ask them if they sell or give away scrap ceder strips which you can add to your container. Helps modulate humidity and is a natural insect repellent. And smells good!
Boveda bags are an even simpler and smaller solution for a couple sticks. I’ve had 2 cigars in a bag with an 8g pack for a year unopened and they’re just fine. Plus you can feel the humi-pack to see how it’s doing.
Storage: try to find a steady room temperature area to keep your container. Remember the 70/70 rule: most cigars store well at around 70 Fahrenheit and 70% humidity.
You’re all set!
