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- #21
Up for tonight: "After Hours" in my just-arrived MM "Diplomat" straight stem.
Pick for me....
- Thread starter RichGem
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I've been enjoying your posts. I'm glad you're enjoying the experience.
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- #23
Thanks, James. It's a relatively new experience for me and an enjoyable one. Tho, I think I'm more of a cigar smoker (and not that much of one either). But, pipe tobacco can at least be tolerated indoors when it's too cold out to scare off the bugs otherwise.
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- #24
I lit up "After Hours" about 1/2 an hour ago. Initial impressions .....
Can scent: sweet w/ noticeable rum flavoring with a hit of sugar and smack of fruit (to my nose).
In the pipe: mellow flavor & scent. Rum and other notes hardly noticeable, but nothing harsh in the taste or scent. However, so far, is harsher on my throat that the other C&Ds I've tried so far. Room note is mellow and pleasant, but no outstanding "flavor" detected. Draw was very easy in my new MM Diplomat which might explain some of the throat harshness.
I'll give it a few more goes, but probably not one that I'd keep in rotation (tho I probably would finish it). But, -- again so far -- a lot of promise in the can, not much on the delivery. Blockade Runner is better on flavor.
I'll give it another run tomorrow in a standard (9mm) briar just to see if that makes a difference.
Can scent: sweet w/ noticeable rum flavoring with a hit of sugar and smack of fruit (to my nose).
In the pipe: mellow flavor & scent. Rum and other notes hardly noticeable, but nothing harsh in the taste or scent. However, so far, is harsher on my throat that the other C&Ds I've tried so far. Room note is mellow and pleasant, but no outstanding "flavor" detected. Draw was very easy in my new MM Diplomat which might explain some of the throat harshness.
I'll give it a few more goes, but probably not one that I'd keep in rotation (tho I probably would finish it). But, -- again so far -- a lot of promise in the can, not much on the delivery. Blockade Runner is better on flavor.
I'll give it another run tomorrow in a standard (9mm) briar just to see if that makes a difference.
Air cured VA can get a bit bitey or sort of acidic if not smoked at a leisurely pace. They can seem to have a lack of flavor which encourages the smoker to puff a little harder in trying to get at it. In fact the opposite is true to get the most out of Va's slow down your smoking as much as possible even at the risk of letting it go out. I think you'll find you get the most flavor out of this type when its right on the cusp of going out/staying lit. When you get the hang of it you'll notice much more flavor that deepens as you progress down the bowl.
I want to add a that I have not had this particular blend but I am familiar with the breed.
I want to add a that I have not had this particular blend but I am familiar with the breed.
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- #26
Interesting. Thanks & I'll give it a try tomorrow night.
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- #27
I'm giving "After Hours" another go. This time in an Angelo briar. It's not as harsh on my throat, but still not much flavor. Pleasant enough room smell tho. I broke up the tobacco a bit more this time and I think I may have packed it better as well. Interestingly (ok, annoyingly), some particulate is getting past the 9mm filter and into my mouth.
I have tried all three of these blends...the AE makes me want pancakes, and I am on Atkins Diet...so I put it in the back of the cabinet for when I can have carbs without killing the diet
The After Hours is too mild and sweet for my taste....But I have been enjoying Blockade Runner for about 6 months...it is a great Navy Crumble Cake. The first tin I rubbed out completely, the 2nd tin I crumbled just what I was going to smoke...now I slice it like a plug...this makes for less dust and waste.
Blockade Runner is that happy middle ground for me...not to sweet, not to strong, just a great smoke...but watch that Vitamin "N" kick at the last 1/4 of the bowl...
The After Hours is too mild and sweet for my taste....But I have been enjoying Blockade Runner for about 6 months...it is a great Navy Crumble Cake. The first tin I rubbed out completely, the 2nd tin I crumbled just what I was going to smoke...now I slice it like a plug...this makes for less dust and waste.
Blockade Runner is that happy middle ground for me...not to sweet, not to strong, just a great smoke...but watch that Vitamin "N" kick at the last 1/4 of the bowl...
Virginia blends such as after hours are definitaly better when "sipped" instead of gulped.
For the blockade runner, you might want to dry out the bit that you smoke a little, and also don't pack as tight. especially if you smoke it in flake form.
For the blockade runner, you might want to dry out the bit that you smoke a little, and also don't pack as tight. especially if you smoke it in flake form.
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- #30
Taking another run tonight at C&D's "After Hours" while sipping a pineapple-whisky liquor I just picked up in the islands. This time lighting up my churchwarden.
Good deal I hope you enjoy it. But in case I haven't said it before all blends, or types of blend, aren't for all folks. It's not a character defect to not get on with something, and there are a lot of folks who would be happy to work out a trade if it's not your smoke and you don't want to store it for later.
+1 There can be far too much posturing around pipe tobacco. "One man's poison is another man's pleasure" is never truer than when it comes to personal tobacco tastes. Find your pleasures and enjoy them while exploring the vast treasure of 'baccy that's out there.
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- #33
all good points. I just need to find what I like and there are just way too many choices.
So... new picks .... (not yet ordered)
Pease Robusto
Pease Key Largo
C&D Habana Daydreams
C&D Purple Cow
Which 3 should I try?
So... new picks .... (not yet ordered)
Pease Robusto
Pease Key Largo
C&D Habana Daydreams
C&D Purple Cow
Which 3 should I try?
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- #34
OK, I just decided on Robusto, Key Largo, & Purple Cow. Yeah, I'm a little impatient.
yea that was pretty quick.- Thread starter
- #36
The best bit is that I also just picked up a tasty bundle of local made (non-Cuban) cigars in St. Maarten. Sigh. Can I still call myself only an occasional smoker? Maybe sporatic or serial smoker would be better.
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- #37
Question for you all...
It seems that despite any number of relights, I'm wasting a lot of tobacco in my pipe. IE: I'm finding a lot of unburned tobacco in the bottom of the bowl. What, if anything, am I doing wrong?
It seems that despite any number of relights, I'm wasting a lot of tobacco in my pipe. IE: I'm finding a lot of unburned tobacco in the bottom of the bowl. What, if anything, am I doing wrong?
You aren't smoking it all the way down. Srsly though, I usually end up gently applying the pick and tipping out some of the ash midway through a bowl. Then I tamp it back down and relight. Sometimes I'll even give a gentle stir before I tamp it. That really helps me get almost all of what's in the bowl.
+1 that will often save a bowl thats being difficult.
A couple of things could be causing you trouble is packing a bowl too tightly, or tamping too hard. The draw on your pipe should be much more free than a cigar. Take a look at the how to load your pipe thread in the GE sticky, there is some good advice. Also pipe tobacco will pack best burn most evenly if it is a little on the dry side. Check those two variables and see if your experience doesn't improve.
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- #40
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