rastewart
Junior Member
Posts: 182
First Name: Rich
Favorite Pipe: Freehands, bent bulldogs, and the incomparable Peterson 303
Favorite Tobacco: Mac Baren's Scottish Blend (Mixture), C&D Mountain Camp, C&D Bayou Morning
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Post by rastewart on Oct 19, 2021 16:27:30 GMT -5
I tip my fedora to whoever coined "necrothread," but I don't really think there is a problem with reviving old conversations on forums such as this one. Whatever might be said of pipe folk, we're not faddists for the most part, and often what we've talked about in the past can be of value later. And certainly that's true of Bob Runowski's musings and observations.
My own "Arcadia" would be Mac Baren's Mixture (Scottish Blend). It is by no means the only blend I smoke; in that, as others on this thread have noted, I differ like most these days from the one-blend smokers of bygone days. But it is my favorite, has been since I discovered it in 1976, and it is unquestionably the blend I would select if I could have only one for the rest of my life.
A digression regarding Blue Boar: this is the first time I've encountered Bob's description of the room note as "intense and acrid, like an outdoor smoke, and distinct. Once you smelled it, there was nothing else like it on the market." During my first months at college, in 1968, someone in one of my music classes smoked a pipe from which an "intense and acrid" odor pervaded the room. (Yes, there was a time when students and professors alike might smoke in a college classroom, and no one thought twice about it.) I have fancied since that that student's blend might have been the fabled old Balkan Sobranie; but maybe it was Blue Boar. I suppose I will never know now.
I may as well note in passing, not without embarrassment, that while I have heard of My Lady Nicotine I have never read it. I suppose I should make the attempt, and probably will at some point, if I can find a printed copy. I have a certain interest in Barrie and his particular mix of whimsy and melancholy; in fact I've been working, off and on, for some fifteen years on a poem based on Peter Pan. So far it is more elusive than Arcadia.
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Post by pepesdad1 on Oct 19, 2021 17:00:29 GMT -5
I've tried just about everything on the market...about 85 small jars sitting on my 2 bookshelves...all of it somewhat wonderful, but still nothing that I want to smoke continuously....with the exception of 2. Butternut burley for me is an all day smoke. It is considered an aro, but not overwhelming in flavor or smell. It is something that once I recognized that it was the one, I ordered poundage so as to not run out. The second of my "Holy Grails" is was Irish Condor. I was fortunate enough to have my brother bring me back 6 pouches of the long cut version...I gave some to a friend and kept the rest, and, of course, smoked it as a treat that it was. But I am no longer in possession of any...the Polish version just plain sucks for me. So I guess my now "Holy Grail" is Butternut burley, I've got enough to last me quite a while...the others I'll smoke on occasion, but it just doesn't do that much for me. It will be good for trades down the road when tobacco gets hard to get...the McClellands have already gotten to be hard to get and at prices that amaze me...glad I have enough of that to last a lifetime, selling or trading it for BB.  |
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Post by darktater on Oct 19, 2021 20:08:22 GMT -5
oddly enough, currently it would be GL Pease's Blackpoint. I have other's I enjoy but I'm always a bit sad to reach the bottom of a bowl of Blackpoint. I'm in an interesting place in this iteration of my pipe life. I'm suddenly hurtling back into the land of English's and Balkan's, after a relatively peaceful period of burley happiness. Not sure what my 'Arcadia' will be in 3 months (or 6), but it should be fun to find out.
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Post by Gypo on Oct 19, 2021 20:45:54 GMT -5
I've tried just about everything on the market...about 85 small jars sitting on my 2 bookshelves...all of it somewhat wonderful, but still nothing that I want to smoke continuously....with the exception of 2. Butternut burley for me is an all day smoke. It is considered an aro, but not overwhelming in flavor or smell. It is something that once I recognized that it was the one, I ordered poundage so as to not run out. The second of my "Holy Grails" is was Irish Condor. I was fortunate enough to have my brother bring me back 6 pouches of the long cut version...I gave some to a friend and kept the rest, and, of course, smoked it as a treat that it was. But I am no longer in possession of any...the Polish version just plain sucks for me. So I guess my now "Holy Grail" is Butternut burley, I've got enough to last me quite a while...the others I'll smoke on occasion, but it just doesn't do that much for me. It will be good for trades down the road when tobacco gets hard to get...the McClellands have already gotten to be hard to get and at prices that amaze me...glad I have enough of that to last a lifetime, selling or trading it for BB. Nice photo I like your set up. |
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Post by pepesdad1 on Oct 19, 2021 20:49:48 GMT -5
Thanks, bro...got everything within reach...only problem is deciding which to smoke.
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Post by darktater on Oct 19, 2021 20:50:05 GMT -5
I've tried just about everything on the market...about 85 small jars sitting on my 2 bookshelves...all of it somewhat wonderful, but still nothing that I want to smoke continuously....with the exception of 2. Butternut burley for me is an all day smoke. It is considered an aro, but not overwhelming in flavor or smell. It is something that once I recognized that it was the one, I ordered poundage so as to not run out. The second of my "Holy Grails" is was Irish Condor. I was fortunate enough to have my brother bring me back 6 pouches of the long cut version...I gave some to a friend and kept the rest, and, of course, smoked it as a treat that it was. But I am no longer in possession of any...the Polish version just plain sucks for me. So I guess my now "Holy Grail" is Butternut burley, I've got enough to last me quite a while...the others I'll smoke on occasion, but it just doesn't do that much for me. It will be good for trades down the road when tobacco gets hard to get...the McClellands have already gotten to be hard to get and at prices that amaze me...glad I have enough of that to last a lifetime, selling or trading it for BB. Nice photo I like your set up. +1 |
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rocket
New Member
Posts: 49
Location:
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Post by rocket on Oct 20, 2021 18:25:37 GMT -5
A good Burley forward blend. But there is those times when a good Va/Burley tastes mighty good. Then there are those days when it is a Va/Bur/Per day.
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Post by qmechanics on Oct 20, 2021 20:31:38 GMT -5
McClelland - Blue Mountain/Balkan Blue .. I had a very small sample of this blend during the last meeting of the KC Pipe Show and really loved it. However, I cannot afford to pay 50.00+ dollars when it comes up for sale, here and there, in the vintage sales market. It is a shame, though one blend among many when it comes to MClelland's storied blends.
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