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A few weeks back, I mentioned that my New Year's resolution was to try more tobaccos and, more specifically, a wider variety of them. My goal for the first few weeks was to explore Perique. Now I'm fairly familiar with Perique's effect on Virginia and Burley based blends, but I was curious to really explore its role in Latakia blends — namely how its spicy notes would complement the often overwhelming, smoky tones of the exotic leaf. ... Read More

I had the pleasure of sitting next to Adam Davidson for many months of my time here at Smokingpipes.com. Although we stayed pretty busy and didn't chat much, I could always count on two things: he would be smoking a pipe, and it would most likely be filled with Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Twist. ... Read More

And so it's that time again: time to introduce an unidentified blend to several of my coworkers and see what happens when their combined with it. A gentle fizzing? A sudden change in complexion? An explosion of noxious gases? While we can all make our predictions, there's no real telling until they've stuck it in their pipes and smoked it — which they have. ... Read More

Back in July of last year, I was planning a visit to Eskisehir, Turkey. While searching for flights, I discovered that one of them had a connection in Greece and thought to myself that I should stop in and see our Greek carvers. Just a few months later, I put the plan into action. I planned on just three days and had alot of ground to cover. ... Read More

Sometimes called "Prince of Wales," or "Prince Regent," the Prince shape was allegedly designed for Edward VIII, Prince of Wales around 1920. Ever since, it's been common in line-ups across the globe, from Ireland, to France, to Greece, to even the occasional Turkish-made meerschaum number. That being said, I have to admit, I particularly like what the Italians have done with it — namely with the Savinelli "315." ... Read More

Since our "buy a Savinelli pipe, get a free Savinelli tin" deal has been underway, we thought this would be a good chance to highlight Savinelli's newest tobacco blends. With Doblone d'Oro and Essenza Cipriota smoked, and enjoyed to good measure, I thought I'd take a crack at describing my time with Savinelli's Brunello Flake. ... Read More

After I cracked open a tin of Doblone d'Oro the other day, a few of our Latakia lovers around here noted that they had a particularly enjoyable experience with another of Savinelli's newer offerings: Essenza Cipriota. Here's some of their thoughts. ... Read More

When the Savinelli blends first came out a few months ago, we, of course, all lined up to try them (including those who had been testing out the various prototypes long beforehand). Somehow though I never got the opportunity to try Doblone D'Oro. ... Read More

I smoke a lot of different tobaccos. It sort of comes with the territory. Lots of things I smoke before they're on the market, or even while they're still in the development stage. I also get to smoke lots of things that never make it to market. Of course, this would be obviously true for things C&D makes, but it's also true for blends from a host of other tobacco manufacturers. ... Read More

It has become something of a tradition that I write the newsletter introduction for the update that falls closest to January 1st. In the past couple of years, I've written about the emergence of a new enthusiasm for pipes, especially among men in their twenties and thirties. In looking over those, they feel dated now. Not because they were wrong, but because they were so very right. ... Read More