javajunkie
BoM July '12
so, there are questions about "why cellar pipe tobacco?". with thanks to whtwtrman, imma possibly answer a few.
so, recently came I to posession of this guy (dicks). ostensibly it is at least twenty years old. it does have a small warning label on the side (the kind slapped on as an afterthought, or token gesture), but no date stamp or factory code. it DOES have a 13digit EU barcode, where i have seen other MacB product use the 10 digit american SKU. so, no idea if that statement is exactly correct.
what I CAN tell you is, this shit does i. fact have down time. NO question. it did NOT want to open for me. some prying with the pipe nail to pop the air seal, and some added torque from a couple rubber bands around the kid and tin, and i was greeted with this:
now, to be fair, i am NOT familiar with this blend fresh. i plan to rectify this, shortly and in great quantity, but there it is. HOWEVER. what i was greeted with upon open was a HUGE bouquet of sweet. raisin, fig, date, stewed fruit, sweet cereal grain, just a nose full is dessert. the leaf was a rough cut, dark as hell, no visible sugar of pipe plume, but still beautiful. totally caked together (after all this time), and begging to be dug into. so i did.
sample burned in my zavvos zulu. not entirely caked, and had only had Va, VaBur, and VaPer. little ghosting, and less to ruin this experience.
i do not have the pipe palate (or cigar palate for that matter) to do this justice. what I DID get, was all of that sweetness on the front of my palate, a little metallic vibe center palate (not tinny and sharp, either, but a bright silver note, clean, and welcome), a very little but of the grain quality, and a rich but VERY clean finish on the palate. never a huge transition, but more a gradual and comfortable unwinding frim rim to heel. or, because i really like analogies, this tastes like what you wish mead would taste like, after eating some high quality bread (multi grain, kosher rye, something toothsome and good) warm and sweet and just cooled enough from the oven to eat. with the camaraderie you would hope to have with that meal. there was ZERO MacB flamethrower bite, ZERO ashy finish, one relight for me (only because i was driving and hadn't the opportunity to nurse the burn like i normally would), and aside from a few small scraps left with the ash, this was all that was left:
this was probably the first bowl of pipe tobacco that could actually rival a PREMIUM cigar for me. it was balanced, articulated, and joyous. it was a beautiful hour of my life well spent, with thanks.
am i giving up in cigars any time soon? not bloody well likely! opus and tat reserva and boli and liga, too many to count, and too easy (for me, where i am now) to find that transcendental moment WITHOUT twenty years if advance planning, or searching on the secondary market. BUT. if you do value a good bowl, and have a little room and a little patience, it is a pretty good lesson (i feel) in how a little planning, on a regular production item, can pay off big in the end.
and, to reiterate, thanks to whtwtrman. and you suck. and i am in your debt.
happy smoking. o)
so, recently came I to posession of this guy (dicks). ostensibly it is at least twenty years old. it does have a small warning label on the side (the kind slapped on as an afterthought, or token gesture), but no date stamp or factory code. it DOES have a 13digit EU barcode, where i have seen other MacB product use the 10 digit american SKU. so, no idea if that statement is exactly correct.
what I CAN tell you is, this shit does i. fact have down time. NO question. it did NOT want to open for me. some prying with the pipe nail to pop the air seal, and some added torque from a couple rubber bands around the kid and tin, and i was greeted with this:
now, to be fair, i am NOT familiar with this blend fresh. i plan to rectify this, shortly and in great quantity, but there it is. HOWEVER. what i was greeted with upon open was a HUGE bouquet of sweet. raisin, fig, date, stewed fruit, sweet cereal grain, just a nose full is dessert. the leaf was a rough cut, dark as hell, no visible sugar of pipe plume, but still beautiful. totally caked together (after all this time), and begging to be dug into. so i did.
sample burned in my zavvos zulu. not entirely caked, and had only had Va, VaBur, and VaPer. little ghosting, and less to ruin this experience.
i do not have the pipe palate (or cigar palate for that matter) to do this justice. what I DID get, was all of that sweetness on the front of my palate, a little metallic vibe center palate (not tinny and sharp, either, but a bright silver note, clean, and welcome), a very little but of the grain quality, and a rich but VERY clean finish on the palate. never a huge transition, but more a gradual and comfortable unwinding frim rim to heel. or, because i really like analogies, this tastes like what you wish mead would taste like, after eating some high quality bread (multi grain, kosher rye, something toothsome and good) warm and sweet and just cooled enough from the oven to eat. with the camaraderie you would hope to have with that meal. there was ZERO MacB flamethrower bite, ZERO ashy finish, one relight for me (only because i was driving and hadn't the opportunity to nurse the burn like i normally would), and aside from a few small scraps left with the ash, this was all that was left:
this was probably the first bowl of pipe tobacco that could actually rival a PREMIUM cigar for me. it was balanced, articulated, and joyous. it was a beautiful hour of my life well spent, with thanks.
am i giving up in cigars any time soon? not bloody well likely! opus and tat reserva and boli and liga, too many to count, and too easy (for me, where i am now) to find that transcendental moment WITHOUT twenty years if advance planning, or searching on the secondary market. BUT. if you do value a good bowl, and have a little room and a little patience, it is a pretty good lesson (i feel) in how a little planning, on a regular production item, can pay off big in the end.
and, to reiterate, thanks to whtwtrman. and you suck. and i am in your debt.
happy smoking. o)
