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BOTL UPCOMING MAINTENANCE
Hi Everyone, as mentioned in my introduction post, BOTL needs quite a bit of updating, patching and whatever else I might come across. Over the next few weekends BOTL may be unreachable on occasion as I do migrations or updates, etc. Just be patient - we'll be back! I'll generally try to keep these maintenances until later in the evenings.
What's in your bowl today
- Thread starter La Chupacabra
- Start date
I love that bulldog stem! I wish I had the equipment to do sandblasting also. I've read that the more roughness or pitting you have in your briar, the more surface area there is to disipate heat. I haven't made a rough surfaced pipe yet but I think it will be soon! I have some plateaux blocks I'm gonna be starting to carve soon.Breaking in the new Sav 320 with some GL Pease Cairo. Maiden smoke, my first time with a Sav 320 and first time with Cairo.
Verdict...
Both incredible
For august I am cold as sh#t this morning! Luckily my Oliva O maduro warmed me up a bit! Sweet yummy goodness! As I was getting ready for work I was debating Wether or not my tongue was ready to make the leap back to the warmer side of English and perique blends but I think I'm still out of commission. My tongue is still sensitive to the touch, so I'm gonna give it another day or two to heal. For now I've got my Straus String town which in its description says "a smooth, fragrant and flavorful black cavendish. It has a delightful vanilla character with hints of caramel, maple and mocha that is pronounced both in the pouch and in the room note and yet is not at all overpowering." Now all of that is fine and good and it is tasty and even my wife likes the way it smells. But I really just want my Bayou Morning, medal of valor and my sweet sweet virginia flakes back in my life! One or two more days and I can put back up my panel billiard skull briar and pull back out my apple daisy briar and I will fn tell you what! I will NEVER make this dumb ass mistake again! May your smoke be cool and smooth everybody (or all three of you who actually read these lol).
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You have the sweetest pipes bro!
Another good morning to all of my BOTL!
Last night I decided to live it up a little bit and pulled out a new cigar that I hadn't tried. A La Aurora Untamed. Thanks to the forum discussion under cigars/guides and references/refining your palette I was able to try a new technique. A basic technique called take your f#$*ing time! I'm sure I have mentioned that I'm not usually a fan of most but not all Dominicans because of the grapefruit peel bitter sour that I get from most of them. The Untamed is not a full Dominican, but I could tell right off the bat that it had the potential of the grapefruit peel. Right off the bat I got some good flavors. At first I was using my usual technique of chuffing down and it started to bitter slightly. So I backed of and without the aid of a watch or timer started using the puff about once a minute method and it worked. The cigar stayed tasty and complex the whole way through and so this morning instead of going with my trusty Oliva or Tatuaje I tried a cigar that I had just thrown to the bottom of the Humidor a couple weeks ago after deciding it was disgusting! It was a Gurkha Warlord. I cut the head and went to town. Taking my time, making sure it didn't overheat and it was a decent smoke the whole way through. Now it still was no Davidoff Nicaragua, but it was enjoyable and at no time did I feel like I needed to gargle with mouthwash to get the nasty bitter metal taste out of my mouth.
As I sit hear and smoke my morning pipe of stadium with a little latakia mixed in I'm contemplating, what other cigars have I just ruined by chuffing through them like a steam engine? Does this mean I have to go back through all of my records of cigars that I've hated and retry all of the 1-3 star smokes? (I have a 5 star rating system) I think it does! So let the journey rebegin! May your smoke be cool and smooth!
If anyone is anoyed by me doing these every morning just let me know. I'm just having fun doing it!
Last night I decided to live it up a little bit and pulled out a new cigar that I hadn't tried. A La Aurora Untamed. Thanks to the forum discussion under cigars/guides and references/refining your palette I was able to try a new technique. A basic technique called take your f#$*ing time! I'm sure I have mentioned that I'm not usually a fan of most but not all Dominicans because of the grapefruit peel bitter sour that I get from most of them. The Untamed is not a full Dominican, but I could tell right off the bat that it had the potential of the grapefruit peel. Right off the bat I got some good flavors. At first I was using my usual technique of chuffing down and it started to bitter slightly. So I backed of and without the aid of a watch or timer started using the puff about once a minute method and it worked. The cigar stayed tasty and complex the whole way through and so this morning instead of going with my trusty Oliva or Tatuaje I tried a cigar that I had just thrown to the bottom of the Humidor a couple weeks ago after deciding it was disgusting! It was a Gurkha Warlord. I cut the head and went to town. Taking my time, making sure it didn't overheat and it was a decent smoke the whole way through. Now it still was no Davidoff Nicaragua, but it was enjoyable and at no time did I feel like I needed to gargle with mouthwash to get the nasty bitter metal taste out of my mouth.
As I sit hear and smoke my morning pipe of stadium with a little latakia mixed in I'm contemplating, what other cigars have I just ruined by chuffing through them like a steam engine? Does this mean I have to go back through all of my records of cigars that I've hated and retry all of the 1-3 star smokes? (I have a 5 star rating system) I think it does! So let the journey rebegin! May your smoke be cool and smooth!
If anyone is anoyed by me doing these every morning just let me know. I'm just having fun doing it!
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Check out this sh#t! I get home from work to find my mailbox in little peices and this laying in the scraps!!! 
You rock!!! @javelin377. I haven't tried any of these!
You rock!!! @javelin377. I haven't tried any of these!
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Damn! This day is like Christmas!!! First the package from javelin377 and now I just found out I got a job at my local tobacconist! Which means that I am now officially a tobacconist!!! I think I just sh#t myself I'm so happy!!!
Glad they made it. USPS is slow. I could have walked it up there by now!!
Congrats on the job. What do you expect to be doing at your local shop?
Congrats on the job. What do you expect to be doing at your local shop?
Selling cigars, pipes, pipe tobacco and blending pipe tobacco!
Yea I was surprised it took so long when I saw how close you are.
You down with BOTL! Yea you know me! Doesn't ryhm but you get the idea. Today is a good day! A new day! A day where I start a new journey in my life. I get to put down the saw and hammer and pick up every bit of information I can on different vitolas, blends, leaves and growing techniques etc. It is my chance to dive head first into something I love and I am excited as f*@k about it!I'm sitting here this morning with the first non aromatic smoke I've had sind my tounge bite debacle, daydreaming about things to come and smoking this awesome Dunhill EMP (early morning pipe) for the first time, thanx to javelin377. He wrote on each bag telling me his feelings about the blend that was in it. This one says "my fav morning smoke. This one tastes best in a cob" I don't have a cob because the only pipes I have I've made out of briar. But it still tastes great and is unlike anything I have tried before, with some mild floral notes. I haven't looked up the blend but it's good. My guess would be some Virginia, a little latakia, possibly perique and oriental. Could be wrong though. Actually I'm gonna look it up now ha! OK so here's the verdict!
"Dunhill Early Morning Pipe is one of the true classics. This blend starts with golden and red flue-cured Virginia tobaccos which are matured under pressure while heat is applied, deepening the flavor. Choice Oriental tobaccos are added for spice, and just enough Latakia is incorporated to give the blend a smokiness, with a hint of leather."
No perique. Oh well I tried lol.
When I first got up I also got to try the Montecristo media noche. A damn good cigar. A little bitter for me but that settled toward the second half when it it became a tasty chocolate coffee been flavor.
So I'm stoked and the reality of it hasn't fully settled in yet. I get the privilege of working at the 4th oldest tobacconist in the US founded in 1880. One of the only places in Cincinnati grandfathered in so you can still smoke in the smoking lounge. Well I guess I'm done rambling and I hope all of my BOTL have a great Saturday, but it's time for me to go hammer and saw the day away for the last time as a full time gig. Thanx for reading and may your smoke be cool and smooth. Talk atcha tomorrow.
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I should have sent you a cob as well @Kelon. Sorry. Glad you like the EMP. It's a morning staple around here. @thedismaltrade introduced me to it.
Cairo and a super nasty cup of gas station coffee for me this morning.
Cairo and a super nasty cup of gas station coffee for me this morning.
Lol not a problem brother! I'm trying that Cairo out a little later todayI should have sent you a cob as well @Kelon. Sorry. Glad you like the EMP. It's a morning staple around here. @thedismaltrade introduced me to it.
Cairo and a super nasty cup of gas station coffee for me this morning.
Yea it's a pretty cool shop and my buddy was just telling me about how he always sees big name cigar blenders, bengals, reds players etc. While he's smoking there. I'm a big tobacco nerd so I think it's pretty cool.
Exactly! wait what's TAD?Tobacco nerd/enthusiasts/TAD - same thing, aren't we all on some level
Aficionado?