Cigar and Pipe thread

[SCCY Marshal]

Took the oldest swimming, rock sliding, and stone skipping while youngest had a violin lesson. I decided to test last week's experiment between dips.

My manpurse has a small screw top Nalgene jar of home mixed tobacco and a corncob at all times. The jar usually contains the dregs of whatever tin was last finished bulked up with drugstore cavendish, Carter Hall, or whatever. At the last fill, I had no crumbs to seed the jar. So I decided to try my hand at making Carter Hall more sociable. It's simple but heavy on the burley which makes it nicely nutty but much to cigarette-y a room note, beard note, and breath before brushing teeth for others to usually find pleasant. So I mixed half a jar Carter Hall with between a 1/4 and 3/8ths jar drugstore cherry cavendish, and remainder black cavendish. The OTC cherry blend is boring and bland by the end of a bowl on its own but does have an agreeable room note. It was added to perfume the reek without overwhelming the honest burley of the Carter Hall. Black cavendish to help meld the two and round out the jar with something mild and a bit sweet smelling without overdoing the cherry cavendish.

I was outdoors in a shifting breeze but it smoked a bit like a mild granola bar and what whiffs I caught of the reek seemed promising. With so much Carter Hall in my mini-blend, it burned very well despite the cool burning cavendishes.

Skipped stones, rock hopped, pet the beagle, talked to a runner taking a break at the riverside, and threw rocks while puffing my corncob. Then knocked the dottle, inserted a pipe cleaner, and jumped back in the river for a while. Going back to the flavor a vit similar to granola bars, our snack consisted of a palmful of G.O.R.P. which went nicely with the pipe's aftertaste.

Cheap fun, today.

[RoyGBiv]

Took the oldest swimming, rock sliding, and stone skipping while youngest had a violin lesson. I decided to test last week's experiment between dips.

My manpurse has a small screw top Nalgene jar of home mixed tobacco and a corncob at all times. The jar usually contains the dregs of whatever tin was last finished bulked up with drugstore cavendish, Carter Hall, or whatever. At the last fill, I had no crumbs to seed the jar. So I decided to try my hand at making Carter Hall more sociable. It's simple but heavy on the burley which makes it nicely nutty but much to cigarette-y a room note, beard note, and breath before brushing teeth for others to usually find pleasant. So I mixed half a jar Carter Hall with between a 1/4 and 3/8ths jar drugstore cherry cavendish, and remainder black cavendish. The OTC cherry blend is boring and bland by the end of a bowl on its own but does have an agreeable room note. It was added to perfume the reek without overwhelming the honest burley of the Carter Hall. Black cavendish to help meld the two and round out the jar with something mild and a bit sweet smelling without overdoing the cherry cavendish.

I was outdoors in a shifting breeze but it smoked a bit like a mild granola bar and what whiffs I caught of the reek seemed promising. With so much Carter Hall in my mini-blend, it burned very well despite the cool burning cavendishes.

Skipped stones, rock hopped, pet the beagle, talked to a runner taking a break at the riverside, and threw rocks while puffing my corncob. Then knocked the dottle, inserted a pipe cleaner, and jumped back in the river for a while. Going back to the flavor a vit similar to granola bars, our snack consisted of a palmful of G.O.R.P. which went nicely with the pipe's aftertaste.

Cheap fun, today.

I've started playing around with blending Bourbons. Mostly the pedestrian versions of things I like. But, I've never tried blending tobaccos. I might give that a try, blending something my wife likes the aroma of with something else I prefer.... Thanks for the inspiration.

[SCCY Marshal]

Swung by a little beer and smoke shop on my lunchtime bike ride into town. Talked to the proprietor as he was opening for the afternoon and yesterday was evidently a bust. So I dropped entirely too much money in an attempt to seed the day's business in positive fashion. Two Alec Bradley Americam Classic 6.5x52 torpedos, two Arturo Fuente 4.5x50 Rothschild maduros, and two maduro Punch Champion sticks oficially 4.5x60 but that is at the center of the delicious looking perfectos. Pipe tobacco in stock consisted of a quartet of tinned CAO aromatics. Grabbed Eileen's Dream just because. All that ready for tonight plus the remaining half-tin of Macanudo cigarillos, some Carter Hall, and a cellared tin of Ten Russians.

I am hosting an outdoor Bad Movie Double Feature this evening so hopefully guests help me with all this. Tobacconist seemed happy I was intending to make a proper cigar offering when entertaining guests.

[Borderland]

I smoke 3 or 4 cigars a week but never contributed to this thread. I know what a $10 cigar is and every cigar smoker should try at least one. Unfortunately I can't afford to smoke those all the time but occasionally my DIL, who is from Ecuador where they grow great tobacco, gifts me a few Cohibas or Perdomos. Back when I had a job I smoked those.

I'm usually a $5 cigar buyer and I buy them by the box. Those are smokeable if you find the right blend. Lately I've been smoking La Aurora 1987 Connecticut which is a blend I enjoy. La Aurora is a company in the Dominican Republic that's been in business there for 118 years. They grow a lot of their own tobacco.

I've never been a cigarette smoker and started smoking cigars about 20 years ago.

[perlslacker]

I smoke 3 or 4 cigars a week but never contributed to this thread. I know what a $10 cigar is and every cigar smoker should try at least one. Unfortunately I can't afford to smoke those all the time but occasionally my DIL, who is from Ecuador where they grow great tobacco, gifts me a few Cohibas or Perdomos. Back when I had a job I smoked those.

I'm usually a $5 cigar buyer and I buy them by the box. Those are smokeable if you find the right blend. Lately I've been smoking La Aurora 1987 Connecticut which is a blend I enjoy. La Aurora is a company in the Dominican Republic that's been in business there for 118 years. They grow a lot of their own tobacco.

I've never been a cigarette smoker and started smoking cigars about 20 years ago.

I discovered CigarBid recently and, if you know what you like, the Freefall auctions are a good way to get boxes at a pretty good discount.

You can get Oliva Connecticut Reserve cigars for $4-$5/stick if you buy by the box. I don't know what a "good" B&M price on those is, but the stores by me charge about $10 a stick for the Churchill vitola. There's also a bunch of CAOs for cheap usually.

You may have to rest 'em for a while before they smoke well, though. They don't ship with Boveda packs like some of the fancier online retailers do.

And their "combine shipping" option creates a strong temptation to buy extra stuff to "make shipping worth it." It gets expensive saving all that money

E: oof, they've got boxes of AVO Classic No 2s going for about $150 rn. Retail on those is usually $200. Someone here should buy them all so I'm not tempted

[Elwin]

For cheap cigars I had really good luck with rebranded “seconds,” specifically “La Flor Dominicana,” which I believe is rebranded/second/budget line Olivas. I also really like Perdomo’s Fresco line for a cheap smoke.

While it’s still a non smoking property, our new town house has a deck, and my wife has told me to go for it - if our neighbors are narcs, it’s mutually assured destruction since their fire pit is also verboten. I may need to just order some more MM965. I think the bulk stuff I’ve had around for two years is past rehydrating.

[SCCY Marshal]

I was a little surprised to see the tobacco selection of some guests at last night's screening.

- One found out we had a cigar bar going and donated the tin of Cohiba Red Dot cigarillos from his jacket pocket. I immediately tried one and they are tasty. Sturdier than the Macanudo sticks I'd added to the pile, fuller flavored, and pre-cut for the novices. I'd get a tin of the Cohinas for taking to partiea now that I've experienced them. A complete newbie to tobacco had one as his first ever cigar.

- An Eastern European brought a pack of papirosa from his last trip to see family pre-apocalypse. I'm not a cigarette smoker and typically dislike them to begin with. But I'll double-pinch the tube and spark a papirosa the rare day I'm around some. The one cig. addct attending hit them hard, though. "They appeal to the minimalist in me. Pinch a tube to make a keep tobacco out of your teeth, plain tobacco, no litter."

- Our rank novice asked me to show him how to pack a pipe and selected Carter Hall after my quick description of the offerings. His first pack was better than my own had been and he had it burning well before tapping out halfway through the bowl. The vitamin N was hitting him by that point. He had also opted for a filter. The pipe smoker attending had a bowl of my beloved Mac Baren Plumcake. And I had a medium cob of Eileen's Dream. It was better than expected but I'd stick to small bowls going forward and using it as an additive in hand blends. It was cloying to me by the end.

- No one considered the fullsize torpedoes. Cigarillos, robustos, and Fuente Short Story sized perfectos had consistently been the biggest hits at social events in my experience. I think the robusto size seems less intimidating but is still a full cigar. While cigarillos are just quick and easy for people to deal with.

I'm going to kill a couple leftover sticks, today (one after the cook-out I'm attending after work and other as a nightcap) to get them gone as I don't maintain a humidor then take the work week or more off tobacco entirely. Last night was a bit nuts.

The little Punch perfecto was delicious, by the way. Not to strong in flavor or nicotine for a sporadic to outright infrequent pipe hobbyist but still reasonably complex and easy to get along with. Stayed with it until my moustache was at risk being singed. Most appreciated was the mild and short-lived aftertaste. When my smoke is over, I want it over. When I brush my teeth, I want my mouth back. The real heavy sticks that stay with you are very much not my thing. Oh, it was also the first cigar I ever punched. I prefer a pocket knife but tried something different and can see the appeal even though I don't like the mouthfeel as much as a cut.

[RoyGBiv]

Thanks for the tip on the Cohibas. I've been smoking mostly Ashton and Fuente cigarillos and half coronas recently, mostly due to it being too hot outside to smoke a full cigar. Will give the Cohibas a try next time I see them. Genuine Cohiba Cubanos are my favorites by far, but I've been disappointed by the no - Cuban versions so far. Always willing to give it another try.

[SCCY Marshal]

Just keep in mind I'm gradimg on the inexpensive cigarillo scale. They're tiny but taste better than most.

[trailrunner]

This evening I had an Ashton Churchill while reading Max Hasting's latest book Operation Pedestal.