I'm glad you're liking them. Your observations have been my experience as well. I almost pulled out some Dunhill 965 tonight, but went instead for Sam Gawith MVF in my Stefano pipe. It's not sitting particularly well with me for some reason. This was the last thing I smoked prior to getting a bad sinus infection. I'm beginning to think I may be having some reaction to this blend. I didn't put much in my pipe, so it wasn't a long smoke. I think I'm going to leave this jarred for some time before coming back to it, if at all. Going to wait until the weekend, and try something else. Erik, I just a few minutes ago realized in your post about the Bullseye not burning well, that you specified fold and stuff. And being the careful reader I am, I immediately asked "did you fold and stuff or rub out!" Sorry for the oversight. I do prefer rubbing out, BTW.
Some John Bull in my MM Great Dane. Great tobacco, probably one of my favorites. I definitely recommend trying it. And for the price, it's more than worth it.
My first potd! Thanks Chris for making it possible. I am blown away by his generosity! Orlik Golden Sliced in a nice Kriswill briar. I don't think I packed this bowl very well, but it works. Not bad for a rookie. After a slow start I'm enjoying it very much.
It's a very nice evening, I'm sitting on the back porch with a pipe and sipping George Dickel #12. A bowl of Former's Birds Eye first, followed by Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky. Both were very nice. Now I'm about to crack open the Drew Estates Gatsby Luxury Flake as the last bowl of the night. Life is good.
You'll soon get the hang of packing, it takes practice. I like to pack in three parts; the first pinch of tobacco is packed very lightly, the second pinch just a bit more, and the last pinch just a little firmer still. Experience will be the best teacher. As long as I've been at it, sometimes I still get it too tight! If you get it too tight to get a good draw, you can loosen it up a little on the bottom by running a cleaner in the shank.
I'm glad to see you get started with something other than the aromatics. In my experience, with most bulk aromatics you don't really get any true tobacco flavor because it's covered up with a goopy cotton candy sweetness and flavoring. Some people like them, but eventually move on to true tobacco blends. Orlik Golden Slices is a great way to get started. Former Birds Eye and Astley's 109 are also great basic Virginias. If you want to venture into latakia blends, I would recommend starting with any of the Frog Morton series.
Last night I felt out of sorts after the SG MVF. Not sure if it's that tobacco blend, or if I was just out of sorts anyway. I was going to wait until Saturday, but decided to go ahead tonight with H&H Lousiana Red in a Nording brandy. So far, so good!
Some H&H Old Companion in the Roma Zulu with a glass of Evan Williams Honey on the rocks. Yeeeeeeah, I'm feelin mellow. lol
After a meal of elk steak and stella rosa, i mixed the dunhill nightcap with an aromatic (i know i know, some sort of blasphemy) but it was really really good and gave an excellent long lasting smoke...turned it over and just a bit of ash left after about 45 minutes
Did you know that most whiskey is sour mash? It refers to the distiller reusing some of the mash as a starter for the next. Sweet mash means starting from scratch. It has no effect on quality or flavor. Virtually all craft distillers do sour. Tennessee whiskey is simply straight Bourbon, produced in TN, that has been filtered through charcoal prior to aging in new charred barrels. All TN whiskey is legally Bourbon, but not all Bourbon qualifies as TN. And be sure to have one for me! TN whiskey is undergoing a revival right now.
I knew the difference between TN sour mash and bourbon was the charcoal filter step and the fact it was made in Tennessee instead of Kentucky. I have only tried the Dickel and Jack Daniels, I haven't seen any of the other TN whiskeys on the shelves of the local liquor store. The Dickel 12 is smoother than the 8 and costs about 50% more, the only difference is it's aged longer. I've got a bottle of each now, I sip the 12 and mix the 8. I'm sorry to hear TN whiskey is undergoing a revival, it means the prices will probably go up.
Well, a little research indicates the #12 is 90 proof and the #8 is 80 proof. The #12 is aged 8-10 years and the #8 is aged 4-6 years. I almost picked up a bottle of the Barrel Select, which is aged 10-12 years but figured it probably wasn't much different from the #12. They also sell a #1 which is unaged. They seem to have several un-aged "moonshines" at the local Spec's, but I don't see the attraction.
Spec's is amazing. I lived in HOU for three years, great store. TN changed their state laws to allow distilling in all counties a few years ago, and distillers are popping up in TN. I don't understand the moonshine craze, it's hot, raw corn whiskey.
I've never been to the main Spec's store, just the satellite stores. I'll have to make a trip to the main store sometime, but I avoid going into Houston in general. The freeways are generally a mess.
