Modern English

I don't know how April came and went so quickly. Work, I guess, pushed it through. Seems like my days are passing faster and faster lately. I wake up Monday, go to work, and by the time I get home it's already Wednesday.

I'm starting to enjoy English blends. Blame Dan Boswell, for he talked me into buying a couple of ounces of Boswell's Magnum Blend. It's basically a light English. I figured it couldn't hurt to try it, so I did. Obviously, being an English, it doesn't have quite the sweet aroma you expect from an aromatic. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it, though. I only had the pleasure of one bowl before my little girl got hold of the container, opened it, and dumped the contents out all over the living room.

After the loss of a good $5 worth of tobacco, I decided to look at some of Peretti's English blends. I tried Omega and Blend D-7485. Omega is booked as "Rich and full flavored, it is ideal for relaxing in the evening after a fine meal. This blend is pleasantly spiced with the gentle flavor of Latakia and superb Turkish," while D-7485 is "A masterpiece of the blender's art. A blend that lends itself to gracious living. This blend of a number of tobaccos smokes cool and mild. Made originally for the late Hon. Ramsay MacDonald."

Of the two, I like D-7485 the best of the two Peretti Enlgishes I've tried. It's pretty good, overall. Omega is so-so. It's got a little bit in common with D-7485, but it doesn't seem to stand out for me too much.

The New "Freehand" Pipe
This past weekend, Stephen and I went up to Chambersburg for Lilly Boswell's birthday party (Lilly is Dan's little girl). We got to the shop early and I bought a new pipe (a really sweet freehand) and a few ounces of various English blends (more Magnum Blend, to replace that which Maddy dusted the living room with; some Northwoods; and some Countryside). Of the three, Northwoods is my new favorite English. It's the tobacco equivalent of drinking a pint of Guinness.

Stephen and I at Lilly's Party
So, for the beer analogy. I've been thinking about it, and I recall the first time I had a good beer (well, it was an ale, actually). Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, to be precise, brought over by my friend Chris Swearingen. I was used to mass-produced beers at the time, so the woody flavor of Sierra Nevada Pale knocked my socks off. It's sort of the same with the English tobaccos. I still enjoy aromatics (I only smoke aromatics in the house, as I'm of the opinion that Englishes are smoked for my enjoyment, while aromatics are smoked for the enjoyment of those around me).

In other news, my mother found a couple of pipes at an estate sale. Now, once you get away from the "yuck" factor of having a couple of pipes that some random dead person used to smoke, the idea of buying estate pipes (as used pipes are called) isn't so odd. You can generally get them fairly cheaply (though I've seen estate pipes for sale at pretty obscene prices, depending on the style and maker), and it doesn't take much to put them back into a state that is almost brand new.

Of the two my mother sent, one is a Comoy (at left). The other is Danish, but the manufacturer is a mystery. I took them with me to Boswells and they buffed them up for me. They look as good as new, for the most part, and the Comoy is especially sweet to look at and hold. I haven't tried smoking them yet, but I'll be glad to add them to the rotation. All in all, she only paid a couple dollars for each of the pipes. I'm sure I could sell them for twenty times that price if I wanted to, but I won't.



By the way, if you are reading this and you can ID the Danish pipe (above), please drop me a line.