Some piping and booze go together. A good spirits sometimes begs a cigar or pipe, which begs, and yet again...
The booze: Appleton 12, MGXO, Redemption Rye in that order: with the idea - I wanted to reacquaint myself with my OTC collection of burley roasted nuttiness, that simply has to be part of anything blend I like. In order:
- Granger
Prince Albert
Sir Walter Raleigh
J4 Mild Burley
Carter Hall - just enough tweaking to make the experience pleasant
Half and Half - compare to CH, but not as good
...and ended with: da'rums MacBarens's Navy Flake - terrific. Honest.
The results (ncluding the task of typing):
- Granger: real burley
PA: not far behind
SWR: burley with the barest hint of chocolate, exquisite, and yes - burley!
J4: a nicely lightly aromatic burley, lovely.
Carter Hall: there's a reason this is so well regarded, compare to J4 and SWR with a bit of added Virginia.
Half and Half: well named, it's half burley, half bright, nice, but CH is better.
Now if you even have an afternoon dedicated to alcohol and good toabacco, a comparative study is revealing. Some blends you forget, some you remember as good or bad, and in comparison they may be the opposite... It's the equivalent of a multi-dramming, multi-smoking experiment worth doing. Not an everyday experiment, not even a frequent one, but it was surely worthwhile at the time. The next day is yet another matter, lol. It was great fun... time for a couple aspirin, fluids, and a wonderful cooked meal from deal Sue Sea, who truly loves the old man...
A couple other notes:
1. I'd forgotten how terrific Appleton 12 is - aromatic, balance, lovely.
2. MGXO remains fackin awesome
3. Redemption Rye - 46% yet - turned out to be yet another Potemkin, MGD 95% rye mash.
4. Obviously none of the tobaccos had the chance to dry, so I went through multiple boxes of wooden matches. I learned that relights is no big deal, no worries. It's the tobacco and taste that counts, not the wooden sticks. Last, I simply love folding and smoking Navy Flake, don't pack too tight, it will expand.
5. Oops, also tested HGL (a bit too aromatic but an intro to a touch of la), 504 Aromatic English (perfect!!) , R-Blend (Einstein's thinking blend), Russ O's Magnum Opus and MM Patriot (both real English), with the Opus better conceived and more complex.
More later. Much later... and if you are somehow driven to try this, DO try it at home, lol. As for me, never again!
