Pipes and Pipe Tobacco... (this post inspired the section)

Pipes on the ships of old were nothing new. Tobacco and rum made their appearance in short order with tobacco inherited from American Indians and rum from the Caribbean. Smoking aboard ship was allowed by limited to a safe area and at safe times, ergo the "smoking lamp". Where? Usually near the Galley, as it is here. A huge thanks to the amazing da'rum - a man of high ideals and many talents. This is just one of them.
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Pipes and Pipe Tobacco... (this post inspired the section)

Post by da'rum »

I was a Cigar smoker but in fairly recent times I have been enjoying smoking a pipe. I find it fits in with my lifestyle quite well. I don't smoke every day and if I do smoke a pipe it is rarely if ever more than one in the day which is also a plus for me.

The reason I've become a fan of pipe smoking is three fold, firstly the taste of a good pipe tobacco is hard to beat, secondly the contemplatory (not a word but I'm sticking with it) aspect of taking the time out to enjoy a rich bowl of pure virginia/perique is somewhat zen like at times and thirdly but far not the least of the three reasons is my affection for the unadulterated tobaccos. This is obviously a trait I have with my vices that being I prefer my spirits as unadulterated as I can afford.

Pipe tobacco is fairly unadulterated in general, there are 'aromatic' tobaccos that I don't particularly care for that have been soaked in various essences and alcohols to produce a distinct profile. Thes aromatics normally have a humectant mixed in to keep the tobacco moist, this I'm also not a great fan of. The tobaccos that I do enjoy are the non aromatics that have been at the most cased with a thin mix of molasses and water to remove any bitterness but apart from that are largely pure tobacco.

I prefer flake tobacco (pressed blocks cut into strips) and feel very Huck Finn-ish when I get the time to put my feet up with a book, a rum/whisky/whiskey and a nice pipe.

Is anyone else here also afflicted with the same vice? If so what is your go to tobacco? What do you match with which spirit?

I know Jimbo, not particularly educational but perhaps interesting none the less. ;)
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Post by Hassouni »

Well, not quite the same, but I've been a hookah (nargile) smoker for the past nearly 10 years, and lately I've been a big fan of unflavored nargile tobacco (AKA mu'assal or 'ajami). These are at minimum plain cured tobacco leaves, no molasses, humectants, or anything, just dry cured tobacco leaves, cut or whole, with the best coming from Iran (good luck getting that in the US! But I have my ways...), and at the other end, typically fire cured tobacco with some honey or other things to keep it moist. It really conveys the flavor of well-cured tobacco: earthy, smoky, sometimes acrid, sweet, with notes of dried fruit, in a way flavored nargile tobacco does not. I still love some of the flavored stuff, but the unflavored is where the real flavor is at, and what old people around the Middle East continue to smoke.

Unlike flavored stuff, the unflavored stuff is almost always smoked without aluminum foil, with the coals straight on, as with this Iranian Khoonsar (Khansar) stuff I picked up:

Image

Image

I typically drink beer or strong tea with this stuff, but I can see it going very well with, surprise surprise, an Islay scotch.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

To the contrary, U-man...


What a terrific couple of posts, love them. In my 20's I had a collection of good pipes, and used to buy a cigar a day from the many tobacconists that existed then. These were the days of striped pole barbershops, hot lather shaves with a straight razor, and shoeshines.

Good food, good company (or not), good spirits and good smoke - like the peace pipes of old - were contemplative and beneficial. I exclude cigarettes completely from this equation, but a good Dominican cigar with a Cameroon wrapper, along with a dram or two of an especially fine spirit...

Doesn't get any better.
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Post by Hassouni »

Capn Jimbo wrote: a good Dominican cigar with a Cameroon wrapper, along with a dram or two of an especially fine spirit...

Doesn't get any better.
Sure it does, a Cuban cigar or Iranian tobacco! :D
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Post by Dai »

Never been a smoker but tried the odd cigar. The old (my father) used to smoke a pipe when we were kids. sadly the pipe has gone out of fashion these days. you won't see many younger men smoking a pipe, water pipe with something else in it maybe.
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Post by da'rum »

To the contrary, U-man...
D'man :wink:


Hassouni
but the unflavored is where the real flavor is at
Couldn't agree more.


I was gifted a hooker from a couple of friends here but of yet have not used it. Is that Iranian tobacco strain 'oriental'? If not do you know what it is?
I typically drink beer or strong tea with this stuff
I agree a nice Lapsang Souchong goes well with some tobaccos, Latakia for example. Other teas match other tobaccos like a light Chai with a sweet Virginia Perique blend or even Burley. Beer is also a great accompaniment. European and UK boutique beers are imo hard to beat on this score.

Dai
the pipe has gone out of fashion these days. you won't see many younger men smoking a pipe
Actually Dai there is a resurgence in the popularity of pipe smoking as it is less expensive as Cigar smoking, somewhat healthier as those evil chemical soaked cigarettes and less taxing on your day.

Some cigarette smokers are realising that shuffling outside twice an hour to huddle in a dark corner and smashing a lung dart down isn't really that enjoyable. Cigarette smoking is more about addiction than enjoyment.

Of course pipe smoking still has the stigma for some young people as being of 'grandad style' but anyone who doesn't look closely at what the aged among us did in their day and question it's merits are foolish.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Oh! Oh! Oh!


I almost forgot. Can you believe this amazing trend toward those ridiculous e-vapor cigarettes? I mean really now. The first ones made every attempt to even look like a cigarette, down to the glowing tip. Now they look like well, what they are: bizarre contraptions that could be used in a Japanese Star Wars movies to depict spacecraft.

Still, a perfect ending after having sex with your blow up doll. Was it as good for you as it was for me? Was it? Not the silent treatment again...
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Post by Hassouni »

da'rum wrote: Is that Iranian tobacco strain 'oriental'? If not do you know what it is?
That's a good question. By that do you mean what's commonly referred to as "Turkish" tobacco? If I had to guess, I'd say it's not, as as I understand it, Turkish tobacco tends to be lighter, whereas this Khoonsar stuff is a real ass-kicker. It's probably the most famous tobacco in Iran, and might even be its own strain.
Oh! Oh! Oh!


I almost forgot. Can you believe this amazing trend toward those ridiculous e-vapor cigarettes? I mean really now. The first ones made every attempt to even look like a cigarette, down to the glowing tip. Now they look like well, what they are: bizarre contraptions that could be used in a Japanese Star Wars movies to depict spacecraft.

Still, a perfect ending after having sex with your blow up doll. Was it as good for you as it was for me? Was it? Not the silent treatment again...
Yes, I can believe it. I'm not a regular smoker of anything besides hookah, and I despise cigarettes. My cigarette smoking friends that have switched to e-cigs no longer reek, they don't have to go outside in the cold to get their fix, and the experience is overall quite pleasant. As a non-smoker myself, I rather like them, it's a nice little hit without inhaling any carcinogenic burning compounds and without smelling like an ashtray.[/quote]
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Au contraire...


If all that were involved was water vapor, that'd be one thing. But the trend is toward multiple "flavorings" (and nicotine) whose vaporization has not been thoroughly tested, as their vaporized delivery have not yet experienced the long term studies.

Frankly, for an unknown product, with mostly unknown content to be introduced into one's lungs, and circulatory system is - at the least - dumb and very, very ill informed. But that's the power of advertising. Sell it first, discover the consequences later.


The early feedback isn't good...

Consider this:
"Electronic cigarettes, also called “e-cigarettes,” are battery-operated devices that generally contain cartridges filled with nicotine, flavor and other chemicals. They are also available in different flavors, such as chocolate and mint, which may appeal to young people.

FDA’s analyses detected diethylene glycol, a chemical toxic to humans, and detected carcinogens, including nitrosamines. These products do not contain any health warnings. Because these products have not been submitted to the FDA for evaluation or approval, at this time the agency has no way of knowing the levels of nicotine or the amounts or kinds of other chemicals that the various brands of these products deliver to the user."
(Cite: FDA)

"No problem, trust us" say these companies and their paid associations, who just like their carcinogenic brethren are sure to include addictive nicotine in their unproven delivery systems. A French consumer magazine tested e-cigs and found high levels of carcinogens; the French government is on the verge of banning them. Second hand "vapor" is another concern for those of us who'd prefer not to inhale their vaporized chemicals.

California has introduced Proposition 65 which is:

"WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm."

The following compounds that are on the Proposition 65 list have already been identified in mainstream or secondhand (sidestream) e-cigarette vapor:

Acetaldehyde (MS)
Benzene (SS)
Cadmium (MS)
Formaldehyde (MS,SS)
Isoprene (SS)
Lead (MS)
Nickel (MS)
Nicotine (MS, SS)
N-Nitrosonornicotine (MS, SS)
Toluene (MS, SS)
The real truth is this: if these e-cigs did nothing more than introduce water vapor alone, guess what? They wouldn't sell. The faux hook are the phony "flavors" and tastes whose vaporized effects are only beginning to be known. And the real hook?

Entrained and addictive nicotine. I consider the sale of e-cigs to not only be harmful, but bordering on immoral, particularly in promoting it as a healthy alternative. Worse yet are the selection of flavors and bong like delivery systems designed to appeal and to hook kids. Hey, it's fun and safe!

Pretty scummy if you ask me. Here's my prediction: these vapor toys will hook an awful lot of new people. Once their carcinogenic properties become formally confirmed, voila! These now hooked, new e-smokers will now turn easily and smoothly to real ciggies.

And why not? Another marketing victory...
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Post by da'rum »

This is a thread about pipe smoking not bloody e cigarettes and their carcinogenic properties. :|
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Post by da'rum »

My favourite tobaccos are,
Erinmore flake
Patriot flake
Solani aged burley flake
mac baren navy flake
mac baren HH old dark fired
Hollys discovery latakia flake
Dunhill elizabethan
Peterson old Dublin
And
Dunhill nightcap.

These are all excellent tobacco's that suit most moods. The navy flake is the flake I've been enjoying most lately.
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Post by da'rum »

This post is in particular to Hassouni, I took some tobacco over to a friends place yesterday afternoon and we fired up his Hooka. I have to say that although not bad I would much prefer a standard pipe. Not a bad method though. Just not really my cup of tea. I lose the Huck Finn feel :)
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Did you smoke it, or did it smoke you?

da'rum wrote:I was gifted a hooker from a couple of friends here but of yet have not used it.
(Credit: Sigmund Freud)

Oddly enough, South Florida was an early adopter of the Hooker, er Hookah Bar concept and even odder, they are frequented by yes, hookers, in the form of amazingly beautiful exotic women, some of whom are actually female.

Or so I've heard...
Last edited by Capn Jimbo on Sun Jun 08, 2014 8:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by da'rum »

(Credit: Sigmund Freud)
Ha, oops.

Or so I've heard...

Hmmmm, :D
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Post by Dai »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw8584Tso8g

Ralfy does it again this time it's pipe smoking.
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