Peebs

I'm smoking "Sherlock Holmes" by Petersons, "Maduro" by Robert McConnell and "Grousemoor" by Samuel Gawith. Plus various other odds and ends. I prefer the milder ones - particularly Virginia Tobacco.

Hi Mike, Good to hear from you. The pipe smoking has taken a bit of a back seat at the moment. I still use it but less than the cigarettes. I find the 'hit' the pipe gives me a bit too strong, so I only light it up ocassionally. How are you doing? Jan.

Hi Again,
Got some W.O. Larsen's selected blend no.30 in the post this morning. It is the dark virginia blend. A very nice smoke indeed. A good complement to the light virginia blends I've got. Also trying out Orlik Golden Sliced, which is a nice mild tobacco.
Do you know of any other dark virginia blends? What is the Larsen's selected blend no.32 like? It is a light blend of virginia I believe.
Thanks, Jan.

Hi Mike,
A bit of an update on my initiation into pipe smoking. I was getting a bit intoxicated with all the 'heavy' tobaccos I was smoking. They were nice but too much to be smoking often. I was returning to cigarettes instead. So today I went to the tobacconist and asked for Virginia only tobaccos - since virginia is a baccy I'm used to and tastes like cigarettes. They recommended 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Scottish Cake'. They both smell much more like the tobacco I'm used to. And the Sherlock Holmes is a nice, fiery, airy smoke. I think I'll be alright with these two for a while. Jan.

Hi There, I've just found out from the local Oxford tobacconist that Delux Navy Rolls are no longer available in Britain! Which is a shame. I was dying to try them. The Bulls Eye is the nearest product to them, but the tobacconist did not think its quite as good. Just a bit of trivia info.... Jan.

Hey Jan!
There are several ways to rub a flake out.
1. Put the flake in the palm of your non-dominant hand and take the palm of your other hand and rub the flake out in a circular motion. This will typically produce fine stands of tobacco that is easier to light, but can get hot causing tongue bite from the steam being released from the tobacco if its too fine.
2. Break the flake into little pieces and pack it in that state or use strands from option 1 as kindling. This makes the pipe easier to light as well as provide a variation of the flake's flavor as the fire moves between the two cuts.
3. Fold them and smoke it as is. The main drawbacks are that it's tougher to keep lit and it's harder to control how well the pipe will draw as you smoke. Too constricted and you tend to puff harder get flavor (tongue bite again) or if it's too loose, then you puff harder to get flavor. I've cut them into small pieces with scissors and even used a coffee grinder to rub out large quantities.

Hi Mike, Both the Bulls Eye and University Flake are great smokes. I've had one pipeful of the Flake so far and was really impressed. The Bulls eye is really nice too.
How does one rub flake tobaccos? Does one have to rub them? I've been smoking them unrubbed, and its been fine - is that how they should be smoked?
Thanks. Jan.

No problem, ask questions anytime. Half the fun of pipe smoking is discovering new tobaccos to try and finding new favorites.

Thanks Mike, I look forward to trying it. Its good to have met another pipe smoker who can advise me a bit. Cheers!

Yes, the Orlick has a good following. It's not as sweet as the DNR, the Perique in DNR tends to impart a figgish sweetness. The finer you rub out the coin, the hotter it will burn so pay attention to where you will be smoking. Outdoors, you can fold and stuff it into your pipe and it will burn slow but impart deeper flavor profile than if its completely rubbed. You can also mix - rub some out and mix it with pieces of the coin. Danish tobaccos tend to bite a bit more imo, so be careful your tongue doesn't bit. I can just hear Psycho's reaction to this...

Hi There Again, So working from your recommendations I've ordered Orlik Bulls Eye - which is similar to Deluxe Navy Rolls (which they did not have) - and University Flake. The Irish Flake I will try soon, but I don't want anything TOO strong at the moment! lol. Is the Bulls Eye a good one? Jan.

Hi Peebs, Found two new really nice tobaccos. 'Old Gowrie' & 'Irish Oak'. Any experience with them? They are very nice. Sort of mature and mellow. Which are your favorites?