We had a good crowd at the Hut today: Lou of course, Barry, Joe, Peter all enjoying their cigar of choice, and I had a Peterson Hudson going with a bowlful of Blenheim from Heroes & Legacies in Austin, Texas (a gift from Joe from his recent visit there).
Joe and I talked a lot about the package he is expecting from Minneapolis - a 24" iMac he bought off eBay. Apart from being pathologically jealous, I am eager to help Joe come over from the dark side and begin exploring the world of the Mac. He has pledged to call me when the package arrives next week and I'll come over and help him get it set up and offer some quick lessons. I told him I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't get drool on the keyboard though.
A lot of the day was spent sympathizing with Lou about the signing of the SCHIP bill by President Obama. Although it doesn't look like the additional tax on large cigars will exceed 40 cents, the tax on RYO (roll-your-own) cigarette tobacco will be punishingly high. Hitting Lou where it hurts the most - his wallet - you could practically feel the love in the air for Obama.
I gave Peter some designs for a business card and rack card for his new business, and we discussed some further ideas a little, including a website. Speaking of websites, the Hut's new website has seen 133 unique visitors since it went live a little over a week ago. I spread the word on Smokers Forums and many people checked it out from there, and some traffic has come from my Pipe Smoking 101 website as well.
I did some admiring of some new Peterson pipes Lou got in last week, the St. Patrick's Day commemorative pipe. He has three in stock of this limited edition pipe, each with a very nice grain pattern and standard stem (not the p-lip). My wife and sister (Paula and Julie respectively) were out shopping together, which is always a dangerous thing, so held off buying one of the Petersons, lest we have no grocery money.
The balance of the day was talking about the state of the economy, the bailout, and the environment. Having recently read Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded, I was able to make some reasonably cogent arguments for weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels altogether and concentrating on renewable energy sources.
There being no more close-encounter-with-a-sports-celebrity stories from Barry, and being 5 o'clock, we helped Lou close up and headed home.
Just like last Saturday at the Tobacco Hut, this afternoon found me smoking a new pipe and a new tobacco. This time a beautiful Ben Wade I got from Lou and a very tasty, full-flavored English tobacco that Joe brought me from Heroes & Legacies in Texas.
It was a smooth tasting tobacco not unlike Dunhill 965 but with a little more Latakia. The Ben Wade handled it nicely, reducing it down to a light gray ash. The pipe apparently needs no breaking in as it smoked cool and dry from the start. Another nice addition to the collection.
Most of the gang was in attendance today including the on again/off again "worker bees": myself, Joe, and Peter. Ed B. arrived as well as Barry C. a little later. What did the topic of discussion quickly turn to with half a dozen guys sitting around smoking? No, not women or sex...football! The playoffs are just getting started, and after a bit of razzing Peter because his beloved Patriots didn't make it in, everyone settled on who played well during the season and who blew up. Who deserves to keep their coaching job and who should be fired, etc.
Through the haze of cigar and pipe smoke, it was pretty well decided that the Bucs need some deep personnel changes to improve over the dismal second half of this season. My beloved Browns of course, were quite the embarrassment and drew a laugh at the mere mention of the team. At least the Browns did better than the Lions.
The Titans/Ravens game started at 4:30 and Lou, Barry, and I watched the first quarter before Lou closed up the shop for the day. The hated Ravens ended up winning the game on a Matt Stover field goal (former Browns player before the betrayal).
But I'm getting a little off-topic. Anyway, a fun day at the Hut as always and looking forward to next Saturday.
Cheers!
- Bob
This was my first visit to The Tobacco Hut in two weeks as I took a Saturday off to visit with my son who was visiting from Ohio. It was good to see the gang again and catch up on the holiday happenings with everyone.
I brought in my new Cavicchi sandblasted volcano that Paula surprised me with on Christmas morning (pictured in an earlier post). This was its inaugural smoke and it delivered! I've heard nothing but good things about how this pipe smokes and I wasn't disappointed. And, thanks to Joe K., I tried a new tobacco. Joe traveled to Austin, Texas to visit family for the holidays and picked up a couple nice English blends for me at Heroes & Legacies, a local cigar and pipe shop.
I smoked the Blenheim blend and I'm not sure if this is the store's name for their own mix, or if it's the Cornell & Diehl blend by the same name. I've not had C&D's Blenheim, so can't be sure, but from the description on their website, it seems at first blush like it could be their tobacco. In any case, it's a delightful tobacco, light on the Latakia, and maybe just a hint of an aromatic, which leads me to believe that it could be from C&D, since their website indicates that they've added a bit of anise to the mixture. In some ways, it reminds me of Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe, light enough for the first pipe of the day, or an all-day smoke. The Cavicchi handled it well, and I smoked it down to nothing but ash. A big thank you to Joe for introducing me to this wonderful blend.
It looks like I may be covering the store for Lou & Dottie later this month or next as they're planning a weekend getaway. Always a treat for me, especially if I can introduce pipe smoking to a newcomer. My other "co-workers" were in attendance today, as mentioned Joe K. and Peter G. It was great seeing Peter as it's been a few weeks since we've both been in at the same time.
Paul V. came in and picked up another box full of cigars that customers had donated to the troops. I think this makes three good-sized boxes that he's shipped overseas now, and I know they're appreciated.
That's it for this week - be back with another report next Saturday.
Cheers!
- Bob
