Saturday at the Hut - 1/31/09

We had a great crowd at the Tobacco Hut today. Joe and I were the first to arrive, but instead of launching immediately into talking about computers, we talked about - um, I can't lie. Actually we did in fact begin talking immediately about computers.

I've been trying to get Joe to see the light and come over to the Mac side of things, and he's been talking the last few months about maybe picking up a used one to tinker with. He said he was in Best Buy the other day and sat down at the 24" iMac and now has his sights set on it, the very computer I've been drooling over for the last year or so. If Joe pulls the trigger on it, I'll be more than a little jealous, but he said I could come over and play with it.

I filled up one of my Winslow-Crown Viking freehands with some Tinder Box Reserve 1928. The tobacco has just the right amount of casings without being overly sugary, has a great taste and equally nice room note. It smokes great in the Winslow, although it was just a little wet toward the end, but nothing a few pipe cleaners couldn't remedy. The pipe has a good sized bowl, so without too much nursing, the pipe lasted most of the afternoon.

Peter arrived and I showed him the logos I had worked up for his new business. We discussed some more ideas, and he gave me some talking points about the venture to work into some promotional materials I'll be working on.

Everyone had kind words to say about the shop's website, although Lou himself hadn't seen it yet. He saw a couple pages of it on Joe's iPod Touch, but will look at it further from home.

Barry came in after getting off work, and we decided he's the new Mike G. Although no one can truly replace Mike, who still makes an appearance once in awhile when he visits from Tennessee, Barry comes close. Barry was quick to point out that political views between the two of them are 180-degrees apart. Point taken.

And then, mid-afternoon, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a regular from days gone by arrived. Tom L walked through the door, greeting everyone with a carefully crafted sarcastic comment. Good to have Tom back! I'll chalk it up to coincidence that Joe left immediately after Tom arrived (kidding, he had already cashed out and was on his way).

Paul V arrived and I was again successful at persuading him to stay to consume one of his purchases. Paul also has a t-shirt shop online, Cigar Shirts and Stuff, using the same print-on-demand vendor I use for mine. Focusing on cigar-related shirts, he's got some great merchandise on sale there, and a lot of cool vintage cigar label reproductions. Click the above link or see the link list on the side to view his shop.

The smoke was thick as the sun was getting low, meaning the store was closing soon. Too bad as we were having a good discussion about a wide range of topics, including some politics, the financial bailout, and even stem cell research.

A big thank you to Lou for building me a pipe board. As seen usually in smoke shops, it consists of a board with rubber pipe clips placed in rows and columns, this one enough to hold 20 pipes. As my pipe collection grows, I've run out of room to store and display them on the bookshelves in the office (man cave), so have to use the walls. This will give me room to add more pipes to the collection!

Cheers!
- Bob

The Tobacco Hut Website

As many of the regulars at the Hut know, I've been building a website for Lou & Dotty (albeit slowly). They've been very patient, but the wait is over. Their site was uploaded tonight and is available for all the world to see here: www.thetobaccohut.com

The whole project began one afternoon with a conversation between Lou, Peter, and myself. Actually, it was kind of Peter and I pressing our case to Lou about the benefits of having a website to help promote the business. Lou's biggest objection was price, having been approached in the past from companies offering to build a website for him. We explained how inexpensive it is to reserve a domain and secure hosting, and that I would design the site at no cost, so it really was a no-brainer.

Lou agreed, Peter reserved the domain, and I got to work. The three of us had a couple conversations about the content and how the site should be broken up, and I pretty much stuck to that. The challenge was then to find or create the appropriate artwork. The use of Flash is beyond my current skill set, so I stuck to HTML, and either located clip art, stock photos, or - in some cases - shot photos myself to match art with text.

Anyway, the site is now live, and I hope Lou and Dotty are pleased with it, and it helps at least a little in growing their business.

Cheers!
- Bob

Tobacco Tin Design

For some time now I've wanted to try my hand at designing a tobacco tin. The first task was to find a suitable piece of art, so I spent probably a good hour or so looking through my clip art collection until I found the right "look." Then I needed a name for the tobacco, one that fit the illustration but was a bit whimsical.

I identified the artwork as "scholarly" almost immediately, but had a little trouble finding the adjective to go with it. Pipe smoking is a bit of an old-fashioned activity these days, I'm afraid, so I started looking for words that connoted "old-fashioned." I finally hit upon "fusty" in the thesaurus.

"Fusty" hit me right away because it has two meanings. One is indeed "old-fashioned" and the other is "old and decaying" and I thought of the comments my wife and family make when I'm smoking a tobacco strong in Latakia or perique. I wanted the label to be a bit whimsical, so I went with "Fusty Scholar" which in itself could mean that the tobacco is old-fashioned/decaying or the scholar himself is. The double meaning was especially satisfying.

It was then a matter of designing the label itself, which didn't take too long. It's not especially elaborate, but I think the best graphic designs, especially for packaging, rely on simplicity. What you see below is the final result, with a weathered or distressed look since I placed it on some apparel available at The Erudite Outlet, my online t-shirt shop.

Any comments or criticisms are most welcome.

Cheers!
- Bob

Social or Solitary Smoking?

More often than not when I light up a pipe, it's among friends - usually other pipe or cigar smokers at the Tobacco Hut on Saturdays. There is a social quality inherent in smoking that draws people together. Maybe it's nothing more than people who share a common interest spending time together at one of the few places left outside of the home that allows smoking. That's a topic for another post though.

Smoking is also a solitary activity for me. Occasionally I'll head to the back porch or patio on a pleasant evening, pack my pipe with a stout English tobacco like Dunhill Nightcap, and puff away. Gazing up at the stars while smoking a pipe is a great combination that provides ample opportunity for reflection and relaxation.

Years ago I actually smoked at my desk at work. There were about a dozen cigarette smokers in the office, and another gentleman and I smoked pipes. I don't recall any cigar smokers, and at the time I was smoking mostly aromatic tobaccos. I don't think I had discovered English tobaccos at the time, but like to think that even if I had, I would have been sensitive to others around me and stuck with the aromatic.

At that time, I was working part time at a Tinder Box, and my tobacco of choice was a honey-flavored blend that I always received compliments on. As my wife will now attest, not too many compliments come my way when I smoke the English tobaccos. But, at least to my palate, they taste better than a typical aromatic.

Nowadays, pipe smoking is practically an anachronistic novelty and if I'm smoking in public, I invariably get comments about what I'm doing, usually positive. I guess I remind people of their grandfather or favorite uncle, which isn't a bad thing. The problem, of course, is that public smoking venues are few and far between.

Because of the anti-smoking movement, I'll probably be forced into solitary smoking if I want to enjoy my pipe. Or maybe the speakeasy will spring up as smoking is forced underground. Sigh...

Cheers!
- Bob

Saturday at the Hut - 1/24/09

Saturday at the Tobacco Hut found me smoking Maltese Falcon in an Ascorti Pepino. The combination was especially nice; I'm fairly new to Greg Pease's blend (still working on my first tin) and it is a bit drier now than when I first opened it. The smoke was cool and flavorful and I had no problems keeping it lit.

The day was a little strange, although certainly not for the same reasons as last Saturday, but will get to that in a bit. The eternally cheerful Joe K arrived shortly after I did, and we promptly began talking tech, probably to Lou's dismay. Joe gave us each a business card that his wife Val had printed up for him - he does a lot of computer work (repairs, training, etc.) for friends and neighbors and they always ask if he has a card, so now he does. It's a fine looking card and I wouldn't change a thing on it - well maybe just a little (inside joke for Joe & Val)!

Peter arrived and was greeted, as usual, with a Cheers-like "Peter!", a la Norm. He announced a new business venture and the four of us brainstormed a bit offering names, logo ideas, slogans, etc. I offered to work on his marketing materials and graphics (or, as Joe says, "fancy stuff"), and I started last night, sending Peter four logo ideas.

Barry came in a short while later and we ended up having a most interesting, and different conversation. As I alluded to above, it was almost strange because the topic between Barry, Peter, Lou and myself (Joe had left by that point to take a nap. He claimed he was going to Home Depot, but we know better. He's retired - we're all jealous) was something that rarely gets discussed at the Hut: religion. And, moreover, it was quite civil.

Speaking of Barry, a few weeks ago he sent Peter a picture of himself with Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Mike Alstott. Peter immediately called Barry out for two-timing on his beloved Dallas Cowboys by wearing a Bucs jersey. The rub was that Barry sent the picture to Peter from his wife's cellphone, and that's where Peter responded. Barry's wife got the text and, of course, had no idea what was going on. The picture appears below, for all the world to see.

Barry recounted another story, this time about meeting New York Yankees great Derek Jeter. He and his wife were in Macaroni Grill in Tampa when Derek Jeter walked in with a group of a dozen or so other people. Barry could hardly contain himself but when his wife urged him to approach Derek and ask for an autograph, Barry begged off, saying he didn't want to interrupt the man's dinner. When Derek's party was leaving, Derek headed off to use the men's room...and since Barry wasn't doing anything about meeting his favorite player, Lori sprang into action. She followed Derek Jeter into the men's room and explained that her husband's favorite sport was baseball, his favorite team was the Yankees, and he was his favorite player, and could he please have his picture taken with Barry. Derek, more than a little surprised, said he would if he could be allowed to finish peeing. The result is seen here, taken just inside the restaurant, not the men's room.

Cheers!
- Bob

The Canadian

As far as pipe shapes go, the Canadian has long been one of my favorites. Characterized by its long, straight shank and short stem, the Canadian provides a dry, cool smoke. Why? Well, the smoke passes through a lot more briar before it reaches the mouth compared to other pipes. Consequently, more of the heat and moisture is absorbed by the pipe offering, at least in my opinion, a very satisfying smoking experience.

Where does the name come from? Ah, now the mystery of it. I have no earthly idea why pipes of this particular shape are called Canadian. The names of many other shapes often describe loosely what the pipe looks like, e.g. apple, volcano, brandy glass, etc. But why Canadian? If any reader can supply an answer, I would be most grateful.

I have several Canadians in my collection, my favorite probably bein an Ascorti I picked up years ago when I worked at a Tinder Box. I also have a Ser Jacopo, a David Jones, and a Bjarne. I prefer straight pipes in general, so to me the Canadian is kind of the "ultimate" straight pipe. Beyond the quality of the smoke, maybe I like the image it projects. To me, it has a bit of a nostalgic look to it, a throwback to the 1940s.

I like the shape so much, I designed a t-shirt promoting it available at The Erudite Outlet (see photo above). I tried to attract Canadian pipe smokers as well as...Canadian pipe smokers. In other words, those of us who smoke Canadian pipes, and Canadians who smoke pipes. Time will tell if my little pun is a selling point!

Cheers!
- Bob

The North Country

The flames danced along the length of each log in the stone fireplace as the smoke wisped its way up the chimney and the radiant heat streamed out to warm the room. Over the hiss and snap of the fire, he could just hear the water lapping the rocks below the cabin. He packed and lit his pipe with care, the pungent aroma wafting around him.

Despite the quiet loudness of the fire, he heard the horn of a great ship far off in the night. He heard crickets too, singing their eternal song. The wind blew gently, though cold, as it often did in the north country, rustling the remaining leaves high in the trees.

He stood up and started toward the door, puffing on his pipe...and the dog stirred. He beckoned and the dog approached lazily. Together they ventured outside to a moonlit night. He made his way carefully down to the water's edge, the dog by his side. Little illumination was present, for little was needed; both knew the way.

Here he stared out into the darkness, alone with his thoughts and the dog pressed up against him. Far off in the distance, he saw the lights of the big ship in the main channel, making its way seaward. He heard a fish leap out of the water, no doubt drawn to the full moon. The crisp air was still and the smoke from his pipe ribboned skyward.

He tamped at the pipe and puffed it again slowly, the aroma matching the autumn smells surrounding him. The pipe felt warm in his hand against the creeping cold. He patted the dog and felt her tail swishing against his leg.

After standing at the water's edge for some time smoking his pipe, he turned back to the path, overwhelmed, humbled, and inspired at the same time. The dog turned with him and they made their way to the cabin. He heard the ship's horn a final time as he opened the door. He knew it was to be his last night at the cabin, and the north country.

He took match to briar again and placed another log on the fire. He sat next to the fire, the dog settled beside him, and, being a writer, reached for paper and pen. He gathered his thoughts and wrote.

He started, "The flames danced along the length of each log in the stone fireplace as the smoke wisped its way up the chimney..."