Just 60 Days from the Chicago Show. Book your Pheasant Run rooms now!

Sixty days from today–that’s correct–just two months–many of us will be at the Chicago show having enjoyed several days of non-stop pipe-smoking, pipe conversations, and pipe ogling. It is the largest pipe show in the world, and if you can’t find the pipe of your dreams at the Chicago Show, it probably doesn’t exist.

If you haven’t made your reservations for this year’s Chicago Show, it’s time to book your accommodations. You can do so online by clicking here or by phone at 800-474-3272.

If you plan to attend the show, it is very important that you 1) stay at Pheasant Run and 2) make sure that you let the reservations folks know you are coming for the pipe show. (For one thing, letting them know gets you a better rate!)

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Catching up.

It’s been a week ago today that I left for the Chicago Show, and today is the first full day I’m back in the office. Whew! Lots to do as work has piled up. But, even with much to return to do, I had such a great year at this year’s show, and I can’t wait for next year’s show to roll around again.

This was a special show for a lot of reasons. The overall show vibe was especially warm and welcoming. The Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club always produces a wonderful event, and this year was no exception. Kudos to Craig Cobine and his show crew for all the hard work they did this year.

Jack Howell and I made a road trip to Chicago this year. I drove to Pittsburgh, picked Jack up, and we made our way to the city of big shoulders together. It was a great ride; Jack drove a lot of the way while we talked pipes and tobacco.

While I overnighted in Pittsburgh, Jack and I were hosted by one of Pittsburgh’s pipe collectors for a Moroccan dinner, fine wine, and several after-dinner bowls.

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Balkan Sobranie Throwdown

If you’ve ever heard on older pipe smoker wax lyrically about favored old tobaccos, you have almost certainly heard about Three Nuns, John Cotton, Sullivan Powell, Bengal Slices, and what many consider the greatest of them all: Balkan Sobranie. Even given the plethora of great blends available today, for some the absence of these storied old blends is like the memory of a great friend no longer present. You can see that absence in misty eyes and dusky smiles when they recall some of their favorite smokes. They are missed. Nothing else will quite do.

For them, smoking these great old blends doesn’t stop with flavor or aroma. Their taste and smell conjure long-gone moments. Nothing will prompt memory so vividly or quickly as a particular smell or taste. This is why we see tins of these legendary old blends selling for extraordinary amounts. While a younger pipe smoker may want to discover for himself what the experience entails, the older pipe smoker may want to penetrate a memory gone foggy.

While it is almost certain that blenders have attempted to duplicate these tobaccos, how successful have these efforts been? Has it been done? Can it be done? In his letter of invitation to me to be a judge, Matt Guss wrote, “This Throwdown is purely for fun — we don’t expect to faithfully actually recreate Sobranie for many practical reasons.  This is just the kind of creative event that breathes fresh air into the pipe world.  And we believe it will be really well received.”

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