Agonizing

John Cotton Throwdown judges’ scoring sheets are due today. Like last year I am agonizing over the three contestant entries.

Have I been sufficiently thorough? Have I given every entry the consideration it deserves? Does my point-scoring reflect my findings?

It’s been nearly a month since I could afford to load my pipes with whatever tobacco struck my fancy. I learned last year that certain tobacco choices I made skewed my palate, so I had to swear them off for the duration of the judging period. Never smoke Penzance when you’re trying to preserve Balkan Sobranie 759 sense-memory.

This process (and last year’s) elevates my respect and admiration for both blenders and tobacco reviewers. Blenders choose and apportion ingredient tobaccos and condiments to achieve very specific sensory ends. I can’t imagine how they avoid losing track of their adjustments’ results. While it is certain that there are ham-fisted blenders who aren’t all that attuned to subtlety, it is just as clear that there are blenders whose sensibilities and sensitivities create the best of all possible blends, given the current harvests with which they blend.

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The Refreshed Palate

As I’ve taken an hour or two out of every day this past week for my John Cotton Throwdown judging work, it’s been like déjà vu all over again. I got last year’s Balkan Sobranie Throwdown notebooks out again, hoping to glean some process insights, especially regarding the great tips I got from my fellow judges, Rick Newcombe and Joe Harb.

One tip in particular stands out: Joe advised me to change the smoking order between the baseline sample (the original John Cotton No. 1&2) and the contestant blend. There is no question that one tobacco sets an experiential context for another. The comparison is starkest in the first few moments, so where there are differences between the baseline and a contestant blend, these differences are easiest to perceive immediately after the switch.

Another thing I can signal to you is that these contestant blends are terrific. I mean they are very good. I think they are going to make a big splash in Chicago this year among those who participate in the People’s Choice Award. I’m impressed.

Although I’m no expert, I continue to learn from this experience. As I sat on the patio last evening, I mused at one surprising outcome from having been able to be a part of these two Throwdowns:

I’ve learned to enjoy pipe-smoking more.

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2012 Throwdown aims to reincarnate John Cotton's Nos. 1&2 Medium

The Seattle and New York Pipe Clubs–organizers of the 2011 Balkan Sobranie Throwdown–announce a new edition of the event for the Chicago Pipe Show this coming May.  This year’s competition is the John Cotton Throwdown, featuring John Cotton Nos. 1&2 Medium. 

The John Cotton Throwdown is sponsored by Sutliff Tobacco Company,
an Altadis company.

Do pipe smokers love vintage tobacco blends? If heated pursuits of old favorites on eBay are a reliable indicator, you betcha.

Prices have reached nearly unimaginable levels. Nine days ago, on March 4th, a sealed, full, 2 ounce tin of Balkan Sobranie 759 sold for a whopping $1,325! Although this is a recent high, it is not at all uncommon for 759 to sell for $300 to $700 for a sealed flat tin.

Throwdown Organizer and Emcee Matt GussHow the Throwdown came to be

Great tobacco vintages are highly sought after. It is precisely for this reason that the concept of a tobacco-blender Throwdown was conceived by brothers Matt and Jon Guss. Would it be possible for today’s master tobacco blenders to recreate legendary vintages? If so, imagine how happy today’s pipe smokers would feel to be able to enjoy ready access to them.

Russ Ouellette’s Black House - 2011 Throwdown WinnerIf Russ Ouellette’s Black House or McClelland’s Blue Mountain are among your favorite English pipe tobacco blends, thank the producers of last year’s BALKAN SOBRANIE THROWDOWN. These two spectacular blends emerged from a blending competition that was the runaway hit of last year’s Chicagoland International Pipes and Tobacciana Exposition, aka the Chicago pipe show.

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