The 2012 Piper's Dozen

Well, after a year’s hiatus, the Piper’s Dozen is back. This is unquestionably the most difficult post I write during the year. There are so many deserving people and products I consider for each category so I agonize interminably over who and what should be highlighted here.

Then, there was the consideration that the world was supposed to end last Friday according to the Mayans. Why would we give so much credence to a people whose entire population summarily vanished long before their projected day of reckoning? On the off chance that nobody would be around to read this year’s post, I procrastinated on finishing it up. In any event, we’re still here, so here is this year’s Piper’s Dozen:

1. Piper(s) of the Year: Matt and Jon Guss

Borthers Matt (top) and Jon GusIf it weren’t for the brothers Guss, there would’ve been no John Cotton Throwdown, no Balkan Sobranie Throwdown, nor the tremendous enthusiasm generated from  artisanal recreations of famous historic tobacco blends. This hobby has long been focused on pipes and pipe collecting With these new tobacco events, we see excitement created around tobaccos that is every bit the equal of pipes. When one considers  the class and organization of these two Throwdown events that took place at the Chicago show over the last two years, one cannot help but be impressed.

Additionally, Matt Guss is one of the most effective pipe club leaders  and advocates on the American scene. The Seattle Pipe Club’s healthy membership, its extraordinarily fun annual January dinner event, and its sponsorship of events like the Throwdowns are evidence of Matt’s commitment to the role of pipe clubs in advancing the vitality of the hobby.

Jon Guss’ pipes and tobaccos scholarship emerged from considerable research skills that were honed during his days working for one of the major management consulting firms. Today, Jon can be found poring over tax and public record archives in Edinborough or London. His methodological rigor has given pipe and tobacco enthusiasts new insights and plenty of debunked myths, not to mention entertaining reads.

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Keep our brother in your prayers

I learned this morning from my dear friend and brother of the briar, Robert Lawing, that his sweet mother passed away peacefully last night.

Some of you will undoubtedly wonder why I would write about her passing on a Passion for Pipes, a site that is devoted to pipes and tobacco.

I have for some time been pondering what matters most to me in this hobby. I have most assuredly concluded that it is our community and our fellowship that matter most. That we came to community through pipes is irrelevant. What matters is that we came to community and that we act like it matters to us.

I did not know Robert’s mother, except through his stories. It is easy for me to imagine her, however, because I have learned that the best of mothers lives on in their children. I am sure of her sense of humor, her sense of honor, her fairness, her gentility, and mostly her loyalty and generosity.

The loss of one’s Mother is indescribably painful. There is no loneliness as stark as the loss of those arms that cradled us in infancy or hugged us despite our not deserving it. Such is a mother’s love that it survives sins and weaknesses for which others will judge or abandon us. That love is a chinook wind that blows welcome on the coldest of mornings.

For Robert – whom many of you know as Lawdog – this is an especially hard time as his Momma’s death follows so quickly on the heels of his Father’s passing last December 14th.

Wendell Berry wrote, “I don’t believe that grief passes away. It has its time and place forever. More time is added to it; it becomes a story within a story. But grief and griever alike endure.”

Please keep Robert and his family in your prayers.

Finding That Magic Fit Between Pipe and Tobacco

Updated on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 3:02PM by Neill Archer Roan

Updated on Friday, October 29, 2010 at 11:46AM by Neill Archer Roan

Why do we dedicate pipes?

Some pipe smokers dedicate pipes to particular blends or styles of blends. Because dedication is often accomplished when a pipe is new, the process precludes the possibility of experimenting with several blends before making a final decision. This practice prompts a couple of  questions:

• Why dedicate pipes to specific tobaccos?
• Without having experienced different blends in a pipe, how do we pre-judge which pipes are best suited for particular tobaccos.

I dedicate pipes to tobaccos for several reasons. First, I have concluded that particular shape types or chamber geometries is often better-suited to a particular type and/or style of tobacco, e.g. English, Oriental Blends, and Virginia-Periques.

Secondly, because I smoke a range and variety of tobaccos that are incompatible with others, I want to avoid obscuring the taste of a particular favorite blend with some other tobacco, especially if that favored blend possesses singular flavors that are amenable to lingering within the pipe. These residual flavors – commonly called “ghosts” – add undesirable notes to different styles of blends, obscuring or sometimes destroying the blender’s intentions and the tobacco’s flavors.

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Innovation, Development, and Consummation

A successful artisan must master a broad array of skills to make a successful mark in the pipe world. Speaking personally, I appreciate innovation in shape design. When an artisan creates a new and exciting shape, especially one that reads as creation rather than variation, it excites me.

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Sharing

Like many pipe smokers, I enjoy vintage tobaccos, especially those storied blends like Balkan Sobranie, John Cotton, G.L.Pease Stonehenge, Renaissance or Raven’s Wing, and Sullivan’s Gentleman’s Mixture. Thanks to Fred Hanna, I’ve added Marcovitch Black and White to this list, though I admit I’d never heard of the blend before Fred told me about it and let me experience some of his tin.

Of course, there are many blends that I could write about here. A discussion of Dunhill’s wonderful vintage blends could go on for pages. I am convinced that age ramps up the character of tobacco while it smooths it and endows it with more nuances. Tobacco is not unlike a person of strength, character, and intelligence in that age can transform the effects of these traits. There is truly something magical about how good tobacco becomes great with aging.

My vintage tobacco collection is quite modest, really. Unlike some people who acquired cases of these tobaccos and then cellared them, I bought only what I thought I might smoke. I have only started to cellar tobacco with some intent over the last five years or so.

As a result, I rarely open vintage tins. In fact, I only open them at shows or at gatherings where I can share them with my friends. I believe that sharing enhances the experience of a fine tobacco. I feel so much joy watching my friends revel in the experience. Sharing endows these moments with grist for comparison, conversation, and reflection.

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