You can’t imagine how long it takes to select the Pipe Guys’ Pick each month; not because we’re indecisive, but because when you’re walking past shelf after shelf of the world’s finest pipe tobaccos, it at first seems impossible to narrow the choice down to one.
Cornell & Diehl
Cornell & Diehl is one of our favorite tobacco blenders for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they are committed to tinning their tobacco close to the appropriate moisture level for smoking. This means you’re getting more tobacco and less water which is valuable, but it also means if you’re impatient like us, you’ll have more than dashed hopes and wet dottle when you smoke it immediately upon it’s purchase. You’ll actually have a good first smoke! Secondly, they blend unique tobaccos that have proven to be some of the best in the history of the business; a respectable ongoing accomplishment. Cornell & Diehl also packs each tin with a full two ounces (57 g) of tobacco instead of the industry standard 1.75 ounces (50 g), the benefits of which are quite obvious to the smoker.
Red & Bright Virginias at Their Finest
Part of Cornell & Diehl’s “Simply Elegant” series, Opening Night is made by pressing red and bright Virginias, and slicing them into flakes. Here’s where you were expecting me to say “then a secret flavoring, purportedly contrived from certain extracts of the exotic plant Decaisnea is added,” but it isn’t. Cornell & Diehl’s Opening Night is a simply elegant mixture of pure Virginia tobaccos. As they are known to do, I am sure they have been very selective in their choice of leaf, resulting in a more flavorful experience than one might expect, even one who isn’t a diehard Virginia fan. It is predictable in one way, though: as can be expected of a high quality VA blend like this, it only gets better with age. The bottom line is that this wonderful blend produces a balanced sweetness perfectly suited to the medium body and mouthfeel of it’s rich, white smoke. A slight increase in complexity and intensity throughout the course of the bowl means it won’t get boring. We recommend it sans accoutrements, to be smoked in the early evening. It stands up by itself.
Broaden Your Horizons
As a closing note about this magnificent tobacco, it should be said that while it can certainly benefit from the best practices in smoking, it is quite forgiving, and even an inexperienced smoker can enjoy a tin of it! Cornell & Diehl have created a winner in this tin. Pure, sweet, and refined through and through. Bravo!
Branching out and trying new blends is one of the great delights of pipe smoking. So, as with all our picks, we’re lowering the price of Opening Night to $7.90 through the weekend!
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La Brumeuse
Pipe Tobacco, Tabac Manil$18.75Vincent Manil's La Brumeuse pipe tobacco is a very special pipe tobacco grown and processed only in the Ardennes region of Belgium. Bold and earthy, it presents flavors of toasted cedar and nuts, underpinned by definite floral notes. A phenomenal smoking experience, with flavors that don’t so much change as they do deepen, it’s a refreshingly natural smoke. It’s rustic minerality makes it a must-try for the lover of cigars.
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