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Half Ashed 183: Pipe Night Part Tres

September 29, 2018 By Kip Fisher

Pipe Night Part Tres

Tonight, we revisit the pipe again, in Part 3 of our Pipe Night Series. Join us as we talk pipes, tobacco, and a few useful tips and tricks to getting full enjoyment from your pipe. Craig is smoking Westminster, and Kip something special….

Tonight’s Pipe Night Discussion

Pipe smoking and all its associated ephemera and methods are an art – and, a science.
Don’t focus on the tools of the trade. Get basic – but suitable – gear, and experiment with tobacco until you find what suits your preferences.
Be simple. It’s not as complicated as it looks. It’s not as cumbersome. This hobby is all about enjoyment.
Don’t be “that guy”
Try stuff. Do stuff. Experimentation is key
Relights and tongue bites – and what you can do to prevent them. Maybe a tip or two about relieving tongue bite should you have gone too far.
Tip o’the week:
Pipe cleaners – while smoking; after smoking; when cleaning.
Discuss drilling/tobacco issues: what you can do before even buying that pipe or tobacco; Tongue bite; prevention & treatment (Biotene/time, tobacco cut and drying)
Cleaning and maintenance between smokes.

Reminder: Don’t give up if at first it’s not the best experience; Do invest the time and an appropriate amount of money if you really want a lifelong hobby

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Santos Miami
Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2018(?)

Kip

Esencia “E”
Leccia Black
LTC Corona
GLP Virginia Cream

Half Ashed 180: Caminos TMM Robusto

August 9, 2018 By Kip Fisher

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Caminos TMM

Tonight’s cigar, the Caminos TMM comes out of the same small, publicly unnamed “Top Secret Nest” factory in Tamboril, RD that Chogüí comes from….although I’m not sure it’s such a secret any more. C’mon down and I’ll show you where it is 😊 . The company is run by Cesar Reyes, one of the young gents I’ve talked about over the past 3 years. The Caminos TMM is available in robusto, toro, torpedo, and there was a limited run of 6”x56. I have gotten mixed information about its composition, but my understanding is that it has a Dominican HVA wrapper over Criollo ’98 binder and wide-ranging Dominican mix of filler leaf. I tried their earlier offerings with good success, so when this one hit about a year and a half ago I figured I’d give it a go. I grabbed a few of the 5” x 52 robustos and forwarded a couple to Craig blindly…so let’s see how it goes. These tend to run about $9 stateside, but can be had here in Santiago for the equivalent of about $6.

Cigar News

JC Newman has revived their “Save Cigar City” campaign, including covering their sign with a plea to “Save American Jobs”. Additionally, they have sent 100k (!) cards to their retailers across the country. These cards are preprinted and addressed to the FDA with comment requesting the agency to exempt cigars from the regulation. If you see these in your local B&M, all you need do is sign your name and drop in the mail. The postage is even paid already. I’m not sure of the efficacy of this particular plan, but I’m hoping for the best….and it certainly can’t hurt.

Another new shop in Santiago, for all you cigar touristy types….

Don Pepin 15th is landing…at a price. Comes in 2 vitolas (5.75” x 50 for $20, and 6.5”x52 for $24); features a habano rosado oscuro wrapper over mostly DPG-grown innards. 28k total production, in boxes of 14.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig –

Tatuaje Petite Tatuaje Reserva – OR – The best regular tatuaje I’ve ever had. 4-⅛” x 32 . Amazing
Esoterica Tobacciana Margate pipe tobacco. And a sh*t ton of it.

Kip

New Cantinero Coctel
More pipin’ – Escudo, GLP Sextant, Brebbia No. 60 (Preludio)

Half Ashed 179: Pipe Night part dos

May 22, 2018 By Kip Fisher

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Pipe Night part dos

Tonight is the long overdue 2nd installment of Pipe Night here on Half Ashed. We ended up doing a pretty free-form, rambling, 2-hour show as we’re prone to do. We covered a number of basic topics related to pipe smoking, some of which are listed below. As with all things worth doing, pipe smoking has a bit of a learning curve. We don’t intend to tell you exactly how to do it; it’s up to you to find your own happy medium for enjoying the hobby to its fullest. My only hope is to help you avoid some of the pitfalls that tend to discourage newcomers and drive them to abandon it before they even acclimate and get acquainted with the process. I (Kip) have been a regular pipe smoker for a couple decades now, and fully confess there’s a lot I don’t know. None the less, I enjoy it immensely – even if I have grown out of practice in recent years while focused more on cigars. Earlier this year, I began to get back to my pipes much more frequently and realized just how much I truly enjoy them. The pipes and their craftsmanship, the tobaccos and their many flavors, the tools and their utilitarian (and, at times, decorative) nature. The whole nine yards. I dig it, and I hope you will too. There will be follow up shows in the same vein over the coming months, where we will detail various topics like types of tobaccos and components, different blending styles, differing cuts of tobacco, pipe shapes, various artists, etc. But for starters, below are a few of the high points we hit on this episode. I hope you will join us and dive in yourself….

Loading up the pipe
Initial lighting procedure
Keeping your pipe lit
Tamping
Pipe cleaners
Other misc. tools
Cleaning and maintenance
Tongue bite