My Review of Milan Tobacconists' "Rovada"

Like most of the Milan blends, Rovada is silky smooth. The moisture content in the bag is drier than most tinned blends so it is good to go right away. It lights easily and requires few relights throughout the bowl.

It is described as a "Medium English with no trace of sweetness" yet I found Rovada to be quite sweet in flavor. The initial light is Latakia then the sweetness of the blend starts to grow. Rovada has a nice smokiness from the Latakia and some complexity from the five Virginias they employ to create this blend.

Midway through the bowl I have noticed that Rovada can emit a strong perfumed flavor as if one was smoking tobacco sprayed with Chanel No. 5. This has only happened in a few pipes so the exact cause remains a mystery to me.

Rovada burns rather fast and the bowl always seems to end too soon. It never gets wet or bitter and the room note is pleasant enough for even most non-smokers to enjoy. I smoke this blend regularly and have recommended it to many.

New Acquisition: 2004 Viprati VIP No. 7

2004 Vipriati VIP No. 7
Originally uploaded by Jimmy Muraco

My birthday gift to myself is this: My 8th Viprati pipe! This one is of the rare VIP grade. It was made in 2004 and this is the 7th one made that year. It has some stunning grain, a generous tobacco chamber and a flat base so it can sit on it's own. It is the big brother to another Viprati billiard I have in my collection. Molte' bene'!!!

They Sold My Pipe???

Isn't that a gorgeous pipe?

To me, at least, that pipe is a 12 on a 10 scale. I bought this pipe the other night from Novelli Pipes in Italy. To order I had to give an e-mail address to get a confirmation from them that the pipe is available and what the final price would be. Fine enough, I sent the information and received confirmation. I then completed the checkout process. They took my name, address, credit card info and accepted the order. I went to bed a very happy man looking forward to having a very wonderful pipe.

This morning I received an e-mail from the site owner telling me that the pipe had already been sold! He stated that the reason this happened was that the sales system they use had not been updated! While this is bad enough, it gets worse: the pipe is STILL (as of 4/21/2009 6:00 p.m. EST) listed for sale and is STILL taking personal information from anyone wanting to buy it! See for yourself here.

In the explanation e-mail, the site owner wrote that I should find something else on his site to order...now why would I do such a thing? I feel like I am victim to the old "Bait-and-Switch" scam! Not only do I not have that pipe but this guy has my information and credit card data!

If you chose to order a pipe from Novelli be aware that what you see may not be what you get.