Speed Smoking Contests???

New Acqusition for 5/05/09: L'Anatra Nosewarmer

L'Anatra Nosewarmer
Originally uploaded by Jimmy Muraco

This is a L'Anatra nosewarmer grade One Egg. Silver band and the famous goose sitting upon the handcut stem. I truly love nosewarmers...and L'Anatras!

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.

New Acquisition for 03/24/09: Boswell Bent Billiard w. shotshell

Boswell Bent Billiard w. shotshell
Originally uploaded by Jimmy Muraco

Gorgeous bent billiard witht he famous Boswell sandstone stain (my favorite Boswell finish). This pipe sports a new stem material which I guess you could call a "vanilla fudge swirl" acrylic stem. The finishing touch is a band made from a shotgun shell. I think this piece is stunning.

New Acquisition for 3/18/09

Viprati No. 7
Originally uploaded by Jimmy Muraco

Another sweet Viprati pipe. I really love how these pipes look and smoke!

New Acquisition for 3/16/09: Sasieni RR Light Canadian

Sasieni RR Light Canadian
Originally uploaded by Jimmy Muraco

I really love the Sasieni 4-Dots...especially in the Rough Root Light finish. I bought this one today and am looking forward to enjoying many smokes with it.

The Horror...pt. 2

Inside the jar was a large blob of briar hideously mutilated by some sick twisted creature. It had a jagged plank of hard rubber sticking out of its back orifice and a gaping hole in its head. The "face" was contorted in geometrically impossible distortions. Looking closer I realized that this was not just a piece of wood but was actually a pipe!

Whoever, or "whatever", created this monstrosity must have a heart of black ice and a terminally diseased mind. While this pipe seemed to be functional I could not see how anyone would have the courage to actually smoke this thing.

A note fell out of the jar and on it was an address to a web site. I went to the site and found that it was the home of a ghoul who calls himself "The Pipe Butcher". It was this "Pipe Butcher" that created the pipe I just received.

From the site I learned that the pipe's name is Bilious Tortoise and he's really not that hard to get along with. Bilious says that while he is smoker-friendly, he really does not enjoy the company of other briars. Territorial to the extreme, Bilious has recently taken a fancy to a cute little meerschaum brandy and they enjoy sharing a common space on the same pipe rack.

Bilious has expressed an interest in writing a few columns here on "Straight grain" so stay tuned to read about pipe smoking from a real pipe's point of view. It should be fun. Until then, beware the Pipe Butcher!

New Acquisition for 02/12/09: Boswell Straight Grain Freehand

Boswell Straight Grain Freehand
Originally uploaded by Jimmy Muraco

While browsing some sites this morning I came across this gorgeous pipe by JM Boswell and I could not resist buying it. This makes Boswell #24 for me. I just know that this will be a fine smoking pipe.