Samuel Gawith -- Squadron Leader

Brand: Samuel Gawith
Blend: Squadron Leader
Style: Oriental
Pipe Used: Peterson Aran #150 Bulldog
Price: $7.50/1.76oz.

Appearance: 8
Taste: 8
Room Note: 6
Value: 9
Overall: 8

Samuel Gawith's Squadron Leader was one of the first two tobaccos I purchased a few years back after deciding to embark on this adventure we call pipe smoking (the other was Penzance -- not a shabby way to start off, eh?). I'll admit that the snazzy tin art lured me in as I'm a huge aviation history buff but it was the almost universally positive word of mouth that really convinced me that this tobacco would provide the perfect introduction to the sublime wonders of the pipe.

Well, like many beginning pipers, I had a world of trouble at the start and promptly quit the hobby. I tossed my opened tins of tobacco and my two cobs into a box in the garage and marched right back to the safety and security of my humidor and the more forgiving cigars nestled within.

Fast forward about nine months and as I was cleaning out the garage I stumbled upon that same box of discarded pipe stuff. I figured what the heck, I might as well give it another go before tossing it all in the trash so I loaded some dried out Squadron Leader into a cob, gave it a light, and boom! -- angelic singing, rapture, bliss, and all that jazz ensued. I finally "got it" -- the perfect smoke, pipe nirvana. It would take me many months of tinkering before I could consistently "get it" on a regular basis but now that I knew what was possible I was off and running.

So if Squadron Leader was my very first pipe smoke and the tobacco that brought me back into the fold then why did it take me until now to get around to writing a review? Well, as soon as my slide down the slippery pipe slope began I started accumulating new blends like cat hair on a black coat. The same Squadron Leader that started it all was lovingly sealed up in a Mason jar and promptly forgotten at the back of the cellar.

Sure I've always known that it's there but the constant search for the "new" placed the blend very much on the back burner. It was only while watching the recent tobacco shortages unfold that I was reminded of old Squadron Leader. If every online shop was sold out then it must have something going for it so maybe it was time to revisit this old friend.

Upon opening that same Mason jar, now with about two and a half years of age on it, I was greeted by the slightly spicy and pungent aroma of the Oriental tobacco. Being a very fine ribbon cut, Squadron Leader loaded easily into my Peterson Bulldog and after a quick light I was off and smoking.

In the interim since my first taste of this blend I've come to enjoy many heavy Englishes and one of the first things I noticed about Squadron Leader was that the Latakia that is usually a front and center component of traditional English blends was very muted. By tempering the impact of this smoky flavor, the spice of the Orientals was allowed to shine. And while the blend never quite hit the same level of zest as some Balkans that I enjoy, by moderating the spice the blend allowed the Virginias to offer up their own sweet and tangy flavors.

As I was enjoying my smoke I kept catching whiffs and the taste of cigars and while there's no cigar leaf in this blend there's something about the combination of tobaccos that reminds me of a light Connecticut wrapped cigar. Not something I was expecting at all but it was certainly enjoyed.

As for the room aroma, that same essence of cigars came and went while for the most part the aroma was similar to expensive cigarettes which isn't surprising given the presence of the Oriental tobaccos.

Squadron Leader provided an easy smoke as it burned steadily from start to finish and only required two relights. All I was left with after an hour was that much sought after fine white ash.

To my mind and palate, Squadron Leader is a perfectly balanced blend that refuses to allow any one tobacco component to outshine the others. Some may label this a light English but to my thinking the tamed Latakia and prominent Orientals define this as an Oriental blend first and foremost. And while there are other blends out there that provide more of this or more of that, there's always a place in the rotation for a tobacco that provides a consistent, mild smoke with a range of flavors.

Samuel Gawith's Squadron Leader is a classic blend that can be had for a song when, and if, it's available. My advice would be to buy it when you can, cellar it if you must, but please don't forget about it like I did. There will always be the allure of the latest blend but there will also always be a place for the tried and true Squadron Leader.

Charles Fairmorn -- Lancer's Slices

Brand: Charles Fairmorn
Blend: Lancer's SLices
Style: Virginia/Latakia
Pipe Used: Savinelli Churchwarden #401
Price: $22.00/8oz.

Appearance: 8
Taste: 9
Room Note: 7
Value: 7
Overall: 8

In various online forum threads about hidden and overlooked tobacco gems the name Lancer's Slices comes up time and again. Perhaps the small size of its manufacturer or the fact that it's only available in bulk has something to do with this relative anonymity. In any case, this is yet another blend that practically called to me so I just had to give it a try.

Charles Fairmorn's Lancer's Slices is an almost jet-black sliced flake composed of Virginia and Latakia and that's it. It may sound deceptively simple but the first whiff of the tobacco's rich, earthy aroma should be the first clue that in you're in for a real treat.

I decided to use my new Savinelli Churchwarden for this test run as it's my pipe dedicated to Latakia heavy blends. I broke up the slices a bit further then stuffed them into the pipe and gave it a light.

I can sum up this review in one word -- bliss! From the first puff right on through to the end this tobacco offered up a rich, satisfying flavor that for me is the very essence of pipe smoking.

The Latakia was a dominant presence yet it was such a high quality leaf that I never tired of the smokey campfire taste or aroma. Backing up this potentially overwhelming onslaught was a rich, sweet Virginia that played off the Latakia to perfection.

Have you ever toasted a marshmallow over a campfire a bit too long until it turned black and charred? Well imagine if there was some way to magically capture the sweetness of the toasted marshmallow along with the rich smoke of the campfire and yet do away with the ashes and soot. That's pretty much the picture that Lancer's Slices painted on my palate and my but it sure was tasty.

I loved the room aroma for much the same reason that I loved the taste but not everyone is going to enjoy that smoldering campfire smell, especially in the house.

Lancer's Slices provided a cool, dry smoke and required only a few relights along the way. I seem to have good luck with sliced flakes and this one was no exception as it chugged right along at a nice slow smolder. There was a bit of wet dottle left at the end due, I'm sure, to me slobbering on the pipe.

If I were to look up the word sublime in Webster's I would see a picture of Charles Fairmorn's Lancer's Slices. I had planned to enjoy a smoke while reading and listening to music but I found the tobacco to be such a delight that the book was quickly forgotten as I shut my eyes, listened to some Telemann, and blissfully puffed on my pipe.

It may well be hidden but this blend is most assuredly a gem.

Cornell & Diehl -- Epiphany

Brand: Cornell & Diehl
Blend: Epiphany
Style: Aromatic/Light English
Pipe Used: Peterson Aran #150 Bulldog
Price: $17.50/8oz.

Appearance: 7
Taste: 6
Room Note: 8
Value: 7
Overall: 7

After hearing much positive word of mouth about this tribute to the old Revelation blend I decided to give Cornell & Diehl's Epiphany a try. While I never had the opportunity to try the original Revelation the description of this blend sounded delightful.

Billed alternately as an American English or light English blend, Epiphany is a real grab bag of tobaccos with Burley, Virgina, Latakia, and Perique all present with a light, fruity topping thrown in as well. This is the type of blend that's supposed to be carefree and easy and is designed to provide that elusive all day smoke.

Epiphany arrives in a fairly thick and long ribbon cut and is predominantly light brown in color with some black pieces of tobacco mixed in for good measure. The aroma of the unlit tobacco is fruity in nature with hints of citrus and berries and the advertised Latakia is just barely detectable as a faint smokey whiff.

To sample the blend I gravity filled my Pete Bulldog and gave it a charring light but for some reason this well-dried tobacco just did not want to burn and it took quite a while to get it going. Sadly, this struggle to keep the pipe lit was to be an ongoing and thoroughly annoying problem from start to finish.

The first few puffs provided a very spicy dose of Perique and this peppery tobacco remained very much front and center throughout the smoke. The fruity sweetness evident in the pre-light aroma came through nicely and played off the spice very well without ever tasting artificial or cloying.

Unfortunately the primary tobacco components in this blend seemed overwhelmed from the get go and were never able to reassert themselves. The nuttiness of the Burley was downplayed, the sweet Virginias were trumped by the topping, and the Latakia was all but absent.

To my palate Epiphany was more of an aromatic Perique blend than a light English and the lack of any depth and complexity in taste was disappointing. It's not an off-putting blend by any means but it just wasn't what I was looking for here.

The room aroma was pleasant and fruity and the lack of any forceful Latakia component certainly helped in that department.

As mentioned earlier, Epiphany was a real bear to keep lit and I'm sure that aggravation did nothing to improve the taste. It did smoke cool and dry which is a given I suppose for a blend that remained unlit for most of its time in the pipe.

Cornell & Diehl's Epiphany is a decent tobacco blend but it just didn't agree with me in either taste or temperament. To qualify as an all day smoke a blend must be in the fire and forget it mold and this one was anything but. And if a tobacco is going to be persnickety then it needs to pay off with a real depth of flavor and here again Epiphany fell short. I just don't see where a spicy aromatic requiring far too much TLC can fit into my regular rotation.

*UPDATE*
In case it seems like I didn't give this stuff a fair shake I want to qualify that I tried Epiphany on four separate occasions in four different pipes (bulldog, billiard, cob, and clay) and had the same problems each time. Since I'm sitting on half a pound of the stuff I'm going to put it way back in the cellar and hope that it comes together a bit better when I "rediscover" it down the road.

McClelland -- Frog Morton

Brand: McClelland
Blend: Frog Morton
Style: Aromatic/English
Pipe Used: Cob
Price: $7.70/1.76oz.

Appearance: 7
Taste: 6
Room Note: 6
Value: 7
Overall: 6

Much of the interest in pipe smoking among the younger generation is due in large part to the influence of J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings" and the recent award-winning movie adaptations. Wise wizards, cheerfully brave Hobbits, and churchwardens stuffed with copious amounts of pipeweed provide a strong visual cue that pipe smoking just might be worth a try. So it shouldn't be surprising that there are many pipe tobacco blends that tip their caps to Tolkien either directly or indirectly.

McClelland's Frog Morton is one such blend that takes its name from a small Hobbit village in the Shire. I have to admit that it was a combination of the interesting name and the overwhelmingly positive word of mouth that convinced me to try this blend so I suppose I'm just as gullible to slick marketing as the next chap.

The tin I acquired was from 2007 so it already had a few years of age on it when I popped it open. The tobacco was a very dark black and brown ribbon-cut blend that gave off a nice aroma of dried fruit and smokey Latakia.

To try it out I loaded up my Missouri Meerschaum Missouri Pride cob and gave it a quick charring light. The tobacco started burning right away so I soon enough set to puffing.

There is some disagreement over whether the good Frog should be classified as an English or aromatic blend and I must say that the tobacco gave off flavors to support both sides of the argument.

The Latakia was discernible but not nearly as strong as in most English blends while the Virginias were noticeable but also a tad weak on the palate. There was also an obvious topping of some sort that wasn't overpowering but did give the blend a light, fruity taste.

And that's the flavor profile that stayed with the blend from start to finish. For my purposes I'm happy to call Frog Morton an aromatic English and that happens to be a sub-category of which I'm quite fond.

That being said the blend, while tasty, quickly became rather boring as none of its component parts ever truly shone. Frog Morton is first and foremost a mild blend and just didn't provide enough of interest after a while.

The room aroma was better than most English blends but the Latakia, while muted, still provided a bit of funk that's unlikely to be favorably sniffed by others.

Frog Morton was very easy to smoke as it came out of the tin at the perfect level of dryness and burned cleanly down to the ash with no fuss. That's one characteristic that's always appreciated in a tobacco blend.

McClelland's Frog Morton is a nice cross-over blend that might appeal to aromatic smokers looking to dip their toes into English waters but most experienced pipers will find it too bland to satisfy their yen for a true English blend. That's not to say that it doesn't make a nice change of pace smoke as it's a very well-behaved blend that isn't too tasking on an otherwise occupied smoker.

As a die-hard Tolkien fan it's a given that I'll eventually sample just about any tobacco with a Middle Earth pedigree. And while I didn't find Frog Morton to be all that interesting I'm already looking forward to trying his cousins On the Town, Across the Pond, and On the Bayou as a little added kick is just what this blend really needs.

Altadis -- Voodoo Queen

Brand: Altadis
Blend: Voodoo Queen
Style: English/Aromatic
Pipe Used: Cob
Price: $7.72/4oz.

Appearance: 8
Taste: 6
Room Note: 6
Value: 8
Overall: 7

Sometimes you decide to try a new blend based on purely superficial reasons such as tin art, name, price, or blending house. Having lived in New Orleans for a few years I was intrigued enough by the marketing verbiage for Altadis's Voodoo Queen that I bought four ounces a few months back. Since I was very pleasantly surprised by their Count Pulaski blend I figured I didn't have much to lose given the low price.

Voodoo Queen is a very dark broken flake that is advertised as being an English-style blend of mocha slices, Latakia, and Perique. I'm not sure what a mocha slice is but I'm guessing it's a Virginia/Burley leaf blend. The aroma out of the jar was similar to most light English or Balkan blends with smoky Latakia and hints of spice layered on top of an underlying Virginia sweetness.

To sample the blend I grabbed a wad of the broken flakes and gently stuffed them into my trusty cob. I should have let it dry a bit as it took a while to get the pipe lit but once I got a nice smolder going it stayed burning for quite a while.

The tobacco started off with a mellow flavor as none of the various constituent parts of the blend were all that forceful. The Latakia was noticeable but fairly mild while the Perique was evident in a slight spiciness but it too seemed to be doled out with a conservative hand. The VA/Bur component was fairly sweet but lacked the depth of flavor found in a heavier English blend.

As for the so-called mocha, I did notice a faint hint of bittersweet chocolate similar to the taste of a maduro cigar but this particular flavor profile can be found in many aged and pressed leaves so I have to chalk this blend's advertised uniqueness up to sheer marketing.

That being said, what flavor there was remained consistent and provided for a long enjoyable smoke with no aftertaste. I just prefer more kick from my English blends.

And aside from the initial lighting issues the tobacco was well behaved in the pipe and provided a nice cool smoke. As is my custom with flakes I avoided tamping and just let the tobacco unravel as it burned and that seemed to work just fine.

The room aroma was typical for a Latakia blend meaning you'll either love it or hate it with most innocent bystanders falling firmly in the latter camp.

Voodoo Queen is an interesting blend that didn't quite live up to its billing. It's a nice enough smoke and one certainly can't quibble on the price but I think there are many better blends to be found in this category. Still, I appreciate the fact that Altadis is willing to experiment with numerous new blends for the piper even in the face of the seemingly unstoppable forces arrayed against our hobby.

Brown & Williamson -- Sir Walter Raleigh

Brand: Brown & Williamson
Blend: Sir Walter Raleigh
Style: Burley
Pipe Used: Cob
Price: $4.99/1.73oz.

Appearance: 7
Taste: 8
Room Note: 8
Value: 9
Overall: 8

After trying a fair number of older blends I finally got around to picking up a pouch of Sir Walter Raleigh. In online discussion groups I tend to hear a lot about Carter Hall and Prince Albert but rarely does anyone mention this long-time classic.

When I first opened the pouch I was greeted with the typically sweet rum raisin aroma shared by many of these drugstore blends. What I wasn't expecting was a very dry tobacco since these pouch blends tend to be laced with plenty of propylene glycol (PG) in order to keep them moist and fresh for however long they're left sitting on display. The tobacco itself was a medium brown blend of ribbon and cube cut Burley.

I tend to prefer my tobacco on the dry side which with the damp climate here usually means a relative humidity of about 45%. Since I didn't need to air this stuff out at all I just filled by trusty cob and lit it up. I find that a simple gravity fill tends to work best for cube-cut blends.

Sir Walter Raleigh is certainly one of the best behaved tobaccos I've tried as all it took was that first light to get it going and then it burned clean down to the ashes without requiring any relights or even tamping. I really appreciate tobaccos I don't have to fight to smoke so this was a big plus for me.

The flavor of the blend was smooth and mild with a prominent nutty Burley taste accompanied by a very faint hint of sweetness reminiscent of maple syrup and dark molasses. While this may be a simple blend the flavor was very good and stayed consistent throughout the smoke.

When smoked hard the flavor took on a bitter edge but since I'm a fan of hoppy beers I actually found myself puffing furiously in order to get that extra tang. Fortunately the tobacco remained bite-free even with such abuse.

My real taste test for these codger classics is in the aftertaste as even those that are good in the pipe often leave behind a chemical taste that lingers long after the smoke is finished. Happily, Sir Walter Raleigh proved to be the exception to the rule and the only lingering taste was that of Burley tobacco.

The room aroma was nice as well and never took on that stale cigarette smell that plagues many Burley blends.

Sir Walter Raleigh is a really good, old-time blend and has jumped to the top of my list of favorite OTC (over-the-counter) tobaccos. I was very pleasantly surprised by the flavor and behavior of this blend and can't wait to buy a tub to see how that compares to the pouch version.

Ruminations

Today I decided to stop and take a look back at my experiences over the past few years with pipe smoking. I ordered my first two cobs and two tobaccos (Squadron Leader and Penzance) back in June 2007 and, as is often the case, I just couldn't get the hang of it so they were quickly tossed on a shelf in the garage and forgotten.

Fast forward seven months and I stumbled on the stash while cleaning and decided to give the pipe another go. My technique was still shaky but I finally understood what all the fuss was about as the dried and slightly aged Squadron Leader just shined in that cob.

From that point on I was hooked and started buying new tobaccos to try; estate pipes of all shapes, sizes, and materials; various pipe smoking accessories; and started down the road to cellaring. In less than two solid years of pipe smoking I've amassed 60 different tobacco blends and a relatively paltry but enjoyable 14 pipes.

I realize that I'm still a novice but I think I've learned a thing or two about the fine art of smoking a pipe so I've decided to throw together a list of five helpful hints for those who might be starting down the path.

Top 5 Pipe Tips

1. If your tobacco looks and feels dry enough it probably isn't. Given the seasonal humidity in the Northwest it's a real battle to keep damp tobacco lit most of the year.

2. Slow down. Nope, slower. Even slower. There you go. Slow and steady keeps the pipe and smoke cool and leads to a nice even burn. I'll be the first to admit that I still have a hard time with this.

3. Relight as much as necessary and don't feel bad about it. Some blends I spend more time relighting than smoking but so what?

4. Resist the urge to tamp unless the pipe won't stay lit and even then a gentle stir and smoothing of the top ash is better than a tamp.

5. Buy some cobs. So what if you look like Popeye. Easily the most versatile and affordable smoking implements available. My most smoked pipe is one of those original two cobs (a Missouri Meerschaum Pride) and it goes everywhere with me.