morleysson reviews

[sisyphus]

A popular internet tobacco review site, in their infinite stupidity, has deactivated Bob Runowski's account and all his reviews are now listed under Emeritus Account. They can't be searched or attributed to him. Madness.

Bob Runowski, morleysson on the forums/usenet/tr, was my forum mentor when I started smoking the pipe. He had a profound impact on me going the right direction in this hobby. I state that he was one of the greatest American pipemen who ever lived, and one of it's greatest historians. I feel privileged to have interacted with him. He was a gentleman and is missed.

So I am rectifying said tobacco reviews website idiocy. Here are Bob's tobacco reviews, to be preserved here in perpetuity for all to benefit from.

[sisyphus]

C&D Morley's Best 7March2001 4stars

This is an unusual blend, because burleys have received much negative comment in the last ten years. Suffice it to say, that almost all blends in the last Golden Age of Tobaccco (i.e 1950s) contained substantial portions of burley.

The attempt was to approach the legendary Blue Boar Rough Cut, formerly blended by the American Tobacco Company, and discontinued in the early 1980s. The burleys were chosen to complement each other, with the cube cut providing a nuttiness and the smoothness of burn. Dark and white burleys have their own quality, but too much dark burley can leave a cigar leaf taste to the blend. Va Bright flake, rather than virginia ribbon or virginia flake was added for sweetness w/o a cloying quality that could ruin a smoke. The Cyprian latakia provided the earthiness and tone to the blend. All in all, a great all day smoke w/o harshness and a wet pipe.

[sisyphus]

GH Coniston Cut Plug 19March2001 3stars

I recently obtained a number of the G&H flakes from Pete Zaring at PipesforLess. In this sampling was the Coniston Cut Plug, probably one of the finest smoking experiences which I ever had. The opening aroma from the bag is pungent and discernible; not the characteristic citric acid aroma of most virginias but full. Mostly brown, some black and a little yellow leaf in the cut plug. Moist to the touch, requiring teasing and rubbing to fill the pipe. I chose a Savenelli Bruna large billiard, rubbing some for the bottom of the bowl, more flake for the middle and some rubbings to top off. A few charring lights and the smoking experience was on. After the first few gentle drawings to establish the light, the flavoring was noticed but then disappeared to be replaced by a steady naturally flavorful smoke, consistent to the last 1/3 of the bowl. It could be a little harsh near the bottom, requiring more than one light, then resolving itself to an agreeable smoke overall for the last 1/3 to the bottom of the bowl.

The smoke is not for the faint of heart. I was first reminded of 1792 flake, but smoother, then reminded of the old Bulwark blend, but Coniston was fuller and richer in taste. The second bowl of Coniston in a smaller bowled pipe (Imperial 2 dot) was not very rewarding. About 1/2 through the smoke even drawing gently and consistently, the light went out and the relighting gave a harsher and wetter smoke. A third bowl, in a GBB Prehistoric Pot was better than the first smoke, and it stayed lit almost to the end of the bowl, that same constant smoke, very flavorful and tasty . Mu conclusions are that this flavorful tobacco is well worth the effort for the experienced smoker, but requires a larger bowl and an investment of time to properly prepare the tobacco for the pipe. Time, too, for appreciating the subtle changes in the smoke through the bowl, but it never becomes that thin smoke that some virginias can near the end of the bowl.

[sisyphus]

Pinkerton Five Brothers 2April2001 2stars

Five Brothers, the pride of the string cut tobaccos, the stuff of legends. For smoking or chewing; that alone should be the first indication that this brand is not for the faiint of heart. Five Bros is another one of those brands that I rememeber from my years growing up in Philadelphia. It was sold in a brown paper cylinder with a clay pipe in red and black and the mark of the John Finzer Company. It is now sold in a foil pouch, but still as exciting.

This was, and is, a string cut, or shag, largely from bottom leaves. Also known as "bird's eye" because of the method of cutting keeps stems in with the tobacco. See the Sherlock Holmes stories for the descriptions of shag tobacco. If moist and fresh, it can almost be smokable; not fragrant and flavorful, but smokable. If dry, it is Satan's blow torch.

Assuming that the pouch you obtain is fresh, you will find that the tobacco leaves the pouch in long strands, packing easily with just that spring in the bowl. I prefer a smaller bowl, perhaps a cob or clay, a meerschaum will also work well. The first light or two is sufficient to bring large blue-gray clouds in the room. That's a tobacco aroma, bitter and full. Five Bros has a characteristic nicotine "kick" that appears about 1/4 into the bowl, discernible but not overwhelming. By the 1/2 of the bowl. you may develop a tightness in the chest which will pass, leaving you w/ hiccups. Sipping water or coffee while smoking alleviates this sensation. 3/4 bowl and the full effect comes into play. You are now fully aware that you have been smoking a real tobacco. The mouth may be dry, or drier than you've become used to, your clothes are now imbued with the tobacco aroma, and the bowl is left with fine white/gray ash. This is what smoking was really like before WWI, which is why so many of the early 20th century pipes had smaller bowls.

AS said, not for the frail or the weak- intentioned. I could never smoke more than two bowls a day of this tobacco, and certainly never consecutively. It is, however, great to rescue pipes that have had crummy aromatics smoked in them.

Others in this family of high nicotine string cuts were Honest, Ivanhoe, Cutty Pipe, and Penn's Best. I have smoked them all and I cannot recommend them to any but experienced smokers because of their burn and noxious qualities.

[sisyphus]

Lane Holiday Excursion 5April2001 1star

Trying to establish the designation as the "Duke of the Drug Store Tobaccos", a title to which not many would aspire, I tried this old Larus Bros aromatic blend, hoping that the past nagging memories were just not so. HOLIDAY: great graphics and logo of an ocean liner. Companion to my revered and esteemed Rdgeworth Readyrubbed. Icon to the past glory of 1950s smoking. Right? Wrong. This is just not a very good blend. It may have been at one time, when I had more hair and less weight. But, my memory doesn't fade that quickly. I smoked an entire pouch of HOLIDAY, a fresh pouch, and there really is nothing redeemable about it today, no more than there was years ago.

Granted, HOLIDAY packs right and springy, great unusual pouch aroma of five or six tobaccos. The first lights give a sharp, bitter taste which doesn't leave. A pale blue-gray smoke that smells refreshing. It stings the tongue at first, through the 1/3, then the second 1/3, and right through to the end. Great room aroma, lousy taste and it bites!

[sisyphus]

C&D Canal Boat 26June2001 4stars

Recently, I had the good fortune of obtaining a generous sample of one of Cornell and Diehl's new blends (available in late June 2001). This blend was humorously introduced at the Chicago show as "The Constipated Cockroach", complete with appropriately scatological graphic, in a limited run of 200 tins. Since the tobacco was rec'd with so much favorable response, the Tarlers decided to release it in the Summer catalogue. Hereafter, it will be known as "Canal Boat".

What can I say about such a subtle pleasing blend? Good pedigree from a reputable blender; conceived and suggested by William Serad,tobacco reviewed and commentator, of note, and Craig Tarler, blender. It is a cube cut burley,latakia and unsweetened black cavendish blend with great pouch aroma. Visually, there are browns and blacks of the components. It would appear that there are equal amounts of each component tobacco. The latakia and cavendish are quite discernible in the aroma but there is an undertone of the warmth and nutty quality of burley. It is a little moister to the touch than the regular C&D blends, but not overly so.

To date, I have had about twenty bowls in six or seven different pipes, and each provided a consistent experience. It lights easily and stays lit. The first taste sensations seem to be the sweeter cavendish but not with the sweetness of a cased blend, which leads to the spicier qualities of the latakia balanced finally by the earthiness of the burleys. After about 1/4 of the bowl, the smoke evens out with a smoothness and an interplay of burleys and cavendish. You know that there is latakia but it never overwhelms the tastes. The smoke is fairly consistent throughout, tamping easily and w/o much moisture. The last 1/4 of the smoke, perhaps less, fades away gradually w/o any bitterness. The dottle was fairly dry and about 1/2 the time almost non existent. It smoked better in a medium pipe than a large bowl, but I will try smoking it in a larger bowl. Canal boat smoked best, I thought, in a large bent meerschaum, a pipe of which I was not particular fond but may have been rescued by this blend.

I have to say that I enjoyed the smoke w/o much qualification, although I did not smoke 3 or 4 bowls in succesion in the same pipe which I will do to judge the "everydayness" of a tobacco. I think that those of you who are aromatically inclined might give this one a try, for its pleasant natural aromas w/o casing.

I am an unapologetic fan of C&D tobaccos. Their venture into burley based blends have done much to restore the credibility of burleys to a new world of smokers. Even so, this new blend is an intriguing venture in balancing the natural aroma of the unsweetened black cavendish with the cube cut burleys. Very tasteful and light on the palate even after smoking bowls in succession.

[sisyphus]

C&D Pegasus 8Nov2001 4stars

OK, I understand that Pegasus is one of my own offspring, but I am partial to it. In the blending, I sought to find a mixture that really reflected rather common American tobaccos which could be enjoyed as a smoke through the day. Years ago, I enjoyed smoking Bond Street, and my hope was to approach the flavor of Bond Street with its pleasant room aroma.

The base of the blend are three burleys: cube cut, white and dark. They are the majority tobaccos. The two virginias and the unsweetened black cavendish provide the flavor. I have grown very fond of ribbon cut virginia with its matured sweetness and clean burn. Black cavendish has drawn criticism because of the travesty which some blenders have inflected upon it with the "bag o' smokes" available in some venues. But, C&D black cavendish is uncased and very smooth, w/o excess sugars.

Smoking Pegasus is best in a larger bowled pipe, to allow the tobaccos to meld. I chose a Ben Wade large Dublin which I got from Bill Unger of NASPC. In the first lightings, the initial bitterness of burleys are expressed, but then their fullness is tasted followed fairly quickly by tasting both virginias and the BC. The smoke never seems to fall into any harshness and levels out into clean and pleasant experience. I believe that both the new and more experienced smoker will find Pegasus acceptable.

[sisyphus]

C&D Old Joe Krantz 29Nov2001 4stars

A few preceding notes. The blend was named in honor of my grandfather, who was also my pipesmoking mentor and role model. He primarily smoked burleys, like Union Jack and Edgeworth Sliced. I cannot think of a time when I didn't see him w/o one of his beat-up pipes and the aroma of pipesmoke around him. In any case, I was reading the reviews of Haunted Bookshop and Norm Musicant indicated that he liked more red virginia in his blends. Norm is someone whose opinion I respect. I was still looking for a simple hearty burley blend that could hold my interest all day. So, a new blend.

This is a ribbon and coarse cut blend of four basic American tobaccos: dark and cubecut burleys, red virginia and perique. It lacks the sophisticated nature of many contemporary blends. The pouch aroma is typical of C&D's great burleys, warm and earthy with a strong note of perique's mustiness. There's a springy quality to the packing, and it required two charring lights before the tobacco lit. The first few minutes was all burleys, the dark cigar tones and the natural sweetness of the cubecut. But, because the red virginia and perique are in ample quantity, their presence is noted and welcomed. The nose tingled but no bite through the smoke. It was a full-bodied smoke of fairly consistent quality to the bottom of the bowl. A large bowl Ben Wade Brogue was a great complement to the tobaccos. Very little moisture through the smoke as well. The pipe drew easily with light tamping.

I like this blend a great deal, because of its straightforward quality and its fullness of smoke. Since it doesn't bite the tongue at all, it can be an all day smoke. But, because of the hefty portion of perique (25%), the blend may not appeal to everyone.

[sisyphus]

C&D Longevity 25July2002 4stars

Smoking "Longevity" was a venture in new waters for me. Normally, I prefer the burley based blends which I can smoke all day. I am not unfamiliar with latakia blends, having smoked all of the earlier (and much lamented for their absence)offerings of Balkan Sobranie. Normally, though, latakia is not my first choice. But, I was intigued by a sample bowl of this blend, and a few others which I tried at the NYC pipe show in June. So, I obtained a few tins of William Serad's blends. His reputation as an impeccable reviewer of tobaccos is well known, but Serad's hand as a blender is not largely unackowledged.

In any case, I opened the tin and was reasonably surprised at the dark rich quality of the tobaccos. large cubes of mostly dark tobaccos, pressed not flakes. The aroma is, well, rich and full. The smoky essence of latakia, the raisins and slight sense of fermentation of red VA, and an undertone of nutty turkish leaf. The latakia is present, assertive w/o agression. These were fearful waters for me, friends, exotic and unknown. But, the tobaccos separated easily and packed with a springy quality in an old full bent Gold Crown billiard, especially cleaned for this moment. Two quick lights and the room was filled with a blue pungent smoke. I waited for the catch and back-of-throat bite I usually get with latakia. It wasn't there, but a fragrant, pleasant smoke was. And, that same quality with minor variations stayed through the smoke. The bowl of this Gold Crown is not paticularly large, but there was an obvious interplay of the turkish and latakia throughout the smoke, bolstered by the sweetness of red VA. I purposely let the pipe go out to see if there was any bitterness on re-lighting but none was discerned in that smoke. The first smoke finished with a reasonably dry pipe and minmal dottle, which was also dry to the touch.

I moved then to two large Custombilt straight billiards which were also recently cleaned. The reaction both times was about the same as the first smoke, but the larger bowls permitted the tobaccos to reach a fuller flavor. You can pick up and re-light even hours later /o bitterness.

This is a very competent blend with staying power. I have to believe that a few months in the tin will meld those tobaccos even more, but Longevity is mature enough for a pleasant smoke now. Two thumbs up and I'll add the tin to my stand at the computer. Longevity is a good complement to a diverse smoking agenda.

[sisyphus]

Lane Edgeworth Ready-Rubbed 17Aug2002 4stars

Notes: Edgeworth ReadyRubbed was one of my first tobaccos starting about 1967. Both the RRd and the Sliced, as well as Union Jack, were staples of my grandfather's smoking repertoire until his death. So, I was familiar with the blend and the great room aroma. But, I was unprepared for the smoking qualities. Sold then in a blue foil pouch for about $0.22/pouch, it was unimpressive, right? just another drugstore tobacco? Wrong then, wrong now! On opening the can, (and it really is best in the can not the plastic pouch), the first aromatic sensations are warm earth and chocolate and coffee and bread baking. A great burley aroma fills the room and you just want to sniff and sniff. Moist but not wet to the touch, it packs well in any pipe but seems to smoke better in a medium to large biliard bowl. Usually two or three charring lights are needed. The first puffs may seem tangy to the palate but the smoke smoothes out quickly and a pleasant flavor, actually a series of flavors, emerges. The room aroma is solid, obvious w/o being unpleasant, lingering like good tobacco should. It burns clean and dry with a gray white ash to the bottom of the bowl.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Edgeworth RRd for these past 34 years, sometimes though for a month or so being enamoured with another, almost forgetting the joys of its smokiing qualities, but never straying so far to be unable to return.