Self-composed

I just got the dumb idea to try live blogging my New Year’s eve experiences tonight. Dumb because I’ll probably finish one or two entries and then forget about it.

Its currently going on 3:00PM and we’ve collected all the stuff for tonights party. The kids are in high rotation waiting to get started on the fireworks, the wife is having a much-needed nap, and I’m drooling over a bowl of Cumberland from a tin I just popped with over a year and a half of age on it. This stuff is grand.

I moved my easy chair out to the garage where we’ll be partying. In Hawaii, most house’s have their garage opening at the front, facing the street, so its a pretty typical place for people to hang out. I set up some music as well. I’ll be rinsing out the old year with Samual Adams Light, some Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale (good stuff) and my beloved Johnny Walker Red. There’s also a couple bottles of champagne.

I asked my wife not to make a big meal tonight, I want her to be able to relax without stress and enjoy everything. So its finger foods - chips and dip, blue cheese/shap, soybeans, korean cuttlefish (taigu), lomi lomi salmon, and nachos.

Well, that’s the plan anyway.

Update:

I fell asleep that night at about 10:00. Best laid plans….

I thought this article from the NYT archives, dated 1911 was fascinating just for the fact that with our hobby, what was sound advice and information is still just as pertinant today.

Not to mention the fact you had an article about pipe smoking in the newspaper!

COLOR MEERSCHAUM PIPES BY MACHINERY; Smoke a Dozen at Once, and Do It Better Than a Tobacco Lover Could.
December 24, 1911, Sunday

Section: Cable News Wireless and Sporting Sections, Page C12, 974 words

” There used to be a time,” sighed the cigar store man, “when I made a substantial addition to my income coloring meerschaum pipes for folk who were too lazy or ignorant of how to do it for themselves, but as in the case of many other industries manual labor, if you can call smoking manual labor, has had to give way before the march of machinery.

The article coninues to provide some advice on coloring meers from a guy who smoked meers for a living - the guy actually made money for smoking a pipe! I know what I want to do for my second career.

Then there is also this article about a Russian czar, Nicholas I, who had a large diamond studded meer made to give as a gift. The recipient was worried about how long it would take to color the meer - he figured five years, so the czar ordered had it sent to the guard house to be smoked round the clock for two weeks.

The “order of the day” read:

Under pain of the knout, none shall smoke any other pipe but this. All the necessary tobacco shall be supplied. At the end of the fort-night the pipe was returned to its owner inscribed “colored in 15 days by order of Nicholas, Emperor.“

To be honest, I don’t remember when I even bought this tin of tobacco. I don’t know why I bought this tin of tobacco. It has been sitting in a drawer by its lonesome among a bunch of junk pipe parts for years, not with my beloved cellared blends. I’ve never given it much thought. In my mind, I figured it would be an over-sweet mess that would get tried and never finished.

This morning, I was in the mood for an aromatic. But not one of Vanilla, butterscotch, BCA type aromatics I generally rotate to on these occasions. Somehow, I recalled this was sitting in that junk drawer, waiting for me, unopened.

What a pleasant surprise. The leaf is excellent. I can easily make out the base of Virginias, and I’m guessing the burley component is something along the pedigree of Dark Fired Kentucky. But there’s just a touch - just the right touch - of that burley to give this blend what it needs. I’m guessing some of the tobacco is cavendish, but I’m not certain of that.

The tobacco is superbly well behaved. Straight from the freshly opened tin, and into a meer, it burns readily and dry with no need of relights with proper cadence. Not even a hint of tongue bite or bitterness from top to bottom. It produces generous volumes of smoke with a rich, smooth mouth feel and a sweet mellow taste.

I can’t figure out the flavor that its cased or topped with. It reminds me a little of Earl Grey tea or maybe peaches. It’s hard to pick out because the flavoring is noticeable, but it doesn’t cover up the tobacco flavor - it blends seamlessly with it. The overall taste and feel is very natural and clean. I don’t expect this would foul a briar or leave ghosts as it smokes so dry and the flavoring isn’t syrupy. After dumping the finished bowl, there was no visible moisture at the bottom of the bowl.

I highly recommend this blend to anyone except the most militant of purists who reject anything flavored.