The great rivalries: Packers vs. Bears, Montagues vs. Capulets, Churchill vs. Chamberlain, blonde vs. brunette. And to this storied list of squabbles, we can tack on Aromatic vs. Non-Aromatic and English pipe tobaccos. While it’s true that certain smokers straddle the divide, many find themselv …

The piping community is one indebted to the unmatched wisdom of history. While we celebrate newcomers who have just picked up their first Missouri Meerschaum, or those greenhorn shapers who are testing out their father’s lathe, or backyard blenders who enliven their favorite tobaccos with experim …

A mainstay in many a discerning tobacco rotation, English blends are not without their disputes. At least definitionally. The story is one of history. Until 1986, England did not permit additives in their tobacco, and so for the remainder of the tobacco smoking world, “English” denoted those blen …

What do you get when you marry two hundred years of business stretched over four generations of family ownership, keen attention to heritage, expert tobacco knowledge, and a commitment to innovation at every step of your process? Three words: Mac Baren Tobacco. Helmed by the Halberg family, and …

Every pipe smoker remembers the first time they spotted a fascinating character smoking a pipe. Maybe it was Gandalf in the cartoon version of The Hobbit. Or perhaps you fell prey to Sherlock Holmes as he took on a “three pipe problem.” For some, it may have been a grandfather, or photos of Albe …

In our previous lists, we talked about types of tobacco, blends that share the same characteristics like Cherry aromatic blends, Virginia blends, or English blends. These tobaccos have run the gamut, varying from manufacturer and strength. If you were a fan of one specific style of tobacco, you had …

After our previous list of Virginia blends to try, we are now in the fourth of our blends to try series. As we said in the Aromatic list, there are so many excellent Cherry blends that they deserved their own list. Well, here's that list.Cherry is easily one of the most popular types of Aromatic ble …

A fine tobacco pipe can feel like an extension of your person. It’s an accessory more important than a watch or pen; something we like to have close by even if we’re not lighting a bowl at the moment. Protecting that investment is obviously essential. Just like you wouldn’t leave your laptop lyi …

This is the third list in our blends to try series, following the previous Aromatic's list. Now it is time to take a look at Virginia blends that you should check out before the end of the year.Virginia tobacco is one of the most common ingredients in any blend. The nature of the leaf means they wor …

The distinct joy of smoking a tobacco pipe draws every kind of person at every stage of life. That’s the power of the leaf. From the seasoned veteran with decades under their belt to the newbie who buys their first  Dr. Grabow at the drugstore on their eighteenth birthday, every …