One of the exciting things about getting into pipes is the way you start to notice and appreciate when they turn up on the screen. They offer a nuanced insight into a character—not just their being a pipe smoker at all, but more specifically, what the individual pipe says about the individual pipe s …

Silicon Valley may be famed for its garage-to-riches success stories, but tech isn’t the only place where a modest household beginning signals great heights. The tobacco community has our own narrative to crow about—Cornell & Diehl, a source of exceptionally fine tobacco since 1992. That’s the y …

Alright, let’s have a little fun here. There’s excellence to be found in tobacco blends from all over the globe but categorizing our favorites in varied ways provides the piper a method of talking about difference and distinction. It’s what allows us to put disparate elements into new conv …

When it comes to the items men carry around on a day-to-day basis, no two guy’s pockets look exactly the same. As men, we only have so many ways to personalize our style and accessories, so everyday carry — or EDC — items tend to be very personal and purposeful.If you’re still assembling your ideal …

Piping – the pastime with endless vistas. You can smoke morning, noon, and night for decades on end, but the blends keep coming out, the palate continues to improve, your collection of briar, meerschaum, and morta swells, and your friendships in the dedicated piping community flouris …

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 …

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 …