Kyle Weiss
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2011
- Messages
- 11,988
- Reaction score
- 7
You read that right: "re-tried," and "Carter Hall." This is a little long, but when you read it, you'll understand.
A little back history. Lloyd, the old guy who got me smoking pipes at the tender age of 16, was a resident at the old folks' home I worked as a prep cook and dishwasher. He gave me a tiny "Lark" model Dr. Grabow (now in the esteemed possession of Zach, aka GMF) and I had two choices: Prince Albert or Carter Hall. He much preferred Prince Albert, and Carter Hall was his "special stuff" (not sure why that was, he was old and somewhat nuts). Prince Albert was okay, but it often bit the hell out of my tongue and would get sopping wet. Carter Hall, on the other hand, was much gentler, really packed a nicotine punch, and always seemed just-right. I would sometimes roll it up into RYO cigarettes when my pipe got lost among moves, homelessness, misplacing...it took me a 18 or so years to get back into a pipe again...
...today it's windy, snowy and rainy, and for some reason this time of year always makes me think of Lloyd. He got really sick this time of year just before he passed on, and one of the last times I played hookey taking food up to his room when he wasn't feeling well enough to go to the dining hall, I smoked some Carter Hall with him as he told me wild stories about World War II (sometimes he was a four-star general, other times he was just a staff Sargent). He put a cheap fedora on my head and said, "That looks great on you, sport, keep it." It was the last time I saw him. How I wish I still had that hat.
Since the pipe didn't smoke for me today like it did then, it just sat there. Pipes are meant to be smoked. Zach's tales of his grandfather and general outlook in life is much better than my family life and past, and I wanted someone who loved Grabows to appreciate it.
DrumsAndBeer sent me some Carter Hall along with some Patton Oriental Dusk...I had forgotten to take it with me the last few times, and decided to pick some up at the smoke shop (not Tinder Box, they don't carry it) running my better half to physical therapy...so, D&B, I'll get to your batch, but thank you for inspiring me to return to my roots. :lol:
In the tiny 2oz bag (that comes in a box now, it seems), it's surprising what a great cut it is, regular ribbon, and smells exactly as I remembered it. Fig-like, somewhat sweet and has that almost artificial moistness to it. Lloyd's 16oz cans he used to get were identical.
I wondered immediately if this stuff would be too sweet. I hesitated putting it in Dinky, my Pete 80S from a BoB friend who has been particularly instrumental in my newer stint in pipe smoking, but it was the right choice, kind of melding the old, interesting past with the folks therein along side the new friends and experience of today. Carter Hall took to the flame perfectly, and I was transported back. At sixteen, I didn't mind sweetness so much, and found Carter Hall to be a little "bland" back then, sometimes bitey. Today, it's interesting robust, simple, filled with nicotine (holy crap, this stuff packs a punch) and enjoyed the raisin/fig flavors, the tarragon-like savory background, and that dusty aroma that is almost like how an old book might taste if you could smoke the pages and get that great "old smell." It's particularly pleasant, if not a bit odd. It's the kind of tobacco I wouldn't mind trying to blend a little Latakia or cigar leaf just because.
Extremely satisfying to me, nostalgic, and not a waste for $3.99 by any degree. Mild, very easy-burning, non-biting, dry, but refreshingly not complex and "artisan-esque." It won't be replacing my GLP blends, nor becoming a day-long smoke (not with this kind of kick), but I'm going to have some handy from now on. It's pretty cheap and easy to get, obviously. Todd Harris suggests breaking in a pipe with this stuff, and I see why now.
Lloyd, this one's for you, buddy.
8)
A little back history. Lloyd, the old guy who got me smoking pipes at the tender age of 16, was a resident at the old folks' home I worked as a prep cook and dishwasher. He gave me a tiny "Lark" model Dr. Grabow (now in the esteemed possession of Zach, aka GMF) and I had two choices: Prince Albert or Carter Hall. He much preferred Prince Albert, and Carter Hall was his "special stuff" (not sure why that was, he was old and somewhat nuts). Prince Albert was okay, but it often bit the hell out of my tongue and would get sopping wet. Carter Hall, on the other hand, was much gentler, really packed a nicotine punch, and always seemed just-right. I would sometimes roll it up into RYO cigarettes when my pipe got lost among moves, homelessness, misplacing...it took me a 18 or so years to get back into a pipe again...
...today it's windy, snowy and rainy, and for some reason this time of year always makes me think of Lloyd. He got really sick this time of year just before he passed on, and one of the last times I played hookey taking food up to his room when he wasn't feeling well enough to go to the dining hall, I smoked some Carter Hall with him as he told me wild stories about World War II (sometimes he was a four-star general, other times he was just a staff Sargent). He put a cheap fedora on my head and said, "That looks great on you, sport, keep it." It was the last time I saw him. How I wish I still had that hat.
Since the pipe didn't smoke for me today like it did then, it just sat there. Pipes are meant to be smoked. Zach's tales of his grandfather and general outlook in life is much better than my family life and past, and I wanted someone who loved Grabows to appreciate it.
DrumsAndBeer sent me some Carter Hall along with some Patton Oriental Dusk...I had forgotten to take it with me the last few times, and decided to pick some up at the smoke shop (not Tinder Box, they don't carry it) running my better half to physical therapy...so, D&B, I'll get to your batch, but thank you for inspiring me to return to my roots. :lol:
In the tiny 2oz bag (that comes in a box now, it seems), it's surprising what a great cut it is, regular ribbon, and smells exactly as I remembered it. Fig-like, somewhat sweet and has that almost artificial moistness to it. Lloyd's 16oz cans he used to get were identical.
I wondered immediately if this stuff would be too sweet. I hesitated putting it in Dinky, my Pete 80S from a BoB friend who has been particularly instrumental in my newer stint in pipe smoking, but it was the right choice, kind of melding the old, interesting past with the folks therein along side the new friends and experience of today. Carter Hall took to the flame perfectly, and I was transported back. At sixteen, I didn't mind sweetness so much, and found Carter Hall to be a little "bland" back then, sometimes bitey. Today, it's interesting robust, simple, filled with nicotine (holy crap, this stuff packs a punch) and enjoyed the raisin/fig flavors, the tarragon-like savory background, and that dusty aroma that is almost like how an old book might taste if you could smoke the pages and get that great "old smell." It's particularly pleasant, if not a bit odd. It's the kind of tobacco I wouldn't mind trying to blend a little Latakia or cigar leaf just because.
Extremely satisfying to me, nostalgic, and not a waste for $3.99 by any degree. Mild, very easy-burning, non-biting, dry, but refreshingly not complex and "artisan-esque." It won't be replacing my GLP blends, nor becoming a day-long smoke (not with this kind of kick), but I'm going to have some handy from now on. It's pretty cheap and easy to get, obviously. Todd Harris suggests breaking in a pipe with this stuff, and I see why now.
Lloyd, this one's for you, buddy.
8)