A fine artist on Twitter (https://twitter.com/toka2016311), Toka wrote and illustrated a 20 page comic featuring a 350km adorabig coming to Earth and promptly doin' some good steppies. I managed to translate the first four pages, but haven't quite yet had the time or willpower to go through the rest of the story, but there's some rather insanely good bigs and growth. I had to estimate Dottle's final 'size' here just to try and put him into perspective!

Lost At Sea (Sutliff Private Stock Navigator Blend in a John Hines Custom Skater)

When I was in the Navy, I was a considerably better pilot than I was a navigator.  As a matter of fact, 25 years later I could still pilot any boat they put me on, but I can barely remember the merest basics of my navigation course.  What I do remember, is that no matter how advanced navigation at sea becomes, they will still always teach you the old-fashioned way, with compass and sextant.  This…

Becalmed (Sutliff Private Stock Spinnaker in a WDC Milano Cutty)

Recently one of our sponsors, Sutliff Tobacco Company, has begun sending us samples for review.  One of the samples sent this month from their Private Stock Collection was Spinnaker.  I had recently undergone a bout with Fourth Generation Tobacconists aromatics, and decided to leave the aromatic flavours that Sutliff had provided until the end, and began with their non-aromatic mixtures.

So, by…

The Art of Contemplation (Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation 1882 Founders Blend) Smoked in a Yello-Bole briar pug.

            Latakia, sun-cured orientals, mature virginias, and full-bodied Kentucky leaf blended together to create an old-fashioned English smoke. Upon opening this tobacco, I was greeted with the subtle spiciness of orientals and latakia, which I found unusual as most latakia smokes that I have experienced are quite powerful.  It is a nice ribbon cut, mottled dark and light brown tobacco…

Give Me the Raspberry! (CAO Black in My Churchwarden)

As I have made clear more than once, I am not a fan of aromatic pipe tobaccos.  I’m sure part of it just comes from the fact that I’m not a habitual smoker and so I am not accustomed to that bitter and nasty chemical taste.  So when I won a tin of CAO Black as the door price draw in the monthly meeting of our Okanagan Pipe and Cigar Club, I snorted and figured I’d end up giving it over to my…

Semi-Sweet Pleasure (Mr. B’s Sweet Pleasure)

          Today’s review is of a milder sort than the last that I did. Brigham Enterprises Inc., Mr. B’s Sweet Pleasure, an aromatic blend of dark and light Cavendish, smoked in a rosewood lumberman, which I am displeased to say that I have left in a place irretrievable for a couple of weeks. The bag note is quite fruity, like walking into an orchard during harvest.

As I lit this pipe-full I…

Legend Series Aurora Borealis Review

            Well, today was my day to write exactly what I thought of the Aurora Borealis Latakia blend, so I started by buying a new pipe.  Today’s review is therefore a pipeful of this nicely rounded Latakia, matured Virginia, and shag cut black stoved Virginia, smoked in a Yello-Bole imported briar pug.

          It has a smoky/spicy tin note, roughly akin to smoked salmon.

          The…