November 2005

Club Info & Events

It's been a long time since our last regular meeting and it was good to have the usual suspects all gathered around the table. We've even managed to get Kenny back on a regular basis. Some of the new guys were beginning to think he was just a figment of our imagination.
There was a lot to cover at the October meeting and we put a number of wheels in motion. I guess I'll start with the biggest news since it might come as a surprise to some of you.

SHPC Elects a New President
As a result of our forced relocation last year, our nomadic interstate search for a new meeting place and his own personal responsibilities, Don Powers, our club President had found it very difficult to continue attending meetings. As hard as this was for Don, and all of us for that matter, sometimes personal responsibilities become a priority over personal pleasures (honestly though there should be a law against this). During this period I had been appointed as interim President to go along with my roll as Secretary, but a duty I only half heartily accepted and with the stipulation that no other major responsibilities would be included.
For the better part of this past year we have been fortunate enough to have a new permanent location to hold our monthly meetings (thanks for your help with that Eric) and even had the opportunity to enjoy visits from Steve Johnson (Don Carlos/Comoy) and Tony Sanchez (Santa Fe Pipes). But I've noticed my enthusiasm waning a bit and I didn't want it to effect the club, we needed some new life. So at our October meeting I thought it time to address the issue of electing a new permanent president, but how do you fill the shoes of a man like Don Power's? Well, the thing is... you don't, you can only aspire to fill his shoes. So now the task was upon us to find the best man (or woman) for the job and willing to take on this important responsibility. The majority of the group agreed it was time as well. [read more]

A New SHPC Blend by Watch City Cigar
Ernie Quintiliani of Watch City Cigar and Dock Perry have been working on a special blend of tobacco created especially for SHPC. It will be a pressed blend which will include some Virginias and cigar leaf as well as some ten year plus, aged Ampora Blue that Dock recently acquired on E-bay. Since so much time is required in it's pressing, Ernie would like to get a preliminary number of how many members think they'd like to purchase a 2oz jar of this new blend. If you're interested please send me an email and I'll pass it along to Dock and Ernie.

The December Meeting
Right now the plan is to have our December meeting at the regular time and place. However, we have a few people looking into a place to have a holiday meeting/party, possibly at the Three Guys Smokeshop or a restaurant in New Hampshire (where you can still enjoy a smoke with your meal). Details will be posted here or by email prior to the December meeting.

Upcoming Events

The 1st Annual Great Northeast Pipe Show
The 1st annual Great Northeast Pipe Show sponsored by the Habana Premium Smoke Shop (pipesandcigars.com ) will be held on Sunday, November 6th in Albany, NY at the Comfort Inn, located at 1606 Central Ave. Doors will open at 10:00 am. This should be a pretty good sized show with many exhibitors and vendors. Tobacco blender extraordinaire Russ Oullette will be giving a seminar on tobacco blending as well. If you think you might be interested in attending this event send me and email so we can keep track of who's going and help coordinate arrangements to meet up or carpool.

For those of you who would like to test your powers of deduction, preferably while induced with the contemplative properties of pipe smoke, the Dancing Man-agram might just be what you're looking for. Whether you're a pipe smoker, a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast or just love solving the problems of the world, the Dancing Man-agram will put your mind to the test. But are you up for the challange?? I'm not too sure??

What's it all about???
For those of you who are familiar with the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Dancing Men," you already have a clue to solving this puzzle. But that in no way means the solution will be an easy one because this mystery will take some time and cunning to solve. So if you've never read The Adventure of the Dancing Men before it might be a good place to start. Read it here.

How do I play?
Each Dancing Man-agram consists of an important message in the form of a quote, phrase, name, etc.of something related to pipes & tobacco, Sherlock Holmes, smoking and the like (that was your first clue). Each dancing man figure represents a letter of the alphabet. Your job is to figure out which letter of the alphabet each figure represents in order to decipher the message. Each month there will be a new puzzle to solve but don't think your clues from previous investigations will help you in any way, the key to the solution will always be a mystery. Be sure to print out each puzzle so that you can work out the solution in your armchair by the fire with you're favorite pipe or your best Watson (you'll most definitely need him or her).
Hint: There is a second clue somewhere on the Dancing Man-agram page. Use your mouse to find it. If after the first week I don't receive a correct answer, additional clues may be added so don't forget to check back.

A Reward for your Efforts
This challenging puzzle will take some time to solve using all of your powers of deduction but don't worry, your efforts will not go unrewarded. Whoever is the first person to send an email with the correct solution to this cryptic message will receive a tin of tobacco as compensation for their keen eye of observation and their acute attention to detail (future prizes may vary). This month's reward is a 2+ year old tin of Erinmore Flake (50g).

So what are you waiting for man?  The game is a foot!   Click here to solve your first mystery.

Tobacco Cellaring with TobaccoCellar.org     By Dock Perry
A couple of years ago I had my first chance to visit Steve Gutz's house. Along with the pipes, books and assorted ephemera I was most struck by his incredible collection of tobacco. I spent quite a bit of time looking through dozens and dozens of old tins, many of which are older than I am. That day Steve and I headed up to The Gold Leaf in Seabrook as I had heard good things about them but had never been to the shop in person. When we arrived I was amazed to see quite a few discontinued blends still collecting dust on the shelves including "Bengal Slices" which had long since gone the way of the "do do" after J.B.Russell closed it's doors. I walked out of there with about $250.00 less in my wallet but with what would become the humble beginnings of my tobacco cellar .
From that day forward there would be an emphasis on the weekly purchasing of tobacco for my cellar from my local tobacco shops. I would concentrate first on the shop's oldest tins then work towards their newer stock. Dating is quite easy with tins from McClelland tobacco as they print the packaging date in the code stamp on the bottom of each tin. On some tins you can only guesstimate by asking the shopkeeper how long he/she believes they've been there. I've found that I like to put away a little bit of everything rather than focusing on one blend, brand or style of tobacco. In the long run Virginias will improve most with age. Most will retain their rich nutty flavors while the undesirable edges will smooth out nicely. Latakia's can go either way sometimes becoming richer and smooth while other times becoming flat and uninteresting. At times it's a roll of the dice. Another factor to consider is that tobacco will never be more plentiful or lower in price than it is today.
If you're a lover of the Dunhill line of tobaccos NOW'S the time to be buying up the Murray's made stuff if you can still find it. Most regular smokers of these blends have had few good things to say about the current state of the Orlik made versions of the Dunhill blends.
As far as storing goes, I don't have any fancy accommodations for the tins. I just stack them up on shelves after dating the bottom with the year it was purchased. Some write the year and month but since I cellar for the long term, I have no need to be that precise. When I store bulk tobacco I've found nothing beats the "Ball" brand mason jars for keeping your tobacco the freshest. You can usually pick up a dozen at the supermarket for nine bucks. Mason jars with the bail type top I've found will leak air after a couple of years and are best suited for short term use.
To keep track of my growing cellar, I've recently discovered a great website called TobaccoCellar.org. It's a free site where you can enter all of your tins and bulks into the database so you can have an online record of your tobaccos. Entering the information is easy and you can choose to list the status of your tins as either Cellared, for what you're storing, Open, to show what you are currently smoking, or For Sale. If you list a tin as For Sale, interested buyers can contact you to negotiate a price. It's really a great way to keep track of all your tobacco. If you'd like to check out the tobacco I have cellared or start cellaring your own tobacco be sure to stop by and visit TobaccoCellar.org.

Occasionally I'm looking for a news item to help fill out this newsletter. So if you have some interesting
pipe, tobacco or smoking related news, or would like to share your knowledge on a particular
pipes and tobacco related subject, please send it along and maybe I'll use it. (Preferably by e-mail).