Every so often I like to look up "Christian pipe makers" on the internet. Thus far the results have been consistently disappointing. Apparently the born-again don't carve heath tree roots, or won't admit it if they do. One day two weeks ago, though, my search brought me to an interesting site for a company called Synjeco SA. Synjeco is a Swiss concern that deals in precious, semi-precious and synthetic gems. I question, however, whether stones are really the firm's preferred business. The father-son management team happens to be a brace of pipe smokers bent way too much on pushing their pet sideline of briars and blends.
Since the web can often lead to varying degrees of cyber weirdness, I wondered about the supposed relationship between "Christian pipe makers" and Synjeco SA. The mystery was solved easily enough. Synjeco sells the Caledonian line of Alfred & Christian Petersen (emphasis mine) tinned tobaccos.
In Northampton--the town once home to Jonathan Edwards and now to legions of lesbians--there's a tobacconist who carries several quality brands, including the Caledonian offerings. Prompted by Synjeco's endorsement, I bought a can of the Navy Cut No. 499 just before last Thanksgiving. For the flake and cake lover, here's a grand surprise: flake in cake form!
Ingredients-wise, Navy Cut No. 499 consists of selected Virginias, tweaked with a bit of Perique to add natural sweetness to the flavor. It's a mild mixture, cool burning, and therefore nicely suited to outdoor activities like fishing or hunting.
Compared to a fly rod, if such a comparison can be made, this blend would not be high tech titanium, but low tech bamboo--slow, subtle and quietly elegant. Most definitely recommended.
In my humble opinion Cornell & Diehl produces the finest tinned and bulk pipe tobacco in America. The only lousy blend in their whole line-up is Yaller Dawg which really ought to be renamed Yaller Snow. Beyond that one exception, however, C & D tobaccos warrant the highest praise possible--especially Bow-Legged Bear.
Last March I brought a tin of the same with me on a birthday trip to the Scantic River. Since I tend to give the corporate keepers of my soul far more time than they deserve I deliberately took the day off and went fishing. The weather was chilly, but the rainbows were hitting Woolly Buggers with such regularity I didn't mind freezing my fingers on wet line. Moreover, they could always be thawed comfortably by the warmth of fire in a briar. After five fish from one hole I moved to another, and after a few more from the second I decided to try a third spot virtually guaranteed to produce several more trout. Before leaving the car, however, I figured the time had come to smoke a bowl of Bow-Legged Bear. This proved to be a mistake for the blend smoked so beautifully it almost kept me from returning to the water. I would have been blissfully content to have puffed the rest of the day away were it not for my inner fisherman who kept telling me to get my lazy butt out of the Buick and back into the river.
Any blend that can interfere with the glorious pursuit of trout has to be phenomenal. Bow-Legged Bear is the best English mixture on the market as far as I'm concerned. It's presented as a crumble cake and consists of Virginias, Latakia, Burley and Perique. As with any full English tobacco the leaf can be pushed hot enough to cause pain, but proper pacing results in sheer nicotine nirvana. The balance of ingredients is supremely unique, causing the smoker to savor a sweet woodsy delicacy unsurpassed by all other North American, German, Danish and British competitors. If I were to designate an official CW English blend, this would be the one.
My feeling toward all things Dunhill is that anything ever bearing that label has been or will always be over rated and/or over priced, mainly because men are dumber than cows but follow the same herd mentality. Dunhill products are supposed to be fabulous. Why? Because they are Dunhill products. So the prices are set high intentionally and the cows moo merrily as the cash is milked from their wallets. The whole herd is happy. But instead of bragging about dollar for dollar value, the entire flock (to change the animal metaphor) prides itself in how badly it got fleeced. And the famous purveyor keeps on shearing the sheep because they're so willing to be shorn. I know a cow, a sheep--I mean, a gentleman--who is more joyful than a pig in poop because he now owns a 1930's era Dunhill briar which cost him only $350.00. For half my mortgage payment this fellow picked up a pathetic little pipe that simply must be magnificent because . . . because . . . . because . . . ? Because the poor thing is a Dunhill!
I'm not against Dunhill; I just don't think the hype associated with the brand is justifiable. Great pipes and tobaccos, no doubt. Yet better can be had, often for less money.
In regard to tobacco, the Dunhill Light Flake is decent, though some smokers may find the flavor a bit odd by virtue of being so peppery. I had to smoke a few bowls before deciding whether or not to give this Virginia flake a favorable recommendation. Burn the blend indoors while reading Catholic theology from a British author, perhaps Chesterton, and you might benefit in ways unexpected.
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©copyright 2003, Perry S. Fuller
