Retired professional woodworker. I'm also an Enrolled Agent, doing bookkeeping and taxes. I smoke a few times a day on the back porch, when I'm "thinkin'".

I started smoking a pipe in the 60s when I was a college student and even tried cigars (which really stunk up the dorm room). I tried all the usual aromatics - cherry blend, Mixture #79, Flying Dutchman, Amphora and Sail. The aromatics by and large burned hot and tasted awful but had great tin notes. I also smoked a few cans of Balkan Sobranie which was tasty but smelled like burning rubber. My sons say my aromatics smell like "man-pourri" in the tin. I tried all the pipes, briars, applewoods, meerschaums and even carved a briar pipe for myself with a long curved hobbit stem. Now I just like an unvarnished corn cob. My daughter-in-law gave me a nice bent briar which she brought back from Italy.

I enjoy reading all the reviews which all literate and sometimes salty. I want to give a shout-out to JimInks who always writes a nice analysis of each tobacco he reviews, and PipeStud, who is always enthusiastic and enjoyable.