Kramer's Pipe and Tobacco Shop Father Dempsey

At the risk of sounding more than a little North of cliché, Kramer’s Father Dempsey English blend is the proverbial (if not literal) Holy Grail of pipe tobacco for me.

Never mind the fact that Father Dempsey is a great tasting, great smoking blend in its own right. For me, there is a somewhat deeper meaning and significance to Father Dempsey’s blend, above and beyond how it merely smokes and tastes.

Father Dempsey’s blend is the stuff I have been searching for ever since the morning I awoke to Richard Pryor’s ghost screaming inside my head: “P

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PE!!! TOBACCO PIIIIIIIIPE!!! PIPE TOBACCOOOOOOO!!!”

After years of existing as a degenerate cigar smoker – and having never, ever entertained the idea of smoking a pipe – I literally woke up one day with what can only be described as a religious revelation -- as if I had been commanded by a burning bush: “The redolent scent of Jack Lundy’s pipe, from the fertile fields of your earliest childhood memories on Loma Verde in Palo Alto, 1965 – that is what you shall seek, My Son” . . .

Within three hours of that awakening, I owned my very first pipe (a Peterson rusticated Donegal Rocky, a venerable workhorse, still in regular rotation today). And ever since that day, I’ve been searching for that most sanctified scent which sprang from Jack Lundy’s pipe, more than a half-century ago.

Back in 1965, when I was 4-years-old, Jack Lundy was our next-door neighbor in Palo Alto. To me, Mr. Lundy was “the milkman”: he worked at Peninsula Creamery, delivering milk and ice cream for a living. His daily work attire resembled a World War II officer’s uniform: khaki pants and shirt, with brass buckled belt, bow tie, and a crusher-styled aviator’s cap, replete with leather visor. I remember Mr. Lundy delivering “snowballs” to our home at Christmas: a round dollop of vanilla ice cream, covered in shredded coconut, with green plastic holly leaves at the base of a red candle that sat atop the concept.

But Mr. Lundy was more than just “the milkman” to me; more than just the next-door neighbor. Jack Lundy smoked pipes. He kept a round pipe rack on his end-table, just next to the family room couch in front of the fireplace and television set, where he used to sit, impassively smoking his pipes. I remember Mr. Lundy smoking his pipes as he watched boxing matches or baseball games on his black-and-white TV. When visiting their home, Mr. Lundy would hand me wedges of colored salts that I would then throw upon the logs burning in his fireplace – salts that would produce brilliantly colored flames of red, green, blue and aqua. Turning from the heat of the hearth, I would see Jack on the couch, cross-legged, pipe in hand, puffing ever so gently on his briars.

On Sundays, in the fall, my dad and Mr. Lundy would walk me down the block to the local fire station in order to get the burn permit they needed for burning brush in the yard between our two homes. I can see Jack now, observing that burn, calmly, coolly smoking his pipe. The smell from Jack’s pipe – like the smell of those burning leaves and tree clippings – became one of the signature scents from those distant, dreamlike memories that still radiate from my childhood.

As Baby Boomers, pipes and pipe tobacco were embedded into our generational DNA: not only did many of the men around us readily smoke pipes -- fathers, grandfathers, uncles – but we were also exposed to pipes through books, movies and pop culture. Sherlock Holmes, Bing Crosby, Albert Einstein, Bob Hope, Omar Bradley, JRR Tolkien, Edward G. Robinson and Jaques Cousteau (the list goes on and on) all smoked pipes. In the early days of television – before political correctness and the culture war on everything tobacco related – there was nothing at all wrong with Santa Claus or Frosty the Snowman partaking of the pipe, just as it was equally acceptable for primetime dads like Robert Young ("Father Knows Best") and Fred MacMurray ("My Three Sons") to personify the ideal model of paternalistic benevolence and wisdom, all the while they were smoking their pipes. (Parenthetically: Father Dempsey was a blend that was apparently favored by Fred MacMurray).

Some fifty years hence, I still have no idea what make of pipes Jack Lundy owned (I’m guessing Kaywoodies or Dr. Grabows), nor what brands or blends of pipe tobacco he smoked. All I know for sure is the smell that emanated from Jack Lundy’s pipe. Smell can be a key that opens the mausoleum of memories, and I knew my search for the smell I was seeking ended when I first opened a tin of Father Dempsey. The notes from this tin -- as well as the smoke itself -- were unmistakable, and instantly recognizable: autumnal aromas of burning leaves, and the fragrant, sweet-smelling scent of smoky campfires – poignantly familiar smells that conjured my earliest memories of childhood in Palo Alto California.

Not only does Father Dempsey’s blend reawaken the distant memories of my early youth, but the history of Kramer’s tobacco shop itself only adds a little something more to the magical mystique of this blend (say nothing of the amazingly remarkable story of Father Dempsey himself, the man for whom this blend was named). Even the kitschy, old-fashioned, 1950s/1960s era labelling that encircles the tin calls to mind special remembrances of a time long gone.

Having only recently discovered Father Dempsey’s blend – along with the remarkable story of the real Father Dempsey and the House of Kramer itself -- I only even more recently learned that the original, one and only Kramer’s brick-and-mortar shop in Beverly Hills was shuttered not all that long ago (December 31st, 2017). Having picked up the pipe in 2013, not only was I distressed by the fact that I was unaware of Kramer’s existence, but more deeply saddened by the fact I never got the opportunity to make the pilgrimage, even when I had the chance to do so.

While there are many celebrated, well-known English blends out there, for the category of Quintessential English Blend, I cast my nomination ballot to Father Dempsey.

This is the king of English blends for me. The best way to describe Father Dempsey's is "clean". It's a wonderful blend that calls out "My Mixture 965" from Dunhill - But the GOOD 965, and not the stuff that they make now (which isn't terrible, but compared against the original it's a shadow).

I'm not a huge English fan (they sometimes can be too mild for me), but if I am ever in the mood for a pipe tobacco that calms me down and isn't sweet then Father Dempsey is it. They really know what they are doing.

Strength is medium, no flavoring/casing I can detect, and the room note is pleasant (no sweetness - it just smells like pipe smoke). I haven't had this aged, but that's mainly because I can't keep it in my house long enough to find out if it matures with time.

Fr. Dempsey doesn't remind me of my beloved Dunhill's but it doesn't need to as it stands well on its own. A latakia heavy mixture that manages to be just restrained enough to allow the other tobacco's to make their presence known. Fr. Dempsey should be a fan of any full English smoker. It's a 3 1/2 star blend in my book and will find a place in my cellar.

This is the other Kramer's Blend I bought back in May last year along with Danny Kaye Mixture, which I reviewed earlier. I smoked a bowl of each and then put them away for future scrutiny. I liked Father Dempsey better than the Danny Kaye blend and consider it to be a much more well balanced mixture. Father Dempsey presents in the bulk as an ocher-to-brown ribbon cut and the aroma tells you instantly that this is an English blend. You can sense the equal proportioning between the Orientals and the Latakia; a trait that sets it apart from it's constant comparison companion - Dunhill 965. Also, Father Dempsey is a little sweeter than 965 and you can tell this in a side-by-side comparison of aromas, as I have done. Finally, I get, consistently, a faint aromatic element in Father Dempsey on retrohale. There is nothing like that in either 965 or Aperitif; the other Dunhill Blend that some of us feel was the Father's original blend. I think its possible that the blend Father Dempsey showed the senior Mr. Kramer was, actually, a Dunhill shop blend that they had been putting together for Father Dempsey prior to his reassignment. Obviously, I agree with reviewer Steel Cowboy 2011-05-21 that this blend is not 965 but does stand on it's own merits independently. I also agree with reviewer The Sunday Evening Pipe Smoker 2017-08-04 that Father Dempsey has more Latakia than 965. For a medium/heavy English in a very crowded field, Father Dempsey does quite well for itself and I feel it deserves four stars.

I remember for decades poking my heading in Kramer's right off Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. I was always headed to the far end of Rodeo to the old Dunhill store. Enjoyed hearing the laughter from the customers and staff at Kramers. Often a tourist would pop-in and grab a cigar for his stroll down Rodeo, or to sit on one of the few available benches while his credit card was maxed out by his bride and/or new girlfriend at the Rodeo shops. To be honest, I never tried any of their house blends. I am a burley smoker and nothing caught my interest. I regret that now. If you have enjoyed Balkan Sobranie, 965, Aperitif, the Frogs, the Rattray's....just order Father Dempsey. It is incredible. It hits all the right notes. Take your time...don't attack it like a steam engine train...savor it. I lack the words to describe its subtleties. There is a symphony going on here, but it also is a sonata. My only regret: I wish it came in a larger tin. Wait, I have another regret...I should have bought some in the store decades ago.

Unfortunately I do not have the tastebuds of the amazing Jim Amash, so my reviews are pretty crappy when compared to his.

What I can tell you is “ditto” to Jim’s review of Father Dempsey’s blend, and that I really enjoy this blend. I’ve been smoking it all day long and it’s a fantastic Autumn blend for chillier weather. It took a couple of tries to get lit (I believe due to some sort of topping, but don’t quote me on that) but once it did start going I smoked the entire bowl without another light and I’m using a Savinelli Mega Pot with a pretty massive chamber.

If you enjoy a light-to-medium English blend I believe that you will almost certainly enjoy this blend. A shade stronger than 965 IMHO, and to me it tastes a bit like Russ O’s White Knight blend; if you enjoy either of those, or blends akin to those, give this a try.

I’ve never had a Kramer’s blend before, but I’ve enjoyed this so much, in fact, that I’m gonna order the rest of the Kramer blends carried at SmokingPipes and try them all out. I definitely personally recommend Father Dempsey’s Blend (and I’m a Baptist, so that’s high praise hahaha) and I absolutely think it’s worth the price of a tin.

I would also recommend smoking this blend in a pipe with a large chamber as it’s a pretty long cut of tobacco and seems to pack better in a big bowl.

Father Dempsey Blend hearkens back to the Dunhill mixtures of old--or at least to the early 1980s (the earliest vintage with which I am familiar) and the exclusive blends produced at Dunhill's London store before 1999.

I suspect the blend Allen Kramer was initially trying to duplicate for Father Dempsey was My Mixture 965. The blend's components are in perfect balance, with the tanginess and sweetness of the Cavendished Virginias, the smoky spice of the Latakia, and the dry, slightly sour and floral Turkish, all contributing to a unified whole, while each continues to retain its distinct identity. Father Dempsey Blend has a full mouth-feel and really leaves the air redolent with "the aroma of a campfire burning."

Finally, since Kramer's is located in Beverly Hills, a number of people associated with the movies were regular customers--check out their website for some entertaining anecdotes. As an old-movie buff, and being susceptible to the influence of nostalgia (as no doubt many pipe smokers are), I think this added historical dimension is pretty cool.

Note: This review is for the Marsha Kramer blended version. I haven't tried the new, mass-produced tin or bulk versions.

I had never heard of this tobacco and tried on the recommendation from my uncle. My first bowl left me wondering why this is not discussed more often. Father Dempsy is a fantastic well balanced english blend with virginias, latakia, and orientals. The smoker is rewarded by hints of spice and cedar from the orientals if smoked deliberately. It can be smoked all day and won't get hot or cause tongue bite.

It's delivered in a ribbon cut with the perfect moisture content. The tobacco provides lots of smoke and burns to a fine ash.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys english blends and compare it to Presbyterian and Squadron Leader.

Kramer's Father Dempsey is sweet, smokey, and fragrant medium bodied English blend. The Appearance of the tobacco is a mix of black, dark brown, and light brown and is coarse ribbon cut. The tin note is sweet, savory, smokey, and musty.

Upon first light the Latakia jumps ahead of the other components but only for a few puffs, then it is barely ahead of the Oriental and Virginias. For an English, this is a sweet tasting blend. It has an aromatic quality to it, but not in sense of an topping. The tobaccos are naturally aromatic, sweet, and fragrant. The Latakia is up front but it does not over power the other components. It is smokey and woody, and combined with the lightly floral orientals creates a very nice musty note. The Virginias, which I believe include Red Virginias, works well with the Oriental to calm the Latakia and to add sweetness, tanginess, and a hint of fruit that is not always apparent. Overall this tobacco is naturally sweet, but not too sweet, naturally aromatic, but not topped, as well musty, smokey, and savory.

The blends is consistent from start to finish after the the first few puffs, burns cool, and stays lit for the duration of the smoke. It has enough going for it to keep you interested and to smoke throughout the day. Medium in flavor and in Nicotine.