From: ???????????????
Subject: Re: Pipes Digest #165 - Novem...

Hi, Steve. I'm just back from a family visit trip to Chicago, where I took
the opportunity to load up on some winter pipe provisions. 
At Iwan Ries, sadly reduced these days from their glory days, I found an
unsmoked Cellini Original in their estate pipe selection. Snagged it for $20.
I also picked up 7 oz. of their International Blend, and a couple different
pouches of Balkan Sobranie, fondly remembered from the early 1960s.
At Alfred Dunhill's humble little shop in Water Tower Place I sought some
sample quantities of their non-aromatic blends. Imagine my chagrin to learn
they do not sell the blends from bulk supplies; I had to buy it in tins, just
like I can do at most any tobacconist. Anyway, I  got 100 gram tins of Early
Morning Pipe and My Mixture 965, and 50 gram tins of London Mixture and
Nightcap. So far only the London Mixture remains unsampled, but the first
impressions are mildly disappointing. I guess "mildly" is the operative word
here, because I was hoping for fuller taste across the board. I'm most used
to McClelland's bulk mixture #2020, and none of the Dunhill smokes reach that
level of tastiness. Oh well, it's not BAD stuff, and I'm sure I'll puff it
all away over the coming months.
I thought I'd enlist technology in an end-run around recent smoking bans at
my local enclosed malls, where I used to smoke cigars throughout the winter,
in the public lounging areas. I bought ritzy air filter machine, set it up in
one room and smoked a cigar there. 24 hours later the room still reeked of
stale cigar, so I had to return the appliance, and also retire my cigars
until I can smoke them in my porch swing next spring. Sigh.
I sure enjoy reading Pipes Digest, and appreciate all the time and effort you
must expend on its timely publication to us "chimleys". Keep up the good
work.
Best Regards, Dennis.


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