Summer 98 Volume II Issue 1

It seems that ever since pipes and cigars have been simultaneously smoked, enterprising individuals have been looking for ways to bridge the gap between the two. For example, celebrated vaudevillian Eddie Foy used to stuff a stogie in his pipe because, although he liked smoking a briar, he preferred the taste of a cigar Likewise, around the turn of the List century there was a brand of pipe tobacco with the questionable name of Elephant Butts, as it was composed of the butt ends of cigars. And for years, Alfred Dunhill's London store sold their Cuban Mixture; the label on the can stated "The Havana used in this mixture is imported from a world famous Cuban factory," though they never did say which one. In the early 1980s famed Castello pipemaker Carlo Scotti tried to market individual "rounds" of cigar's that could be dropped into a pipe. Germans and Austrians have made European style "dry" cigars that looked like pipes. And in America, ever since the late 19th century manufacturers have periodically turned out novelty pipes shaped like cigars.

Today. history continues to repeat itself, but on a much more innovative scale. With the tremendous influx of new cigar smokers now entering the pipe puffing ranks. coupled with the overall renaissance of the pipe currently taking place across the country. we have entered an age of crossover tobaccos, unique blendings in both loose and handrolled forms, that are designed to appeal to pipe and cigar smokers alike. What makes these pipe blends made with cigar tobaccos and cigars blended with pipe tobaccos worthy of a second look, is the fact that they are designed to provide both the pipe and cigar smoker with an aura of familiarity when lighting up each other's blends, even though the tobaccos for pipes and cigars are decidedly different. And yet, there is a commonality.

For example, the pipesmoker who wants the easy-to-light convenience of a cigar but still desires the taste of a flavored aromatic need look no farther than Charles Fairmorn's Piper's, an all-tobacco cigar made in Germany and cased with plum, vanilla, and cherry food flavorings. In matching the flavor of the fruit to the taste of the tobacco, the rich plum cigars utilize a dark Brazilian wrapper, the light vanilla features a light Indonesian wrapper, and the slightly sweet cherry is wrapped in Connecticut lea( There are two versions of Piper's available. The first is a small-ringed, machine-made series, which includes a mini (3 x 20), a panetella (4.5 x 20), and a corona (4.75 x 33). As in the making of aromatic pipe tobacco, the casings are sprayed directly onto the filler, which is a blending of Virginia and black cavendish.

Looking for a larger cigar for a longer smoke? Try the newly introduced handrolled Piper's, also made in Germany by Charles Fairmorn and available in two sizes, a churchill (6 7/8 x 49) and a robusto (5 x 50). These cigars feature the same plum, vanilla and cherry flavorings as the smaller, machine-made versions. Likewise, they incorporate the same wrapper and filler tobaccos. The handmade Piper's utilize a Honduran binder, which adds just a hint of spiciness to the relatively mild and fruity smoke. In addition, these handrolled cigars feature a filler comprised of both long and short leaf tobaccos (known as a "Cuban sandwich"). Thus, because of the longer leaf, you will be able to get a slightly longer ash with the handrolled Piper's.

The smaller machine-made cigars are perfect for a short smoke after dinner, while waiting for the check to arrive, or for a quick, flavorful puff during the day. It beats snacking. The larger sizes deliver a fuller smoke, as more of the fruit flavor comes through due to the bigger ring of the cigar, and the draw is easier than on the machine-made versions. It actually is somewhat akin to smoking a pipe filled with aromatic tobacco. All of the German-made 100% tobacco Piper cigars come in handy wooden boxes of 20 cigars for the smaller smokes, and ten of the larger sizes. They can be found at various tobacco shops.

Another pipe tobacco cigar that can make some of the most jaded non-smokers sniff the air and smile is the highly aromatic Rusty's Cigars. The creation of Disney designer Russ Farrell, these handrolled stogies are made in Nicaragua and feature a Nicaraguan wrapper and binder. The secret to their taste and aroma, however, is in the filler, which is a blending of long leaf Nicaraguan tobaccos intermixed with a full-flavored aromatic pipe tobacco. There are three different sizes, each with its own distinctive flavor. Rusty's No. 3 (a 6 x 50 toro) features a semi-sweet cocoa and malt flavored aromatic pipe tobacco, Rusty's No. 5 (a 5 x 50 robusto) uses a vanilla base, and Rusty's No. 7 (a 6 x 42 corona) has a thick, flowery, champagne-like character. Indeed, if you like aromatic tobaccos, you'll like these cigars, and your significant other will no doubt enjoy the perfumed smoke. However, as flavorful as these cigars are, they can draw slowly, and this is more noticeable in the No. 7 than with the larger ring sizes. To Rusty's credit, when I informed him of the above-mentioned problem, he called to say that he has taken immediate steps to correct the situation. I should also note that two friends of mine who have smoked Rusty's Cigars have found absolutely no fault with them. They sell in bundles of four and ten, and in a wooden box of 25. You can also try a six-pack sampling, featuring two of the three different sizes.

What about the pipesmoker who simply wants to experience the flavor of a good cigar in his Charatan? No need to duplicate Eddie Foy's act. One of the most innovative and respected pipe tobacco companies of our time, McClelland's, has come up with a far more practical solution. They are now offering their red label cigar blend, aptly christened Dominican Glory, which contains - you guessed it - Cuban seed Piloto Cubano long leaf cigar filler from the Dominican Republic, which is blended with Matured Virginia, then pressed, caked, and aged. It is cut into ribbons to give it the look and feel of an English blend, but the actual taste is more like a mild aromatic. In fact, the sweetness of the caked Virginia, while not strong, almost overpowers the Dominican tobaccos, but they make their presence felt nonetheless. The cigar-like taste can be enhanced by fighting a bowlful of Dominican Glory with a cedar match, which is normally reserved for stogies, and which will give you a very slight spicy taste during the first few puffs as you are fighting up. Overall, Dominican Glory is the equivalent of smoking a smooth, mild, and semi-spicy cigar, while still retaining the aromatic qualities of a pipe.

If you like a bit more heft in both your cigars and your pipe tobacco, then by all means try McClelland's red label Dominican Glory Maduro. Here, red and stoved Virginia tobaccos are expertly blended with maduro wrapper leaf, then caked and aged. The result is a very thick, coarse shag which must be rubbed out (i.e., broken up) by the smoker to create the size of flakes he prefers. (A little hint here - the smaller the pieces of tobacco, the easier it will be to light and to keep lit.) The flavor is just to the strong side of medium and the taste is noticeably richer than the regular Dominican Glory. The aroma is full and sweet, like a cavendish. But even though the Dominican Glory blends are largely comprised of cigar leaf, both of these fine tobaccos are decidedly pipe-like in their aroma, a fact expertly confirmed by my wife, who has experienced more than the average spouse's share of pipe and cigar smoke during our many years together. The regular Dominican Glory is too delicate in taste to risk blending it with another tobacco, but the Maduro version has enough strength to try mixing it with less rich tobaccos for an added cigar-like bonus in your other pipe blends.

Mixing cigar-like pipe tobaccos is one thing, but a different criteria takes effect when it comes to pipe tobacco cigars. Do not place them in the same humidor with your non-flavored stogies, for the aromatic qualities of the pipe tobacco fillers will permeate all of the other wrappers. Keep your pipe tobacco cigars separate from the rest. Finally, for those cigar lovers who covet Cuban tobacco, it is still possible to purchase a finely chopped Havana leaf for pipesmoking in Dunhill's London store, and in many European countries you can find colorfully wrapped bricks of Cuban pipe tobacco from the H. Upmann factory in Havana. Rather than smoke either of these tobaccos straight, I prefer to keep the hair on my head and primarily use them for blending purposes. Indeed, as more and more smokers start to alternate between pipes and cigars, we are finding that these two smoking worlds are not that far apart after all.