Winter 97/98 Volume I Issue 3

We hate to say we told you so, but the pipesmoking renaissance is gathering strength daily. More pipes are sprouting from younger, career-tracker faces, on the streets and in smoke friendly restaurants, among the cigars. And, judging by our mail, there's a lot of curiosity about pipes and tobacco. It's about time more smokers learned the pleasures of the pipe: indulging in a smart way of using tobacco, and enjoying the fun of exploring the tastes and styles that set pipesmoking apart from cigars and cigarettes.

Moreover, it's "cool" to smoke a pipe. Forget the old professor image and other stereotypes -they're really a silly convenience Hollywood latched onto years ago and etched into our brains. Check out our cover story. Freeman McNeil, a 12-year NFL veteran and the New York Jets' all-time rushing leader, is no stereotype. Nor is Michael Jordan, whose picture smoking a pipe is the frontispiece of his autobiography, Rare Air. (We're told that Michael recently spent part of his $36 million salary on a top of the line briar from S. Bang, one of the great Danish pipemakers.) Additionally, W. 0. Larsen recently received a letter of thanks from the White House for "President Clinton Mixture," a blend they created with the help of presidential staffers during the President's recent visit to Copenhagen.

Allover Europe, lots of younger men and women in all fields have acquired pipes as part of the standard equipment of the upwardly mobile, and we've seen many women at banquets in France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, and Holland take out a small, elegant pipe after dinner and light up, with no affectation or self-consciousness whatsoever.

One bankable sign of the re-awakening to pipesmoking is in the way the producers of tobacco and pipes are gearing up. Pipemakers such as Stanwell, Ashton, Dunhill, Butz-Choquin, Sasieni, Vauen, Savinelli, Chacom, Peterson, and Comoy can't keep production up to demand. On the tobacco side, there are interesting developments too: big companies who have supplied shiploads of bulk tobaccos to the trade for years are now courting the consumer with branded products. Swedish Match (Borkum Riff) is introducing the Royal House Ltd. Blends, with seven of them available in a branded loose tobacco form to be weighed out by smokeshops. Consolidated is introducing Benjamin Hartwell Private Reserve, three upscale tinned tobaccos for the connoisseur market, with only one light aromatic and two natural blends. These are meant to appeal to the cigar smoker starting to explore pipe tobaccos. Wessex has a similar new lineup. A&C Petersen is starting to market "My Own Blend" here, and W.O. Larsen is introducing three options too, under "The Master's Blend" rubric.

These guys don't blow smoke when it comes to business; they know what's beginning to happen and are all positioning themselves for the "boom." Aren't you proud you'll be able to say you were there first? We are!

And finally, thank you for all the letters of support and criticism. Even though we can't answer everyone, we appreciate your suggestions and comments. Happy Holidays to all our readers, and best wishes for a great New Year, from all of us at PipeSMOKE.

Alan Schwartz
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
and EDITORIAL DIRECTOR