This is one of those tobaccos I wish we could get over here in the UK, but alas I have to order direct from the States - mind you, saying that even with the shipping it works out cheaper than buying tobacco over here where we are charged massively for tobacco products.
I believe there's an aesthetic element to the pleasure I get from US blends - don't laugh but the tin style and artwork on some of the US tobaccos are wonderful. In the UK everything's plain green with pictures of dead guys, diseased organs and the likes plastered across the pack. The tin of Buffalo Soldier I have contains a lovely painting of two soldiers that could grace any western novel.
But the tobacco - very very nice. I love Latakia anyway so this was always going to be a hit with me and the added Perique, though unusual, gives a nice peppery twist to the taste. The Virginia, the backbone of the blend, keeps the Lat and Perique in control and released a smooth, almost nutty bed upon which the other flavours drift in and out of like two dollar whores; not staying long but truly satisfying while they are there. To stretch that metaphor, while you are snuggled up with the relaxing virginias the Lats and Perique's, naughty girls that they are, come in and squeeze that G-spot.
The notes on the tin state: C&D pays tribute to America's African American soldiers with Buffalo Soldier, the first in a new series. We've applied just the right amount of Latakia and Perique to a base of naturally sweet virginias to create a well rounded, all day smoke.
I won't argue with that since the tobacco is not too heavy and could quite easily be smoked all day - it's most definitely tasty enough to get you re-filling when the bowl. It burns down slowly leaving a dry grey ash in the bottom of the bowl.
Make America great again - with tobaccos like this I don't think it's ever been anything but great.
St. Bruno is, at least in the UK, one of those pipe tobaccos that you can get anywhere - It's been around since time began, and although I'm not sure about sales it has always been, alongside Condor, one of the most popular tobaccos in the UK. Back in the day, before the Anti-Smoking lobby got their way, the tobacco was advertised on TV with a series of ever creative ADs in which a large St. Bernard would come to the aid of a pipe smoker who had just found himself St. Brunoless. A predicament indeed, but alas that heroic dog would always save the day.
The facts of the tobacco first:
Made by Mac Baren (original blend was from Ogdens of Liverpool)
Blend Type: Light Aromatic.
Tobaccos: Kentucky, Virginia.
Flavourings: Fruit, citrus, some floral.
Exterior of Ogden's Tobacco Factory
Ogden's of Liverpool started business in 1896 and opened its first factory in St. James Street in 1870 and during that year both the St. Bruno and St. Julian blends were introduced. The firm was a great success and by the end of the century Ogdens ran six factories as well as a small snuff mill situated in Cornwallis Street.
In 1899 Odgen's moved all of its manufacturing and warehousing to its famous factory in Boundary Lane, and although the factory is these days a set of luxury flats, there are many photographs of how the place once looked.
Offices inside the Ogden factory
Ogden's was a major employer, and it has left it's mark on Liverpool, with many of the older residents having either worked there or knew someone who did, and even today many people refer to the new flats and houses, known as Ogden's Place, built on the site of the factory, as the old tobacco factory.
But let's get to the tobacco itself:
I've smoked St. Bruno on and off for a great many years, been familiar with the blend for at least two decades now, and so I'm in a position to confidently state that the modern version of the blend retains that original flavour, or at least the flavour I grew up with. Back in the day, when the blend was first produced, it may have been different but it is likely that the basic characteristic have been retained throughout the decades. The availability of certain tobacco leaf, the quality of a particular harvest is bound to have some affect on the tobacco that ends up being stuffed into our pipes - which is why vintage tins of tobacco often fetch high prices - but at the end of the day the recipe, the method of production and the casings used all remain as they always were.
Adverts inside the old factory
St Bruno is led by the grassy quality of the Virginia leaf used, but the dark kentucky leaf adds a spicy tang that is quite delicious and the aroma given off, the room note, is a traditional pipe smell - no doubt this particular room note has echoed through many a train carriage, wafted in the air of many a home and tickled the noses of countless people through the decades. It is an aroma that stretches back in history, a pungent reminder of a world where one was free to enjoy one's pipe, cigar or cigarette even, without interference from the latest medical statistics brandished by a tedious, limp dicked, dishrag faced simpleton yellow about 'passive smoking.' Ignore these fuckers - they should be more worried about passive living. Bunch of arseholes. I must confess before I continue that St. Bruno is not my favourite OTC blend in the UK, that distinction goes to the mighty Condor, but it does come a close second. It's a very fine smoke and a well packed pipe will burn down to a dry white ash, though being one of the stronger tobaccos on the market it does leave some aftertaste to any pipes used. Ghosting they call it, but it's a fine tasting spirit all the same. FLAKE V READY RUBBED: I don't think there are major differences between the flaked or ready rubbed versions, and there are pros and cons with both. They both have the same basic taste and whilst the flake version may be a litter tastier, the ready rubbed is far more convenient if one is out and about. It's all very well to twist, rub out those flakes when in the comfort of your own home but I often smoke on the go and so find the ready rubbed version to be just that bit easier - simply stuff it in your bowl and bring a flame to it. Both versions have a reasonable nicotine content,that is not overpowering but will satisfy, and whenever I have a pouch it becomes an all day smoke for me. Some people claim that St. Bruno is a Lakeland style blend but I don't think I agree with that since the floral casings, so important to Lakeland tobaccos, are not as prominent with Bruno as they are with true Lakeland's but there is most certainly a hint of that Lakeland taste that is much loved by seasoned pipe puffers.
So do I recommend St. Bruno? You bet I do - it's quite fantastic and I've heard some people saying to try it as a 50/50 mix with Condor which I just might do one of these days but for now St. Bruno is fine as it is.
This article relates only to briar pipes - this is the most popular pipe material worldwide, but we will look at other types of pipe material in later pieces here on, One Man and his Pipe.
The first thing I would say to anyone new to pipe smoking is that there is no need to buy an expensive high end pipe; there are, after all no guarantees that a pipe from a prestigious maker will smoke any better than a cheap basket pipe. Of course it is important that the pipe you chose is well engineered, won't fall apart or crack when you apply a flame to its bowl, but that doesn't mean it has to be expensive.
The quality of the briar used in the making of the pipe is very important, and it maybe true that a well known and respected brand gives you a better chance of obtaining a pipe made from good quality briar this is not always the case. However it is a fact that the briar used is far more important to the actual taste the pipe will deliver than the is the manufacturer.
I, for instance, own an old Peterson that smokes as well as any high end pipe I've ever tried, and I also have a Dr Plumb that consistently delivers a great smoke time after time. Remember, pipe smokers don't smoke nomenclature, they smoke briar and as long as it has been well cured and the pipe well made, the brand of a particular pipe matters not one bit.
Perhaps the most important factors to consider when picking a pipe is that the draft hold is centered properly and that the stem fits snugly into the shank. That the walls of the bowl are sufficiently thick is also important - this helps to provide a cooler smoke. Briar absorbs and dissipates heat and a wall that is too thin will be hot to the touch, and make holding the pipe impractical and often downright painful. It can also impart a burning taste to your choice of tobacco, and your tobacco choice is a minefield in itself and one perhaps best left to another article.
Should you get a bent or straight pipe? This is personal preference and I personally find a bent pipe more comfortable in the mouth, but at the same time I own several straight pipes that I enjoy smoking. So in this regard it's a case of you pays your money and you take your choice.
But let's get back to briar - blocks of briar are as individual as one's DNA, and this is why a cheap basket pipe can sometimes smoke better than an expensive high end pipe. It is nature that produces the briar, not man and no pipe maker holds a monopoly on the best tasting briar.
So if you're looking for your first pipe, then by all means get the best you can afford but don't feel you have to spend big money to obtains a great smoking pipe.
The basic method of pipe smoking as a pleasurable experience has not changed for hundreds upon hundreds of years, and yet we live in an age where all forms of smoking is frowned upon - an intolerance of tobacco use is encouraged by the powers that be, and smokers of all kinds are finding themselves with the status of pariah. Anyone who proclaims an appreciation for tobacco is looked upon as being ever so slightly eccentric - or worse, stupid. Smokers have become an evil that must be stamped out, else they spread their poisonous fumes and give everyone cancer, or heart disease, or blood poisoning, or rickets, or ingrowing toenails.
The problem is that the anti-smoking lobby are ill informed - there is a world of difference to enjoying a pipe loaded with quality leaf than say puffing on a mass market cigarette. Not according to THEM though, and by THEM I mean those intolerable asses who spout their statistics. Mark Twain said - ' I don't want any of yours statistics. I took your whole batch and lit my pipe with them.' And old Twainey is a hero of mine so if it's good enough for him then...well you get the picture.
There is something about a pipe that has always appealed to me, and that's why I've started this blog, which I intend to update as regularly as possible and post on a variety of subjects - on times I'll talk about certain tobaccos, or types of pipe and I may even throw in the odd meandering ramble on the act of pipe smoking itself.
Anyway pop back from time to time - you may find something of interest and please leave a comment so I know I'm not alone.
