Pipeworks and Wilke Tobaccos
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This shop was very well known during the many years that it operated out of New York City. Now owned
by pipe-maker Elliot Nachwalter and Carole Burns, it operates out of East Middlebury, Vermont. Nachwalter
pipes are respected by many pipe smokers.
- #10 (Equinox)
- Composed of lemon Virginia, latakia, Smyrna, Davalla, xanthi and Shiraz, this blend has a refreshing
sweetness and lightly aromatic flavour that vaguely reminds me of maple. A mild tobacco that doesn't seem
to have a very high nicotine content, but which nonetheless has body and smokes fairly smooth. I can imagine
smokers of aromatic mixtures enjoying this unusual English blend. I find the aroma it leaves in the room
to be surprisingly neutral given its distinctive taste. Burns well. '95
- #400
- In this full English blend, latakia, Yenidje, burley, perique and Virginia are balanced such that
no one ingredient dominates. Although its richness is somewhat reduced by the burley, a very subtle sweetness
is always present. Smokes fairly smooth, but the pepperiness of the perique and the burley become more
pronounced as the bowl burns on. Gives off a slight woodsy aroma that matches the flavour. I like this
quite a bit even though I'm not much of a burley fan. '94
- #524
- A dark blend of Virginia, latakia and Yenidje with a straightforward smoky flavour and semi-sweet
undertones. Burns well, but not too fast, smokes cool and produces a pleasantly smoky latakia aroma. On
certain days, this is one of my favourites; on others, I find its flavour a bit flat and not quite complex
enough. '95
- High Hat
- This combination of latakia, Kentucky burley, perique and Virginia is heavier, sharper and more bitter
than those mentioned above. This mixture gets quite a bit stronger as a bowlful progresses and its original
faint sweetness fades. In fact, it gets rather raunchy if it heats up much (the quantity of perique and/or
burley in the recipe?)—best smoked very, very slow. Although I have intensely enjoyed a big pipe
of this blend on several occasions, I dislike the aroma it leaves in the briar after a while and won't
be smoking it any more. '94
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