Guru Dottle: The New Breed of Young Pipe Smoker
Greetings and Happy Spring to Everyone!
In our little parcel of the brick and mortar Tinder Box world, we have noticed quite a steady increase in young pipe smokers in their early 20s- Is this the passing of the torch or the passing of the spills? This has been an exciting and encouraging experience for us and I thought I would make a few observations about this phenomenon and compare some aspects of it to my early days as a pipe smoker.
A very classic statement often occurs when someone wants to take up pipe smoking, " I know absolutely NOTHING about pipes, but I think I want to give one a try". This mentality is usually lacking with our young lions of briar since they have done a fair amount of research online and if nothing else have gained a vocabulary to ask relevant questions about the pipe smoking experience. This of course is different from my experience since I had to rely solely on fellow pipe smokers, who were numerous, or tobacconists in pipe shops who were also prevalent at the time. Whether one's source of information is online or more personal, both can contain elements of truth and fiction, but since pipe smoking is literally such a hands on experience I certainly would opt for the one on one in store encounter. This seems to be the option that many of our young pipe smokers have chosen and I think it serves them well to see first hand how to properly pack a pipe and then to get additional tips that will help to make the whole experience worthwhile. Good questions directed to a knowledgeable teacher will always bring good results.
Now that a connection has been established between the new pipe smoker and his or her mentor, what kind of pipe do we choose. It would be easy for me to say that when I started smoking a pipe it was in the days of the mighty triumvirate of pipe brands, Dunhill, Charatan and Barling, but believe me these were about as accessible or affordable to a young college student as the possibility of a moon landing. With limited funds, I was looking for something that was affordable but still attractive and I must say this approach has not changed with our young clients. We, at Tinder Box, have always believed that our customer should buy the best pipe they can for the money they are willing to spend and as a customer you use all your information to make a thoughtful choice. At this point of decision making the questions can come fast and furious and it is up to us to make suggestions and to bring up points about mistakes or misjudgments that we have made, but always being mindful of the fact that we walked in these same early shoes. I have told many customers that my first "good" pipe was a Peterson, but I actually learned how to smoke a pipe with no- name brands and less expensive pipes.
So, Guru, how were the pipe tobaccos in the day? They were nothing short of extraordinary with the classic Dunhill mixtures, Balkan Sobranie, Bengal Slices, James Cotton and Rattray's to mention a few and all sadly gone. The lack of these great blends of the past does not seem to be an issue at all for our young new customers, in fact they are more open to trying new tins of tobaccos and mixing and putting together their own Dr. Frankenstein concoctions. When I first started with Tinder Box it was common practice for customers to come up with their own "special" blend and we used to keep index card files on hand to remember all the formula changes. This concept of mixing was all but forgotten until recently. This is exciting stuff and it is so much fun to see what people create with tinned tobaccos and bulk blends- " Can you mix Coke with Pepsi? Well, hell Yes!" Just for fun take one of your favorite English mixtures and load the chamber of the pipe about three quarters full and then top this off with a pinch of straight Virginia and see what happens and think about Cuban coffee.
Needless to say you can see that I am very excited about this new energy and I think it is a very good thing for pipe smoking in general. Our new young customers are not obsessed with pipes or tobacco blends they can no longer get, but are more interested in moving forward with their own pipe smoking experience as it is. They are not standing in a room waiting for a door to open, but rather they are passing through and establishing their own joys of pipe smoking and new found friendships with brothers and sisters of the burl. This new experience is more than smoking since it represents a learning curve that can become a lifelong fascination. I will leave all the young new pipe smokers with one final word of advice: If you don't get the respect and the help you need from a shop, go someplace else because you deserve both.
Earlier this year there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about this along with what I remember a similiar story on CNN. I thought I would give you the information straight from the guru himself! And you thought all pipe smokers were grandfathers!
Good Luck!
