I’m sorry I haven’t written recently but it’s been a bit crazy around here, and I figure that I’ll let you in on the activity.

The first thing that occured was that I received samples of some tobacco, which included some incredibly sweet Virginia and the long-lost Yenidje. I’ve tossed together a couple of blends based on the samples, and the tobacco is amazing. The Virginia adds a rich, tea-like sweetness, and the Yenidje is as flavorful and fragrant as I remember.  If I can procure a quantity of these tobaccos, I will bring out some super-premium blends, which will be available in tins only. The folks who have tried it so far have been enthusiastic, and a couple of people made some comparisons that I find very encouraging

I just spent some time with Joe and Carolyn Lankford from the Seattle area. For those of you who are not familiar with Joe, he’s the blender of the Seattle Pipe Club tobaccos, which we produce and/or distribute. He’s also done some blends that Cornell & Diehl make. Both Joe and Carolyn are great people, and although we had met before, this was the first time we’ve really had any real time together. I was amazed at how similar our tastes, approaches and attitudes were, so we were definitely off on the right foot.

The first day, Joe and I toured our warehouse, and he was very impressed with the sheer volume of items we had on hand. After chatting for a while, we put together a new Virginia blend with a “secret ingredient”, and that was all we could do before heading over to the B&M to have a smoke, meet the staff and customers and relax a bit. Carolyn seemed to be enjoying meeting everyone, and we stayed at the store until supper time, then proceeded to kill some barbecue.

Saturday, we had our pipe club picnic, which was well-attended, and the club members were thrilled to have Joe and Carolyn there.  The day was perfect, the food was great, and the venue was beautiful. We spent the day talking, eating, playing games, and, of course, showing pipes and smoking. Then it was back to the store and off to dinner, although we were still a bit full from the picnic.

On Monday Joe and I worked on and completed 2 more blends- a Va/Per and an English. All three will be available soon, but we’re still figuring out the marketing. As soon as we’re ready to release them, I’ll note it here. Joe also gave me a new blend for the Seattle Pipe Club series, and he gave me another that we will modify once I find out about the availability of some of the new tobaccos.

On Tuesday, I drove Joe and Carolyn to the airport, and was sorry that our time went so quickly. We agreed that we need to get together again, and I’m sure that this won’t be the end of our collaborations or friendship.

Now I’m back in production mode, having made 8 different blends for stock, and I’m cranking out more Plum Pudding to keep the Seattle fans happy. I hope to find out the status on tobacco availability by the end of the week, and if I get good news, I will be bringing some hot new products out by fall. That’s about all for now; I hope to write again this week.