If you’re a pipe smoker like me and have been collecting pipes and related paraphernalia for as long as I have, you’re bound to have come across a pipe in your collection that you’ve forgotten or overlooked. I’ve not kept track, but I bet that I’ve purchased, traded and owned thousands of pipes in the past 30 years. My current collection is small by comparison to what it was a few years ago. Even so, with so many…it’s easy to misplace and/or overlook a pipe among the crowd.
Recently while sorting my pipe collection, I came across a pipe I distinctly recall buying, but never really smoked it much. It’s a medium sized Calabash shape from L.J. Peretti located at 2½ Park Square in Boston, MA. I was in Boston on a business trip in the fall of 2006 and the L.J. Peretti shop was only a few blocks from my hotel, so it was mandatory for me to visit.
They had a nice selection of “shop” pipes that were reasonably priced. I wanted to commemorate my visit to Boston with a Peretti pipe. L.J. Peretti is the quintessential Boston pipe shop. The L.J. Peretti Co. has been a Boston institution for over 140 years.
As I usually do when buying a new or estate pipe, I tested several to make sure a pipe cleaner would pass and this was the ONLY one that did. So my decision was easy and made foe me. I recall smoking it several times over the years, but it was unremarkable. However, since the pipe had a somewhat personal history and I liked the shape/size, it remained in my collection.
While sorting my selection, this “ordinary” pipe presented itself among the dozens of other pipes I was viewing. Since I had not smoked it in a while, I figured I’d fire it up…just for kicks. Well, to my surprise, this little Calabash turned out to be a GREAT smoker. I selected “Holly’s Discovery” by Dan Tobacco as my tobacco of choice for this smoke. This is a Latakia lovers blend for sure….and if I’m nothing else, I’m a Latakia lover!!!
Having been in my collection for 7 years, I don’t recall what tobacco blends I smoked in this pipe. It’s very likely they were English Blends, but don’t remember exactly. However, this little Peretti pipe and “Holly’s Discovery” seemed well suited for each other. The smoking experience with this combination has been remarkable. The pipe smokes really cool and the tobacco burns exceptionally well…producing an enjoyable smoke. Where have you been for the last 7 years?
Now that I’ve “rediscovered” this little gem of a pipe, I’ve been wondering what other discovery’s I might find in the rest of my collection. The search continues…
