Hearth & Home Obsidian in the estate Wally Frank

I have been slowly and incrementally cleaning the estate Wally Frank more ... in between almost-daily smokes in it, of course.  I pretty much smoked an entire two ounce tin of C&D Red Odessa in it, and now that the Red Odessa has run out, I've tried C&D Odessa (original version) and Hearth & Home's Obsidian.  Since I tried a bowl of the H&H Obsidian, that is what has been loaded in it lately, and today is no exception:

estate Wally Frank pipe, with the stem closer to black

discoloration cleaned off the rim of the estate Wally Frank

The Wally Frank pipe is getting prettier as I get it cleaner, and I do love shining it up with the scrap denim and a bit of olive oil.  Oh yeah, that is my new pipe lighter - a Xikar Resource with built-in pipe tools.  Hubby wants one now too, I believe.

A couple notes about H&H Obsidian ... first of all, if you have not tried it, get some.  This is the polar opposite of my codger-style burley blends.  It's a complex blend of four black tobaccos: stoved Virginia, black cavendish, latakia, and perique cut chunky (rough) ... which makes it a bit of a botch to get lit and keep lit but that may be the point.  I get the most intense bursts of flavor the moment it goes out, so I am really not minding the many MANY relights involved in each bowlful.  While I don't have the experience to describe the tastes without looking things up, it has been educational to try to figure out what my senses are picking up.  I've smoked some straight black cavendish, so I do recognize that wonderful smoothness.  The description of stoved Virginia matches the wonderful bursts of sweetness.  Now I need to distinguish between latakia and perique as I don't seem to get the "peppery" flavor others do.  All four tobaccos work together harmoniously like my favorite Oak Ridge Boys tunes.

smoking the last bowl of Boswell No-Bite Delight in the caramel apple

Now, for the sort-of sad news: the bag of Boswell No-Bite Delight is gone.  Hubby snapped a pic of me smoking the last full bowl in the caramel apple pipe - not so much to commemorate the event but because I didn't have a picture of this pipe yet.