Recent Pipe Tobacco Adventure ...

[Braemar Kiltmaker]

It's early, rainy, and I feel a ramble coming on ...

As a Canadian pipe smoker (occasional, not often), I keep trying to find the "perfect" old-fashioned smelling tobacco. You know the one ... like when a grandfather or uncle walked past, & you want to follow them sniffing in the aroma. The kind that takes you back in memory like scents so often do.

I've tried a lot ... fancy & otherwise ... expensive & otherwise. But none had that "follow me" appeal & room note. In doing online research, I kept hearing about a couple of old, drug-store type tobaccos: Carter Hall, and Prince Albert. Not Fancy ... been around for generations ... but the descriptions suggested that either of those might have that "pleasant-to-me-and-those-around-me" appeal. The problem was that neither of them seemed to be available for purchase in Canada - certainly not in & around south-western Ontario. And I tried ... a lot ... because I'm stubborn (but not obsessive, thank you very much!)

Then recently I travelled to Sarnia, driving over two hours (each way!) for a completely unrelated reason, and it ocurred to me that I could cross the border & buy it in the States! So I did.

Now, the average price for a pouch of tobacco near me seems to be around $18-20. When I got to the tobacco store in Port Huron, I was overjoyed to learn that not only did the have both Carter Hall and Prince Albert ... they were ONLY $4.29 each for the same size pouch. So I bought THREE. Even with the exchange rate, I thought I did OK.

Then, barely an hour later, I crossed back over the border & being a solid citizen, I declared my purchase. Guess I won't be doing THAT again. Taxes & Duty cost me over $41.00!!!

The GOOD news is I really like both tobaccos. The bad news is that I will become an even MORE occasional smoker, since I'll be making that purchase last me a long, LONG time!