Pike Place has gone away and I hardly knew it… (or, Why did I take so long to discover Balkan Blends?)
Though I smoked my first pipe in 1972, I will readily admit that my tobacco choices were rather plebian for my first 16 years of smoking. I started with Capt. Black and Borkum Riff, smoked some Carter Hall and Mixture 79. Even dallied with a couple of those infamous OTC blends that tasted like old lady bath soap. I can’t remember the names because they were so bad it scarred my brain.
As the years passed I gained wisdom and discovered quality bulk blends at the local tobacconist like Tinderbox. After a break from daily pipe smoking when we found or youngest daughter had asthma and allergies but when she left for college, I started smoking pipes and cigars again. I started learning about tinned tobacco and became a fan of James Fox blends – English, American, Virginia Based, Cavendish Based – Dorisco, Provost Mixture, The Banker’s Mixture, The Squire Mixture, Campanile, all could be found in my desk. I even liked Hibernia, Fox’s aromatic blend. For 4 or 5 years, I didn’t stray much from those. In fact, the more of those I smoked the fewer cigars I smoked. I even found that I liked aromatics.
Everything but Balkan blends. For some reason, I just didn’t have a desire to try Balkan blends. It may be irrational but it is a fact. I would occasionally put my hand on a tin that said Balkan but would always just put it back on the shelf. Even when I started lurking around on pipe forums and reading about Balkan blends, I would just think, “Not for me.” and move on.
Tossed in the cellar and almost forgotten
Then I acquired a tin of Frog Morton on the Bayou and said, “Hey! This isn’t bad!” Smoked the whole tin. Moved on to other tobaccos I liked better. Last year I acquired two different Balkan Blend tins – Lane’s Crown Achievement and Seattle Pipe Club’s Pike Place. I just tossed them in the filing cabinet and more or less, just forgot them.
Fast forward 10 months. Took the wife for a day trip looking at antique/collectible malls and she found a “strange metal pipe” as she called it – a Kirsten made in Seattle. After talking the price down another $15, I bought it for $30 figuring it would make a nice reclamation project. A packet of O-rings and two “second” bowls later, I had a very nice Kirsten Companion which I was told was probably made in the late 40s. What I would later learn was a “transition” pipe between the 1st generation and 2nd generation pipes. The next question was what to break it in with.
That’s where Pike Place and Balkan blends come in. I served in the Seattle area for 6 years and was very familiar with Pike Place Market. I had already smoked some of Seattle Pipe Clubs other blends so decided on a whim to open Pike Place and smoke it. My first time with a Balkan and I learned I made a mistake.
There is something about Pike Place which just hit me over the head and said, “Dummy! See what you’ve been missing by not smoking Balkans!” It was a great smoke in my opinion. A perfect blending and melding of Latakia, Orientals and Tennessee Burley and with a light touch of Virginias and Perique. It hits all the right notes for me – the smokiness of the Latakia, a creaminess from the burley and maybe some sweet, spicy notes from the Orientals. The Virginias were detectable but didn’t interfere with the other tobacco and I picked up just a hint of pepper from the Perique. After 3 bowls, I decided I had to order some more.
The downside to loving a blend
Then I learned about the downside of falling in love with a tobacco too late. Seattle Pipe Club lost a law suit for copyright infringement because of the name Pike Place and had to pull the tobacco off the market. And, with the FDA Deeming last year, couldn’t just rename it and put it on the shelf again. I was devastated.
I understand most copyright and trademark law and that the current owners of the Pike Place Market in Seattle may have copyrighted the name. But Pike Place is also a historic landmark location. It’s not just a freaking stinking fish market! Besides, the laws were written to keep someone in the same business from opening one with the same name in an attempt to confuse customers. Pike Place Market is a market. Pike Place is a tobacco. I don’t think anyone would order a tin of Pike Place and expect to get a delivery of fresh fish or produce. That’s what liberal, socialist judges who get paid off do though.
So now, I had to embark on an exploration of other Balkan Blends to find one that tasted this good and was available. I opened the Lane Ltd. Crown Achievement. It didn’t smell the same.
It’s got Latakia, Orientals, Virginias and Perique but it’s missing the burley.
Don’t get me wrong, I found it to be good. Just like I found On-the-Bayou to be good. But it wasn’t the same. It just doesn’t call me to make it a regular in my tobacco rotation like Pike Place did.
Yes, I know there are many other Balkan Blends on the market and I know that eventually I will find one more closely related to Pike Place. I know I have to be patient.
Suggestions:
I am also clinging to the hope that the current government administration will fulfill its promise to rollback government regulations and slap the FDA upside the head. If the deeming is overturned, then Seattle Pipe Club would be able to start producing Pike Place again under a new name. I have suggestions:
Alki Point Light (not that the tobacco is light)
Salmon Bay (they would just have to make a minor alteration to the logo.)
Gray’s Harbor (known for it commercial fishing)
Ballard Locks
Port Angeles
Tacoma Narrows
Give me some time and I’ll think of some more.
© J. Gibson Creative Services 2017
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