Don't Tread On the Nightgaunt

This morning I decided I needed some variety for my after work pipe(s), so I grabbed the Kaywoodie lovat and a bale jar with two baggies of C&D's #531 Yale Mixture in it. Two baggies was puzzling, but I didn't think a lot about it as I took off for work.

I hit the ground at 7:25 and was finished five hours later, so I loaded up the Kaywoodie with #531 for the drive back to the office. It has been a while since I smoked that blend, and the smoky latakia was a nice change from what I've been smoking. But something was...different.

There was something else in there. Something somehow dark, slightly fermented, slightly tangy. Something that ameliorated the latakia hit with a hit from something else.

And then I remembered why there were two baggies in that jar. One of them is real Yale Mixture, which is a blend of Virginia and latakia. The other baggie--the one I had loaded my pipe from--is from my blending experiments from a while back in which I tried adding straight Perique to a couple of already existing blends to see if I could "improve" them.

I would not pretend to really improve Yale. It's a great smoke as it is, but my addition of Perique did create a whole new experience when I smoked this favorite old blend. I ended up with a mix of 7/8 Yale and 1/8 Perique. In my opinion, it's a very nice smoke. I call it Nightgaunt, and back when I was working on it I created the beginnings of a tin just for fun (and to post on my other blog). It's not finished, but you get the idea.


I still need to come up with something to fill in the bottom half. Something somewhat humorous and Lovecraftian. Why Nightgaunt? Why not? I've always thought that someone should create a series of pipe tobaccos named after things from Lovecraft.

Now, as for what I've been smoking for my drive-home pipe lately:


Another tin top that I created just for kicks and to have something to post on the blog. This was created by taking C&D's Grey Ghost and mixing it 13/16 Grey Ghost with 3/16 Perique. I settled on this ratio because I was going for something more balanced that would be more forgiving for innocent bystanders. Personally, I really like it mixed stronger than that, more like 3/8 Perique, but at that strength it has not so much a "room note" as it does a kill radius. This is one that I don't smoke inside the house, at least not when mixed that strong.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I really like Perique, and I usually have some of it on hand to add to other things just to soup them up a little. I also, on occasion, indulge in a bowl of straight Perique. Just to remind myself that I'm still alive.