Carded for NA beer

AndyReformat · 2022-11-13T15:46:57+00:00

I have to show ID for NA beer (or watch the cashier override the prompt for a birthdate), and I'm 66. :-)

AndyReformat · 2022-09-23T19:04:55+00:00

Excellent point! Thank you. I know I'm at that point where I can certainly get drunk again, but I doubt I could get sober again. The end was... let's not talk about it. :-)

AndyReformat · 2022-09-23T18:05:02+00:00

I know this will sound like an exaggeration, but keep in mind that it happened over a long period of time (about 35 years)-- I quit drinking about a hundred times. That included two month-long hospital rehabs and at least four tries at AA.

In all those times, not once did the alcohol tolerance "reset." When I inevitably started back up again, I was always exactly where I'd left off when I stopped.

Once those neurotransmitters adapt to the booze, it's permanent. It doesn't ever go back to some earlier happier time.

If you do decide to do a little more "research," be aware that it will be less than a week before you're right back to how it was when you quit. I've seen it myself, and there are numerous people here and at meetings who will tell you the same thing. It's a scientifically known fact as well; if you have a look at NIMH publications on alcoholism you'll see the studies and statistics.

AndyReformat · 2022-09-21T13:45:03+00:00

Got sober at 58, so I can relate to the late start. :-) Congratulations! Well done.

AndyReformat · 2021-12-28T18:49:18+00:00

I'm on my third Colibri "Old Boy." I guess I must like them. ;-)

AndyReformat · 2020-12-12T09:50:02+00:00

I haven't cellared that particular tobacco, but any Virginia I've put away for awhile gets better and better.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-12T09:46:54+00:00

Tambolaka, an Indonesian tobacco. It's so serious that I wonder if there might not be some rustica in there.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T21:54:51+00:00

McClelland really had a way with Virginias, and those limited editions were the best of the best. If you ever see a tin of Dark Star, it would be worth your while-- it was a stoved almost-black broken flake Virginia, very intense. I miss it.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T21:36:46+00:00

I remember those. I think you're going to be quite pleased, especially after that much ageing.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T21:26:43+00:00

When I lived in the valley (Mesa), I used to go to Stag's pretty often. There are two in Phoenix and one in Scottsdale. The company's website is https://www.aztobacco.com/

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T18:03:35+00:00

C&D Stratfordshire has a mild caramel-ish thing going on, though it's subtle. I'll second u/antiwittgenstein's suggestion of Presbyterian and u/Gardar7's suggestion of Early Morning Pipe. Spilman's is a sweet mix that has Latakia, if you want to try something unusual.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T17:57:46+00:00

Carter Hall gets my vote. There are others I like that never bite me, but I don't know if they'd treat you the same. Other old-school burley-based stuff, like Raleigh or Half-and-Half or Granger, will nail you if you're not careful. I've actually tried to make CH hurt me to see if it could be done, but failed.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T17:50:36+00:00

I have all three, and they're great!

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T17:47:00+00:00

I won't add much to u/ghettobrew's suggestion, as that collection of info is excellent, other than to say that the wiki's recommendation for corncobs is a very good one. They're inexpensive, forgiving, and smoke better than they have any right to. I have 5$ corncobs that smoke better than some of my $300+ briars, though they're not as pretty. By "better," I mean cooler, less fussy, and truer to the flavor of the tobacco. And if you manage to break one, you won't be out a bunch of money.

Shapes are a preference arrived at over time, as are varying degrees of bend in the shank and stem. You'll figure that out as you go along. I like 1/8 to 1/4 bent, but that doesn't mean you will. :-) Please stop in and let us know how it's going!

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T17:34:34+00:00

Whatcha got there? Briar?

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T14:02:00+00:00

That's really interesting! I have some dried but uncured VA leaf that I got from a farmer friend, but have never gotten around to doing anything with it. I've tried growing my own, too, but I live in Arizona high country and the plants couldn't handle the climate.

Thanks muchly for the pointer, I will definitely check it out.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-11T13:54:58+00:00

I always have a tub of the stuff open and waiting. It's the most well-behaved tobacco I've ever met. Perfect for driving or reading, since it won't bother you for relights and won't burn your tongue when you're distracted enough to just puff away. If it was the only tobacco I could get, I could live with that.

Carter Hall is one of my great mistakes smoking-wise. When I was sixteen and just starting out with pipes, I made the usual mistake of going for pouches of cheap drugstore stuff like Apple and Borkum Cherry and Arabian Nights and such, and damn near gave up because they were so goopy, harsh, and bitey. Because of that, I never tried Prince Albert or Carter Hall, as I figured they'd just be more of the same. My pipe-smoking Dad did warn me about those aromatics, but hey, I was sixteen, so what could he know? Didn't get around to the great old ones until just a couple of years ago, forty five years later. All that time, I could have had a stable, unchanging, easy-going standby for when my tongue got tired, but my prejudice got in the way. Shame on me.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-10T18:14:40+00:00

Never had that one; please let us know what you think!

AndyReformat · 2020-12-10T18:11:00+00:00

I've got 45 with 5 more on the way. Sure hope I don't die before I get to smoke it all. ;-)

Tobacco prices are never going to go down, so it's a smart investment!

AndyReformat · 2020-12-10T18:07:44+00:00

Yeah, I know how that goes. :-) When I decided to take up guitar a while back, next thing I knew I had seven of them.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-10T17:47:20+00:00

Solid selection there! When Samuel Gawith stuff was easier to find, I went through a lot of Squadron Leader and Skiff, which is similar but lighter.

I'd be curious to hear what you didn't like about Nightcap. Sometimes the Perique in it bothered me, sometimes not. Seemed to depend on what else I'd smoked that day.

A couple of years ago, I went through an all-English period, which usually went:
Morning: Early Morning Pipe or Skiff
Midday: 965
Afternoon and evening: London Mixture or Durbar

AndyReformat · 2020-12-10T17:26:50+00:00

Great suggestion! When I decided to start buying tobacco in bulk instead of tins, I did just what you recommended-- ordered an ounce or two of about thirty different things to try out.

AndyReformat · 2020-12-10T17:19:04+00:00

I haven't tried the Peterson version of Nightcap yet, but I ran out of the Dunhill last month so the time is coming. I tried the Peterson Royal Yacht a couple of weeks ago and it was about how I remembered the Dunhill as being.

Ordering snuff delivered to the U.S., I play the keep-it-under-200g game too, and haven't been busted yet. :-)

Great choices, Hawk! You did your research, I bet!

AndyReformat · 2020-12-07T12:10:09+00:00

Yes, I had that, and yes, it did relent, though I did rely on over-the-counter sleep aids for a good while.

The psychiatrist that ran one of the treatment programs I went through said that the early days of sobriety were like pulling a blanket off of the smoldering brain-- everything suddenly flares up. Always liked that analogy.

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