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INTERVIEW WITH GREGORY PEASE, AMERICAN MASTER BLENDER (January 2008)
Riporto qui una intervista che facemmo tra fine 2007 e inizio 2008 a Gregory Pease, incentrata principalmente non su i suoi magnifici tabacchi ma sul suo rapporto con la pipa.
Questa intervista era andata persa, per varie ragioni, e sono finalmente riuscito a ritrovarla. La riporto sia nella sua forma originale in inglese che in una libera traduzione in italiano.
GREGORY PEASE AND PIPES
WHEN DID YOU START PIPE SMOKING?
I first started in high school, when I was about 16. It was a disaster, or rather a series of disasters. After a few failed attempts, I put it down, and didn’t pick it up again until 1979 when I was at university .
DID YOU PICK UP SMOKING THE PIPE BECAUSE YOU HAD SOMEBODY IN YOUR FAMILY WITH THIS PASSION OR DID YOU JUST PICK IT UP FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE?
In 1975, teachers still smoked in their offices. I had a chemistry teacher who smoked Borkum Riff, and I loved the whole idea of the pipe. At some point, I think I was 15, I screwed up my courage, and went into a drug store to buy a sandblasted Medico bent billiard and a pouch of Borkum Riff. I still have the pipe! One of these days, I should smoke it, for old time’s sake.
Of course, I was a minor, so it took a lot of guts to walk up to the counter, pipe and tobacco in hand, and try to present enough confidence that the clerk wouldn’t throw me out of the store. Today, it would never have happened.
ACCORDING TO YOU, HOW MUCH DO AMBIENT CONDITIONS INFLUENCE YOUR SMOKING PLEASURE?
I think things like weather play a significant role in the way any particular tobacco and pipe combination smokes. I don’t enjoy big Latakia blends in the heat of summer, for instance, whilst in the cooler, moister air of fall and winter, these are what I crave. I’ve also found that different geographical locations alter the experience because of ambient conditions. While I was in Denmark a couple years ago, I really enjoyed a blend that I can’t even smoke back home in California. It was quite eye-opening. I brought the rest of the tin home with me, and smoked it again in the same pipe. It was just as I remembered it - hot, sharp tasting, and not very pleasant!
ACCORDING TO YOU HOW MUCH DOES THE PIPE ITSELF INFLUENCE OR ENHANCE YOUR SMOKING PLEASURE?
Different pipes seem to have some sort of sympathy with different tobaccos, or different styles of tobaccos. Often, a pipe that doesn’t smoke an English mixture well will perform beautifully with a Virginia, or the other way round. I think the pipe is very important to the ...Read the whole post...
- Tags:
- Autore: Montecristonumerodue,
- interviste,
- Personaggi famosi,
- Pipa
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