A bothy is a small unlocked shelter left open for hikers and travelers crossing the Scottish Highlands, stocked with basic provisions on the understanding that whoever uses them restocks what they take. They are communal by design, built on the assumption that strangers will look after each other in remote places. The Kearvaig Bothy sits on Scotland's northern shore, one of the most isolated stretches of coastline in the British Isles, and in 2012 a group of pipe smokers formed the Kearvaig Pipe Club there. Samuel Gawith blended Bothy Flake specifically for that club, and the tobacco reflects where it came from. The blend is a pressed Virginia flake with a small portion of Latakia, dark and moist out of the tin, topped with Highland malt whisky rather than the fruit and vanilla toppings more common to the Lakeland aromatic tradition. The Latakia runs at a low percentage, enough to add weight and a faint smokiness without pulling the blend toward English territory, while the Virginia provides the foundation and the whisky ties the character of the whole thing to the landscape that inspired it. It is a blend that rewards a little drying time before the bowl and a patient cadence once lit.

Blue Ridge is part of the Appalachian Trail series, a line of Cornell and Diehl blends tied to the landscapes of the American Southeast. The Blue Ridge Mountains run from Georgia through Virginia and into southern Pennsylvania, forming the eastern spine of the Appalachians and the western boundary of the Shenandoah Valley. The tobacco grown across that region, particularly the red Virginias of the Virginia Piedmont and the burley fields of the Carolina highlands, has a long history in American pipe tobacco.
The blend puts stoved red Virginias at the center, with black Cavendish, Turkish leaf, and Louisiana Perique in supporting roles. Stoving is a controlled heat process that deepens the Virginia leaf and brings out a darker, more complex character than flue curing alone produces. The Turkish adds its dry, slightly tangy contribution, the Perique provides spice, and the black Cavendish smooths the overall texture and slows the burn. No flavoring, no casing. Ribbon cut, medium strength. A Virginia forward blend with enough complexity from its supporting components to hold attention across the bowl.

What can we say? Our pipe maker’s favorite blend.

The King Street Emporium

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