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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Texas Pipe Show is a month away and if you’ve haven’t heard, PPN will have a table chock-full of donations for the Charles Peterson Memorial, ranging from some real bargains (under $30) to some artisan pipes (by our own Fletch Hiner) to some fantastic Petes–which we’ll try to sell at reasonable prices and failing that, pack up and auction off on eBay afterwards. If you’ve got pipes you no longer smoke, whether they’re Petes or not, and tins or accessories, give a thought to donating them. Everyone who sends a donation will receive a CP Memorial Zippo when they arrive late in November. All proceeds will go to the GoFundMe, which you can read more about in previous posts. Of course, you can also make a direct donation to GoFundMe. We’re at 22%, and I’ll be writing with an update about what Jonathan and I know in a few weeks.

We met our minimum requirement for ordering the Charles Peterson Memorial Zippo. The Google Order Form will be kept open to the end of the week. Here’s the details:

CP MEMORIAL GOOGLE ORDERING FORM

AMU TORRES: PETE GEEK, PIPEMEDIC
AND LAUDISI REP TO THE MIDWEST

So I first met up with Amu a few years back at the Chicago Pipe Show. Ostensibly, his day job is as Laudisi Enterprise’s Midwest Rep. But there’s a whole lot more to the story. He’s one of those guys who is to all of us of my age and younger like the late Fred Janusek was to pipemen my age and older in Chicago for decades and decades. Amu is one of those of whom it is rightly said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” There’s not enough pipemen nor human beings in the world of whom this is true. Amu is one of them. Next time you’re at the Chicago show, just hang in the vicinity of his table and watch. I’ve seen a zillion guys at tables put on dog and pony shows and then you turn your back and they’ve forgotten who you are—as you find out when you walk down the hall two days later and they won’t even make eye contact. Amu is the kind of guy that when he meets you three YEARS later walks up, shakes your hand and asks you if you ever found that Holy Grail B42 Peterson you were looking for. He’s one of the rarest of all pipemen: someone who bridges the chasm between the hobby and the trade. And if he ever leaves the trade for some other line of work, he’ll still be just as passionate about pipes as he ever was. Watch and see.

So yeah, tell everyone about yourself.

I am 34 years old and I live in Chicago with my wonderful partner, and her daughter who I have the pleasure of coparenting, and our three cats. I’m originally from California, but I moved out to Chicago almost fourteen years ago for college, which is where my partner and I first met and became friends. After college, I went into emergency medicine and was a paramedic on the southside of Chicago for about four years before I found the cigar lounge that changed it all for me – Arlington Pipe and Cigar! Just over two years ago I began working as the Midwest Territory Manager for Laudisi Distribution Group.

A sample of Amu’s work from a show at Arlington Pipe & Cigar near Chciago

Most of my family is still in California, however, having spent the majority of my adult life in Chicago, I consider myself a midwest guy! My father‘s side of the family is from Puerto Rico, where we used to grow tobacco fields two generations ago. This heritage started my love of tobacco because my father was a big cigar smoker.

How did your Peterson pilgrimage begin? Was it with a pipe, cigars, or what?

I started smoking cigars when I was really young. I remember I must’ve been 11 or 12 when my dad invited me to enjoy a small cigar with him for the first time when we were camping. The first thing I did on my 18th birthday was sign myself out of school, buy gauge earrings to stretch my ears, buy a cigar (at the same store!) and get tattooed! My hobbies haven’t changed much.

Right before I moved to Chicago, a dear friend of mine and I used to meet every Sunday evening to smoke cigars and solve the world’s problems. After months of doing this, one day he brought out a pipe and I remember giving him a hard time because we were 18, not 75. He convinced me though, and shortly after I bought my first corn cob. It was a few years until I bought my first briar pipe here in Chicago at Up Down Cigars. Shortly after that, I bought my second pipe, an unfinished freehand Nording from Iwan Ries. Before I knew it, I had caught the bug! Another friend of mine who worked as a paramedic with me was a pipe smoker who had to give it up for health reasons. I came to work one day to find a box of 10 or 12 pipes sitting in my ambulance and, in my new smoker’s brain, an unfathomable amount of pipe tobacco. In that box were my first Peterson Pipes—most older than 2000—including a straight System rusticated 31, a Donegal Rocky 106 with Zippo, a Kapet B23, and a Kinsale XL90. This is where my love for Peterson pipes started.

A smoker-collector after my own heart, Amu’s rotation is small, because he’s intensely
attracted to each of his pipes, all of which he smokes regularly.

Do you recall what that first briar was? And what tobaccos were you attracted to in the beginning?

The first briar pipe I bought was a $75 Amadeus (Greek) from Updown Cigars in Chicago. I think I got some of their house bulk blends, and remember having some old vanilla Super Value left from my corn cob purchase a few years before. But the first tobacco I remember that really stuck with me was from a tobacconist in Texas. My aunt from San Antonio had stopped and grabbed a raspberry aromatic of sorts for me on her way to visit us in Chicago. She asked me to smoke my pipe around her because it reminded her of her late father.

Shortly after that, I went to my first pipe show in St. Louis and accidentally bought a pipe that needed to be cleaned. I had no idea what I was doing but with a little help from Steve Laug at Reborn Pipes and a few other restorers I found online, I started to learn how to clean, restore and repair estate pipes. I began doing this during my down time on the ambulance, eventually calling myself “The Pipe Medic.” I discovered Arlington Pipe & Cigar, who was hiring and didn’t have a piper on staff, and Chris the owner and I hit it off with all our big ideas and excitement. He gave me the confidence I needed in the industry and the support to dream big and do what I thought would work. He guided me, trusted me and gave me helpful insight into the business side of pipes and tobacco. I had an amazing four years there and together we built a beautiful home for Chicago and Midwest pipers.

So can you talk more about your love of Peterson?

Peterson pipes have some of the most classic shapes of any marque on the market. When I first started smoking pipes, this is what drew me to them. I loved the classic 150 bulldog and the 80s rhodesian.  I fell in love with the System drilling and innovation, and I fell in love with the unique finishes and series they put out commemorating the history of Ireland, the US, and the brand itself.  I mean, Peterson pipes have been smoked by millions across the globe for generations. The quality, innovation and aesthetics have captured smokers, collectors and hobbyists of all kinds.

I also love Peterson because it doesn’t matter if it’s your first pipe, you’re needing a workhorse for chores or you’re looking for a high-end collectible to add to your pipe rack: Peterson has it. They are truly pipes made for and appreciated by a huge range smokers in the hobby.

I have a few Petes that, at this writing, are still on my own hunt list: the 132 straight System apple [released in the 1950s and again in the late 1970s]. However, my holy grail is really an entire collection: I have the Sherlock Holmes Baker Street meer and dream about finding the rest of the set in meerschaum.

Any current favorite blends or blend + Petes?

My favorite pipe tobacco right now is Savinelli’s Brunello Flake. Unfortunately, it was made by Mac Baren so it got the chop when Mac Baren and Sutliff were bought out. But like any good pipe smoker who’s experienced a favorite tobacco loss over the last couple years, I made sure to stock up. It’s a Virginia/Burley with some Macedonian leaf and is so smooth and lightly sweet. It smokes fantastically with whatever I put it in, although I love smoking it in my Peterson Newgrange Spigot 408.

His love of the B5 (seen here in the Rosslare line) sent me scuttling to find one. I haven’t yet,
but keep looking.

At this point in my pipe smoking journey, I find myself reaching mostly for Virginias and Dark Fired Kentucky tobaccos (although I have a few English blends that I reach for regularly too). C&D’s Virginia Flake is a new favorite for me. I’ve also been smoking a lot of HU’s Indaba, a dark fired Virginia based blend. My go-to English is Maltese Falcon from G.L. Pease. It’s incredibly smooth, creamy and slightly sweet and a fantastic all-day smoker for being 47% Latakia!! My go-to Dark Fired blend right now is Smokehouse from BriarWorks.

Any other passions or hobbies?

I have quite a few hobbies and passions I enjoy outside of our beautiful pipe world. I’m really into playing and watching basketball, riding my bike, and bird watching. I love trains and any excuse I can find to take a train somewhere, I will. My partner and I are also deeply involved in our community here in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. We participate in all kinds of community building including feeding and meeting the needs for under-resourced neighbors, community safety and trainings, canvassing for local elected officials and more. I’m also incredibly in touch with world news and politics. I stay plugged in and informed as much as I can. Knowledge is power!

I’m also a big movie buff. I love films of all kinds from all genres and decades. On any given day you’ll find me watching a 60’s sci-fi classic followed by 2026 horror, followed by an early 2000’s comedy. Lately we’ve been watching lots of old Kung Fu movies.

I love to cook. I have found meaning and purpose in connecting via food and feeding people. Food is cultural-bearing and radical. I love making Puerto Rican food, sharing my culture and love for our food, tobacco and music.

This art is based on two different Petes in Amu’s rotation

I’m also really into street art, murals and graffiti. There’s a rich history of street art and graffiti in Chicago and the Midwest. I like to find the best spots and learn about the artists. Along these lines, I love the art of tattooing (even though I myself am not an artist) and I love getting tattooed from different shops when I travel.

What’s it like being a pipeman in the Midwest? Are folks there tolerant or sniffy?

The Midwest is truly a haven for pipe smoking. The history here is incredible. We have more pipe shows than any other region in the states and some of the oldest tobacconists and pipe makers in the states from Iwan Ries in Chicago to Riegels in Fort Wayne, Uhle’s in Milwaukee, Paul’s Pipe Shop in Flint, Missouri Meerschaum just outside of St. Louis, and more. Not to mention some incredible pipe clubs and groups. There are numerous clubs who run shows and who have a long history history in Chicago, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana. As a Laudisi rep, my territory alone covers 10 states and over 115 brick and mortar stores—most carrying pipes and tobacco.

I’ve spent my life as a piper truly blessed in the Chicagoland area. New folks all over the Midwest are picking up the pipe and becoming smokers, collectors and enthusiasts. It’s an incredible time to be a pipe smoker. My heart is with the community, and especially with brick and mortar stores. My goal has always been to expand the pipe community, expand accessibility to the quality products everyone knows and loves, to increase awareness and education in tobacco, pipes and cigars and to support local brick and mortar stores and clubs as they grow.

As we watch the pipe community continue to expand, it’s important we remember to support the local brick and mortar stores that support us! This is crucial. To me, this means going to the lounge with other pipers regularly and making a purchase, buying your C&D Small Batch, new released Peterson, limited edition Savinelli or new GL Pease blend from them, and encouraging others to buy local.

If you aren’t near enough to drive to a pipe lounge, find one you’ve visited in the past and call them up for an order every once in a while. It will always be cheaper to shop online, but the Brick and Mortar stores are where we gather and commune, where newbies buy their first pipe and learn how to smoke it, where we come together and enjoy all the things we love in our corner of the tobacco world—where we all of the sudden aren’t alone as pipers in the world. Without them, this industry would be hopeless. Always, always, always buy local and support a B&M.

What have we forgotten?

You remember I began by smoking cigars as a youngster. I want to take just a minute to talk about Caldwell cigars. Laudisi bought their first cigar brand, Caldwell Cigars, about two and a half years ago, just before I started with the company. I love smoking cigars and find that it’s the perfect alternative when I want a smoke but don’t feel like reaching for a pipe. I love cigars from all over the world and find myself reaching for blends from a variety of companies and with a bunch of different flavor profiles, but it’s been a lot of fun working with and getting to put Caldwell into people’s hands.

Caldwell cigars are mostly rolled in the Dominican Republic at the William Ventura factory and have some of the most unique and exciting profiles of anything I’ve been smoking lately. “Our King is Dead Escape Plan” (a re-imagined King is Dead Dominican puro) and “Eastern Standard” (Brazilian Mata Fina Connecticut) are my two go-to smokes from the line. I’m always smoking and telling other pipers about our Manzanita size. It’s a 4×42 designed for a quicker smoke that packs all the punch of the full sized cigars but are perfect for pipers who want a little smoke without a huge commitment. I love these little guys during the Midwest winters. Our “Eastern Standard,” “King is Dead and Long Live the King” all come in that perfect little size.

How can pipemen in the Midwest reach you?

If anyone has any questions about where to find any of our product, where their local brick and mortar store is or local pipe club, or looking for information on pipe events or shows happening in the Midwest, please reach out to me on Instagram at thepipemedic. I have multiple events for pipes/tobacco and Caldwell cigars every month all throughout the Midwest. I love connecting with folks and am so happy to help people find what they’re looking for in the Midwest pipe and Caldwell world.

Mike Austin CPG recently sent me photos from Madrid and one of the brick & mortar shops I’ve featured before: R. Moreu. Not too long ago he sent the following photos of the charming proprietress and her fabulous selection of Petes. She doesn’t do any internet business nor mail out pipes, as I found out to my great sadness a few years back. That doesn’t prevent us, however, from enjoying an imaginary trip and selecting a few imaginary Petes to add to our imaginary rotation, does it?

Here’s what Mike took away–not bad, right?

Intellectual property of Kapp & Peterson
reproduced with their kind permission.

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