Dr. Grabow Pipes

Terry292 · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:30 pm Post subject: Unusual Experience

Before I left for the courts this morning I filled a pipe and put it onto the little shelf on my dash, along with my lighter and tamper. After I finished my business, about two hours, I came back to the car and lit the pipe before getting started to my next appointment. The unusual experience was the distinct taste of spearmint at the first touch of the lighter. It continued about 10-15 minutes, and then the pipe resumed its normal taste. This is the first time in 40-some years of pipe smoking something like this has happened to me.

I don't chew gum, spearmint or otherwise, so it couldn't have been that. The pipe was clean. It hadn't been smoked in a couple of weeks, but that's not unusual with my pipes. Before I filled it, I visually inspected the inside of the bowl (nothing there) and blew through the stem to make sure there were no obstructions. The tobacco was my usual Walnut, from a tub that's only been open a day or so. Barry can tell you there's no spearmint flavor in Walnut.

The only thing out of the ordinary was that I took a Claratin before I left the house because my sinuses were draining. I don't think that could have caused the spearmint taste, but I don't rule it out, either.

All in all, I'm at a loss to explain this unusual, and slightly disturbing, phenomona. I certainly hope it's not a harbinger of more unexplained tastes in my tobacco. I like my tobaccos to taste about the same, no matter which pipe I smoke them in.
Terry

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If I cannot smoke in Heaven, then I shall not go...Mark Twain

steverino · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:30 am Post subject:

Terry, I wonder if something could have gotten into the bowl either while you were filling it or while it was "waiting" for you? Only thing I can think of.

I have gotten unexpected tastes from tobacco occasionally, but nothing like spearmint, that I remember. I seem to get a salty taste occasionally. Seems like body chemistry reactions to tobacco are a mystery.

Flycruiser · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:08 am Post subject:

Odd question, but did you just wash your hands before you loaded the pipe? I once had a similar ordeal and turned out I had used peppermint scented or infused or whatever women call it soap before I loaded my pipe.

LokoMac8 · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:56 pm Post subject: Re: Unusual Experience

Dave · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:25 pm Post subject:

A good question to ask is if you have a deoderizer in the car

I had a christmas tree deoderizer in my truck and left a loaded pipe on the dash when i came back the tobacco smelled like pine it had absorbed the oders

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Dave