Way before there were mass-produced cigarettes, there were pipes. Indeed, since the early days of tobacco harvesting and curing, people packed pipes with tobacco, as captured in iconic images of farmers with corncob pipes, sea captains clenching pipes, and aristocrats enjoying a pipe with an after-dinner drink.

Over the years, the mystique of pipe smoking faded in comparison with wider acceptance of cigarettes, but there’s always remained a segment of people who prefers the unique experience and taste of pipe tobacco, much like there’s a specific demographic that opts to roll their own cigarettes. [...]