It's Monday, this must be Mailbag.
Welcome back, fellow enthusiasts, to my weekly Q&A posting -- Let's do this, gentlepersons.
"How should I break in my new Briar pipe?"
There’s more than one way to skin a cat -- but it’s important to realize that in the vast, vast majority of ways -- said cat ends skinned. With that in mind, we’ll continue onward with the understanding that many methods are sound. I am simply relating my own. Let’s too understand that there are very few ways, perhaps none of which are occurrences that happen within reason, wherein a briar will/can be ruined at its onset. A pipe is meant to be smoked from.
We’ll start there. Pack a bowl and smoke it, gentlepersons. Full or half or any amount will do. Whichever puts a smile on yer face. I’ve heard of treating the bowl with honey, or your own saliva, or booze. I can’t say as I’ve done any of these. Nor can I say that any of these will ruin and/or drastically improve a new pipe.
I would recommend that a polished bowl be wiped with a swab of liquor.
When we discuss the breaking in of a briar, what we are really addressing is the building up of cake in the bowl. The only way to do that, is to smoke. I will say with a newer un-caked pipe, you’ll probably want to allow it some cooling off time. Also, and hopefully of course, clean it after each smoke -- disassembling only when cold.
Once your cake is the thickness of a nickel, ream it down to the thickness of a dime. Enjoy!
Ligero, Seco, and Volado are leaf classifications that every tobacco plant grown with cigar purposes in mind, regardless of its variety, will yield to harvest. These leaves are, as you might imagine, each from a different part of the plant. Every cigar is some combination of these leaves.
Ligero: Are taken from the top third of the tobacco plant. They are employed to give the cigar its strength and flavor.
Seco: These leaves, taken from the middle third of the plant, are quite mild in flavors -- but are responsible for the cigar’s aroma.
Volado: The bottom third of the plant. These leaves are not used for flavor or aroma, but for their superior burning characteristics which include allowing the cigar to be lit in the first place, and to burn smoothly.
When a blender is at work, they will take some recipe combination of these leaf types, from various strains of tobacco plants, to hopefully achieve their desired outcome.
I prefer to smoke a corn cob, myself. I mean if it’s good enough for Popeye…
Ghosting, the picking up of previous flavors smoked in current bowls -- which pipe dedication is meant to prevent -- is largely a Briar ‘necessity.’ To avoid a dissertation on this lengthy topic, I’ll stay on course and answer the question at hand. As usual, via a dry glossary of terms offering -- this time re: varying types of Pipe Dedication.
Strict Dedication:
An ultra conservative approach, oft riddled with OCD tendencies and/or deep pockets. This approach is that of only smoking one particular blend in each particular pipe. Nuances are fully explored, yes -- but I can’t imagine that wouldn’t get tiresome. If you were to somewhat organically match your favorite blend to your favorite pipe, or a pipe particularly well-suited to it, I could see that. I suppose.
Genre Dedication:
This school of thought typically gets divided up thusly, with each category having its own pipe(s):
English/Balkan blends
Virginia and Virginia/Perique blends
Aromatic blends
Seems reasonable enough. So reasonable, in fact, that I myself tend toward this category. Sorta. If I only did the Briar thing. Which I don’t. What I do do (lol poop) is a corncob for aromatics and a corncob for non. When I wish to taste fully and solely a blend, I pick up a new corncob -- smoke a bowl of the stuff. Smoke another. Then carefully and thoughtfully contemplate my navel/review.
Lest I forget, lack of philosophy is too a philosophy. The final category of pipe dedication, then is --
No Dedication:
These filthy animals just load whichever bowl with whatever and smoke it! Egads! Truthfully, this is a healthy introductory point. One which will insure your daily allowance of fun. Once you get hooked on that fun -- you can feel free to dedicate as your then more knowledgable self sees fit. Or not. I know many a seasoned smoker who never dabbles in any sort of pipe dedication. They seem happy. Very, actually…
almost jovial.
You didn’t specify your humidifier type, but I’m sure it’s either green foam, or crystals. Furthermore -- I don’t rightly reckon that matters for the sake of our purposes.
*You’ll first want to submerge your humidifier in DISTILLED water. Spring or tap water will turn your humidor into a petri dish. Green foam takes quite some time -- crystals about 20-30 minutes.
*Next, mount the hydrometer in a corner of the humidor away from the humidifier.
*Make certain there is no excess (dripping) water, place humidifier.
Now we season:
*Take a NEW kitchen sponge and soak it in the DISTILLED water. Squeeze sponge to very damp.
*Place sponge in a left-opened sammich bag and rest it in the bottom of humi for 3-5 days. I like to humidify everything (trays/dividers).
*In about a couple a days, check yer hydrometer. It should read about 85% at that point. Good? Good. If not -- check in with me.
*In another couple a days, remove sponge and voila! The humidity will settle quickly to a nice 68-70% in the time it takes for you to move your stogies in, plus there not being the added moisture of sponge in open sammich baggie.
NOTE: some would instruct to wipe down with water, the insides of the humidor during seasoning. This is unnecessary and threatens to expand the wood in too great of a manner.
"What’s the best way to store pipe tobacco?"
In thoroughly hand-washed mason jars which are then either run through a dishwasher or boiled. If the tobacco is in its original and sealed tin, perfect. ‘Cellar’ the pipe tobacco as one would a wine; or in as similar a condition as you can find.
DO NOT store with cigars. You will infuse said stogies, as well will the stogies dry out the pipe tobacco. Some folks add water to the tobacco. Please don’t do this, as it invites mold.
NOTE: be mindful that the lids of mason jars are prone to rust. Air dry them beyond thoroughly prior to sealing, and there is no need to clean them beyond hand-washing.Too, there is no need to jar properly (heat), simply screw the lid on as tight as Jack Benny’s wallet.
& there we have it, don't we, gentlepersons. As always thank you kindly for both reading and writing in. To write in, tweet me (or DM) @iamkap
Have a great week, all. Best wishes to each of ya.
*Place sponge in a left-opened sammich bag and rest it in the bottom of humi for 3-5 days. I like to humidify everything (trays/dividers).
*In about a couple a days, check yer hydrometer. It should read about 85% at that point. Good? Good. If not -- check in with me.
*In another couple a days, remove sponge and voila! The humidity will settle quickly to a nice 68-70% in the time it takes for you to move your stogies in, plus there not being the added moisture of sponge in open sammich baggie.
NOTE: some would instruct to wipe down with water, the insides of the humidor during seasoning. This is unnecessary and threatens to expand the wood in too great of a manner.
In thoroughly hand-washed mason jars which are then either run through a dishwasher or boiled. If the tobacco is in its original and sealed tin, perfect. ‘Cellar’ the pipe tobacco as one would a wine; or in as similar a condition as you can find.
DO NOT store with cigars. You will infuse said stogies, as well will the stogies dry out the pipe tobacco. Some folks add water to the tobacco. Please don’t do this, as it invites mold.
NOTE: be mindful that the lids of mason jars are prone to rust. Air dry them beyond thoroughly prior to sealing, and there is no need to clean them beyond hand-washing.Too, there is no need to jar properly (heat), simply screw the lid on as tight as Jack Benny’s wallet.
& there we have it, don't we, gentlepersons. As always thank you kindly for both reading and writing in. To write in, tweet me (or DM) @iamkap
Have a great week, all. Best wishes to each of ya.