Common Misconceptions Redux
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Kevin Godbee - Feb 1, 2011
- 6 min read
By Russ Ouellette
A while ago, I wrote a column about myths, urban legends and misconceptions tied to pipe smoking. [Common Misconceptions About Pipe Tobacco, June 20, 2010]
I mentioned at the end of the column that I would be glad to address other such items if folks wanted to email me with their thoughts. The stream of emails surprised me, as I believed that most of the other myths had been discredited long ago. I also have received some requests about supposed misconceptions that are actually true (i.e.- Someone who has been repeatedly told over the years that “Burleys are the easiest on your tongue” thought that I should warn people that Burleys are the cause of tongue bite. They may or may not be the cause, but other strains can cause bite as well.). So, let me address these new ones that have been sent my way:
Tongue Bite is the same as Tongue Burn– Most people who complain of tongue bite aren’t experiencing bite at all; they’ve simply burnt their tongues. Tongue bite is a chemical reaction, usually caused by alkalinity. The sensation is similar to a cramp and is different than “leather tongue” (a sore, heat damaged tongue). The common causes of leather tongue can include improper packing, smoking too fast and tobacco that is either too dry or too moist, among others. True tongue bite doesn’t leave the tongue raw and bumpy as is common following heat damage. Since Burley can produce alkaline smoke, it is commonly targeted as the culprit regarding bite, but other tobaccos can have a higher pH as well.
If tobacco is overly moist, PG is the cause– I often get complaints from people regarding excessively high moisture in tobaccos, especially with aromatics. With my own blends, I get the opposite complaint (being too dry) because I add no additional water or humectants, but when a blend is damp, pipe smokers love to point fingers at propylene glycol. I’m not a fan of PG, but it has its place, especially with mass-market tobaccos that may sit on a retailer’s shelf for a year or more. Additionally, there are times when PG isn’t the reason for goopy tobacco. Flavorings, water and other humectants (like sorbitol) are added to some tobaccos, and can, in turn, make the tobaccos too wet.
Virginia blends smoke hot– This statement is very much like “pianos are black”. Just because one Virginia blend is a hot smoker, doesn’t mean that all of them are. Yes, the higher sugar and lower oil contents of Virginias can contribute to a hotter experience, but with careful processing and the right kind of cut, Virginias won’t burn much hotter than, let’s say, Burley. One of the other reasons for the higher heat in Virginias is due to the thinner, more easily combustible leaves. This is one of the reasons that Virginia flakes are common; the pressed flakes will burn much slower and cooler when not rubbed out completely.
Perique Myth– #1– “There’s only one farmer growing/making Perique.”
Actually, there are at least seven farmers currently growing Perique for L.A. Poché, beside whatever Percy Martin produces, and more farmers will be joining the fold; the future for the Cajun leaf looks promising.
[Editor’s note: Direct information provided from L.A. Poché Perique owner, Mark Ryan, is that in 2011 there will be 10 – 12 farmers growing Perique (including Percy Martin and his two sons) and that is expected to double next year. In acreage, last year there were approximately 15 acres of Perique grown. The estimate for 2011 is 70 acres. L.A. Poché Perique is also instituting the use of greenhouses this year as well. PipesMagazine.com will be on location for the unveiling of the new greenhouses this spring.]
Perique Myth #2– “Most of the Perique on the market is fake.” The truth is that all of the Perique sold commercially for more than 30 years is a blend of true St. James Perique and Perique-method processed Burley. In fact, by law, if the tobacco doesn’t contain real St. James Perique, it can’t be called Perique. So, if you have been smoking domestic or imported blends containing Perique since before 1980, you have been smoking the so-called “fake” Perique.
[Editor’s note: Mark Ryan believes the start of the blending goes back even further to the 1950’s for some producers and later the rest followed.]
The more expensive the pipe, the better the smoke– Probably the majority of pipe smokers who have been into the hobby for more than five years can attest to the inaccuracy of this statement. There are, however, elements of truth that probably contributed to the maxim. Firstly, the more expensive pipes are usually going to come from the most skilled craftsmen, who are in high demand, and as such, their engineering tends to be of the highest level, which tends to yield a pipe with better smoking qualities. Secondly, pipes made of briar with tight grain will normally sell at a higher price due to the rarity and beauty of an exceptional piece of wood, but tightly grained briar is often harder and transfers heat very well, resulting in a better smoke. Lastly, carvers who buy higher grade plateaux briar spend more on every block, which, in turn, drives up the cost of each pipe. Additionally, pipemakers who use premium briar are less likely to allow a pipe with a noticeable flaw or fill to be sold with their name stamped on it. The high rate of rejection pushes the price up even further, and so the work of some of the best makers will be quite pricey due to the refusal of these artisans to allow themselves to be associated with anything below their standards. Most of the time, any carver who is that particular about his or her work, will feel similarly about the engineering and smokeability of the pipe as well.
All that having been said, I own a 30+ year old, no-name Italian meerschaum-lined Canadian that I paid less than $30 for, and in all those years, I have never had a bad smoke from that pipe. Hell, it has a remarkably thin vulcanite stem, and after all these years, I still haven’t bitten through it. I know many people who swear by their Dr. Grabows, Medicos and off-brands, and I’ve owned some pipes that were rather expensive that smoked horribly.
So, I guess that the most accurate statement on this subject would be, the more expensive the pipe, the more likely that the pipe will smoke well.
I enjoy the opportunity to counter some of this misinformation, and I’m sure that there’s a lot more out there, so if you know of a myth you’d like me to check into, just use the contact information at the end of this column, and I’ll gladly try to put together part three.
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Russ Ouellette is the blender/creator of the Hearth & Home series of tobaccos for Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe and www.pipesandcigars.com in Albany, NY. He has been a pipe smoker and blender for over 30 years, and enjoys feedback from the pipe smoking public. You can reach Russ at russo@pipesandcigars.com or by calling 1-800-494-9144 on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 am to 5 pm and Friday from 1 pm to 5 pm. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 606. Our featured interview tonight is with Per George Jensen. Most pipe enthusiasts know Per as the longtime Mac Baren Tobacco Company spokesman. Last year he made some changes in his life. He got married, moved to Germany and parted ways with Mac Baren, but not with the tobacco business. He is consulting with Sutliff Tobacco Co., and he created the popular and unique signature tobacco series, “Pipe Force”. Tonight’s discussion will include details on Per’s line of blending tobacco, which has something for everyone. You can smoke them straight, but if you want to blend tobaccos, we will have some good advice on this episode. At the top of the show, since it’s springtime, Brian will discuss seasonal tobaccos and answer two questions that come up often.
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When I first started with the pipe as a quirky and precocious teen, the only tutelage I had at my disposal were scenes from old movies in which a well dressed chap would stick his pipe into a pouch, scoop tobacco into the bowl and press it down unceremoniously with his thumb. Then, with great flourish, he’d strike a match and light the thing with all manner of cinematic excess, puffing up vast clouds of smoke falling just short of completely obscuring his visage. While it may look good on film, it’s a terrible approach to actually enjoying the thing. Somehow, though, this “technique” seems to have survived in the contemporary vernacular, at least to some extent, even with bit-loads of information handily at our fingertips that should dissuade us from the practice. But, at the time, this misguided approach was all I had; it’s no wonder my early days of puffing were fraught with difficult lighting, harsh, bitter smokes and tongue bite, all culminating in a fireproof mass of ye old soggy dottle in the bottom of the bowl. Ultimately, the resulting frustration made me give up the pipe, at least for a while. While the idea of it was still very appealing, the practice of it was not. It wasn’t until a few years later when, still full of curiosity and romantic notions of pipe smoking, I wandered into a real tobacconist’s shop, and learned my “method” was a long way from the techniques that would bring me to any sort of pipe smoking bliss. So, after my poor start, and under the guidance of someone who actually seemed to know how to do it right, I was given the opportunity to approach the process anew, this time with much greater success. It was only because I was both perseverent, and fortunate to have a local shop staffed with knowledgeable people, that I’ve been able to enjoy the experience ever since. At least mostly… How many fledgeling pipe smokers have simply given up on an enjoyable pastime because of similar early mis-starts? Fortunately, today, it’s not hard to find helpful guidance at the press of a key or ten. 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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 604. Our featured interview tonight is with Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and he is the former co-host of the podcast, Country Squire Radio, which ended their 10-year run last year. We’ll have JD with the “From the Country Squire” segment talking about all the new things happening at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, we’ll continue our audio tour of Brian’s pipe collection.
Before we begin, I should tell you: this tobacco review is being written by an A.I. Not the fancy new GPTs or their ilk; no, this is last century’s meat-and-bone, all-organic model. To be fair, a large part of what we call knowledge is merely the accumulated perceptions and impressions gathered from a life wandered through, synthesized into a spongy mass of what-it-is-that-we-think-that-we-know. The algorithm for this prompt is simple enough: pump thousands of bowls of smoldering plant matter into a gaping maw, cross-reference the chemical sensations with all other matter previously ingested or inhaled, sieve it all through the diffuse and fractal twin lens of memory and emotion, and churn out a panoply of adjectives that attempts to convey the sensations to someone who hasn’t experienced it yet. Odds are that a diligently trained monkey could succeed half the time; if this reviewer nears fifty-one percent then that would qualify as an unrivaled success. There must have been some similar musings perambulating through the mind of Per Jensen when he began his mad scientist routine at Sutliff with the Pipe Force project, which brings us to the current mixture under the microscope—Sutliff’s Pipe Force: Episode I. Here again are the unusual ingredients that engendered the series, with the stoved Rustica being the defining voice in this composition. From the tin: The Latakia-forward English mixture offers plenty of smoky flavor from the fire-cured leaf, which is artfully harmonized with floral, earthy Stoved Rustica. A mixture of high-grade Virginias imparts a natural sweetness. Katerini, the sole Oriental component, offers herb and spice notes bringing complexity and nuance to the flavor profile. It’s certainly Latakia-forward, with the stoved Rustica doubling up on the rhythm section like a second bassist. A first whiff from the tin releases the aromas of shoe leather and hide glue in a base of clay soil with a campfire wafted over it like last night’s beach party. Once it’s been accustomed to oxygen again, subtle hints of sweetness poke through from the Virginias: lemon rind, light milk chocolate, the dregs of a peaty Scotch, and muddled cherry. Old regulars like fresh-sawn oak and tilled earth are there, of course, with distinct notes of truffle, creosote, damp peat, and pine bark mulch. As an aside, I’ve been re-potting my camellias and the similarity of aroma to the ericaceous soil mix is notable; the Katerini really brings the unique depth of its vegetal complexion when supported by the Rustica and afforded more voice in the mix. The smoky Cyprian Latakia, in turn, is backed by equal earthiness from the Rustica, which overall exhibits a profile similar to dark-fired Kentucky; it leans more toward the woody and vegetal end of that spectrum, echoing and amplifying those traits of the other constituents. The tobacco is presented pressed and cut into a couple of thick, hearty flakes in the tin, lightly moist and easily crumbled to prepare—I prefer mine with a bit of drying time. The out-of-this-world tin art for this episode in the series is Major O’Meara smoking a cavalier. In the absence of confirmation, I’m going to hazard a guess he’s of the Ithklur species. The first taste from the light is sweet, with hints of that milk chocolate dancing around the edges. The Virginia leads the smoke through the top of the bowl, and orchestrates it well. Thoroughly smoky with lemony, grassy highlights from the Virginia spectrum, it soon segues into the mid-bowl profile: heartier, smokier, with the flavor leaning to the mildly acrid and tangy tinge that is the campfire-esque signature of English blends. Caution advised, it can turn overly bitter if pushed—this is where one’s sipping technique is required to maintain the fullness of flavor through to the heel. I did tend toward a lot of relights, though it may have as much to do with technique as with the blend. Pacing is also important as the nicotine starts to manifest; though the Rustica’s contribution has been tempered well by the stoving, it can certainly upend an empty stomach. At the end of every bowl, the mouthfeel somehow gets better. The balance of sugars in the tobaccos would seem to be spot-on in this regard. I started out my tasting in cobs, then cut short an unpleasant bowl in a meer, and finally landed on my best instrument with the lovely Dunhill 4427 pictured, a quaint group 4 shell briar with a gentle curve and Cumberland stem supporting a perfectly executed acorn bowl. It surprised me here, as I’ve learned through the years that I generally have the best experience with English blends in large, wide bowls. With this blend it seems that to get the best out of the Katerini’s somewhat diaphanous influence the smaller bowl fared much better. Room note is very English, so the company you keep will either love it or hate it, and it doesn’t linger too much. I find it paired best with a strong coffee; Sumatran beans complement the flavors well, as do Ethiopian if a lighter brew is preferred. Overall impressions of the blend are that it’s a curiously interesting take on the English genre, almost a reductive reconstruction of the theme using the unique components. This blend, if nothing else, expanded my vocabulary of sense perceptions with the uniquely treated leaf. While the average human can distinguish approximately one trillion (1,000,000,000,000!) different aromas, multiplied by seven basic tastes, and wholly dependent on variables from body chemistry to atmospheric conditions, our overworked and underpaid simian brains can’t effectively catalog them all. Our pet adding machines are exceedingly good at this, however, and someday soon they’ll be the ultimate and unequivocal authority on what something tastes, smells, looks, or even feels like. Until that time, friends, revel in the moments that can be stolen to savor over a bowl of Pipe Force: Episode I.
Great stuff Russ!
Thanks Russ – great information. After smoking pipes for over 20 years I have found some real gems in those inexpensive pipes. Ahh to think of all the money I could have saved in my youth – when I only bought high grade pipes.
Always a pleasure to read Mr. Ouellette’s down to earth, practical take on pipe smoking. There’s more to it than just dispelling myths. From his web page comes my favorite, a common sense approach to building (or not building) carbon cake at the bottom of your pipe bowl: If you never smoke a bowlful down that far, don’t worry about how much cake is down there!
Russ,
Whereas I agree with almost all you say in this article, there is one point I must comment on- the use of propylene glycol.
Even though you are no fan of it, you go on to say it has it’s place, especially in mass-market tobaccos that may sit on a retailers shelf for a year or more.
Can we just be clear what we are talking about here: propylene glycol is that strange, sticky, almost florescent liquid that is AUTOMOBILE ANTIFREEZE.
Surely to heaven, even if some unfortunate soul buys mass-market tobacco that’s been on the shelf for a long time, they don’t want to smoke antifreeze!
If cats or dogs drink antifreeze, they die, because it destroys their kidney function.
Very often the products given off by compounds when they are burnt are much more toxic than if the compound is ingested orally.
I dread to think what propylene glycol gives off when it’s combusted- and I shudder to think that ANY producer has the nerve to put it into pipe tobacco.
I think to some degree there exists an attitude in governmental food-safety agencies that if we are stupid enough to smoke tobacco, then we deserve no protection as consumers, ie that manufacturers can put whatever the hell they like into tobacco blends….but ANTIFREEZE for cars? No thanks!
Great article, Russ. Your point about pipe price reminds me of a woodworking buddy who visited a woodshop in a third-wold country. He was bored one Saturday and while taking a walk a short distance from his hotel he was drawn to the door of a small woodshop by the unmistakable noise of a saw. He looked around and immediately noticed that the “saw” had no guards; no brand name, and in reality was simply a piece of lumber with a blade mounted an arbor from a discarded appliance poking through a slot. As he stood there feeling smug and sorry for these poor, primitive craftsmen his eyes began to adjust to the low light, and what he saw made his jaw drop! There were pieces of furniture and cabinets in various states of completion; all with intricately detailed carvings and precise exposed joinery. He said there were tighter, finer dovetails than he had ever seen, and that they were all made using tools that he would have passed on if they had been in a cardboard box labeled “Free”. That experience changed him by snapping him from the never-ending tool buying trap he was in and getting him focused on the heart of woodworking and put the “craft” back into the Craftsman.
I learned many years ago that I enjoy smoking pipe tobacco. Sounds simple enough, but that’s just the start. I went on a 15 year journey and spent hundreds of dollars, but eventually was brought back where I started: The corn cob pipe. Cobs give me the taste that I want, the burn-time that I expect and being a natural, American-made product I get a satisfaction that I never felt when smoking a briar.
Perhaps it’s just me, but in the end that’s all who matters.
Scott
P.S. tobaccoblender, just because a product or chemical is used in anti-freeze that doesn’t make it bad. Heck, there’s more “Dihydrogen monoxide” in anti-freeze than propylene glycol, yet I bet you still use it. Read this: http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html
Tobaccoblender:
You’ve been misinformed about propylene glycol (which, as I stated, I don’t use). The main component chemical in antifreeze is ethylene glycol (which is decidedly toxic), not propylene glycol, which is food-grade and FDA approved for consumption. Its purpose in food is maintain moisture is a variety of products so they don’t dry out on the shelf.
It’s unfortunate that their chemical names are so similar as this inaccurate rhetoric has been used for years to scare the crap out of pipe smokers.
Russ
Good job, Russ.
Excellent article Russ,
I feel somewhat jaded in replying.Although I have over 25 years smoking a pipe, my knowledge is nowhere as extensive as yours. When I say 25 years, that refers to when I began buying retail pipes and retail smokage.However as a kid, we grew up raising burley here in the mountains of NC.One of the things that we have done was make our own smokage and pipes,in secret of course. Our favorite was simply some burley leaves, dried, and twisted.We would take this, pour molasses on it put it in a fresh cut cherry tree limb.We would basically gouge out a hollow place,put the leaves in with molasses and some apple slices.We then would tie the halves back together and dip the whole limb in wax. It went on a shelf in the barn until the next year.Of course we would be removing the limb placed there the prior year.Our smokage would have to be dried out for a while before we could smoke it.No preservatives, no blending,no fancy store bought pipes.No cake,no pipe tools,no idea what we were doing for that matter.Simple hollowed out corn cobs and cane/bamboo stems.But then again,we never heard of those terms.We thought it was great. We just didnt want to get caught smoking by our parents or grand parents, and we never was.And I can honest say that was some of the best smoking I had ever done.To me, that distills a great many myths in itself.
Great article as usual, Russ. I have and smoke a number of less expensive pipes as well as some “better” ones, and always get good smokes from them.
Always great advice Russ, and dispensed in the most genteel manner.
Russ:
Enjoyed your article about the quality of pipes usually smoking better then other less expenisive pipes. Your reasoning about the “mechanics” of the pipe being very important. Since reading Rick Newcombe’s “In Search of Pipe Dreams” I have begun with an intermediate expense pipe and drilled the stem and draft hole to Rick’s recommendations. Low-and-behold this pipe began to smoke alltogether better. Since this experience I have drilled most of my pipes the in the same manner. However, I have found some of my better, more expensive pipes not needing this drilling sequence since my Costellos are already are mechanically right.
Again, thanks for the common sense appoach about what makes a pipe smoke well.
Regards,
Steve
great article!! by the way… what kind of tool is that on the article pic Russ? it looks like a czech tool but is 4 way?? curious…