Yesterday I met up with a friend who said was lamenting about a briar pipe ‘soaked in cognac’ gifted by his late Grandfather. The pipe was ‘accidentally’ disposed of by his spouse who doesn’t approve of our habits. That lead me to wonder if it’s possible to purposely ghost our briar with our favourite whisky or wine. Maybe similar to casing process on aromatics. Anyone tried this on purpose? I do know that the sherry producers do sell their used sherry cask to the whisky producers, who buy them to infuse their whisky for that sherry flavour left over in the cask.
Casing our briars
- Thread starter mumbles
- Start date
- Status
I'm appalled that a spouse would dispose of a serious family heirloom of whatever kind, from the blood kin you've taken solemn vows to join. I tiptoe around such items of my spouse, and she anoints similar items from my family. This guy's spouse is a disturbed soul, no question in my mind, pipe smoking aside.
I wonder if it the pipe was simply cleaned using cognac. Unless the pipe is unstained and unwaxed, actually soaking the pipe in alcohol is going to ruin the finish. You never want alcohol to touch the outside of the pipe. I use 151 proof rum for cleaning the shank and chamber on my pipes, and it does leave a sweet taste for the first few smokes afterward.
Tom said it! Besides that, I don't believe any cognac could soak a briar. It would leave a ghost for sure, and that ghost would be running for its life after a bowl or two of 1792.
I think his late Grandfather probably inserted something to block up the shank, before pouring his favourite cognac into the bowl. Similar to how some add salt and alcohol to de-ghost the briar. In any case I couldn’t wait and have started ‘topping up’ 2 of my least favourite briar bowls with cognac. If successful, I will have the 1st cognac cask briar pipes, if not, then very flammable nice smelling fire wood :lol:
Interesting. I'd be much quicker to smoke cognac topped/flavored blends than to try to infuse the pipe. That said, I'm curious to see how your experiment turns out. In the name of science of course.
Tired of my McQueen pipe still tasting like burnt wood (it came with an uncoated chamber), I tried something of the kind last Sunday: after cleaning it, I drenched my finger in Appleton Estate rum and applied it generously to the chamber, then doused a pipe cleaner and did the same to the draught hole till the pipe's innards were all quite wet, then set it aside to soak in and dry by itself. I left the wooden stem alone, though. I haven't smoked it since. Maybe to-morrow I'll find out if the experiment worked.
That spouse needs to be divorced first. If my partner/wife/gf disposed off any family heirloom like that, she would become an ex-wife pretty fast.
Irwin's pipes were cured with rum. Savinelli has flavored pipes such as honey, vanilla, mint, and licorice.
:clap:
I've cleaned pipes with whiskey and do not detect any whiskey flavor beyond the first half of the first bowl. Your experience may differ.
If it were my wife I am sure this would be a genuine accidental mistake. I trust and love her. Plus, she doesn't mind that I smoke a pipe.
The fact that "accidentally" is in quotes causes me to believe that the wife claimed that she mistakenly disposed of this, but that you or your friend don't believe her. Before I break out the pitchforks and torches I'd need a better understanding of what happened. Sometimes people make terrible mistakes by mistake.
If it were my wife I am sure this would be a genuine accidental mistake. I trust and love her. Plus, she doesn't mind that I smoke a pipe.
Reporting back on my experiment: didn't notice a difference—pipe still tastes like burnt wood. Maybe I should dedicate it to latakia.
- Status