All of my briars are estates. Upon arrival I scrape the cake and debris, if any, out of the bowl and clean the entire pipe with mild soap and water for the exterior and alcohol for the interior shank, stem and bowl. Most pipes I also carefully sand the interior of the bowl with high grit sandpaper leaving a carbon layer intact as much as possible. I DO NOT take it down to bare wood, however, some bowls had little carbon to begin with and I have only a thin protective layer of carbon. Months after breaking in and long after ghosting has abandoned my pipes, I still find that many of them have a delightful briar taste as I near the bottom of the bowl. Some start at the halfway mark. The taste ranges from a spicy wood flavor to a sweet wood flavor and each bowl has its own distinct flavor. I didn't notice it as much until I started using Sir Walter Raleigh and Carter Hall in the bottoms of my bowls. I frankly got tired of throwing out wet/harsh Nightcap and other good blends at the end of my smoking. Now I find myself smoking pretty much the entire bowl. Once I hit the burley blend, I get the nutty flavor and a little extra from the bowl AND the blend that had been on top of it. It is thoroughly enjoyable. All my bowls have black carbonized interiors with no real caking and I'm dedicating pipes to blend types now so there is no foreign ghosting. I've read this does not last long and I should probably be savoring the briar flavoring. I certainly do. Does anyone else get a briar kick to their blends from their bowls? What are your experiences in this area?
: Ha ha!!
