Pipes, Tobacco, and Burnt Ends
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Kevin Godbee - Jun 30, 2014
- 9 min read
James Foster
I think only one word can sum up the 15th Annual Kansas City Pipe Show that happened June 21st through 22nd 2014 and that word is "awesomesauce."
You see this was my first ever pipe show to attend and I had no idea what to expect…except from the talk about how much fun people had at Chicago or similar shows.
Another forum member, Msandoval858 and I, chose to drive 10 hours from Austin, TX to Kansas City, MO for the show. From the moment we arrived the schedule was jam-packed with things going on, people to see and talk to, and food to try. I could hardly keep up, but I took a few pictures, and I’ll try to fill you in on how it went.
Now you cannot visit Kansas City without trying at least a couple of the amazing BBQ places and food establishments that have been put on the map and showcased by the various foodie TV shows and news reports.
Our first stop upon reaching Kansas City was Arthur Bryant’s BBQ. Arthur Bryant’s is a Kansas City tradition that has been visited by US presidents, movie stars, and now, yours truly. The BBQ was exquisite, and the Kansas style burnt ends were delectable. If there is one thing you should try in Kansas City its the burnt ends.
The location of this year’s show was the Kansas City Argosy Casino and Hotel. While you couldn’t smoke inside the exhibit hall, you could smoke in the casino and the bar, but most of the action occurred in the smoking tent. This venue had wonderful accommodations and the hotel staff was very friendly.
After checking in and getting settled, it was time to enjoy what Friday night had to offer which was picking up our registration packs and heading down to the smoking tent to meet the carvers, industry insiders, and have a few drinks at the outdoor cash bar.
Mark Ryan of Daughters & Ryan talks about Perique
The feature for Friday night was a talk and Q&A with Mark Ryan of Daughters & Ryan (D&R) on the current status of perique tobacco at the La Poche Perique Tobacco facility in St. James Parish, LA. He touched on similar things you may have heard on the pipesmagazine.com radio show and he talked about his 1.2 million dollar investment on a receiving center to receive the tobacco from the farmers and handle the entire process such as removing the stems from the leaves. Next, Mark discussed a hot-button issue: the crippling FDA regulations and if they (The FDA) go through with implementing them, how we’re in for a world of hurt with the cost of doing business skyrocketing.
After the talk we met and chatted with other forum members like Mr. Jerke, fellow Texan, Steve "pipestud" Fallon, and the voice of the radio Mr. Brian Levine.
2000-era Escudo
We sampled about a 14 year old tin of Escudo brought by Mr. Jerke and another similar tin brought by Austin Pipe Club member Richard. We did a comparison between them, noting very subtle differences, but for the most part they were both smooth and amazing smokes.
Jordan Jerke (Mr. Jerke) Brian Levine, and Steve Fallon
The pipe carvers pulled out their pipes for a little pre-show and tell and many of them sold their pipes right there. We met a good number of the carvers like Ryan Alden, (who I suckered into making me a pipe post show) Nate King, Thomas James, Jesse Jones, Scott Thile, Jerry Crawford, Scottie Piersel, and Premal Cheda.
Nate King’s Steam Punk Style Pipe
One of the things we learned is that many times the carvers would sell the pipes but wanted to include them the next day on their table with a sold sticker as a showcase of their work—which makes sense—but is hard thing to do if you’re a collector sometimes since you’re wanting to smoke your new prize!
Saturday, the show opened at 9am and we were waiting at the doors with anticipation. Taking the advice we received from Max from pipes2smoke.com we strolled through every table prior to making a purchase so as to get an idea of all of the options. With 78 tables to walk through and chat with the carvers and proprietors you can imagine that making that first pass took some time. By the time I had made one complete revolution through the room it was time for lunch, and to visit a place that I had seen from the Interstate that you can’t avoid missing because it’s a 1930s DC-3 Airplane sticking up in the sky above a building: The Roasterie.
The plane came from an airplane boneyard in New Mexico and for them symbolizes the spirit and adventure and fun in the company and it ties in with Kansas City’s strong Aviation history. The Roasterie offers free tours of their facility and 9 of their coffees have received a ranking of 90 or higher on Coffeereview.com.
Every room at the Argosy hotel had Roasterie coffee cups and coffee provided in their room as it is the go-to coffee for Kansas City. For the Starbucks lovers out there this is a great change of pace, and their lunch offerings are superb for anyone looking for a light lunch—which was what we did. Check out the Mocha Motion, an iced coffee, which is great this time of year.
Back at the show after lunch we made the rounds again and I picked up some great pipes from various estate sellers and chatted with Nate King about his Airstream line of pipes he’s working on that are very detailed and have a streamlined look and feel in only a style that Nate could do. I’m very excited to see what his creative brain will come up with next.
Next it was on to talk to Russ Oulette who was offering samples of various blends and the brand new Missouri Meerchaum blends. We chatted him up a bit and thanked him for his blending excellence.
Russ Ouellette
Then over to the Smokers Haven table to have a quick talk with Premal— who was the only vendor that brought stem material (ebonite) and raw briar. Premal also had plenty of Smokers Haven blends to sample and for sale — many people go for Exotique which is a great oriental/latakia blend.
Stems
Briar Ebauchons
Of course who couldn’t pass up a chance to talk with the great, the wonderfully nice, Lee Von Erck. Msandoval858 had picked up one of his estates from 1997 or so and brought it to ask him about it. Like just about every pipe Lee makes he remembered it and then talked about how he made it. His work and his oil curing process are always amazing to look at with a sense of wonderment at how light the briar is and how beautiful the craftsmanship is.
Lee Von Erck
The evening festivities included a banquet dinner where we were graced with Steve Fallon’s "presentation that wasn’t a presentation." Mostly we were amused by his lightning wit and jokes as he brought up various groups and individuals at the dinner and asked them questions, injected humor, and read some funny emails from his ebay store that had us all busting a gut.
Sunday: The Last Day.
Sunday was the last day of the show and was the day of the slow smoke competition. Now myself, msandoval858, and some of the other members of our Austin club had actually practiced for this event. Not that we had any chance to win, but we wanted to at least not pull a Brian Levine and go out right after the 2nd match.
The pipes provided for the contest were Ben Wade billiards and smoked very well and was worth more than the cost of the entry into the competition. Now if I was a betting man, I would have had money on Steve Fallon who had previously done very well in the competitions but I would have lost that bet this time around. He narrowly missed 3rd place spot by mere seconds. I managed to catch video of the last 4 to go out and the winner:
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1. Dave Houfek 53.41
2. Mitch Denny 49.25
3.Vladimir Jirinec 48.02
Dave Houfek took the 1st place spot and walked away with a Neptune pipe created by Todd Johnson and Pete Provost’s side venture, Briarworks International.
Front of Strouds
With the show coming to a close it was time to hit the last food place on my list of Kansas City hot spots to try out before heading home to Austin. Stroud’s Restaurant is home of the pan fried chicken and featured on many TV shows like Man v Food, No Reservations, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate.
When I say this is good fried chicken, I mean it. They do a pan fried chicken and then drain the soybean oil and use the leftover chicken drippings to make some mouth watering gravy to drizzle over your mashed potatoes and chicken. It was so good that I actually had them bring out another bowl of gravy. Stroud’s is also famous for their cinnamon dinner rolls. Most people end up leaving with an extra box of them to take home, they are just that good.
Stroud’s Famous Cinnamon & Sugar Rolls
When we came back to the show it was just in time for the raffle of the 7 Day set. The set was comprised of pipes sent in from a number of carvers in hopes of winning the carving contest- the 7 carvers that won the carving contest are:
1. Ryan Alden
2. Tyler Beard
3. Premal Chheda
4. Rad Davis
5. Jesse Jones
6. Nate King
7. Colin Rigby
Unfortunately, like all of the raffle and door prizes, I did not walk away with the prize. I did pick up some great tobacco and pipes from the show and that in itself was the best prize.
The show wrapped at 3pm and the vendors packed up, but the post-show celebrations and smoking continued out in the smoking tent. I would always suggest staying until the show ends as all of those hard working KC Pipe Club staff can breath a sigh of relief and you can have a chance to chat with the guys and gals who were just too busy during the event. In summation I’d like to say thanks to the whole KC Pipe Club who ran a well organized, great event that I’ll be sure to come back to year after year. If I missed talking to you, I’m sorry, I tried to get around to everyone, but don’t worry we’ll chat next time!
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James Foster goes by the online handle of Pylorns in the forums, and he is the creator of an app for keeping track of your tobacco cellar inventory called The Pipe Tool. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 635. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with James Ravenwood. James is the boutique tobacco blender of Ravenwood Blends. His blending started out as a fun hobby, and he now has professionally packaged commercially available products with some great tin art. Part of his interest in pipe smoking goes back to fond memories of a retired Navy Veteran that lived on his street while he was growing up that would sit in his driveway smoking a pipe all day. Later, in 2011 he began smoking pipes and soon after started experimenting with mixing different tobaccos. His other hobby, that he has been doing for 30 years, is photography. He takes wonderful photos of outdoor spaces, and still life pictures of pipes and tobacco. You can see them on his Instagram @thebriarfellowship. At the top of the show we’ll have an Ask the Pipemaker segment with renowned pipe artisan Jeff Gracik.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
Fantastic writeup James. Can’t wait for next year
Thanks James for showing me what I missed!! I’ve yet to attend a major pipe show,life seems to keep changing my plans every time I make them, but I do enjoy reading the reports about them.Well done!
Thanks so much for the review. When ya can’t be there it’s the next best thing and you filled the void for me. Wonderful photos, and detail of the goings on. I’m sure it won’t be your last pipe show, they are contagious to say the least.
Very nice review. Also didn’t know he created the Pipe tool, it is a great app. It has been a huge help for me.
Great job of recapping what was a truly outstanding show!
Pipestud
Sounds like everyone had a great time. I love reading each of these write-ups and seeing how many PM members hook up together and hang out. Does everyone wear a nametag wth their PM forum name?
Good choice to go out of your way for some tasty eats. That’s the way to do it! Find something new instead of sticking with what is comfortable and well known.
Thanks for a great report and fantastic pix!
That was an excellent write up, the ratio of pics to text was 100% spot on for my tastes…Thank You Pylorns, I plan on being in Vegas, but I just might be able to swing KC next year.
Thanks for the fine report!
Nice article. Hope to get to a show in the next year or so.
It would seem that you thoroughly enjoyed and participated in the show. I’m glad you had a good time.
James, just a great report. I wish we could get a photographer with your eye for composition. Oh, I was the person holding up the Nate King’s Stem Punk pipe pictured above.