In one of the previous Morta threads (I can't remember whether it was my "I'm feeling Morta Tonight", or the "Dunhill DR, Yes or No" one) I said that when I bought my first Chris Askwith Morta he mentioned that buyers had told him they were particularly suited to blends heavy on Latakia.
I thought that my first Morta (an Askwith Lovat) 'brought something out of' my SG Balkan Flake (a tobacco I have known for >10 years) which other pipes did not. This was also true of my second Morta, an Askwith "Bull Terrier", recently depicted in my "Dunhill DR Yes or No" thread. The Balkan Flake definitely tasted 'better', whether because the Morta added to the smoke or because it was neutral, and 'failed to take something away'. I said then that one day I would make a direct comparison between the Morta and a quality clay pipe, which is widely agreed to be completely neutral.
So that is what I have done. Using only SG Balkan Flake I compared my two Mortas with a new clay pipe and also with one of my 'best smoking', seasoned Dunhill briars. This was not a truly scientific experiment since I knew which pipe I was smoking at the time - if I hadn't I would have burnt my bloody fingers on the bowl of the clay pipe!! lol Nevertheless I will present my findings in the form of a pseudo-scientific experiment:
HYPOTHESIS:
The Morta will 'add' to the taste of the Balkan, thereby improving the smoke. Alternative hypothesis (always good to have one of these !! LOL): the Morta will act like the clay pipe (neutral) and enable the true flavour of the tobacco to be revealed.
MATERIALS and METHODS:
1. A goodly volume of well-rubbed-out SG Balkan Flake.
2. A Chris Askwith long-stemmed Lovat Morta (smoked c. 20 times)
3. A Chris Askwith "Rhodesian" Morta (smoked c. 10 times)
4. A new high quality clay pipe
5. A seasoned Dunhill Root briar (an excellent smoker with no obvious ghosts in which I had previously smoked Balkans)
Apart from the clay, the bowls were similar but the clay had some depth to it and took almost the same payload. They all took to the flame well for the charring light. After that I alternated each Morta with the clay, then included the briar in the rotation. The results were interesting and not what I might have predicted.
RESULTS:
1. From the outset both Mortas tasted identical - the tarred rope/creosote of the Balkan came through in the first puffs and persisted throughout the smoke.
2. At the beginning the clay pipe tasted the same as the Mortas, but there was some divergence in the middle third.
3. From the outset, the briar was different. The tarry elements of the Balkan did not come through as sharply, 'dulled' somehow.
4. In the middle third both Mortas were producing a stunning smoke, the same as the clay but 'deeper', perhaps because their bowl width was greater. By then the clay was too hot to hold (asbestos mitts?) and the tiny airhole was causing me some early tongue bite (which I don't normally experience with Balkan). The Dunhill still gave a great smoke, but IMO the toabacco flavour was 'muted' compared to both Mortas and the clay.
5. The impressions noted above persisted in all four pipes to the bowl bottom.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Hypothesis 1 was disproved - the Mortas did not add new elements to the smoke. But IMO, like the clay, by 'taking nothing away' they allowed all the nuances of the Balkan Flake to come through and thereby enhanced the smoke.
2. Morta pipes may well be 'neutral', like clays, but more robust and practical. I will now use a Morta for trying all my 'new' tobaccos, and for a while will also try them in parallel with a 'dedicated' clay pipe (even the best of which are inexpensive)
3. IMHO the briar 'took something away' from the taste of the SG Balkan. Whether this is true for other tobaccos I don't know. I'm not even sure it is a bad thing if it 'smooths out' the smoke. But I will continue to reserve certain briars for distinctive tobaccos.
FUTURE WORK:
1. Clearly I need to try other tobaccos in such experiments. It may be that my conclusions are only of significance for Balkans and other blends heavy in Latakia. I would love to try this with SG 1782 Flake!
2. My conclusions are highly subjective. For a man, I have a pretty good palate (wine tasting etc) but it would be good if others could try a clay pipe against their favourite pipes/tobaccos? It would also be great if one of our ladies, who I know smoke a massive range of tobaccos might do the same - it is scientifically proven that women have a better sense of taste/smell than men!! LOL
Will I be selling all my briars in exchange for new Mortas? No, of course not! Will I be tasting tobaccos with clay pipes for fun? Absolutely! Do I love my Mortas? Oh Yes, most certainly!! LOL
I thought that my first Morta (an Askwith Lovat) 'brought something out of' my SG Balkan Flake (a tobacco I have known for >10 years) which other pipes did not. This was also true of my second Morta, an Askwith "Bull Terrier", recently depicted in my "Dunhill DR Yes or No" thread. The Balkan Flake definitely tasted 'better', whether because the Morta added to the smoke or because it was neutral, and 'failed to take something away'. I said then that one day I would make a direct comparison between the Morta and a quality clay pipe, which is widely agreed to be completely neutral.
So that is what I have done. Using only SG Balkan Flake I compared my two Mortas with a new clay pipe and also with one of my 'best smoking', seasoned Dunhill briars. This was not a truly scientific experiment since I knew which pipe I was smoking at the time - if I hadn't I would have burnt my bloody fingers on the bowl of the clay pipe!! lol Nevertheless I will present my findings in the form of a pseudo-scientific experiment:
HYPOTHESIS:
The Morta will 'add' to the taste of the Balkan, thereby improving the smoke. Alternative hypothesis (always good to have one of these !! LOL): the Morta will act like the clay pipe (neutral) and enable the true flavour of the tobacco to be revealed.
MATERIALS and METHODS:
1. A goodly volume of well-rubbed-out SG Balkan Flake.
2. A Chris Askwith long-stemmed Lovat Morta (smoked c. 20 times)
3. A Chris Askwith "Rhodesian" Morta (smoked c. 10 times)
4. A new high quality clay pipe
5. A seasoned Dunhill Root briar (an excellent smoker with no obvious ghosts in which I had previously smoked Balkans)
Apart from the clay, the bowls were similar but the clay had some depth to it and took almost the same payload. They all took to the flame well for the charring light. After that I alternated each Morta with the clay, then included the briar in the rotation. The results were interesting and not what I might have predicted.
RESULTS:
1. From the outset both Mortas tasted identical - the tarred rope/creosote of the Balkan came through in the first puffs and persisted throughout the smoke.
2. At the beginning the clay pipe tasted the same as the Mortas, but there was some divergence in the middle third.
3. From the outset, the briar was different. The tarry elements of the Balkan did not come through as sharply, 'dulled' somehow.
4. In the middle third both Mortas were producing a stunning smoke, the same as the clay but 'deeper', perhaps because their bowl width was greater. By then the clay was too hot to hold (asbestos mitts?) and the tiny airhole was causing me some early tongue bite (which I don't normally experience with Balkan). The Dunhill still gave a great smoke, but IMO the toabacco flavour was 'muted' compared to both Mortas and the clay.
5. The impressions noted above persisted in all four pipes to the bowl bottom.
CONCLUSIONS:
1. Hypothesis 1 was disproved - the Mortas did not add new elements to the smoke. But IMO, like the clay, by 'taking nothing away' they allowed all the nuances of the Balkan Flake to come through and thereby enhanced the smoke.
2. Morta pipes may well be 'neutral', like clays, but more robust and practical. I will now use a Morta for trying all my 'new' tobaccos, and for a while will also try them in parallel with a 'dedicated' clay pipe (even the best of which are inexpensive)
3. IMHO the briar 'took something away' from the taste of the SG Balkan. Whether this is true for other tobaccos I don't know. I'm not even sure it is a bad thing if it 'smooths out' the smoke. But I will continue to reserve certain briars for distinctive tobaccos.
FUTURE WORK:
1. Clearly I need to try other tobaccos in such experiments. It may be that my conclusions are only of significance for Balkans and other blends heavy in Latakia. I would love to try this with SG 1782 Flake!
2. My conclusions are highly subjective. For a man, I have a pretty good palate (wine tasting etc) but it would be good if others could try a clay pipe against their favourite pipes/tobaccos? It would also be great if one of our ladies, who I know smoke a massive range of tobaccos might do the same - it is scientifically proven that women have a better sense of taste/smell than men!! LOL
Will I be selling all my briars in exchange for new Mortas? No, of course not! Will I be tasting tobaccos with clay pipes for fun? Absolutely! Do I love my Mortas? Oh Yes, most certainly!! LOL
