A New Castello Provides ZERO Taste... WTF!

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Ahh, I asked around, and apparently the tobacco goes in the big hole.

The opposite for a catheter.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

This peeked my interest. How do you load a Castello pipe differently from a Savinelli for example or a Dunhill?

I use a straight Virginia mix of McClelland 5100/5105 or Sutliff 507S and 515 RC1, or McC 2010 for the first half dozen or so half bowls, then the same for the next three or four 3/4 bowls, then the last couple of full bowls. I do this for all new pipes, not just Castellos. But unlike the many Savinellis, Ser Jacopos, Radice’s and Dunhills I break in with the same technique, the Castellos are virtually ghost proof if you clean out the stem, mortise and shank between smokes. I can’t duplicate this characteristic with the the vast majority of the dozens of previously owned and smoked Castellos I have bought over the years. I am happy to have many of them in my collection, and I enjoy smoking them, but not as much as ones I broke in from new my way. Many of those estate pipes, perhaps the majority, have found new homes through @pipestud. YMMV, but maybe you ought to give some weight to 40 years of experience with the brand. I didn’t always go to these lengths, but I have since the early 1990’s, and I have found it worthwhile.

 

[uzzi101]

The opposite for a catheter.

Lol

 

[jpmcwjr]

I'm going to buy a new S. Bang

No you're not!

but not smoke it in case of a return, but I won't know if there's a problem with flavor until I do??

Hypothetically correct.

 

[Johnkelly55]

So I own a few Castello pipes, and they all have been beautiful smokes. I’m newer to the pipe club and not full of wisdom, but felt Castello was to be a superior pipe in term of smoking qualities.

So here’s my dilemma. I never smoked Black House before and was told to give it a try. I cracked a tin and smoked it in my Savinelli 606. I was blown away. Sweet, Smokey, tang, sour. This Tabasco has it all in my opinion. I almost purchased 5 more tins half way through my first bowl.

I decided to break in my Castello Collection I’ve been sitting on. She’s a beauty. A small little bent apple that looked too good to smoke. So I’ve had a few bowls of Black House in this pipe that I’ve paid too much for of course... about 4 times the cost of my Sav.

The pipe has muted the taste of Black House, almost to nothing. I can hardly taste any of the lovely notes I found in the Savinelli. The Sav was smoked for a year or so.

The bowls on both of these pipes are pretty similar.

Is there hope for this Castello?

Why would the taste be so muted?

Would you expect it to provide a better taste over time?

Has anyone had a similar experience?

I’ll try some others blends in her but hoped to dedicate this pipe to Black House.

Would love your opinions on this matter, and any guidance is much appreciated.

Hey,
I just got my first Castello- never owned one. I tried it out yesterday and it smoked “okay.” So, I know it will take awhile. But, I saw your post and I am curious. Has it improved? I have a few other Italians in my collection. So, I was pretty thrilled to pick it up.
thanks,
JohnK

 

[uzzi101]

Hey,
I just got my first Castello- never owned one. I tried it out yesterday and it smoked “okay.” So, I know it will take awhile. But, I saw your post and I am curious. Has it improved? I have a few other Italians in my collection. So, I was pretty thrilled to pick it up.
thanks,
JohnK

Yes it has improved and provides an amazing smoke. I guess patience truly does pay off.

After about 7 bowls, she’s smoking much better. I’m assuming this will continue to improve.

 

[Johnkelly55]

Yes it has improved and provides an amazing smoke. I guess patience truly does pay off.

After about 7 bowls, she’s smoking much better. I’m assuming this will continue to improve.

Great... you had me worried! . I smoked an English, Boswell Railroad Station, and will keep it to English blends...

 

[Searock Fan]

A Castello that doesn't smoke good. That's a new on on me. I've smoked them for over 50 years and never had a looser. Maybe their quality is slipping.

 

[Merton]

Quality is not, I think, slipping. Keep smoking it, it will be fine in but a while. Stem work has always been a lttle clunky but that is the style they make. I love smoking new uncoated castello's and Radices and find the break in period one of the most enjoyable periods. The pipe is new, and to the beholder more beautiful because of its newness and, to some extent the cost and mental boost which comes from knowing that one owns such a nice pipe. That will pass in time of course but Castello still makes a fine pipe.
Radice stem work is much better though.

 

[didimauw]

I've never done half bowls. But the bottom always gets cake last. I'm sure those two things go hand in hand. Perhaps I should try it sometime.

What I do is just keep the cake down on the top portion, untill it builds down below and evens out.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

As @sasquatch has pointed out elsewhere on this forum, 10 year plus aged briar like Castello uses is a different animal entirely. Even if “load it up and go” works for you on most pipes, that technique will never, ever, get all out of a Castello that a new one has to offer.

I bet I've had well over 50 new Castellos that I broke in. Had one, a Collection Bulldog, I had problems with as I originally described. The rest of them broke in like any other pipe and smoked great.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

So I stayed patient, packed a bit tighter and feel the tide has turned. I’m getting much more flavor with each smoke. It’s so strange to me as my other Castello pipes smoke like a dream from day one. Thanks for all the advice.View attachment 83305

That looks like a pretty big bowl with a larger ID. That may have contributed to the longer than normal break in. Glad to hear it's coming around.

 

[ssjones]

Two new Castellos, a Sea Rock and a Collection, both smoked brilliantly from the get-go.

 

[Searock Fan]

The problem is simple. You're not holding your jaw right.