Long time lurker from Spain who finally decided to join.
- Thread starter Picas
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Technically you can, if you are a resident of Little Diomede Island. Of which there are some 100 or so. Neighboring Big Diomede Island, about 2 miles away, is part of Russia. Although the owner of that quote certainly cannot, from her upper class lakefront mansion in a suburb of Wasilla, a trashy redneck strip mall infested town an hour from Anchorage.
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Welcome from central North Carolina, U.S. I must ask, since I keep wondering: I've heard Spain has a tobacco pipe making industry, but I don't know any Spanish brands. What are the brands, and do you know why they do not appear, or at least are not known, to the import market at least in the U.S.?
There were once various small pipe manufacturers scattered all across the whole country. But nowadays I only know of a couple of artisans here and there and a company from Valencia called Bruken, which I know has sponsored some slow smoking competitions on my city. I also know that they have a signature shape called "bamboo briar", I´ll try to post a picture of it. I have seen that shape at a local flea market and let me tell you, those pipes are huge.
As for their lack of presence on the international market, i am not 100% sure, but i´d say that one of the reasons might be the fact that spain has always been cigar territory.
Thanks everyone.
Greetings Paul, it´s always nice to meet a finn, specially one that´s got the same name as me. I deeply respect the finnish peoples for their historic ability to thrive in an unwelcoming climate (at least for a southern european), and surrounded by hostile neighbors.
Ducados? that is the cigarette brand my grandfather used to smoke. And oh man, Spain has changed a lot since then, and not for good.
Well hello, I've heard that in some parts of California the climate is very similar to the one we have here in Spain, and we both have significant wine industries too!
Does wild briar also grow there, in the coast? This summer I visited the cantabrian coast and found lots of it.
Parts of the Sacramento Valley have a "Mediterranean Climate" according to some. So Olive trees and vegetable crops, and nuts and stone fruit all do well. But it's removed from the coast some 60 miles or so. I've never heard of briar root being found in any of C, though it wouldn't surprise me if some were found.
The Coast here tends to be cool compared to just a few miles inland.
Picas, thank you for the update on the Spanish pipe making business. Somewhere I got the idea that there were pipe factories in Spain that were doing contract work for pipe makers in other countries and making lines of their own, but it seems I was lead wrong. France and Italy seem to be the countries that pick up a lot of contract work, like Stanwell and Brigham in Italy. Thank you for the on-scene report!
jam', it seems that briar has never responded to cultivation, so it has to be harvested from its native habitat. From videos on the subject, it appears it is heavy labor to locate it and dig it up and cut the right portions. During World War II, when the sources of briar were in the combat zones, some in the U.S. discovered that they could get briar-like results from native Mountain Laurel, although this had to be done by knowledgeable harvesters since parts of the plants were toxic, or thought to be. I know of exactly one U.S. pipe carver who works in Mountain Laurel, Jerry Perry of Colfax N.C., and he does not sell online, only at the N.C. State Fair in October and at the TAPS pipe show at the fairgrounds in April. I believe he still does pipe repair as well, and also does briar pipes, and occasionally other woods.
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