The Taste of Briar

[Briar Lee]

I’m sitting here ruminating over why no other wood except briar, and specifically Mediterranean briar, is as popular for smoking pipes.

It could be because of the beauty of well grained briar pipe, but that’s not the main factor, as I see it.

Sandblasting a briar destroys any polished beauty of flame, straight, cross grained or birdseye patterns on smooth finished briar, yet there are a great many sandblasted briar pipes.

And while there used to be more, and still are a few meerschaum lined briar pipes, if an old estate pipe is meerschaum lined that usually detracts and doesn’t add to its value.

We can all taste briar in a brand new pipe.

I believe even after break in a briar pipe somehow imparts and adds a pleasing briar taste to the smoke, unless too much carbon cakes in the chamber.

Meerschaum pipes exist because of their beauty, cob pipes exist because they are cheap, but Mediterranean briar pipes exist because they taste better.

 

[Chasing Embers]

why no other wood except briar, and specifically Mediterranean briar, is as popular for smoking pipes.

The density of the burl makes it flame and moisture resistant.

Meerschaum pipes exist because of their beauty, cob pipes exist because they are cheap, but Mediterranean briar pipes exist because they taste better.

Once broken in, I find no difference between materials.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sandblasting a briar destroys any polished beauty of flame, straight, cross grained or birdseye patterns on smooth finished briar, yet there are a great many sandblasted briar pipes.

A great many folks, myself included, prefer them.

 

[warren]

Nothing better than briar has been found so far with respect to hardiness, simple to work with, and, very often, beauty.

Comparing briar to meerschaum and cobs? Apples and oranges in my opinion. All three, constructed correctly, will provide great smoking experiences. Further, I've not tasted briar or cobs after a couple of bowls in new pipes. So
... I believe, for me anyway, your observation is simply anecdotal or, simple ruminations as you so quaintly like to preface many of your posts.
.

 

[sasquatch]

Briar has tremendous heat resistance, it's full of minerals, grows in sandy soil... it's tough stuff. End of story. It's actually a great wood for smoking meat because it doesn't burn like other woods burn, things have to be terribly hot for briar to really ignite. Running an industry where you need a nearly fire-proof medium, briar was a god send to the French factories in the mid to late 1800s and onward.

It certainly does have a flavor (spectrum between cinnamon, cedar, and cork), and it's not unpleasant - certainly less of a flavor factor than an oxydized rubber stem. Is it the best pipe material? Depends. I like wood for wood's sake, I enjoy the texture of a blast, the grain of a smooth. I know guys who would argue that meerschaum is a purer experience, no flavor buildup, no wood taste, tobacco and nothing else. And yet... the soul, if you will, in the best briar... this can't be re-created by any other media, as far as I can tell. Briar's fun stuff.

 

[telescopes]

It certainly does have a flavor (spectrum between cinnamon, cedar, and cork), and it's not unpleasant -

And yet... the soul, if you will, in the best briar... this can't be re-created by any other media, as far as I can tell. Briar's fun stuff.

Yes, so beautifully stated. I always believed that I detected a slight taste of briar as compared to the oak and cherry wood pipes I smoked in my youth. It tasted like something was different and your post brought back those early memories of smoking a briar pipe when I was much younger and my senses were not as dull as they are now. I can taste it in my mouth even as I am typing though I am currently not smoking. It is all memory.

Thank you.

 

[sasquatch]

I'm really torn, I feel slightly hypocritical because all my posts are anti-myth, anti-magic. And yet I feel that there are differences between my pipes, even if the smoke would not be recognizeably flavored... there's.... personality somehow in the different briar, the different builds. I absolutely believe certain things about the pipes I own (how the smoke, how they taste, how they heat up or not), and the pipes I make from various briar sources. Is it measurable? Not really. Experiencable? I think so, and I think obviously so.

 

[crashthegrey]

I'm really torn, I feel slightly hypocritical because all my posts are anti-myth, anti-magic. And yet I feel that there are differences between my pipes, even if the smoke would not be recognizeably flavored... there's.... personality somehow in the different briar, the different builds. I absolutely believe certain things about the pipes I own (how the smoke, how they taste, how they heat up or not), and the pipes I make from various briar sources. Is it measurable? Not really. Experiencable? I think so, and I think obviously so.

It is okay to contradict ourselves from time to time. There is a little magic in the pipes, but it is alright to kill some of the myths, too.
I am also concerned that I agree with @Chasing Embers so frequently, these days. I often don't post when I see his comments already reflecting anything that I would say.

 

[Briar Lee]

A great many folks, myself included, prefer them.

It’s certainly a beautiful pipe.

But I argue it’s the beauty of how it smokes, that caused it to be made of old, aged, Mediterranean briar.

If meerschaum helped it smoke better, it would have a meerschaum liner.

 

[Chasing Embers]

It is okay to contradict ourselves from time to time. There is a little magic in the pipes, but it is alright to kill some of the myths, too.
I am also concerned that I agree with @Chasing Embers so frequently, these days. I often don't post when I see his comments already reflecting anything that I would say.

I'm getting the vibe that some of these ruminations are starting to sound like the meanderings of a new smoker.?

 

[Briar Lee]

I was reading today that medical marijuana in Missouri is about $350 per ounce, substantially less than two or three years ago when it was legalized.

It’s more expensive today than it will be the day the United States Congress legalizes it on par with tobacco and alcohol products.

I have a prediction.

When marijuana is cheap enough the user will want about one gram per dose, a brand new industry of good tasting, mild marijuana cigarettes will be the dominant way to smoke weed in America.

But small briar pipes that hold a gram will be in second place.

For a little over 300 years Europeans used clay, wood, and meerschaum pipes to smoke tobacco.

Then when briar was introduced in nothing flat clay pipes were out, meerschaum was for the rich, cobs for the poor, and the rest have been briar for 150 years.

 

[onestrangeone]

I have a prediction.

When marijuana is cheap enough the user will want about one gram per dose, a brand new industry of good tasting, mild marijuana cigarettes will be the dominant way to smoke weed in America.

But small briar pipes that hold a gram will be in second place

I disagree, Pot heads seem to prefer glass, brass or stainless bowls and water pipes. The fact that you have to hold a flame to marijuana to get it burn in a bowl makes briar an impractical choice.

 

[beefeater33]

Not supposed to talk weed here..............

 

[Chasing Embers]

I disagree, Pot heads seem to prefer glass, brass or stainless bowls and water pipes. The fact that you have to hold a flame to marijuana to get it burn in a bowl makes briar an impractical choice.

They've taken to commissioning meerschaum as well.

 

[Briar Lee]

I disagree, Pot heads seem to prefer glass, brass or stainless bowls and water pipes. The fact that you have to hold a flame to marijuana to get it burn in a bowl makes briar an impractical choice.

Stoners smoke nasty, primitive stuff in clandestine make shift pipes.

When I talk about weed with my weed smoking clients they all agree to one thing:

Legal dispensary weed costs about three times more than bootleg weed and it’s way more than three times better.

Our tobacco has been refined for five centuries.

Weed about a dozen years, and it’s still all bootleg, even the “legal” stuff.

When Big Tobacco gets FDA approval for legal cannabis it’s not long before the Maryjane Kamels will come to a convenience store near you.

Pipe blends will have less kick.

Today, there are cob pipes sold to stoners.

The Corn Cob Pipe: A sustainable, all-natural and eco-friendly starter pipe.

Learn why a corn cob pipe is a sustainable, classic choice for your first pipe.

thegccshop.com

WHAT IS A CORN COB PIPE? ​

A sweet, small and sustainable pipe, corn cob pipes usually come in two sizes, a standard and a shortstop size bowl. Our Cob Pipe features a smaller bowl which is one of the reasons it makes it a great starter pipe. It’s discrete size also means it's easy to have on hand or stow away in your pocket for convenience. With the proper care, this pipe should last for years. A corn cob pipe also has the effect of absorbing any harsh taste in the buds and over time the resins in the corn will release, imbuing a sweet, mellow flavour into your smoke. When you consume your favourite flower in a corncob pipe, it also tends to be a cooler smoke, which cuts down on any feelings of tongue bite.
—-

People spending $100 for an eighth of an ounce of smoke will buy little briar pipes, because they offer the best smoke.

 

[Briar Lee]

Not supposed to talk weed here..............

I’m about fifty years past taking up a new smoking habit.

But there will soon be millions of new pipe customers for smoking buds.

 

[warren]

IBTL Well, if Mr. Lee keeps up with the marijuana boosting.

 

[Briar Lee]

They've taken to commissioning meerschaum as well.

Only a short time until briar gets it’s turn.

Briar is by far the tastiest smoking vessel.

 

[Briar Lee]

IBTL Well, if Mr. Lee keeps up with the marijuana boosting.

I’m dead against legal weed.

And I’m going to loose.

I was against legalized lotteries, casino gambling, and every corner gas station being a package store, too.

I have a perfect record of lost causes like defending the right of drug dealers to monopolize the weed marker.

The only good thing about legalized weed is outlaws will nolonger be the sole source of weed.

And it is an opportunity for the pipe industry.

If only ten per cent of Americans fire up a briar full of weed, that’s 33 million new customers

When it becomes legal it will also gain moral acceptance.

After that, Katy bar the door.

They’ll advertise the medical grade on television.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I was reading today that medical marijuana in Missouri is about $350 per ounce, substantially less than two or three years ago when it was legalized.

It’s more expensive today than it will be the day the United States Congress legalizes it on par with tobacco and alcohol products.

I have a prediction.

When marijuana is cheap enough the user will want about one gram per dose, a brand new industry of good tasting, mild marijuana cigarettes will be the dominant way to smoke weed in America.

But small briar pipes that hold a gram will be in second place.

For a little over 300 years Europeans used clay, wood, and meerschaum pipes to smoke tobacco.

Then when briar was introduced in nothing flat clay pipes were out, meerschaum was for the rich, cobs for the poor, and the rest have been briar for 150 years.

Smoking weed isn't about flavor.. Tobacco is.

Those flavored papers and wraps are designed to mask the dank monotonous flavor of cannabis.