~$16 for 2 oz jar- Purchased at Embassy Cigar (Anaheim Hills, CA)
Background
Today I’m happy to bring you a look at another of my acquisitions from my recent trip to California. I’d call these “bring ‘em back home” pipe tobaccos, since the Briarworks pipe brand is located in Nashville (though the pipe tobacco from the same name is made in South Carolina).
Pete Provost is one of the founders of Briarworks pipes. Directly from their website:
Pipe makers Todd Johnson and Pete Prevost began a project to change the perception of what serially produced pipe manufacturing could be. That project evolved and grew into a full production pipe factory in Nashville, TN. Through hard work, ingenuity, and tenacity, BriarWorks is producing some of the finest pipes ever made in a serial production environment.
Pete does sport a nice, full beard, so I guess it was just natural to name a tobacco after it. This is an “all-day English blend for the southern gent. Medium bodied and refined. Just like Pete’s beard.” I uses Virginias and Latakia to provide a “balanced, subtly sweet smoke.”
Notes
The Briarworks pipe tobacco blends are distinguished by shipping in small Mason jars, ready to put in your cellar for extensive aging if that’s what you like to do.
The aroma from the jar is definitely “English” with the heady smokiness of Latakia leaf, though it is a milder English blend, instead of the type that will knock you about the head if you’re not ready for it. I also picked up the aroma of sweet natural tobacco in the mix.
Firing up the tobacco, I got a mild Latakia smokiness along with some pepper spice on the palate, as well as an undercurrent of sweetness that was almost like iced tea. It was smooth and nutty with just a hint of black pepper on the nose.
I probably puff the pipe too much to keep it going, resulting in the leaf burning a little hotter as I went along. The result of that was a heavier pepper influence in the thick, oily smoke. Still, I could see why this would be described as an “all-day English blend.” It’s not nearly as full-bodied or pungent as a Dunhill Night Cap or some other “in your face” English Oriental blend. Along with the original Frog Morton, I would say this is a perfect pipe tobacco to introduce someone to English blends.
