About Corn Cobs, Their Stems And Their Taste

  • Thread starter Deleted member 4028
  • Start date
Brothers of Briar

Help Support Brothers of Briar:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
D

Deleted member 4028

Guest
In the past, I have tried over a dozen CC pipes, filtered (without putting a filter in the shank, however) and non filtered. I always gave up on them because of what was to me an awful aftertaste developing after 8-10 pipefuls, regardless of the tobacco smoked in them. This taste has nothing to do with the part of the shank in the tobacco chamber that will partially get burned by the tobacco. It's a different aftertaste.
Could it be the wood used for the shank? God knows.
I have no idea if anybody experienced this issue as well. But I have read on a few forums that vulcanite or acrylic stems make a radical difference when it comes down to the smoking experience.
This being said, I am wondering if that taste comes from the plastic stems and if an acrylic stem will make things better?
'Cause I kind if like those pipes and kind of find it disappointing not to have a few because of that unpleasant aftertaste.
I am curious as to the CC Brother's impressions on that issue.  :)
 
You may just not like corn cob funkiness. Nothing wrong with that. But tell me, are you smoking the larger cobs from Missouri Meerschaum, like the Country Gentleman? I never liked the smaller versions at all. And smoking too fast and hot will make bad flavors, even more so than with a briar. And burley works best, in my biased opinion. Other than that, I'd say the bad taste is the shank "tongue" still carbonizing. I don't notice any taste difference with upscale stems, but maybe. You should be entering into sweet smoke territory, and you're not. See my first sentence.
 
I don't have any bad taste from my corn cobs, and I have 12 of them that I smoke regularly. I do clean the stems out after every smoke. Sometimes I use a freshener like Clean N Cure or Briar Fresh.
 
Hmmm. I'm doing pretty much all of what you guys are mentioning. I do prefer the larger Cobs like the Gentleman. It could simply be that I am just not compatible with CC.
It happens. I might just give them a last try with an acrylic stem, see what gives.
 
Now. I ordered a Charles Towne Cobbler as an ultimate attempt with the CC. Following Rich's advice, I will dedicate it to Burleys. As I have a few tubs of Lane Ready Rubbed, Velvet and SWR, they will go in the Cob.

Let me know if I forget something here:

a. The Cob is to be smoked nice and easy during the first few pipefuls, just like a briar, for a proper breaking in;
b. The Cob is to be cleaned just like a briar, so passing a pipe cleaner and wiping the bowl after every smoke;
c. The Cob needs a little rest time in between smokes;
d. The part of the shank sticking into the chamber will taste kind of bad at first but, after a dozen smokes or so, it will build a little cake like a briar and it's supposed to be just fine afterwards;
e. The tobacco chamber needs the cake build - up to be removed when necessary just like a briar.

Do I have it all good? :)

 
Davy Jones: I think you have it covered pretty well, as was said before it may just be that certain "funkiness" that comes with smoking a cob may not be your thing.

Keep trying, would be my advice (as if someone asked).


Walt
 
pepesdad1":2dt2p9g4 said:
Davy Jones:  I think you have it covered pretty well, as was said before it may just be that  certain "funkiness" that comes with smoking a cob may not be your thing.

Keep trying, would be my advice (as if someone asked).


Walt
Click to expand...
Walt, this will be my last Cob if it doesn't work out. If it does work out, well....you know how it goes. :lol!:
 
I've found that powerful, robust tobacco works best for me in a cob. Picayune, Big N' Burley, etc. I didn't care much for the one or two VaPers I tried in it. That may have changed, as I'm new to cobs, but I do know those robust burley blends changed things for me.
 
Zeno Marx":p7ag7e7s said:
I've found that powerful, robust tobacco works best for me in a cob.  Picayune, Big N' Burley, etc.  I didn't care much for the one or two VaPers I tried in it.  That may have changed, as I'm new  to cobs,  but I do know those robust burley blends changed things for me.
Click to expand...
I agree. I went a long time not liking latakia at all in a cob, but "plain" burley blends were great. Storm Front is really good in one. Ditto for Semois.
 
So, from I've been reading for the last few years, Corn Cob Aficionados agree Burleys are a dream match with cobs.
 
To reiterate, I'm relatively new to cobs, so I have a question: is it common to have a bowl, here and there and out of the blue, to taste like total bitter, horrid crap? I remember it taking a handful of bowls to break in this cob, but it wasn't a painful process. It was really rather uneventful, but I definitely could tell when that wood insert burned off, got seasoned, or whatever happens to it. Months later (last night), I had the most horrible pipe I may have ever had. C&D's Big N' Burley, which is one of the blends I really enjoy in the cob. Nothing new or different in my preparation. THE WORST taste. I drank some lemonade, ate a brownie, ate some chips, had a tall glass of water, and I could not get rid of this bitter, awful taste from my smoke. I thought maybe I'd started to burn out the wall of the cob or something unusual like that. After inspecting the cob, I found no signs of burn-out. I don't see anything different inside the bowl.

So, is this common for a cob to throw you a crap smoke every once in a while? Or worst case, do you think this cob has seen its days, and it is time for a new one? I hope not. I think this thing is barely a year old, and I only smoke it once or twice a week.
 
Zeno Marx":xjb4i7at said:
To reiterate, I'm relatively new to cobs, so I have a question:  is it common to have a bowl, here and there and out of the blue, to taste like total bitter, horrid crap?  I remember it taking a handful of bowls to break in this cob, but it wasn't a painful process.  It was really rather uneventful, but I definitely could tell when that wood insert burned off, got seasoned, or whatever happens to it.  Months later (last night), I had the most horrible pipe I may have ever had.  C&D's Big N' Burley, which is one of the blends I really enjoy in the cob.  Nothing new or different in my preparation.  THE WORST taste.  I drank some lemonade, ate a brownie, ate some chips, had a tall glass of water, and I could not get rid of this bitter, awful taste from my smoke.  I thought maybe I'd started to burn out the wall of the cob or something unusual like that.  After inspecting the cob, I found no signs of burn-out.  I don't see anything different inside the bowl.

So, is this common for a cob to throw you a crap smoke every once in a while?  Or worst case, do you think this cob has seen its days, and it is time for a new one?  I hope not.  I think this thing is barely a year old, and I only smoke it once or twice a week.
Click to expand...

You might just have some buildup in the shank or stem...lousy smokes happen once in a while (not exclusive to cobs, of course). The only time I've noticed a cob being particularly bitter, I also notice more moisture near the end of the smoke - I'm not sure if that's causation or correlation, but I doubt it's a coincidence; of course, you didn't mention a lot of moisture, so this may not be relevant to you at all.

I wouldn't be worried about wearing out your cob that early if you haven't seen signs of burnout. If the cobs a "good" cob (ie, MM or another reputable manufacturer), I'd chalk it up to a bad smoke not a bad pipe. I've got cobs I smoke quite regularly that have entered their second decade of service.
 
Update

I followed the advice laid out in Pipedia (thanks again, Rich) after acquiring a Charles Towne Cobbler in early June. Everything went really well.
So I bought a second Charles Towne Cobbler. No issues.
Today, I placed an order for Charles Towne Cobblers no 4 & 5. :lol:
Besides having made a few mistakes in the past that didn't help at all, I think the acrylic stem might also play a mysterious role in this change of appreciation I now have towards Corn Cobs.
For the record, Charles Towne pipes are quite the lookers.
I'm really glad I can, at last, enjoy these pipes. :cheers:
 
Davy Jones":7jxvzezo said:
Update

I followed the advice laid out in Pipedia (thanks again, Rich) after acquiring a Charles Towne Cobbler in early June. Everything went really well.
So I bought a second Charles Towne Cobbler. No issues.
Today, I placed an order for Charles Towne Cobblers no 4 & 5. :lol:
Besides having made a few mistakes in the past that didn't help at all, I think the acrylic stem might also play a mysterious role in this change of appreciation I now have towards Corn Cobs.
For the record, Charles Towne pipes are quite the lookers.
I'm really glad I can, at last, enjoy these pipes.  :cheers:
Click to expand...
Sometimes there's a trigger and it looks as though you've found yours.

Welcome to the wonderful world of cobs!

:tongue:


Cheers,

RR
 
In regards to the funky taste every now and then Zeno, I find that it is often caused by a stray bit of pipe cleaner fluff caught somewhere in the airway of the cob. Give it a thorough clean and blow through and you should be good to go.

And I also have to concur, semois seems made for cobs. A truly tasty match.

Cheers

Tim
 
I enjoy smoking most of my cobs! That said, my Charles Towne Cobblers are a whole new ball game!! I really, really enjoy smoking them :D :D :cheers: FTRPLT
 
ftrplt":wutggca7 said:
I enjoy smoking most of my cobs! That said, my Charles Towne Cobblers are a whole new ball game!! I really, really enjoy smoking them :D :D :cheers: FTRPLT
Click to expand...
Like, World Series caliber, eh? :bounce: :D
 
The Charles Towne Cobblers are great cobs. Well worth the elevated price, in my opinion. Fit and finish are above regular standards, and the bowls, at least on mine, are large, robust, and thick-walled. Even the Danish-type stem, which I normally detest, looks perfect for the pipe. They just plain look cool. Just received two direct from MM. 8)
 
Top