Morta and Bacardi

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Storm_Crow

Storm_Crow

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I sweeten my briars by filling the bowl with Bacardi 151 and salt and allowing that to sit overnight. Recently, I acquired a beautiful new Morta, which I've come to discover is far more porous than briar. I was curious to find out if anyone knows of any concerns with soaking a morta bowl in this way..
 
I thought the salt treatment was for used pipes that are soured or ghosted.I cant see any reason to use it on a new pipe,just my opinion.
 
Interesting question. Now that the subject has been brought up, any particular concerns with a morta that anyone knows of? Or ways to care for it that differ from, say, a briar? I just got a morta that has quickly become my favorite pipe and I don't want to do something (or not do something) that might harm her...
 
Morta is more porous, yet is a bit denser than briar. I haven't had to spirit-soak my morta for any reason, however, if cobs are any indication, more porous might soak up more moisture, but it might take less time to dry out. Just a guess.

I'd be careful with morta in this fashion, S_C, morta can have "soft spots" where the not-quite-petrified wood hasn't gone t through its unique "process" evenly, probably due to differences in the wood itself back when it was a tree. Soaking might loosen up these fibers and cause divots in the chamber after smoking, even if dry. I had this happen in one of mine which I discovered was from the moisture of the tobacco, but nothing a little pipe mud couldn't fix.

8)
 
So what does the renowned palette detect ?

Briar vs. Morta.

Inquiring minds want to know !

:face:
 
Morta is weird. Beyond it physically retaining a little more heat (my thoughts on its density), feeling (and often smoking) closer to a meerschaum than briar, it differs far from meerschaum in the area of adding flavor to the tobacco.

I have two mortas, one I reserved for Latakia and one I had for Virginia. I recently switched over the VA-only to Latakia, because on subtle stuff, like Union Square (a great test, if you ask me) you can detect an interesting...well...swampy taste to the tobacco. It isn't sweet like briar, and doesn't have the very faint fresh "saltiness" of a (newer) meerschaum. "Swampy" would imply a bad notion, but it isn't, it's just different, and kind of hard to explain. It lends all tobaccos a very peaty, earthy tone, tasting similar to how a lake shoreline would smell. It's fresh, but very organic. Compost-like, but in a nice way.

Certain Virginias suddenly go from "clean" to "muddy." Since I like my Virginias on the light side, I probably would enjoy very heavy, pressed and aged McClellands in a morta, but complex Orientals, Red VAs, light, bright VAs and anything that likes a clean pipe skews off in a different direction. Again, not bad, but different.

And of course, YMMV. Morta is likely highly variable in this regard, as it comes from different locations and conditions as it turns into the product fit for pipes. Overall, Yak, I don't think Morta would be for you. 8)
 
Thanks for the opinions folks...maybe I'll give a miss on sweetening it. It's an estate Davorian morta I bought off ebay. It's almost new and aside from simply being the most beautiful pipe I own, it smokes great with an outstanding draw. As is common with morta, it's lighter on average than a typical briar of its size, but it's also fairly chunky so while morta is known to get hotter than briar, it doesn't really get very hot at all. It also holds first place among my pipes as being the best clencher, and puts far less jaw strain on me than much smaller briars that I own.

 
Got any pictures, S_C, or did I miss it posted? I love Davorin's work. 8)
 
No I haven't posted it yet. I'll try to put it up, if not today then possibly Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
 
Interesting... the last bowl of Stonehaven I had was from my new morta. I noticed something was a little different this smoke... Thanks to Kyle's post, I realized it was a certain "earthiness" I was tasting. The morta! I know some of you are rolling your eyes but this is the first significant flavor difference I've tasted in different pipes. Kinda cool!
 
My morta behaves like a meerschaum. Neutral, adding nothing flavorwise. It's heavier than its briar twin (both squashed tomatos 3/4 x 1 1/2 bore x 2 1/2 bowl) but heats up less while smoking.
 
I still have this outlandish theory that suggests not all morta and meerschaum are the same. Location gathered, prep before it becomes a pipe, even washing/curing/drying might all lead one to have more "added flavor" than another. Or, it's my stupid senses picking up on minutia. I can't tell until I have a few more pipes from different makers...all i know is, I love morta and meerschaum alike for what they are, they truly smoke great, are great for a change from briar, and suggest everyone have at least one of each to try 'em out for themselves. If anything, they're the yin and yang of the pipe world.

S_C... pictures? It's Tuesday. :cheers:

8)
 
I'll preface this by saying I don't own a bog wood pipe. Yet. But I have researched them quite a bit.

Due to morta's porosity, I agree that any liquid in or near the bog wood itself is not recommended. Ever. Otherwise, it can be cleaned as you would a briar.

Also as noted here, more than a few state that morta doesn't shine with virginia and virginia-forward blends, but does very well with Englishes and Balkans.

There are also different types of morta which some say their smoking experience differs from one another. However, a Bog wood pipe master, Davorin, disagrees. You can check out his Q&A here: http://davorinmortapipes.wordpress.com/some-questions-and-answers/

All said, I still believe that since bog wood used for morta pipes comes from a host of various countries (hell even Peterson made pipes from Irish bog wood during the War), it's safe to assume that both the looks and the smoking qualities will vary, sometimes considerably, from pipe to pipe.


 
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