Glossary

A

Aromatic: A type of tobacco which is either cased or top flavored in order to produce a taste and room note other than the tobacco's natural smell, whether simply sugar or molasses, whiskey or other alcohols, or many other flavorings. Used as a major category for pipe tobaccos, along with non-aromatic and latakia based blends.

B

Briar: Actually a mistranslation of the French bruyère, briar among pipe smokers refers to the wood of the erica arborea, a species of flowering plant in the heather family. After 30 to 60 years of growing time, the football sized plants are harvested, cooked, dried for several months, and further processed before they are made into pipes.

C

Cake: Cake refers to the buildup of residual carbon that forms in the bowl of a pipe. Most recommend trimming back the buildup to keep it at roughly the width of a dime in a briar pipe in order to create a protective layer which cools the pipe and reduces moisture. Cake is frowned upon in meerschaums, and the subject of much debate among corn cob pipe smokers.

D

Dottle: The leftover plug of unburnt tobacco and ash left in the heel of a pipe bowl after smoking. Dottle is avoided by smokers as a waste of tobacco and occasionally souring of the bowl, but is sometimes unavoidable.

Drama: A sweet type of tobacco with a natural olive oil fragrance grown on the Southern slopes and foothills of the Rhodope Mountains in Greek Eastern Macedonia.

E

English: Aside from the obvious geographical uses, the word "English" is often used among pipe smokers to refer to blends with latakia in them. In reality, however, the term only developed to differentiate blends made in the United Kingdom, especially in the days of the now defunct Tobacco Purity Laws, which prohibited humectants and most flavorings from being added to the tobacco. A more precise term is "latakia based".

F

Flake: Flake tobacco is made by slicing thin sheets off of a cube, which in turn is formed by pressing whole tobacco leaves into a compressed form, usually under significant pressure for long periods of time. Flake tobacco may be sold in slices, or fully or partially broken or rubbed out.

G

Ghost: A ghost is the taste or smell of a previously smoked tobacco remaining in a pipe and coloring the taste of a different blend smoked in the same pipe. Generally the cause of tar in the shank, but usually blamed on cake.

H

Hand: A hand is a bundle of tobacco tied at the end and hung from the knot for curing purposes.

I

Izmir: A type of Turkish tobacco with rich flavor, low nicotine, and cool smoke. It has a very aromatic nature and is often blended with Latakia to somewhat subdue this property. Primarily used as a condiment with pipe tobacco, but occasionally offered by itself.

K

Kentucky: Dark-Fired Kentucky is a type of pipe tobacco made from burley which is cured over a fire and flavored by its smoke.

L

Latakia: Named for the principal port city of Syria, latakia is a form of tobacco which is cured over a stone pine or oak wood fire, giving it a smoky flavor. Most latakia, despite the name, is now grown in Cyprus, not Syria, and camel dung has nothing to do with the process of its creation.

M

Meerschaum: A mineral hydrous magnesium silicate called sepiolite, primarily found in Turkey near Eskisehr, which is used in the making of tobacco pipes. The word means "seafoam".

O

Oriental: Used interchangeably with "Turkish" to refer to sun cured condimental tobaccos grown in the Eastern Mediterranean. This category of tobaccos includes Yenidje, Smyrna, Samsun, Izmir, Drama, Xanthe, and often Basma, which is not a particular leaf but a generic Turkish blend, and all that pipe tobacco blenders are often able to find due to the purchase of most oriental varietals by cigarette manufacturers.

P

Pipe: A tube with a small bowl at one end used for the smoking of tobacco.

P-Lip: A type of pipe mouthpiece invented by Peterson of Dublin and relying on a small hole on the top of a stem rather than a hole at its end. Meant to reduce tongue bite by directing the flow of smoke away from the tongue.

Q

Quaint: A pipe shape hallmarked, generally, by more than four panels, especially with a paneled shank as well.

R

Reaming: Trimming back cake from the bowl of a tobacco pipe.

Reamer: A tool used to trim pipe cake back to an acceptable level. These have been made in countless different forms, adjustable and non-adjustable, for well over a century. Some simply use a pipe knife or sandpaper to accomplish the same task.

Rhodesian: A subject of great dispute. Unlikely to have been named for Cecil Rhodes, and more likely to have taken its name from Rhodesian tobacco, a Rhodesian is considered by some to be any bent bulldog, by others to be any bulldog with a round shank, and by others any bulldog shape with a greater bowl width than height. For each accepted definition of the word there is a pipe sold which contradicts it, and no consensus is likely.

S

Slot: A slot is the wide opening at the end of the mouthpiece tapering into the airway of the pipe. Generally seen only on vulcanite and acrylic stems from the last century, the slot is funneled both to make the insertion of a pipe cleaner easier and to make for a smoother flow for the smoke.

T

Tamp: Using a tool or finger to compress the contents of the pipe bowl so as to bring unburnt tobacco into contact with the ember.

Tamper: A tool used to tamp a pipe, generally with a flat end designed for that purpose and a handle. A tamper can be as simple as a piece of dowel or as ornate as the buyer may wish. While it seems inconsequential, tamping is important both for the care of the pipe and the coolness of the smoke.

Twist: A form of tobacco, also known as rope tobacco, which is spun into a roll, largely by hand, rather than being pressed into flakes. One of the oldest forms of smoking tobacco.

U

Ukulele: A pipe shape first designed by Sixten Ivarsson for the Pibe-Dan shop in the 1950s and named ukulele, some credit Ed Burak for the design which he considered a bulldog. A ukulele is characterized by a domed, wide bowl and a wide oval shank with a flat bowl bottom.

Y

Yacht: Another name for the Zulu pipe shape, with a canted dublin bowl, oval shank and 1/8 bent stem. Among others, Kaywoodie used the term Yacht for pipes of this shape.

Z

Zulu: A shape of smoking pipe hallmarked by a canted dublin style bowl, an oval shank and a 1/8th bent stem. Also referred to as a Woodstock or a Yacht.