Tsuge The Tasting 21 Sandblasted Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Japanese Estates

Description

Tsuge is Japan’s largest and most internationally renowned pipe company, having been founded in 1936 by Kyoichiro Tsuge. In the 1970s, however, Tsuge himself was so impressed by the pipes coming out of Denmark, that he sent two of Tsuge’s own master pipe-makers, Kazuhiro Fukuda and Smio Satou, to hone their craft under the likes of Sixten Ivarsson and Jørgen Larsen. Upon their return, the Tsuge Ikebana workshop was established so that Fukuda, Satou, and their apprentices would have the means to create high-grade Japanese pipes to rival even those being made in Europe’s pipe-making capitals. Alongside the Ikebana workshop, Tsuge expanded its range of standard models to reflect the company’s new Scando-Japanese style, including designs by Danish icons such as Jorn Micke and Geert Holbek.

“The Tasting” series is a little different to most other pipes made by Tsuge. For one, the designs are eminently traditional in the Anglo-French vein, in contrast to the more Scandinavian-inspired and Japanese designs seen in other Tsuge pipes. However, what truly sets The Tasting series apart is its focus not on form, but function. After all, it is common for pipe smokers to dedicate certain pipes to certain blends, on account of their shape, especially the bowl. Wide pot shapes, for example, are excellent for Latakia-forward English blends, whereas tall, narrow chambers are excellent for flake cuts. Both of these shapes have a place in The Tasting series, as does the humble billiard, seen here. The shape number itself—“21”—references the width of the chamber in millimeters, with 21mm being, according to Tsuge’s in-house research, ideal for loose cuts. In other words, it’s perfect for loose blends that have a mixture of varietals and/or cuts in them, whether it’s an English, a VaBur, or otherwise. As for the rest of the design, it is simply a meticulously crafted billiard, with a crisp sandblast that typically showcases some good ring grain to it—as this one does.

The condition is very good. Slight inner rim charring, though nothing major.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.60″ / 40.64mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g