The first thing you should do is relax. Given enough time and enough use even the best briar pipes develop a sour taste. It's nothing to get too concerned about and in most cases, it can be pretty easily remedied. The sour taste itself is either the result of oils from the tobacco that have accumulated in the pipe and gone rancid, or tar deposits that have built up over time. Mixing various flavors of tobacco over and over can also lead to a situation where the briar pipe produces a sour taste.

In this post, the experts at Paykoc Pipes will take you through the process of removing the offending materials and restoring your pipe to its former tasty glory.

How to Sweeten Tobacco Pipes

The process of ridding a pipe of its sour taste is called sweetening. When you sweeten a pipe you don’t add anything to it, instead, you remove the aforementioned oils or tar or other materials that are causing the sour taste. You can buy commercial pipe sweeteners or you can use Vodka, Scotch, or rubbing alcohol to achieve the same effect. If the sour taste clings stubbornly to the pipe you may want to resort to a more intensive salt and alcohol treatment.

What you’ll need:

• Your choice of rubbing alcohol, vodka or scotch
• A soft clean cloth
• Pipe cleaners
• Table salt

Preparing the Pipe to be Sweetened

Regardless of the sweetening method you choose, you will prepare your pipe in the same way.

• If you’ve recently used the pipe, allow it to cool down completely.
• Remove the stem.
• Wipe down the outside of the stem and shank with a rag moistened with your choice of alcohol.
• Dip a pipe cleaner in your alcohol and clean the stem and shank.
• Use fresh pipe cleaners and repeat the process until they are clean when you remove them.

Sweetening the Pipe with Alcohol Only

1. Ream the bowl, leaving a thin layer of dottle to protect the briar wood.
2. Replace the stem and insert a fresh pipe cleaner, leaving it in.
3. Sit the bowl upright. You can do this by filling a small bowl with sand or uncooked rice and then pushing the pipe down gently into it until it stands upright.
4. Fill the pipe bowl with your choice of alcohol.
5. Let the bowl sit for 12 - 24 hours or until all the alcohol evaporates.
6. Dump out any remaining alcohol.
7. Wipe out the bowl gently without removing the bottle.
8. Run a new pipe cleaner through the stem.
9. Let the pipe sit overnight.

Note: When you pour out the remaining alcohol it may smell pretty nasty. That’s because it absorbed all the old oils, tar, and other materials that were souring the pipe.

Your next smoke should be noticeably better than your last one. If not, repeat the process or try sweetening with alcohol and salt.

Sweetening Briar Pipes with Alcohol and Salt

Prepare the pipe in the way described above, including setting it upright in sand or rice in a small bowl. After that:

1. Fill the bowl only halfway with alcohol and then top it up with table salt.
2. Let it sit for 12 to 24 hours or until the alcohol has evaporated completely.
3. You should be left with dirty salt.
4. Remove the salt from the bowl by tapping gently in an ashtray. Gently.
5. Soak your clothes in alcohol and remove any salt that remains in the bowl.
6. Soak a pipe cleaner in alcohol and clean the stem and shank.
7. Let the pipe sit overnight before using.

Note: You may experience a slight salty taste firing up the pipe after sweetening this way but that should go away after a few smokes.

Some Random Notes About Pipe Sweetening

• If your pipe is turning sour regularly consider buying a couple of more briar pipes and rotating them.
• If you use scotch, bourbon, or rum to sweeten your pipe the flavor will probably linger for a few bowls. Enjoy it.
• If you bring your pipe to a professional to have it sweetened they’re going to use the alcohol/salt method 9 times out of 10.
• Don’t use your pipe until it has completely dried after sweetening. By doing so you could inhale some very nasty fumes caused by the burning of residual alcohol.

SHOP BRIAR PIPES

About Sour Meerschaum Pipes

Meerschaum pipes can also become sour over time, but meerschaum is a very porous material. Therefore it is not recommended that you use the above sweetening method, as leaving the bowl full of alcohol for hours could ruin the look and taste of the pipe.

Instead, soak a clean cloth with non-flavored alcohol and wipe the inside of the bowl thoroughly. Then soak a pipe cleaner in the same alcohol and clean the stem and shank. Let it sit for several hours until it’s totally dry.

The Standard Method of Pipe Cleaning

The best way to avoid having to sweeten your pipe - or to at least delay the day when you need to sweeten it - is to keep it clean. Here is the standard method of cleaning a briar pipe.

1. Make sure you let the pipe cool completely before attempting to clean it.
2. Empty the bowl of ash and leftover tobacco. Make sure nothing but dottle is left in the bowl.
3. Remove the stem then run a pipe cleaner through it. Use several if necessary and keep doing this until the pipe cleaner emerges clean.
4. Clean the shank in the same manner.
5. Hold two pipe cleaners together and run them around the inside of the bowl. Remove all the built-up residue but don’t remove the thin layer of dottle.
6. Moisten a cotton swab and rub it firmly around the rim until clean.
7. Reassemble the pipe.
8. Use a bit of olive oil on a clean cloth to add some luster to the outside of your pipe. This is optional.

By cleaning your pipe regularly you’ll extend its life and minimize the number of times you need to sweeten it.

Make Paykoc Pipes Your Source for Wholesale Tobacco Pipes

Proper care of your pipe is essential to its longevity and the quality of the smoke you experience. Take the above tips to heart and your tobacco pipes may well outlive you.

And if you're looking for a source of high-quality wholesale tobacco pipes contact the team at Paykoc Pipes. We have one of the widest selections you’ll find anywhere.