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Chicago Pipe Show 2023
If any of you are attending the Chicago Pipe Show this year (next week) please let me know as I would like to buy your a drink and shoot the bull..
I am on both the club and show board and if you ask anyone connected with the club or when you pay the entrance fee, just ask them where Jeff Rice can be found.
To those of you not able to make it, I already miss your face LOL.
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The Chicago Pipe Show
Updated for 2023, this article was originally published in February of 2021 and has been revised to incorporate current information.
This year's Chicagoland International Pipe and Tobacciana Show (April 25-May 1) will be held at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort at 10 Marriott Drive in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
The show has experienced some setbacks in recent years. Like all shows, and virtually everything and everyone else, it lost considerable momentum to the pandemic. It also lost Pheasant Run Resort, which hosted the show for many years. Pheasant Run closed and partially burned down, or burned down and then closed, it's hard to say, but either way, it is no longer suitable for pipe smokers to congregate. We like smoke, but not necessarily when it originates in the smoldering rubble of the structure we currently occupy.
It was a terrific venue during the time the Chicago Show thrived there. For many years we could smoke anywhere on the property — even in the elevators — but those days and their freedoms sadly passed. It still had the smoking tent, and some rooms were designated for smoking, so things were acceptable — until they weren't.
Among the changes is the location, and this will be the second year at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort. New officers for the show have also come forward: Craig Cobine, who took over as Show Director from Frank Burla, has moved to a new position, and Show Director Chuck Martin and his team of dedicated Chicago Club members now wrangle the thousands of details essential to the success of this important show — a show that has been the axis for much of the pipe world for two decades and a place where cool and influential people are always abundantly present.
Chicago Show History
The largest show in pipe history, Chicago has brought hundreds of pipe makers, tobacco blenders, cigar smokers, accessory makers, and pipe enthusiasts together, hundreds at a time gathering from around the world to congregate in the Chicago area for one glorious weekend (some stay a week), all thanks to the efforts of the Chicagoland Pipe Collectors Club (CPCC).
There were pipe clubs previous to the Chicago club, of course. Pipe Lovers magazine, a monthly publication in the 1940s and early '50s, printed information about active pipe clubs from around the country, and Chicago itself had pipe meetings of various groups previous to the CPCC, but none that would stimulate a global impact on the world of pipes.
Chicago is and has been home to many great pipe shops: Iwan Ries, UpDown, Cellini, Larson's — and in the 1970s, shops like these began attracting people who wanted to enjoy some pipe-enthusiast social time.
It makes sense. There are lots of pipe smokers who can talk about pipes all day, as you know if you've been to any pipe show. I've personally participated in conversations lasting all night at pipe shows, or multiple nights, and I'm not particularly talkative — but it's easy when you're around pipe people. I've witnessed the surprise in comrades realizing that the night has vanished and that a pipe show must now be navigated on only two hours of sleep. Time evaporates in these settings.
People from all professions, religions, personality types, and every other category of existence can become infatuated with pipe smoking and find themselves with an appetite for both tobacco and tobacco talk. Chicagoans were seeing other pipe smokers in the shops and enjoying occasional discussions of pipes and pipe tobacco, and like any of us would, they wanted more. A few decided to get together for organized meetings where more enthusiasts could congregate simultaneously.
Early Chicago Pipe Groups
There were two groups of pipe smokers in Chicago by the late '70s: one on the South Side and one on the North Side. Another group formed at the UpDown tobacco shop downtown, but it was the North- and South-side groups who started meeting together in the '80s and merged into the Chicago Pipe Collectors Club (CPCC) in the early 1990s. Mike Reschke was the first president of the club and remained so, except for one year, until his passing in 2016. His Parker pipe collection was award winning and vast, and he served as the assistant show director for the Chicago pipe show for its first 21 years.
Before that, though, in the 1980s, a few smaller shows met a few times, including the Briar Pipe Show, directed by Dennis Di Piazza, and the Antique Pipe Show, directed by Frank Burla, who would later become director and full-time promoter of the Chicagoland show. Frank worked for the FBI in 1983 when he emptied the ground floor of his home and hosted the first Antique Pipe Show there, including armed guards because the combined value of all the pipes displayed was astronomical.
The two shows were held together in 1986 and in 1988. In 1999, the shows merged, the combined event held at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois, where many later shows would be held. The show didn't last, though. Frank had to curtail his involvement at his doctor's insistence. The stress and time invested in his FBI career, combined with almost equally full-time work for the show, injured his health. "You finish one show," said Frank, "and the next day you're already working on the following two years' shows." No one else could invest the time necessary, and several years passed without a show.
But after Frank retired in 1994, and his doctor said it was okay, he became show director for the CPCC, and the first show was planned for 1996. They needed some funds to get things going; Frank said they'd need $1,000, and 10 members contributed $100 each. If you're ever curious about who started the Chicago show, here they are: Bill Amato, Frank Burla, John Golderg, Ed Lehman, John Loring, Judd Perlson, Mike Reschke, Chuck Rio, Herm Schobel, and Al Smith. These are the people who have earned our gratitude for funding a pipe show that would become singularly successful.
"Successful," is not meant in an economic sense. It would develop into a multi-level event lasting a week and providing food, seminars, and other functions making the show attractive not only to pipe enthusiasts, but to their families.
The Modern Chicago Show Starts
The first CPCC show was at the Clarion Quality Inn in Rosemont, outside of Chicago, in 1996. They found this venue thanks to another group of collectors, the National Pocket Lighter Society. Obviously, there was a connection, and the Lighter Society arranged for them to share their show space for that first show. The combination was intuitive and fun for everybody.
However, the Clarion would not sign a contract for the pipe smokers to return, citing the expense of fumigating the ballroom after the pipe show. They needed a new place, and as any pipe show organizer will readily volunteer, that is a tough job. Hotels that would permit smoking were difficult to find, and at that time, pipe shows were smoking events. It was a prerequisite of that time, before we were ushered outside and into tents or onto patios to endure whatever weather conditions prevail.
The show moved to the Ramada Inn, in Harvey, Illinois, in 1997, and stayed there for three years. That '97 show was my first Chicago show. It wasn't as big as it later became, but it was already larger than other shows; attendance was great, famous pipe makers were starting to attend, and there were unbelievable pipes, so many pipes, pipes from all over and of stupefying quality. It was the Walt Disney World of pipes and every bit as invigorating as Splash Mountain. I don't know what the afterlife may be, not having visited recently, but any paradise for pipe smokers will include unlimited access to the Chicago pipe show.
I'd never seen such rare pipes of such artistic vision before, and my pipe collection was much improved — in direct proportion to the depreciation of my bank account. That's when I started telling my wife that no pipe costs more than $10. She didn't fall for that, but supported my hobby and asked for no details, and I soothed my conscience by presenting her with a brand new vacuum cleaner. She didn't like it as much as I hoped. For that, I blame the 1997 Chicago show.
The Current Chicago Show
Those who have attended past shows in previous years will notice some differences. Sadly, Frank Burla, who has always been there, has passed away, and his absence will always be felt. Craig Cobine, who accepted the Directorship when Frank retired from those responsibilities, is now Director Emeritus, and Chuck Martin, who has served in past years as Assistant Director, has stepped in to run the show. Tim Garrity, President of the CPCC, is of course heavily involved, as are board members like Craig Hairrell.
One of the differences is in the smoking tent, which while at Pheasant Run was 6,000 square feet, at the Lincolnshire Marriott is 4,000. However, says Chuck Martin, "it's actually about the same useable space because there are fewer amenities." There is no bar in the tent, and won't be staffed with servers because the hotel doesn't want to subject their employees to that environment, so a workaround has been found. "The bar will be adjacent to the hotel, so you'll have to walk a hundred feet to get a drink. It's a permanent tent the hotel uses for a variety of functions, weddings and that sort of thing. The air handling is considerably better than in the temporary tent that we had at Pheasant Run. Not to say it doesn't get smoky, but it's quite a bit better." It's also climate controlled and should maintain better temperatures than at Pheasant Run, where, depending on the swings of Chicago weather, it could be frigid or sweltering.
An interesting competition is scheduled for this show and will highlight the skills of established carvers in a Battle of the Briar. Hosted by Steve Fallon of pipestud.com and Jeff Gracik of J. Alan Pipes, the battle will be between three carvers: Jared Coles, Scottie Piersel, and Tommaso Ascorti. "It's a bit like 'Iron Chef,'" says Craig Hairrell. "It was Jeff Gracik's idea to create a competition to determine who could make the best pipe using the same materials, the same equipment, and with the same time constraint of one hour."
"It's deliberately featuring someone local and someone domestic and someone from overseas," says Chuck. "The finished pipes will be donated to the silent auction, where people can vote on which pipe they think is best. We'll award that either Saturday or Sunday." The carvers will have spectacular briar to work with, donated by third-generation briar cutter Makis Minetos of Makis Grecian Briar.
That competition will not interfere with the pipe-making seminar that has traditionally accompanied the Chicago show. "Jeff Gracik is leading that," says Craig, "along with Jared Coles, David Huber, and Alex Florov, and other carvers will pop in. You never know who's going to be there. In the past, Tom Eltang has been a regular, and Manduela, Lee Von Erck, just a lot of people will stop in and help out for a short time. But there's going to be a second class this year, and this is the first time we've offered it. It's a little more advanced, with some things that aren't taught in the basic class. And Makis has also supplied the briar for that."
Quality briar is important and not easy to find these days. "It seems that a lot of European carvers source their own briar and don't sell to others," says Tim Garrity. "China has been buying considerable briar, especially quality briar; they're pursuing pipe making in a big way, which reduces the amount of briar available elsewhere. I've learned through talking with carvers in Greece, Sicily, and one other carver from Italy, that COVID set them back because there weren't many people harvesting briar, and now there aren't many getting into harvesting. So we have kind of a perfect storm when it comes to briar, where we have a large up-and-coming market that's buying all the briar and at the same time a reduction in the people harvesting it."
"By the way," says Craig, "we'll be streaming that competition on one of our social media outlets. I'm not sure which, but we'll provide a link on our Chicago Pipe Show page and on Instagram and Facebook shortly before the show. We'll be streaming it live, so even people who aren't at the show can watch."
There's always plenty to do at the show and before and after. On Friday is the pre-show Swap and Smoke as found in previous years. "That should be ready by about 8:00 a.m.," says Chuck, "and people will have half tables throughout the day. And then at 4:00, we'll close the pre-show, empty the tent, and the Marriott people will come in and change the tables from eight-foot rectangles to 10-foot rounds for people to continue smoking."
Friday night also features the welcome dinner, open to all. "There's a $20 fee for that," says Chuck, "but it's way more than a $20 dinner. The buffet stations are vast, and they laid out quite a spread for us last year." Another dinner takes place on Saturday night for the Doctor and Master of Pipes ceremony.
Additionally, Fred Hanna, Ph.D. and Doctor of Pipes, will be giving a seminar on the benefits of nicotine, and the United Pipe Clubs of America will hold its annual meeting, as will the Charatan Society. Jeremy Reeves, Head Blender of Cornell & Diehl, will be demonstrating blending techniques, and UPCA will hold its second annual fast-smoking contest as well as the more established Slow Smoke contest.
The Chicago show is an event celebrating relationships and a deeper understanding of pipes, and is a social occasion that is often the only time many friends see each other. For those who seek education on any aspect of pipes and pipe smoking, it's an environment geared to fulfill those ambitions. And, of course there are rare tobaccos and pipes to be found and cherished. Many people work hard and long to make a show like this work, and those of us who attend are appreciative.
Battle of the Briar
April 28 @ 7:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Battle of the Briar is a new event; a competition will take place at the 2023 Chicago Pipe Show. Three world class pipe makers will battle it out using identical materials and tools to see who can make the best briar pipe in one hour. Attendees can watch the event live in person, at the Pipe Show watch party, or via social media platform (link to be made available soon).
This year’s pipe carving contestants are Jared Coles, Scottie Piersel and Tommaso Ascorti. The contest will be hosted by Jeff Gracik (J Alan Pipes) and Steve Fallon (PipeStud)
Thanks for the heads-up. I really hope to catch the “Battle of the Briar”.
Can't make it this year... grandkids...
CHECK YOUR INBOX...
I have been here at the hotel setting up for the pipe carving seminar for the past 2 days. The class started this morning and will finish tomorrow afternoon.
There are 3 instructors, principally Jeff Gracik of J Allen pipes, Alex Florov and another Carver friend of Jeff's who's name escapes me. We have a full class of 20 students total for our 101 and 201 classes. We also had a couple people show up as walk ins, but could not accept.
At about 10:30 Lee Von Erck showed up and spoke about techniques to the class
The Battle of the Briar is tomorrow Friday and it starts at 7:00 PM central time
The event will be live on YouTube. The link below should take you there.
https://www.youtube.com/@jeffthechefpiper8227
If for any reason you have difficulty you can go to chicagopipeshow.com
Navigate to the battle of the briar page for all the details of the event and a link to the youtube channel
Or
You can search youtube for jeffthechef piper channel.
If any of you watch it, I'd like to hear your opinions, should be interesting.
CHEERS
PRE SHOW SALE!
<<We are going to be doing a Sale that is Very Extreme but it is for the Chicago Pipe Show, For those that can not be there to enjoy the show we are doing Everything on
Rnatreasures.com
65% OFF On Friday April 28th
6am-12:59am WEBSITE ONLY
Due to Problem with discount, we pushed it for another hour. The Discount has been corrected! >>
NM, I found the link above, thank you.
GREAT looking pipe! The grain is fantastic.
What is the stem material?
By the way, thanks for the link. Really enjoyed watching the competition...
Those of you attending Chicago: Samples of this blend will be available at the Sutliff display. If you pick up the samples please feel free to put your impressions in this thread. My intent here is to give a reasonable idea of what these blends are going to be so that people who might not like the descriptions don't add to the buying frenzy only to not want the blends. This will be a limited release of 7500 tins per blend.
Per's "Bird's of a Feather" blends featured some interesting tobaccos - chief among them was the Katerini Perique that was a one-time experiment. Similarly, Per has used two particularly interesting tobaccos for this release: Stoved Katerini "Black Kat" and Stoved Rustica. Each tobacco may or may not be in each blend. Per is playing with these flavors to show the potential of the stoving process for these tobaccos, so he uses them where they add to the overall profile. There not int here just to be there. I smoked six blends today and my palate was extremely challenged - especially towards the end of the day. Those of you who have smoked the Birds of a Feather series - these tobaccos are in the same vein - little to no topping detectable. Per is using the tobaccos as condimentals and flavoring and some of the results are sublime. Sublime also means that you have to focus to find all of the nuanced flavor. None of these blends are smack you in the ass aromatics or varietals. For example, the presence of latakia in a blend does not mean it's a lat bomb. These blends are very balanced.
A few points regarding my notes below: These blends were tasted very fresh and with no age. I only smoked one bowlful of each. YMMV. These blends were presented in a crumble cake slice, but the final decision on presentation hasn't been made yet. These notes are what I smelled and tasted in the blend. YMMV. Finally, My Nic-o-meter was broken long ago so I am not a reliable judge of nicotine strength, so I'm leaving that out. By my judgement, all of these blends are fairly stout, but none had me feeling even remotely queasy. However, a newer smoker had to quit about halfway through. YMMV.
Stoved Katerini "Tin Note" is very similar to the periqued katerini. The kinship of some of these blends with UNO and Anomalous is very apparent.
Stoved Rustica "Tin Note" is very musty / Rickhouse / barn / dried fruit or raisin and dark chocolate.
Blend #1
Tin Note: Smoky Barnyard and musty leaves.
Flavor profile: Earthy, Peppery, cayanne(?) cavendish. This strikes me as being similar to Presbyterian in w/ Lat and oriental flavor profile, Stoved Rustica presents similarly to perique. Here it is peppery and dark fruit. Dry on the palate. Tang of stoved katerini adds a nice tang. My first note was "This is a grownup version of Mississippi Mud"
Blend#2
Tin Note: Smoky but lightly floral
Flavor Profile: Dried Flowers? Latakia in front but a very mellow mouthfeel and a very nice balance. Black Kat presents with a very subtle dark berry / current or raspberry. Very consistent flavor to the bottom.
Blend#3
Tin Note: Citrus Tangy Hayfever Funk
Flavor Profile: The base varietal here is Red VA and it is very nice. The stoved rustica again adds some perique-ness to the blend. There is some citrus as well and a slight pepper spice on the back of the throat. Must also be yellow VA - might bite if pushed.
Blend#4
Tin Note: Latakia, and Rickhouse / barnyard
Flavor Profile: Extremely balanced blend. Latakia present on the nose integrates into the tobacco and does not overwhelm it. In this sense the latakia is nicely condimental not fundamental. Katerini (Tang and funkiness) is forward, Red Virginia is the initial flavor, Rustica and latakia add fullness and smokiness but like an extinguished campfire covered by moldering leaves. Similar to Latakia content of UNO. Earth Clove and Must. The virginia hits at first but dissipates quickly after a few puffs.
Blend#5
Tin Note: Mulch and Must
Flavor profile: (Sorry this was the last blend I tried, and I was fried) Earth, BBQ and Dried Figs. This blend is Stoved VA, Stoved Kat, and Stoved Rustica. So really, think like Rattray's Dark Fragrant with more dark fruit and Katerini tang. I have a feeling this one might punch harder if I wasn't burned out.
Blend#6
Tin Note: Very light bag aroma - I smelled more of the plastic bag than the tobacco.
Flavor Profile: Sweet dark fruits. Great mouthfeel. Almost VaPer like, but heavier mouthfeel. There is more going on here than ... escudo, say. There is also some dark fired present.
These blends will be released 4,5,6,1,2,3 ... reasons which will be apparent upon release
Blend #5 sounds like something I would smoke, maybe #3. Does Blend #1 have Latakia, I’m not sure how to read your description of it?