Butz Choquin Ventose Beige 1775 Briar Pipe
- Overall Length: 144mm
- Overall Height: 47mm
- Bowl Height: 47mm
- Bowl Diameter: 39mm
- Bore: 20mm
- Weight: 53g
- Filter: 9mm
- Gift Boxed
There's an old rule among pipe smokers that the tobacco ought to be the most interesting thing in the room. The Butz Choquin Ventose Beige 1775 appears to have missed that particular meeting.
It's quite a spectacle. The bowl carries a glossy patchwork of sandy beige, tobacco brown and near-black markings, rather like a geological cross-section that somebody's taken a considerable amount of trouble to polish. Every turn reveals another curious little detail, from the dark branching lines around the rim to the lighter patches sweeping across the heel.
And then comes the stem. Amber, caramel and ivory-coloured swirls run along its gentle curve, bringing the whole arrangement together rather splendidly. It's an unusual combination, but there's a pleasing harmony between the two finishes.
Beneath all that decoration sits a familiar bent billiard, with a comfortably rounded heel and a gently rising shank.
Butz Choquin has been part of French pipe-making history since the nineteenth century, and the Ventose Beige shows that a traditional shape can still provide plenty of room for artistic mischief.
