Question

The moisture build up can be for several reasons: tobacco that is too moist, smoking too fast, pipe construction issues, etc. One thing you can do is run a pipe cleaner down the stem to soak up the moisture. As you build up some cake in the bottom of the pipe the moisture will be absorbed and you won't hear the gurgle any more.

Sam

In the last month since I first started smoking a pipe I've noticed the gurgling is a lot more common with heavy aromatic (read: MOIST) tobacco. It also happens mainly with my briar, and not so much w/my meerschaum. I'm sure the reason for this is because the hole for the stem on my meerschaum is much lower in the bowl than the one for the briar. I was also smoking too fast which would cause gurgling, slowing down helped a lot but I still have a little trouble with my briar. No biggie as I just use the meerschaum for the aromatics now and stick to latakia blends in the briar.

Here's a link to a quick primer on pipe tobaccos. Hope it helps out. In a nutshell, your aromatics tend to be a bit more damp which could cause gurgling issues. The only non-aromatic I've tried so far is a blend from the local B&M that has "a lot of Latakia in it" according to the guy at the counter, though he wouldn't say what the percentage was or what the other tobaccos were. It has a nice smokey aroma in the pouch which comes through on the finish. The room aroma is subtle but slighly sweet, not nearly as heavy as from an aromatic. I like it a lot, but I also enjoy the aromatics as well.

http://www.pipesmokemag.com/0697/feature.htm

SWilson80 said:

The moisture build up can be for several reasons: tobacco that is too moist, smoking too fast, pipe construction issues, etc. One thing you can do is run a pipe cleaner down the stem to soak up the moisture. As you build up some cake in the bottom of the pipe the moisture will be absorbed and you won't hear the gurgle any more.

Sam

Click to expand...

Well put for a Georgia boy!