Beyond the Burl

• Episode 34: Smuggling tobacco across time

  In this episode, we kick things off with a reflective chat about "the blend that got away," swapping stories of those missed, ignored, or underestimated tobaccos that still haunt us in the best way. From there, we dive back into our ongoing ChatGPT noir adventure, where our heroes sprint through shadowy alleys, dodge questionable characters, and Josh may-or may not-finally reclaim his long-lost pipe. Our deep dive shifts gears into history as we explore how early taxation, government monopolies, and shifting trade laws gave rise to the hidden world of tobacco smuggling. We close the show with a thoughtful review of Cornell & Diehl's Bijou, savoring its honeyed complexity and debating where it lands in our personal rotations.

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• Episode 33: Psychology of the leaf

  In this episode, we explore the fascinating world of pipe tobacco from every angle. We kick things off by uncovering rare and even extinct leaf varieties lost to time, before diving into a Thanksgiving-themed misadventure where Seb and Josh face one travel disaster after another. The drama continues in our noir saga, revealing more about the final last word of the perique blender. We then shift to a deep dive on the psychology and marketing behind blends-why scarcity and hype shape what we crave-and finally bring it all home with a thoughtful review of Escudo itself.

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• Episode 32: Tobacpackers guide to the galaxy

  In this episode, we kicked things off with a playful destination game, each choosing five cities for the other and pairing them with the tobacco we'd settle in with for a month. From there, we slipped back into our ongoing detective-noir tale, confronting a dangerous cult and going undercover to shadow a suspect whose trail keeps getting stranger. Our deep dive explored the true golden era of pipe smoking- from 1850 to 1950-looking at the culture, craft, and legacy that still shape the hobby today. We rounded things out with a review of Glengarry Flake, and closed the show by issuing a new challenge to our listeners to carry forward intotheir own pipe-journeys.

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• Episode 31: Beyond the Burl LIVE 2! Curating a myth

  In this week’s episode, we took the show live on Discord and invited the community into the conversation. Listeners jumped in to share their experiences on how to keep moving forward in the pipe-journey—everything from refining one’s palate with intention, to building a meaningful cellar rather than a chaotic stash, to shaping a pipe collection that actually reflects who you are as a smoker. From there, we shifted into the next chapter of our new ongoing 1940s noir saga featuring detectives Seb and Josh, a smoky, shadow-drenched tale that kept the room hooked. After returning from the dark alleyways of fiction, we opened a broader discussion about the phenomenon of pipe blends that turn into myth and legend after they vanish from production, exploring why scarcity, nostalgia, and community storytelling elevate certain tobaccos into near-mythic status. To close out the night, we settled into a thoughtful review of Eight State Burley, breaking down its character, strengths, and place in the modern burley landscape.

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• episode 30: A farmers life for me

  In this episode of Beyond the Burl, Seb and Josh kick things off with a fun and fiery guessing game before diving into a captivating short story imagining a world where briar no longer exists. The conversation then turns to the fields with an in-depth discussion on the art and process of tobacco farming—exploring how the leaf makes its journey from soil to smoke. To round it all off, the duo share their thoughts in a rich and flavorful review of From Beyond by Cornell & Diehl.

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