Andrey Grigoriev: Smooth Brandy with Bamboo Tobacco Pipe

Andrey Grigoriev started making pipes in 2004, and early in his career he apprenticed under Russian artisan Viktor Yashtylov. Now with nearly two decades spent perfecting his craft, Andrey makes fine pipes under his own name, with a wide range of artistic expression throughout his portfolio. This straight Brandy displays the kind of robust plumpness about the bowl that I expect from a Russian artisan, with said bowl perched lightly on the end of an equally robust shank.

His shaping choice here is distinctly organic, with the briar transitioning into an abbreviated curvature to match the smooth undulations of two knuckles of pale bamboo. The aesthetic remains unified in the stem, with a base that curls into a mirror of the bamboo knuckles before reducing quickly to a sleek saddle configuration that flares into a curved fishtail. The curvaceous motif is present at the rim as well, with a subtle but distinct swale dividing the chamber's entrance with an almost liquid profile. It's smoothly finished and dressed in a striking stain to accentuate handsome vertical grain, with particularly resplendent flame grain on the right flank.