Tobacconist Tuesday

Cigar World Feature: BriarWorks and Columbia Pipe & Cigar- Columbia, TN

Tagged Briarworks, Columbia Pipe & Cigar
Posted 3 months ago | Less than a minute to read
By: Jean Romanowicz, Editor of Cigar World

When I initially set up my appointment with Pete Prevost at BriarWorks, I thought it would be a quick chat about the pipes that he carves so that I could feature him in our Artisan’s Corner section, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Prevost has a story that I wanted to share with the audience outside of just his artistic skills in the craft of pipe carving. After our conversation, I walked away knowing that we needed to do more than just an interview. We needed to go to his lounge/workshop hybrid and check it out for ourselves.

Pete’s story starts in 2008 when he started to make handmade pipes. He wasn’t taught from a young age by a family member. Prevost was on a break from touring with his band Sanctus Real and thought this was something that he wanted to try, so he went online and ordered a pipe kit. Much respect! He enjoyed it and was obviously talented in this craft, so he continued to do it. In 2013, Prevost, in partnership with Todd Johnson, started BriarWorks in a small workshop in Nashville, TN. During this time, Pete fell further in love with the craft and the community that the craft provided. He took over as President of the business in 2016 and made the decision to expand his business from just manufacturing pipes to having a hybrid space where he could continue to hone his craft but also open a lounge where like-minded individuals could come to enjoy pipes and cigars together.

In 2018, Prevost opened BriarWorks and Columbia Pipe & Cigar in Columbia, TN. He found an amazing historic space in downtown Columbia where he could fulfil his vision of a working pipe factory in the back and a fully functioning cigar and pipe lounge in the front. The lounge serves spirits, cocktails, draft beer, bottled/canned beer, cider, craft sodas, and more, while the lounge boasts a large variety of handmade cigars, pipe tobacco, and accessories.

Prevost has even worked with different blenders to create his own pipe tobacco. His BriarWorks pipe tobacco is available in varieties such as Smokehouse, Peach Cobbler, Cherry Cobbler, Sweet Tea, Unsweet Tea, Country Lawyer, Back Down South, Bacon Old Fashioned and Pete’s Beard Blend. Pete worked with Jeremy Reeves on creating these interesting and creative blends. As for cigars, Prevost worked with Jon Huber, at Crowned Heads, to take their Four Kicks cigar and make an exclusive size for BriarWorks, the 4 X 44. (You can buy these on their website, https://briarworksusa.com/collections/cigars)

Of course, you can pick up one of BriarWorks’ handcrafted pipes at the store also. He has a couple of different categories of pipes. There is the BriarWorks Classic line which is inspired by pipes made in the early to mid-20th century. Then there are Moonshine USA pipes which are more of a twist on the classic line. This line of pipes has different shapes and sizes, and each pipe has a lightning bolt design on them to pay homage to the independent spirit of old Appalachia that inspired the brand. Finally, there are Limited Small Batch Pipes which are, as they sound, limited edition and made in small batches.

You can get more than just tobacco at BriarWorks. Prevost has done a great job working with another artisan in the Columbia area, Bradley Mountain Leather, on many of his accessories that he sells in the shop such as a leather key fob/pipe rest, or a pipe roll to store your pipe.

Pete’s reach in the pipe world has grown even further than the making of pipes and opening of his lounge to host the Muletown Pipe Show. Prevost started this pipe show in 2019 and just celebrated their 5th year anniversary this past March. (They had to skip a year due to COVID.) It is an entire weekend of fun for the pipe enthusiasts where they host multiple vendors and pipe makers from around the US.

You can see why I was pleasantly surprised when I started to speak with Pete about his endeavors. Whether you are a pipe smoker or not, BriarWorks is a tobacconist that you need to check out if you find yourself in Columbia, TN.

Of course, we asked Pete our usual Tobacconist Tuesday questions and you can read his answers below:
Favorite Cigar: Padron Principe Maduro
Favorite Drink to Pair: Coffee
3 Words to Describe Himself: Kind and Loyal (we will say, humble for him since he could only come up with two.)
Hobbies: Music. I had to laugh when I found out that he was a twice Grammy-nominated musician and considered this to be a hobby. 😊

If you want to follow along with BriarWorks and Pete’s journey, you can follow them at @briarworks and @columbiapipeandcigar on Instagram.

We will also be hosting a giveaway with some BriarWorks merchandise on our social media pages, so be sure to check them out and enter next week!