Look, I hate pipe snobbery. Both kinds. Smoke what you like within the boundaries of what you can afford. If you can afford S. Bang and Jess Chonowitsch more power to you. If you think anything beyond Grabows and cobs is unnecessary you may have a point and it's not something that needs to be argued over. It's a hobby.
Anyway, I've owned a few Castellos over the years, but being so absolutely focused on London Made pipes for so long I had only kept one. I've recently added several Castellos to my collection, and smoking them has been a real pleasure and nudged my memory of what those old Castellos I had but didn't keep were like. Here are some thoughts about the brand.
Cons
- only available with acrylic stems
- you see some pretty sloppy shaping and bore placement from Castello on occasion, as in stuff that never should have shipped IMO
- price, which is subjective
Pros
- I have not had one Castello that wasn't an absolutely fantastic smoker, like you stop and think what a great pipe every time you smoke a bowl in it.
- Castello pipes are artisan pipes, sure, some nameless artisan in the employ of Castello, but artisan nonetheless.
- Sea Rock is absolutely the best rustication ever IMO.
- Castello stems may be acrylic and the buttons huge, but I like them. I never wish for the stem of my Castellos to be vulcanite, and acrylic was always a deal breaker for me.
- In a world where artisans seem to be focusing more and more on the 4.5 inch sweetspot, Castello still makes big pipes, which is appealing to a Burley guy like me.
- Iconic Italian conception of classic English shapes, which deserves its own paragraph, see below.
Castello generally veers way off course from the English original. Some are closer, like the 23 apple and 24 Prince. Some go in directions the English would never, but you still see the English origin in every shape. So what becomes interesting to me is do I look at a Castello pipe and see an English shape inside the briar, and do I look at the same pipe and see an absolutely unique perspective on a traditional shape that is true to the house style of Castello? I think besides the fact that they are always functionally excellent, that is what I find most appealing about Castello. They have a catalog that flows, that makes sense, that exhibits the same dna in every shape they interpret.
People are always down on Dunhill because of their selling price. It's the sole remaining London pipe maker. What's that worth to you? It was worth enough to me that I bought many Dunhills prior to their stupid re-branding in late 2012. The finish is impeccable on modern Dunhills, they smoke well, I don't regret any that I own, and most importantly you can't go out and buy a brand new Loewe, Barling, GBD, BBB, Comoy's, Charatan, Orlik or Sasieni that resembles anything like what those brands were up until 1970 or so. If you bought a Dunhill that was made in December, that pipe will have the same dna as the Dunhills made in the previous 20 years, as the Dunhills made in the 1960s, as the Dunhills made in the 1940s. They are the sole survivor of a century of excellence in London made pipes. So yeah, they sell for too much for what they are, and they're worth it if you can afford one.
How does a Castello compare to a Dunhill? In the only area that really matters, they're better smokers. How does a Castello compare to a single artisan pipe? My favorite Castellos are as good or better smoking as any artisan pipe I've bought.
My esteem for Castello has risen the more of them I've added to my rack. I think they're a great pipe. They tend to universally be fantastic smokers. They have great finishing. They make you not care that the mouthpiece is acrylic. They have absolutely the greatest rustication ever conceived. They have a cohesive house style. My Castellos do not make me want to empty my rack so that I can fill it with more Castellos, but I am glad I made room for a few more of them because I really enjoy smoking and looking them.
