STG simply restarted the pipeline. The only difference is the name on the label.
Question is whether the production pipeline ever stopped. I just saw a photo of a Swiss shop where, proudly displayed, were tins of Wellauer Nightcap, etc., with the sacred Dunhill tin art sans brand name, of course. Certainly a close enough replica of the Dunhill tins to have incited infringement litigation if these were marketed with out some level of cooperation between the holders of the rights to use the Dunhill name and STG. My curiosity got the best of me, and lo and behold, I looked and there are even reviews of the Wellauer Nightcap at TR,. Of course smokers are focused on finding differences, so most do.
The Charlatan brand name was suddenly resurrected with names that were designed to be “similar” to the old Dunhill line. Two different pipe smokers in the UK who attended roll outs for the Charatan line at two shops in different parts of the UK told me that the reps in attendance did everything but say unequivocally that the blends were identical.
My guess is that these blends never stopped being made, thus meeting, at least STG hopes, the continuous production requirement, which might not require continuous importation to the US. There is a lot that goes on in this industry that even those of us who pride ourselves on having “industry sources” (usually no more than one or two levels above a field sales rep, if that) are clueless about. Keep in mind that the industry has a historically proven record of being economical with the truth.
