CUP O JOES has Esoterica & Balkan Sobranie

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cohibajoe

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 2, 2018
722
1,165
Branchburg, NJ
Gone already. Esoterica is anyway. Balkan Sobranie is limit one per customer.

As of 9/18 2:37PM EST

Pembroke 8oz, Margate 2oz, Margate 8oz, Pembroke 2oz, Dunbar 2oz, And So To Bed 2oz, Dorchester 2oz, And So To Bed 8oz and Balkan Sobranie 50g

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
733
As of 9/18 2:37PM EST

Pembroke 8oz, Margate 2oz, Margate 8oz, Pembroke 2oz, Dunbar 2oz, And So To Bed 2oz, Dorchester 2oz, And So To Bed 8oz and Balkan Sobranie 50g
Ahh. I stand corrected. Upon visiting the site, I simply typed Esoterica in the search and it only brought up a few of the bagged Esoterica, all showing Sold Out.

 
May 9, 2018
1,687
86
Raleigh, NC
Is it because they think it is similar to years ago when it used to taste good?
Yep...according to someone, at least:
We take great pleasure in reintroducing the original smoking mixture made from the recipe which reflects the excellent qualities of this famous pipe tobacco from years gone by. The Mighty Balkan Sobranie pipe tobacco has returned. The resurrection of this blend has been so well received there are continuing shortages. The mystique surrounding this blend from years past is well deserved. The special cut of Virginia & Perique has a place in almost anyone's rotation.

 

brooklynpiper

Part of the Furniture Now
May 8, 2018
633
1,363
I've only heard criticism of this new run - never been interested.
On another note, as someone who works nights, this was a great day to have insomnia. Sucks to wake up and have missed a quick-selling tobacco drop.

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
I like the new Balkan Sobranie, but not enough to pay $17+ for a tin of it when there are blends I like even better that sell for much less. I've never tried the classic from days past, for what that's worth.
I would really like to get my hands on some Penzance for once! I was able to place an order for a 2 oz. tin a couple weeks ago when it was in stock at P&C, only to receive an email a week later stating that it was in fact out of stock and my order was cancelled :? I'm not one to put much effort into chasing "rare" blends, but I'd like to give Penzance a shot to see what all the fuss is about.

 

blackadderlxx

Can't Leave
Jun 17, 2018
369
10
I would really like to get my hands on some Penzance for once! I was able to place an order for a 2 oz. tin a couple weeks ago when it was in stock at P&C, only to receive an email a week later stating that it was in fact out of stock and my order was cancelled :? I'm not one to put much effort into chasing "rare" blends, but I'd like to give Penzance a shot to see what all the fuss is about.
I'm *trying* to accept that I will not ever try this blend. I'm just not willing to go through what is apparently necessary to score some.

 

cohibajoe

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 2, 2018
722
1,165
Branchburg, NJ
I'm *trying* to accept that I will not ever try this blend. I'm just not willing to go through what is apparently necessary to score some.

Some much for Email alerts...I just happen to check today and saw this was available. I was chasing last month and scored a very good amount. Ordered a few more anyway.

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
Some much for Email alerts...I just happen to check today and saw this was available. I was chasing last month and scored a very good amount. Ordered a few more anyway.
Cohiba, are you finding Penzance using email alerts? I recall you were the one who posted the "in stock at P&C" thread recently. Thanks again for that. I would like to keep trying with the email alerts, and am considering doing the harass-brick-and-mortar-stores-by-phone approach. The one thing I refuse to do is pay fleaby scalper prices and support the "flipper" market.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
There was a thread here a year or so ago opining that there was a change from the first recipe used by Germains, and that the difference between the first iteration and what later became available was striking (in favor of the second recipe), and that there was a very subtle difference in tin art between the two. The poster was more or less ignored. All that I have had was made in the last two years. I find it to be enjoyable. Like anything from Germains that I have smoked, it needs a lot of dry time.
I first smoked Sobranie circa 1980, and it seemed like the recipe changed frequently, and not for the better IMO. Back in those days, the old geezers who trained me were already looking for what they claimed was the last of the family production, which as I recall was in 2 ounce pop top cans, like the pull tops Rattrays now comes in, except smaller. My best guess is that almost no one here has had the Balkan Sobranie made before the Redstone family sold out except as vintage tobacco.
But what if? What if Sobranie had stayed a family company (at least as far as pipe tobacco - most of their revenue came from cigarettes)? What would the product be like today using the leaf that is available and the production techniques that would be feasible today? When the family sold the company, Joe Zieve of Smokers Haven moved everything from being a Sobranie private label over to Germains, where those blends have remained. They certainly had knowledge of some of the production techniques. So,there is a chance that what Germains is labeling Balkan Sobranie today might be very close to what an imaginary Sobranie family might be producing under that name today. Just a thought experiment.

 

cohibajoe

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 2, 2018
722
1,165
Branchburg, NJ
Cohiba, are you finding Penzance using email alerts?

No Email Alerts for any of the drops 2 months ago or now. And I am setup for many Sites we buy

here. I was just checking during lunch and BINGO!!!! The last drop at P&C...I also checked out for Penzance 8oz...(I did get 2oz Tins)..After 2 day's I sent a Email about what is going on...I got a Dear Joe Email. I told them to Backorder the order. Let's see what happens.

 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
I told them to Backorder the order. Let's see what happens.
I did the same, and they refused to backorder it, telling me that they won't keep an item on backorder for longer than six months, and they don't expect Esoterica to be stocked within that timeframe. Excuses excuses. I advised them (in a fair and reasonable manner) of my dissatisfaction with their method of handling the issue, and their refusal to make good on an order that they (and their system) accepted.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,079
Carmel Valley, CA
I smoked Sobranie in the late 60's and early 70's both the cigs and the pipe tobacco. Liked them then, now BS doesn't taste good to me.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
In the early 1970's,I would occasionally splurge and buy a tin of the cigarettes. When I moved to Atlanta around 1979, the only places I found that handled the cigarettes were a few smokeshops, including the local Tinderbox stores. Without exception, they were always stale, so I quit buying them.
For reasons that are now beyond my ability to recall, if I ever did fully understand them, distribution of what would now be considered specialty tobacco products was much wider around the end of the 1960's than it was only 10 years later. There really was a time when blends such as Sobranie, Escudo, Capstan, etc could be found in a decent Walgreen's or perhaps the best independent drugstore in a town too small to have a Walgreens.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,632
44,859
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
My best guess is that almost no one here has had the Balkan Sobranie made before the Redstone family sold out except as vintage tobacco.
I have. I used to smoke it quite a bit in the early to mid 1970's.
When the family sold the company, Joe Zieve of Smokers Haven moved everything from being a Sobranie private label over to Germains, where those blends have remained.
True. But what if he had decided on McConnell?
So,there is a chance that what Germains is labeling Balkan Sobranie today might be very close to what an imaginary Sobranie family might be producing under that name today. Just a thought experiment.
That's a very depressing speculation, considering how truly awful is Germain's version.

 
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