What can I say about St. Bruno? It's one of the most popular tobaccos ever and it has been in production for a very long time. I've loved it ever since Jimbo from North Yorkshire so kindly sent me a pouch - it had a deep meditative effect, unique flavor, intriguing taste, dark tones both sour and sweet, somewhat strong but not really stout, and it is fully satisfying.
For a while I became obsessed with it, a mania enhanced by the fact that it's so difficult to get a hold of in USA, which is ironic because in the UK St. Bruno is available almost everywhere from the local grocer to the corner newsagent, a true OTC --- I began looking around n' all that, trying to learn more about it, even as far as decoding the casing formula from old Imperial documents at the Legacy Library but even when one knows what the constitutive indgredients are, one still can't really pin down an accurate discernable description of the flavor into words, it's a very distinct yet elusive taste.
Seeing all the old advertisements and such also really did a trick on me, like the romance of that imagery lended a sort of holy aura and lifted its concept even further heavenward in my head as a legendary icon.
As of now, I'm more of a Condor man, a recent development, but I prefer Condor over St. Bruno at this point. For years this has been the case in the UK market as well, with both tobaccos continually swapping places as the best selling pipe tobacco.
Well, not much I can add really, so here's a short miscellany of found text --- but most importantly, this serves as a pictorial survey, of all the images I've collected the last couple of years. I love seeing stuff like this all compiled in one cohesive concrete block and I do hope you enjoy it as well!
St Bruno Flake was introduced in1896.
A good quick read talking the the name St. Bruno, amongst other stuff, here:
http://www.johnbarber.com/stbruno.html
"There are few tobaccos with as much 'spine' as St Bruno's. Once the pouch note dissipates a bit, there is a substantial VA base to the smoke, and a most pleasant smoke it is. For my taste preferences, I would rank St Bruno's just above Condor, and I enjoy Condor flake more than the RRd, and just below Walnut Flake, which I consider to be a superior tobacco, slightly scented but substantial and flavorful as well. None, however, can compare with the beloved Bulwark flake, which has not been manufactured en masse since the mid '80s. That was a blend of substance and taste, and all others pale in comparison."
-Bob Runowski
"Over the years I personally have noted changes to the flavour - but I accept this could be me rather than the tobacco - most notably when Rhodesian tobacco became unavailable following the declaration of UDI -Unilateral Declaration of Independence (1965)-and the embargo imposed on that country. Cheaper Malawi tobacco began to be featured and for a while Ogdens overdid the topping to mask this and the tobacco could have a taste like disinfectant."
-Falconeer
Here's some very interesting audio from former Ogden's workers:
http://voicesofpostwarengland.wordpress.com/employment/ogdens/
Mr Renshaw said: "There were around 3,000 people working here at the peak around the 1920s.
"In 1944 pipe tobacco, St.Bruno Flake, was 25p for two ozs Its now £10.10p and no doubt going up still higher in line with cigarettes. The labour party at one time omitted tax increases on pipe tobacco because it mainly affected the elderly (old boys) No longer, after a lifetime of hard work and two wars can he sit back and enjoy a pint and a puff occasionly. The nanny greedy state has passed him by."
dailymail.co.uk
BUDGET-2012-Cigarettes-37p-alcohol-cost-increases-
"Today pipe smokers generally approach tobaccos bare-handed. By that I mean they often don't have a deep notion of their history. Ostensibly it's all about the flavour so it's not a big leap to decide that flavour can be used to indicate style. It's only partially true. McCl has a signature style but could that only have come from Kansas City? We recognize a McCl Va very easily but I doubt that there is anything compelling about Kansas City. The flavour is in their processing. And their style is immediately recognizable. But I do remember smoking British blends that had something like McCl acetic acid nose; maybe not so pronounced. But we wouldn't generally think McCl made British style products. But that might really be the best analogy. They certainly seem to have broken new ground for an American manufacturer. Their style is not traditionally American.
To insist that flavour is everything might seem natural. But, let me point out that we don't do that with pipes. The tobacco makers borrowed from each other over time esp in England but their blends were uniquely theirs. That is part of what toppings were about.
The flavours are foreign to you so it's not surprising that it's difficult to separate them that way. Let me suggest a fairly accurate analogy - the multiplication tables, too, were foreign to you when you were 7 or 8. Yet we learned them and they're ours now.
I'm trying to think of a good objective reason why St. Bruno's flavour could only come from Liverpool (vs. Nottingham, Bristol, Glasgow, London, or Belfast) and I don't think there is one. St Bruno is unique but there are others in its class and they came from the other cities. In the aggregate Ogden's probably had a signature style that made them recognizably different from Players, WD & HO Wills etc but it's probably not recognizable today. Nevertheless, St Bruno has a flavour that is unique to St. Bruno. If we had a larger line up of Ogden's blends we might recognize their style."
-Rusty CPS
And now, off to the picture show.
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