Factory Vs House Blends
- Thread starter grue
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Lots of people will have different reasons I suppose but for me it is because I like a lot of them. There is also consistency. As for freshness, well, depends on what you mean by it. When it comes to tobacco fresh is not always best. There is a reason people stash this stuff for 10, 15 or even more years in a cellar you know.
One thing to be aware of is that many "house blends" at brick-and-mortars are actually just renamed/repackaged bulk blends from Lane, Dunhill, C&D, etc. The number of places that truly blend their own house mixtures is sadly small.
Factory blends may not capture what goes on. Many brand names come out of workshops where a lot of the work is done by hand. It's not conveyor belts and huge mixing machines. Likewise, as pointed out, many pipe shop blends are simply purchased from larger companies and re-named to capture a customer base who may not know the sourcing of these blends. One of our former mods put together a great list of all of the names used by chains and shops to designate 1Q. There were about thirty of them, maybe more. Lanes, Peter Stokkebye, and other outfits that sell bulk provide many of the "house brands" sold by shops. A few large shops have their own lines -- Nat Sherman, Iwan Ries, and Cup O Joes come to mind, and smokingpipes.com has its' Low Country line of blends, and pipesandcigars has a dynamic program of creating new blends and reviving old ones, that is fascinating to track.
House blends at a brick and mortar can also be sampled which is really nice. Personally, cause of cost, my daily smokes are bulk. Tins maybe once a day.
Like another said, all bulks are most likly renamed lane or other brands. My local tobacco shop had alot of custom blends but then had the problem of not being able to get a peticular component. There moving away from them as a result.
Like another said, all bulks are most likly renamed lane or other brands. My local tobacco shop had alot of custom blends but then had the problem of not being able to get a peticular component. There moving away from them as a result.
The number of full blown Tobaccoinist who have any knowledge of blending whatsoever is sadly very small. Most of them are extremely well known, and talked about on the boards.
Some places might do a 50/50 blend of two pre-bought bulks, but that's probably the extant of their knowledge.
No, most so called house blends are simply well known bulks that are renamed, Lane even encourages this practice.
Some places might do a 50/50 blend of two pre-bought bulks, but that's probably the extant of their knowledge.
No, most so called house blends are simply well known bulks that are renamed, Lane even encourages this practice.
For me it's simple, it would take me all day to get to the nearest B&M and back. There I would find jars of house brands which are in fact re-labeled bulk blends I could buy online for half price and never have to leave my house.
As was mentioned, most "house brands" are Lane products with different names. Now there's nothing wrong with Lane products, but is you like vanilla black cavendish, why not just buy a pound of Lane's BCA? Repeat for any number of Lane blends.
Some notable exceptions: Boswells - they make all of their own aromatics, and most of their aromatics top the tobaccoreviews list. HU Tobacco, which you mentioned, is very well respected, although a bit pricey to get in the states. If you're in the Euro Zone, it's certainly a great choice.
Some notable exceptions: Boswells - they make all of their own aromatics, and most of their aromatics top the tobaccoreviews list. HU Tobacco, which you mentioned, is very well respected, although a bit pricey to get in the states. If you're in the Euro Zone, it's certainly a great choice.
I have two B&M shops that I frequent and have gotten to know the owner/mangers and employees a bit, both of these stock McClelland and Stokkebye as there jarred "house blends", they are renamed of course. One of theses shops is more focused on piping than the other and actually knows what they are talking about, they also have a fair selection of 'blending' tobacco and will make custom blends if asked.
The concept of "fresh" pipe tobacco was fostered upon the public back when foil pouch blends came out. The companies added a little extra moisture to the blends and sealed them in the pouches. When the consumer bought it, they would notice how much more moist it was in comparison to what they had been buying, so they would assume it was fresher. Truth be told, I don't know of any tobacco that's being used in blends that's less than two years old, and usually older. "Fresh" tobacco would not be as enjoyable to smoke.
Russ
To answer the original question...
"Why buy official factory blends instead of shop/house blends that are usually cheaper and -I imagine- fresher?"
...I would buy 'factory blends' over 'shop blends' every time. Anyone and his dog can open a shop selling tobacco and then call himself a 'tobacconist' without any prior knowledge of the subject. He then goes about randomly mixing a bit of this, a bit of that and a pinch of the other and proudly offers it to the public as his 'unique blend' when in reality it's just a mish mash.
I'm not saying all 'shop blends' are thus made but I wouldn't personally take the gamble unless the 'blender' had a good track record.
Factory blends on the other hand are made by folks with much experience of their trade and their knowhow is reflected in how well any particular blend sells.
Occasionally even the 'experts' get it wrong, (am thinking of the Sam Gawith/Stanislaw corroboration Scottish Autumn Flake here) but generally 'factory blends' are by far the superior choice...at least for this smoker they are :
:
Regards,
Jay.
"Why buy official factory blends instead of shop/house blends that are usually cheaper and -I imagine- fresher?"
...I would buy 'factory blends' over 'shop blends' every time. Anyone and his dog can open a shop selling tobacco and then call himself a 'tobacconist' without any prior knowledge of the subject. He then goes about randomly mixing a bit of this, a bit of that and a pinch of the other and proudly offers it to the public as his 'unique blend' when in reality it's just a mish mash.
I'm not saying all 'shop blends' are thus made but I wouldn't personally take the gamble unless the 'blender' had a good track record.
Factory blends on the other hand are made by folks with much experience of their trade and their knowhow is reflected in how well any particular blend sells.
Occasionally even the 'experts' get it wrong, (am thinking of the Sam Gawith/Stanislaw corroboration Scottish Autumn Flake here) but generally 'factory blends' are by far the superior choice...at least for this smoker they are :
:Regards,
Jay.
I personally don't believe the argument that house blends are of dubious quality: after all you can usually smoke them before you buy them and that isn't true with the tinned products.
I believe it's a question of what is practical for each individual smoker.
If I were a heavy smoker on a budget with access to some tasty house blends at an affordable price, of course that would be the route I would take.
It's just easier for me to pick up sealed tins and put them away for the future. I don't smoke enough to have tobacco cost factor into my budget as I only go through an average of a half tin per month. So in my case a tin just makes sense, but in other circumstances I'd take the trouble to shop around, buy bulk and jar up my favorite house blends without even caring who the manufacturer was.
Smoke on!
I believe it's a question of what is practical for each individual smoker.
If I were a heavy smoker on a budget with access to some tasty house blends at an affordable price, of course that would be the route I would take.
It's just easier for me to pick up sealed tins and put them away for the future. I don't smoke enough to have tobacco cost factor into my budget as I only go through an average of a half tin per month. So in my case a tin just makes sense, but in other circumstances I'd take the trouble to shop around, buy bulk and jar up my favorite house blends without even caring who the manufacturer was.
Smoke on!
I'm glad that Russ piped in about the freshness myth. Tobacco is dried to bone, sprayed, dried, turned with shovels, dried, sprayed with hoses, etc.. most of the time before the tobacconist even gets hold of it.
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