Hard-to-Find Blends in B&Ms - Your Experiences

techie · Jul 22, 2018

I happened upon a YouTube vid (from 2016) encouraging folks to visit B&Ms to seek out rare or hard-to-find blends (in his case, Esoterica Penzance and Stonehaven). He scored 4 tins of Penzance, one 8oz bag of Penzance, and one 8oz bag of Stonehaven, all in one shop. He claimed that B&Ms may be better at finding such items than online shops, and that he has only found Penzance at B&Ms (and has never found it in stock online).
I'm wondering if this was a rare occurrence, or if it's a good idea to check local shops.
What are your experiences?
(I'm only a week into pipe smoking so any suggestions are welcomed)

seanv · Jul 22, 2018

Always a good idea to check in at the local shops. You can find some pretty exciting things.

carolinachurchwarden · Jul 22, 2018

I haven't seen ANY of those in any B&M I've been to and I usually try to walk in and take a pass through those I find. Maybe it attests to the rarity of B&M's that carry wide selections of pipe tobacco. Still have yet to walk into a B&M that might even come close to carrying items you mention. Would be fantastic to actually find one though.

seanv · Jul 22, 2018

It as rare but I walked into one shop last month on va action and they had about 50 tins of mcclellands still on the shelf. Our local has a wide array of rattray which is sold out almost everywhere online and they had a bunch of mcclelland bulk for months after they closed. Never know what you will find,

morgansteele · Jul 22, 2018

Interesting topic. My answer is: Yes, you can find interesting items at B&Ms but it's a hit and miss affair.
Following the McClelland meltdown, I was traveling for business and walked into a B&M that was a huge smoke shop but didn't have many pipe smokers. I walked into the pipe section and picked up: McC's Balkan Blue x 5, Beacon x4, and Three Oaks Syrian x 3, amongst other McCs. (The clerk told me someone bought 40 tins of Frog "something" the day before.) Also, picked up a number of Dunhills with 5 years of age including Flake.
I also have a long distance relationship with some B&Ms. (Friendly emails and phone ca lls can help build a relationship. I sent some local tobacco to the shop as a thank you.) From one recently, I picked up some of Esoterica's line.
Moral of the story: there's a lot out there but it can be hit and miss. But, building relationships with B&Ms will rarely lead you astray. (But, good luck finding Stonehaven or Penzance. Although, it's easy to find cool stuff to trade for those two).

Chasing Embers · Jul 22, 2018

That's where I found most of my Esotericas, and at uninflated prices under $30 per 8 ounce bag.

hoosierpipeguy · Jul 22, 2018

I think the people buying Esoterica to sell at $200 plus per bag on eBay regularly wipe out the B&M's supplies these days. I make it a point in my travels to try to stop at as many as I can. Not many B&M's these days that amount to much as far as pipe tobacco goes. I occasionally run across a gem or two but they are becoming further and further in between.

sablebrush52 · Jul 22, 2018

With the exception of a few bags that I picked up on line, all of my cellared Esoterica has been bought from B&Ms. I have a few that I buy from. I buy a variety of items, like any customer, so they're willing to sell unobtainium to me. Many will not sell to cherry pickers because they want to save unobtainium for their regulars. I have what I need, so I no longer have to hunt for the few Esoterica blends that I like.

npod · Jul 22, 2018

If you spend $ at B&M’s they often magically have a stash of Esoterica they are willing to sell. $ talks.

craiginthecorn · Jul 23, 2018

+1 on Neal's point about spending money at a B&M. I've either been the recipient of a First Dibs phone call or on occasion, a tin or bag emerges from a dark corner of the back room.
However, I've found tins in unexpected places. Last year, I got a tin of Penzance in a discount cigarette shop that sells a smattering of pipe tobacco and some cigars. Other good finds have been some well-aged tins. I just picked up four 100g tins of 2012 HH Acadian Perique for $17 each. And found some nice Robert McConnell's and older square Dunhill Flake tins at another discount cigarette and Vape shop a couple months ago.

sablebrush52 · Jul 23, 2018

I just picked up four 100g tins of 2012 HH Acadian Perique for $17 each.

Yep. I bought 4 tins of 2012 Acadian Preique, 4 tins of 2012 Vintage Syrian, and small pile of Red Rapparee, Accountant's Mixture, Black Mallory and other Rattray's blends from the mid 1990's from my local B&M at discount.

ray47 · Jul 23, 2018

I wish my local B&M would carry blends other then American OTCs and renamed Lane aromatics. But alas, most of my tobacco purchases are made online. To support my local B&M I do purchase the American OTCs that I smoke.

techie · Jul 23, 2018

How do you know the dates of your tins? Of the 6 tins I have only the Mac Baren has a date on the label - Sept 2017.

sablebrush52 · Jul 23, 2018

How do you know the dates of your tins?

Different makers have dating codes, some just stamp the date the blend was tinned. If you do a Google search on dating "maker X" tins you should find some information, as, for example Dunhill:
https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/how-date-dunhill-tobacco
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/tin-dating-2
here's a general search:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+date+tobacco+tins&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0vI_g3rXcAhXHzlkKHRMgCC0Q1QIIpwEoAA&biw=1412&bih=839

mountainman · Jul 23, 2018

I have found some hard to find blends in B&M's, and it is always a nice treat. I once was able to stock up on quite a bit of Astleys #44 and #109 that already had been aging on the shelf for over a year. More often than not though, I find B&M's to have bulk tobacco that is old, and mostly focus on cigars with little concern over pipes and pipe tobacco. It is very hit or miss. Also, B&M's are going to have much higher prices as they are paying for much more than the tobacco. Its worth it for some out of stock/discontinued blends, but in my opinion it is hard to beat online retailers.

checotah · Jul 23, 2018

Finding a tobacco pipe B&M around here is about the same as finding sought-after blends online. Nearest is about 300 miles away and doesn't carry many blends.

sablebrush52 · Jul 23, 2018

The B&M's that I deal with are nowhere near me, not even in the same state. LA used to be a great place to find pipes and pipe tobaccos. Now it's all cigars so I have no choice but to look elsewhere. You go looking and you will find what you are looking for. The difference is that on line stores sell out in a nanosecond whereas with B&Ms with little to no Internet presence, the hard to find stuff can be around for days, weeks and even months. I have close to 30 lbs of the Esoterica blends that I like. Don't let anyone tell you that contacting B&Ms doesn't work.

morgansteele · Jul 23, 2018

"Don't let anyone tell you that contacting B&Ms doesn't work."
Sablebrush is right. And, to add, you just can't call up and say sell me your best stuff. Add a few tins of something else you smoke, some bulk, or something to show you're not just cherry picking. Build a relationship. That's worked for me because I've got contacts east coast, midwest, and west coast.
And, when I send these folks an e-mail, I always tag it to an earlier e-mail we did business on to show that they have dealt with me before (and will again).

sablebrush52 · Jul 24, 2018

And, to add, you just can't call up and say sell me your best stuff. Add a few tins of something else you smoke, some bulk, or something to show you're not just cherry picking. Build a relationship. That's worked for me because I've got contacts east coast, midwest, and west coast.

Build a relationship. That's key. Like I wrote earlier, I'm a regular customer.

I buy a variety of blends, pipe cleaners, have a conversation, like I used to do with my local B&Ms when they carried pipe tobaccos. One place I had a great conversation about blending with the proprietor. He remembers me when I call. If you're a cherry picker, you can forget about it. Even if they have unobtainium in stock, they won't tell you because you're not a regular repeat customer.

bnichols23 · Jul 24, 2018

" building relationships with B&Ms will rarely lead you astray." -- Absolutely +bookoodles, Morgan. Never a bad thing, & very often a good one. It's like stringers in the journalism business; they can be all over the place & provide you with stuff you'd never even know about otherwise, much less have access to yourself.

Hard-to-Find Blends in B&Ms - Your Experiences

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