In Search Of Heather Honey

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howardparsons

Lurker
Nov 26, 2012
18
0
Charlottesville, VA
Up until 5 years (+/-) Tobacco House Ltd. - now Old Virginia Tobacco Co. - in Richmond, VA had a bulk blend called Heather Honey. I've been trying to find that blend - or something similar - but it seems to be a wild goose chase. A bit of Google-ing indicated that it was a Peter Stokkebye blend but I couldn't find anyone who carried it. A few shops seem to have had it - or their own version - at one time but not any more.
I used to smoke something similar back in college. It came from a shop in Williamsburg, VA and I was quite the loyal customer until the business folded.
Can anyone help me with this?

 

crpntr1

Lifer
Dec 18, 2011
1,981
156
Texas
In the Google search you made, you said it showed to be a Stokkebye blend...was it "Stokkebye Heather Honey", or could it be a renamed Stokkebye blend? Maybe Nougat or something and your B&M renamed it?? Just a thought..

 

howardparsons

Lurker
Nov 26, 2012
18
0
Charlottesville, VA
Chris,

That's always a possibility though. I found it on TobaccoReviews.com and the description sounded awfully close to my favourite. It's a recipe that has probably been around for over 40 years so there could be other manufacturers out there who have the stuff but the name they gave it - as you suggested - is something very different.
Smoker's Haven out in Ohio had it at one time but it appears to have been dropped. There was a shop in Texas that offered it and I placed an order online but I have yet to receive a confirmation from them so it could well be a grave site.

 

joeahearn

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 30, 2012
286
1
Hi howardparsons,
Just FYI--Stokkebye Black Currant Cavendish is pretty darn good, and the price is terrific. It and Peterson Connoisseur's Choice are my favorite aromatics right now. The BCC stands up very well against the CC, and at a much lower price point.

 

howardparsons

Lurker
Nov 26, 2012
18
0
Charlottesville, VA
Gentlemen,

1. Thanks for the endorsement of BCC. Many's the time that I've tried a blend based on its description and the stuff was wretched. That has probably never happened to you. ;-)[/*]

2. Thanks for the information on Stokkebye & Lane Ltd. (I used to live around 2 miles from them!) Depending how my search goes I may contact them. Stokkebye is most likely not the first to use that recipe and there are probably other manufacturers who produce(d) a similar blend.

I've discovered this afternoon that someone in my pipe club (C.O.R.P.S. - Conclave of Richmond Pipe Smokers) used to work @ the original shop and may know something about the blend. It's one of those friend-of-a-friend deals so there's no guarantee that I'll make contact much less find our the source of Heather Honey.

 

howardparsons

Lurker
Nov 26, 2012
18
0
Charlottesville, VA
Just an update to this saga: Tobacco Habanna in Houston, TX has a mixture called "Heather Honey" and a few ounces are on their way to me at this very moment.
I'll keep you apprised of how close it is to what I remember. :D

 

oldpops41

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 28, 2012
133
1
Hope its what your looking for cause if you go through this for that tobacco i do believe i want to try me some.

 

howardparsons

Lurker
Nov 26, 2012
18
0
Charlottesville, VA
Hello Oldpops,

I first fell in love with the mixture when I was a freshman in college and trips home meant a subsequent run to Williamsburg, VA to pick up some more. When I ran low with no trip home in the immediate future, I would order it by mail. The campus P.O. was run by students & one of the guys told me that everyone loved it when my order arrived because the box smelled so good. A some point in the year or two following college, the shop in Williamsburg closed. I tried contacting the owner to see if it was a blend he had put together or something he got from a distributor but I never heard from him again.
Thus began my long search for the mixture. About nine or ten years later, I had moved to Charlottesville, VA & the local tobacconist found something similar from Century that I smoked for a couple of years but he never re-ordered it. I was visiting one of my old haunts, Tobacco House Ltd., in Richmond, VA and decided to try something different. I picked up this one jar labeled Heather Honey & when I stuck my nose in it, there was my old friend again.
The shop was purchased by a small chain and they carried it for a while but suddenly ran out. I called the main store and got a cock & bull story about the blend's demise but could not find out whom the distributor was.

I continued my search but eventually gave up as nothing lasts forever. On Christmas Day, I Googled Heather Honey for the fun of it on my smart phone & was rewarded with not one but several possible sources. Most of 'em turned out to be dead-ends but this one shoppe in TX still seemed to carry it and now you know the rest of the story.
The recipe has been around for at least 40 years and the tobacco that arrived in the post on Fri. smells quite close to what Tobacco House carried. I've only had time for two bowls since then and while the jury's still out, I suspect that I'll be ordering 8 oz. in a few weeks.

 

pstlpkr

Lifer
Dec 14, 2009
9,694
31
Birmingham, AL
To tell you the truth... It sounds like 1Q... Here are some of the other names:
1Q

Accountant

Wolverine

Lawrence :)

IQ-140

Yorkshire

Wilshire

Argonant

Ships Wheel

T.P.

Indian Summer

Park Avenue

Snow Flake

All Day Long

City's Own

Tipperary

Queen Mary

Tapistry

Aspen

Gardens Blend

Checkmate

Joes Blend

Normamdy

Hemingway

Timbas Own

Mariner Mixture

Door County Blend

Exotic Honey

Indescribable

Fireweed

Honey Bee

Coconut Cream

Reverie

Unique

Cape Charles

Aristocrat

Captains Blend

Ram

:puffy:

 

howardparsons

Lurker
Nov 26, 2012
18
0
Charlottesville, VA
Lawrence,

I believe that I may have tried 1Q 33 years ago in Atlanta. Hard to say because it had some name or other given by the shoppe owner. Funny thing is that I lived 2 or 3 miles away from the Lane HQ.
I looked up 1Q on TobaccoReviews.com and it does share some of the traits of 1Q:

  • Mild[/*]
  • Little if any bite[/*]
  • Long lasting[/*]
  • etc.
At the same time, it does not seem to share the room notes, taste & gloppy-ness that some of the reviewers mention.
It is worth mentioning that taste & smell depends upon the individual. Back in college, there was a blend from a place in Durham, NC that I - and a number of other people - would have sworn had an air of coconut about it but the it turned out to be chocolate. I took a look on Pipes&Tobacco dot com and they had a picture of 1-Q. It does resemble what I smoked in college but not the Heather Honey from Tobacco House Ltd. or from Tobacco Habanna. In both cases, the tobacco is a good bit darker than what is shown for 1-Q.
Probably, the only way to find out for sure is to find someone/someplace that will loan me a few bowls of the stuff. Of course, I could order some but I've got a bunch of 2 OZ samples on hand at the moment and I need to keep my "boss" happy. Maybe in a month or so.
Chispa - I had a look on e-bay & all they had were 2 used tins; no tobacco.

 

howardparsons

Lurker
Nov 26, 2012
18
0
Charlottesville, VA
Gentlemen,

I have smoked 3 consecutive bowl-fulls of 1Q in my new Nording bent apple & I can safely say that my auld favourite heather honey is not 1Q.
I'm getting close to ordering 8 oz from Tobacco Habanna in Houston.

 
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