Penzance

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

pcr1

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 27, 2014
105
0
So what is the deal with Penzance? I received a notification from smokingpipes.com that they have received a fresh shipment. It was gone before I tried to place an order (within minutes). Are the ingredients that rare? Hype? Wholesalers portioning it out? I'd just like to try a bowl. Anyone else here in the same situation? Chime in. This is not a rant towards smokingpipes.com they are the best as far as I am concerned. They have gone the extra mile for me.

 

mcitinner1

Lifer
Apr 5, 2014
4,043
24
Missouri
You have to be fast. Those notifications are a one time thing. You'll have to go to SP and redo your request for another one. I've been number 1305 in line for at least 2 months, so I didn't even get an email this week.

 

tarheel1

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 16, 2014
936
2
It is a great blend for some and an ok blend to others. Jf germain is a pretty small company and they produce esoterica tobacco. They have to rotate between Germain, esoterica, and Balkan Sobraine as well as some other brands. It's always in limited supply. Think Smokingpipes only got 44 time this go around and were gone within 5 minute. I am actually smoking a 16 year version as I type.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,832
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Penzance is one of those blends that has become the idee fixe of a number of pipe smokers in part because it is issued in limited batches and is hard to get. Personally, I don't care for it and find other mixtures of its category far more enjoyable. For others it's their favorite blend. I keep a few pounds of it in the cellar for sharing or the potential trade.
Not that many years ago it was in ready supply and was no big deal to obtain. Then there was a long delay in delivery in 2007 or 2008 and panic ensued, resulting in mass hoarding that has never ceased. Stonehaven is another "unicorn fart" blend that people also hunt and hoard. You can find Penzance if you just start calling tobacconists and forget about the online stores.
There are so many other fine blends readily available that the obsession makes no logical sense to me. But then, it's not about logic.

 

pcr1

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 27, 2014
105
0
Thanks for all the information and input guys. I didn't know too much about the blend and now I do. There are lots of other tins with similar profiles that I have tried so I thought of trying this one as well. Patience is a virtue.

 

tarheel1

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 16, 2014
936
2
I miss the days before my break in 2010 when it was easy to get as much as I wanted. Alas I will just try to keep a lb in my cellar as I don't smoke enough for it not to last a decade or so.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
@pcr1 if you haven't tried it, it's nothing like "The Heavens opened and I was in total nirvana from the first puff". It's actually quite underwhelming imo, unless you can get it at normal price it isn't worth what people ask. Short answer it's alot of hype. I acquired a decent sized sample and it didn't strike me as a must have blend.

 

matches

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 22, 2015
103
0
Dunedin, NZ
I've two tins I haven't opened yet and I'm almost praying to be underwhelmed by it when I finally crack one open because of the ridiculous hoarding of it and it's consequent scarcity.

 

aggravatedfarmer

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 9, 2015
865
3
I've never had the unicorn blends yet. I was able to snag a tin this last round. I am willing to pay $20 to satisfy my curiosity. But I don't see this being regular in the rotation. Maybe a treat if I like it. I have 2 tins of Balkan Sobraine. One reserved for when my son is born in January. The other for if he ever wants to pick up this hobby, in due time. If Pelican or Kingfisher were available, I'd try to buy it too. For me it's all about satisfying a curiosity, not a craving with these hard to obtain blends. I think that those who buy it to hoard or to resell at a higher price, are greedy.

 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,270
4,261
I jumped and bought two tins when it was available at the NOLA pipe show. It's a good tobacco and I enjoy smoking it but it doesn't cause erections either. I also have two tins of Pembroke and find it to be just as nice with a slightly sweeter flavor to my palate.
A lot of what makes a product a best seller is the hype and advertising (or vice versa). Reminds me of a class I took in school that dealt with the power of advertising. The story was that Wild Turkey (an American 101 proof whiskey) was considered low end rot gut back in the 60s but then they spend millions of dollars advertising and over a couple of years it became a high-end whisky. Still the same recipe.
Then you have the hipster influence. For most of my adult life, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer has been consider one of those cheap beers aimed at blue collar minimum wage workers who couldn't afford Budweiser or Miller. Now it's capturing more of a market share of sells because it's the beer of choice of hipsters. Personally I find a glass of cold water just as refreshing as a PBR.

 

eriksmokes85

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 24, 2015
172
0
Im on board with pcr1, Id like to give it a try to see what the hype is all about but you can never get any! is it laced with gold or something?

 

troutface

Lifer
Oct 26, 2012
2,328
11,362
Colorado
is it laced with gold or something?
No, it's laced with yummy goodness. If you're into that sorta thing. :rofl:

It has a unique flavor. If you like it then it's the bees knees. If you don't then it's all hype.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,066
Carmel Valley, CA
But at a price, something that may mean a lot, or little, or a bragging point by those who are so inclined.
Here's a hypothetical that may apply to certain unobtainiums including Penzance: Blend Z costs $ 10 per ounce. Blend Y costs $2.50 per ounce, and you like it 98% as much as Z, and you can always find it at uninflated prices. So, is that 2% more flavor worth quadruple the cost? For some, yes, others, no way.
And the balance really shifts if like the two equally, much less if you find the cheaper tobacco superior to the unicorn.

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
I read all the time about hype and advertising when it comes to this tobacco and some others. SERIOUSLY... where are you seeing advertising?!?!! I've NEVER, not once, ever seen any pipe tobacco advertising. Not for Penzance, Stonehaven, nor any other... Never. Where are these ad dollars being spent? All I've ever seen is word of mouth.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
Estorica doesn't need to advertise, they can't keep up with the demand as it is. Apparently the shortage of Germain's Latakia flake, brown flake etc. is due to them not having the proper machine to seal the tins. I don't know if there's actually a shortage of stonehaven or penzance, it could be they're producing the same quantity, it's just that through word of mouth it's become a holy grail of pipe tobacco.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
There's also alot of people I've heard that prefer margate to penzance, which isn't nearly as hard to find. I managed to snag a pound of margate, a pound of and so to bed, and 8 ounces of pembroke, I just haven't got around to trying them. From everything I've read though I'm confident I will thoroughly enjoy them.

 

judcole

Lifer
Sep 14, 2011
7,149
32,913
Detroit
Apparently the shortage of Germain's Latakia flake, brown flake etc. is due to them not having the proper machine to seal the tins.
Maybe - or maybe because the company is something like three people, that does things the same way they've been doing it for decades, and have no desire to change. :puffy:

 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,270
4,261
Nate, there is very little tobacco advertising of any type anymore. The exceptions being print advertising in magazines pertaining to cigars and pipe smoking, and podcast advertising - both of which have not been outlawed by the nanny anti-smoking FDA. However, advertising dollars are being spent at pipe shows and other events and sponsorships.

 

iamn8

Lifer
Sep 8, 2014
4,248
14
Moody, AL
That's what I figured pappy. I just keep hearing people say that Penzance is all hype and marketing, yet I see ZERO evidence of that. It's just good stuff in limited quantity that lots of people like. There's no conspiracy here.

 
Status
Not open for further replies.