Russ’ Lakeland Brindle

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/4296/hearth-home-lakeland-brickle ?

I'm glad to see our blenders finally seeing a need for some American made strong plugs. But, why copy? Why not make a new flavor for an American kick-a$$ strong plug or blend? I don't get the copycat mentality.

But, why copy? Why not make a new flavor for an American kick-a$$ strong plug or blend?

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It is called JackKnife Plug!
(...and Triple Play)
The best 2 American plugs ever made in my book!
:!:

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I don't get the copycat mentality.

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An easy sell.
All the advertising pre-exists,

not to mention mythical legend.
We are all seeming to grasp for the past.
I'm very glad to see this veer towards a more stout and flavourful UK style of baccy blending!

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Yeh, but I don't put Trippleplay and Jackknife in the same weight division as Condor or Warrior. They're good, but not even close in strength. I rate them as moderate all day blends.

Steam-presses & African leaf are difficult for the American manufacturers,

the Empire leaf, wherever it's from, usually a burley, tends to be a sweeter sort than the US varietal, and whatever Va's they use, add to that the traditional casings and toppings and these things become very difficult to emulate.
I really don't know to be honest.
All I know is that I like the Irish style best!

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We are all seeming to grasp for the past.

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(1)
Faulkner: "The past isn't dead... it isn't even past."
(2)
Mayhem: "The past is alive."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcX35pF71pg

Glad you brought it up. I know I have a Vac sealed pack of that some where around here. I'll have to dig it up and give it a try...

I'd settle for finding a shop that carried Condor Plug and accepted paypal...

I'd settle for finding a shop that carried Condor Plug and accepted paypal...

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http://www.jamesfox.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=215_438&products_id=1082
They are in Ireland, so do not face the same CC issues that the British retailers do. Give them a call, or shoot them an email. They are great to deal with, and their shipping is scary fast. It's like they have little Leprechauns that bring the tobacco over.

http://www.jamesfox.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=215_438&products_id=1082
They are in Ireland, so do not face the same CC issues that the British retailers do. Give them a call, or shoot them an email. They are great to deal with, and their shipping is scary fast. It's like they have little Leprechauns that bring the tobacco over.

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No doubt about that.
Trueblue goodguys extraordinaire!
My favorite shoppe of all times!

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But, why copy?

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...getting back to Cosmic's question,

I was thinking about this, perhaps there ain't no easy answers, I can only try, and all my efforts are mostly pure speculation becasue I'm only 5 years in as a pipeman and most of what I "know" is all secondhand info, especially historically speaking...
...but I like trying, and I like being prompted by such a question because I think it is a very good question.
My hypothesis goes back before my time, back when there wasn't any need for a "match blend" because everything was the authentic article, the real deal...
...and like each country had their own traditions - the American tradition is the "kitchen sink" type of blend or codger burleys, the Danes traditionally had sweet honey sugar, the Germans I have no idea of their traditions or how they ever came to occupy a foothold in the tobacco manufacturing business...
...but the English, the Scottish, and the Irish made stuff like no other, their tradition is varied and complex, elaborate and highly involved processing methods, and myriad taste profiles according to specific locale --- we used to get all that stuff, straight from the horse's mouth as they say, and typically I think it was the English pipe collectors who may have been considered connoisseurs that were the ones, here in America, that loved this stuff, those oldtimers are primarily the force behind much of the myth-making I'd reckon, in such a tight-knit group word travels fast, and often there was top tier stuff that rose up most supreme in all of their minds, like Dunhill or 759 or what have you...
...well, all that stuff disappeared, the UK tobacco industry collapsed, there's a massive vacuum there which simply cannot be filled, but the demand is so large and intense that there is enough interest and motivation to try and replicate some of the "golden oldies" as close as can be expected because they still linger on in many memories, haunting us, and yet still calling our names even after all these years...
...that's my take, currently, maybe will add more later, but anyways, thanks for asking the question as it's all a very interesting discussion!
Haunted.
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I like your answer, but I think that while some are tradition oriented with their pipes, many more are not, at least in the crowd in which I hang. If I wallowed in my ancestor's traditions of what to smoke, I would most likely smoke the mentioned codger blends or highly aromatic apple and cherry stuff my uncles preferred.

Ultimately, I am curious about tradition, even as far back as what people smoked before all of us white folks showed up. But, as for what I actually put in my pipe, I think that tastes have evolved, IMO. At least mine have.
That said, I think that for a blender, it is like playing an instrument. I had a friend who could grab any stringed instrument and make fantastic music without ever having to be showed how to play it. He now works in the recording industry making these horrible guitarists sound much better than they really do. But that aside, he felt like he couldn't play the instruments, because he couldn't play a song that someone else had written, even though he could play some things that would blow your mind.
I wonder if this is akin to a blender's mentality. "If I can make something that blows people's minds, but I don't ever worry with making something that tastes like Penzance or Sobranie, then am I real blender?" "Am I making music?" Or, is it when a blender just copies a blend (or the idea of a blend) already existing, they are just a cover band? (cover blender)
How many more latakia centered blends do we need? How many more VaPers? I am a fan of the Virginia/VaPer genre, but I am so sick of finding a new blend, only to find it something only a step or two away from Escudo (which I love, but...) I also like Ernest Tubb, but I don't want all of the bands in my music collection to sound a step or two away from Tubb's style of playing. Some Bela Fleck and some jazz banjo is nice every now and then. And, if I am going to get excited about someone covering an Ernest Tubb song, it would be nice if they did it in their own way, maybe some guitar distortion, Hendrix playing Tudd, or a piano waltz version of Hoky tonkin'. SOMETHING more creative than to copy.
All I am asking for is creativity. Tantalize me in ways that don;t make me go, jeesh, another freaking lakeland, or another smokey latakia, or another Dokken cover band, jeesh.
As much as I love and admire our resident blenders that participate in this forum, I throw down the gauntlet. Ha ha, like that means anything. At least keep creativity and originality in mind.

And, and, and, I do realize that some are being very creative, aromatics with latakia, flavored VaPers, oriental blends, etc... Even though I don;t like the new GLP Virginia Cream, I do recognize that it is original... Eh, anyways, I may have just written myself into a circle, ha ha.

cosmic, I'm surprised that you find Triple Play and Jack Knife milder in nic than the British plugs you mention. There's definitely a body chemistry aspect to this, as I find Triple Play to be a bit stronger than any of the British plugs. In fact, this fall I've been smoking a number of them at the same time (Warrior, Velvan, Yachtsman, 3 P's and Triple Play) and the Triple Play definitely hits me harder than the other plugs.

Triple Play, really? Now, I will concede that when the moon is in some weird astral anomaly of an orbit that I can be wrong. More than likely it could be my memory. I don't rely on my memory for anything these days. The flavor was great, but I remember not being wow'd by the strength of nicotine, and this was before I tried ropes. Warrior sets my eyes to droop pretty quickly. I will give it another go soon, to test my memory.

That's interesting. I find Warrior fairly medium-ish in strength, while 3 P's is the strongest of the British plugs (for me). By the by, a friend of mine, who has massive nicotine tolerance and used to be a pack-a-day smoker, tried my Triple Play one time and was surprised by how strong it was. For frame of reference, Irish Flake was only medium strength for him.

L:akeland Brickle was not an attempt to copy any particular blend, but an attempt to use the floral elements of Lakeland-style tonaccos in a different way. Unfortunately, one of the primary flavor components is no longer made, so I had to stop making it.
Russ

Cosmic,

you make some good points, some of which I agree with.
However, I disagree that the American blenders aren't creative --- they are actually creative, but much of their good works might get lost in the thick fog of many similar overlapping blends, meaning that there is most definitely some unique standout blends being made, but get devoured in the crowd noise of an over-saturated market, then add that we each have our personal faves and very few blends reach the pinnacle of "unified consensus" of greatness amongst the tobacconistas like was possible in the past.
The real question is,

what kind of music do you want to hear?
You didn't offer any suggestions,

only critique of all the "blah, me too" stuff coming out.
Yay!

Another replica of Balkan Sobranie!

*yawn*
Ever since I discovered the wonders of dark flakes I've been expressing how the American blenders should at least try their hand at one, because there is a vacuum in the market for them, the existing dark flakes out there (none made in the USA btw, except for Dark Star and its kin, which is one of my faves, but sadly lack nicotine) seem to have a dedicated and loyal following and would seem to offer a ready market for suchwise to become available from a USA maker.
In many cases it is the lack of very specialized heavy industrial machinery which prevents them from doing anything of the sort,

but I do agree with you,

sometimes it is simply a lack of vision.
I'll align myself with you in throwing down the gauntlet,

Huzzah!


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