They Have Ruined Condor - I May Give Up Smoking!

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condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
7,993
26,607
New York
One or two of you on this forum have received the odd Plug of Condor along with a cryptic note asking you if you notice anything different. I know a lot of you are not regular Condor consumers like myself or my good friend Dave aka Weezell but something is definitely wrong in Denmark to paraphrase Shakespeare. The new plug manufactured in the former Soviet Union (Some Eastern European Place) tastes absolutely wrong. The topping has been watered down and the plug is almost like a sponge. Worse it leaves a thick deposit on my knife when I slice the stuff up. Instead of nice slices you get something with the consistency of snot after a three day epic cocaine binge that will burn but tends to gurgle in a fashion more typical of a crack pipe. It burns too hot and the smell leaves my office strangely reminiscent of a London pub after a 1980s heavy metal tribute concert (i.e.) stale ashtrays and puke. I have tried drying the stuff after slicing, dicing the stuff, small slivers and at every turn I am confront with the above. I have a large supply I purchased from a member here of the original stuff but this new stuff is horrible. The only fix I can find is to mix it with something else or sprinkle some early 1990 Condor on the top to amp up the flavor although the aroma remains pretty crap. Why on earth did Gallagher have to mess with a true classic and sic upon us the P.O.S? Anyone else got their 2 cents to add to this rant?

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,568
27,070
Carmel Valley, CA
Simon- Sorry to hear this, and well, a colorful description to say the least. Even at its best, Condor and I did not agree.
But, what if you dry the shit out of it (literally and figuratively)? That would help on a couple of fronts.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Simon, I am truly sorry. Gallaher's management needed to make more profit, so goodbye Ireland and hello Poland. At least Denmark can take some solace that they aren't the only country who can kill British tobacco blends. Maybe if you spread it over some blini and kielbasa it will taste better.

 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
7,993
26,607
New York
Funnily enough whilst I was writing the above I heard from another member of our community who had just got around to smoking a plug I sent him. He also felt it had been dialed back a bit. I am starting to think the Polish iteration should now be called Condorsky since certainly has that ersatz feel to it. I await Jim Inks view of the subject as I posted him one on Saturday and it will be interesting to hear his take on the subject.

 

ben88

Lifer
Jun 5, 2015
1,323
544
Quebec
manufactured in the former Soviet Union
As a former resident of USSR, I can suggest that you should find another blend to smoke. That will be the end, Condor will be POS from now on.

 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
7,993
26,607
New York
Wow! Well it seems that Simon is not going insane after all. Thank you Ben88 for your comment which seems to further reinforce what I have been saying.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
Condor, you have my deepest condolences and hope you will make it through these dark days. Your loss is immeasurable and I will pray you find the real Condor one day and you can forget this putrid Soviet bloc substitute.

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
This makes me sad. Unfortunately, these type of posts are becoming more common.

 

ben88

Lifer
Jun 5, 2015
1,323
544
Quebec
I worked at the refrigerator factory in USSR. We made a fridge on the base of a great apparatus made in Switzerland. After 2-3 years of improving by soviet engineers, in the end we had a decent space heater. :-(

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,848
553,775
I look forward to trying this travesty, if only to cure my curiosity. Thanks, Simon.

 

jaytex1969

Lifer
Jun 6, 2017
9,517
50,591
Here
I look forward to trying this travesty, if only to cure my curiosity.
It's the courageous demeanor of people like this that truly make this country awesome.
Thanks, Jim, for taking one in the nutsack for the team. We love you! :worship:
:rofl:
jay-roger.jpg


 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
I thought some Japanese Big Tobacco bought the brand a half-dozen years ago, and that they promptly dialed down both the flavor and strength, but those who'd smoked it said that the changes did not mortify the blend. I spent some $700.00 on the Japanese version, at about half the current cost, in 2015. My final opinion was that although I liked it, I didn't liked it enough to pay the freight. I was a GH Dark Flake kinda guy at what seemed a reasonable cost, $55.00/500g.
But I know that this is all some guys smoke,and my heart goes out to you. My solution? Mr. Pease. I emailed him in 2015 and he said getting Lakeland essences was impossible, as they are so closely guarded that even the blender doesn't know which barrel the essence came from. Maybe he would have a better answer now. My idea was a British plug with the strength of a raving British bat out of hell. OK, then maybe Standard Tobacco/Russ Ouellette.

 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Nothing like having a favorite blend go to hell. I'm sorry this has happened. Under the circumstances, I'm glad I didn't smoke Condor. So far, I've been able to roll with it when favorites have gone under or changed. Since I am a promiscuous blend sampler, there's seemingly always something else. But this can happen to anyone, once you make a habit of one blend.

 

condorlover1

Lifer
Dec 22, 2013
7,993
26,607
New York
@Saltedplug we tried that with War Horse Green and the result was the worlds first smokable bottle of anisette! Even with the addition of a few other things we couldn't crack it. I suppose we would have to go down the same route we went with War Horse but that is expensive and can be hit or miss. Granted there are enough old samples kicking around to run parallel tests and double blind analysis but at the end of the day I wonder just how big the actual market would be for a Condor clone? Even if you got that bit right you still need access to the steam press to make the plugs, a problem we at SToP are very familiar with during the production phase of War Horse Bar. After reading some of the comments here I think I have figured out what the idiots have done. Has anyone here smoked 'Condor Mild' or 'Condor Blue' at any time. I think they have used that topping on the mixture as the result sort of reminds me of that particular iteration of Condor.

 

thomasw

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 5, 2016
862
24
I feel your woe, condorlover. I've seen numerous blends come/go and-or become very scarce over my quarter-century of pipe smoking; and it is both sad and annoying. Both now there is the chance to find a new favourite... I hope you will search and find another blend that satisfies you and gives you joy. Perhaps just the search will be a part of the fun in the time ahead??? Not buying the 'journey is more important than the destination' notion? I don't blame you; I'd just miss my blend... I feel your woe!

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,568
27,070
Carmel Valley, CA
Add copious amounts of slivovitz (sp?) to the kielbasa, kiln dry the condor, and....? I am sorry for the loss, even though I couldn't smoke even the good stuff.

 

ashdigger

Lifer
Jul 30, 2016
11,378
70,056
60
Vegas Baby!!!
Simon, I hear the new "Condor Menthol" is what the Kool kids smoke.
But I am grievously sorry for the loss of your road tar byproduct.

 
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