Tinderbox Philosopher - Bulk Equivalents? Similar Suggestions?

Hey everybody,
I like Tinderbox Philosopher and am looking for something similar that is available in bulk online. I've tried to see if it was just a renamed bulk blend like Wilshire is 1Q but really can't find any info one way or the other.
I don't really need the exact equal. Something similar would be good enough. If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate them. Tinderbox is not only out of the way but I'd like to buy a pound or two of it and don't want to get killed on the taxes. I'd rather pay $2 or 3$ an oz than the $5 to $6 local that it costs.
Sometimes I just really jones for the taste. It is like some half english, half aromatic lovable Frankenstein. Maybe if any of you can point me in the direction of two bulks to mix to come up with something close, that be great too.
Ciao,

AnchovyD

Thanks Michiganlover,
I haven't had Early Morning Pipe since the mid 90's but your post jogged my memory a bit and now I do seem to remember it being in a similar vein to Philosopher. I'm going to have to try it out. I remember back then I'd buy the Tinderbox blends because it was cheaper than the tinned stuff so for my everyday tabacco, I'd smoke something from them while buying tins to smoke on the weekends. Now with the sin taxes what they are it is super expensive to smoke their stuff. Also I almost had a heart attack last weekend when I went out with my wife and forgot my pouch. I stopped into a Walgreens to pick some tobacco up for the evening. Bought 1.5 oz of Captain Black for $9! 6$ an ounce!?!? This is starting to get ridiculous.
As for Philosopher being a Lane bulk, I did read that on Tobaccoreviews.com and one guy claims that it is Crown Acheivement although he states that he hasn't smoked CA. Anyway, I bought 4oz. samples of all the English style blends from Lane on PipesandCigars and SmokingPipes and none of them are Philosopher or even similar. They are more straight englishes without the sweetness that Philosopher has. Now I did see a few english blends from Lane on tobaccoreviews that I guess are either discontinued or not on the major online retailers, maybe one of those like 10 Baker Street is what I am looking for.
Thanks,

AnchovyD

Yeah it certainly isn't Crown Acheivement. Like I said I bought all the Lane and Stokkebye englishes and nothing is similar. Sometimes these tobaccoreview.com reviews are way off with people commenting on stuff they haven't smoked and just plain bad reviews that are due to their inexperienced pipe packing and smoking technique. As for availability I've been buying about 4 ounces a month for the past few months and they haven't run out.
As for supporting the local pipe shops, it's really the government which is killing them off. The Tinderbox here has a small pipe selection. It used to be better in the 90's. But with regards to pipes they are priced similar to the online shops and because the feel of a pipe is important to me, I definitely try to buy my briar locally. As for tobacco I'll buy a few ounces or tins per month to sample stuff but if I find something like this Philosopher, I want to buy a couple of pounds at a time and for that I am definitely going online.
It seems like the gov't strategy is to squeeze out the local shops with the taxes and then go for a ban on internet/interstate sales like Washington has enacted. Damn insurance companies and banks.
AnchovyD

Thanks Rigmedic1, I'll try some of those out. Lane definitely supplies a lot of the standard aromatic and english Tinderbox blends but McClelland provides most of the real specific aromatics like the coffee, hazelnut, cherry, amarretto, chocolate etc. and there are a few Stokkebye english and aro blends in their too.
That is why I was sampled all of the Lane and Stokkebye englishes, but maybe it is a McClelland english. I haven't gone through those yet.
Fnord, I live in Louisiana. The taxes here seem much higher than New Mexico. I lived in Santa Fe for a number of years and 3.5 oz tins of MacBaren were like 12 to 14 dollars after the big taxes kicked in. That wasn't so bad. Here I am seeing 3.5 oz tins around $21. That's why I am online in the first place. The tobacco costs were so high I figured that I'd look online. Back in the day I ordered a lot of cigars from JR but their pipe tobacco wasn't really any cheaper than local but they did carry a lot of MacBaren which I loved. Up until a few months ago I didn't know that all the sponsors here or even this site existed. The last forum I was on was the usenet newsgroup alt.smokers.pipes in the 90's. I had know idea online pipe shops have exploded. The only ones I saw and ordered from a long time ago were Iwan Ries and Cup O Joes.
Here in Louisiana you'd think the Perique lobby would've fought to keep the tobacco taxes down.
Ciao,

AnchovyD

Jim,
I just smoked another bowl of the Philosopher and have to say that to me it tastes like 965 with a heavier body, a hint of sweetness, and a midrange bump to borrow a term from the audiophile world. It isn't really sweet like a cavendish but there is a hint of it.
I did drink orange juice about a half hour before smoking it and I did not notice any sweetness. With a clean palate there is like a hint of it, like maybe there is 15% of BCA or something in there to give it some body and that hint. 965 to me is kind of thin and trebly. Philsopher has more body/meat to the smoke. I'm sorry that I'm not all that articulate about the tasting.
I need to pick some more up today and I'll also try mixing some BCA with 965 when I get home and see how that works.