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karam

Lifer
Feb 2, 2019
2,341
9,010
Basel, Switzerland
Dilligence, tenacity, your cell phone and Google are your friends in a quest for unobtaniums. And a thick wallet. Buy the good and premium stuff now at regular prices, in 5 to 10 years you'll have a cellar full of rare, difficult to find and unobtaniums. You'll have ten times as much and money left over. Then every day can be a special occasion.

This.

So what are some rare highly sought after tobaccos? What makes them so special and how does a person find rare tobacco to stow away for a special occasion?

A lot are rare for various reasons, including not being produced anymore, but as many already said rare doesn't mean anything other than being hard to find/get. It doesn't mean you'd like it. As for myself, as a fairly new pipe smoker (3 years daily, about 10 years on and off) I had no idea about any tobacco besides Dunhill's Nightcap, now I am actively avoiding "rare" blends, partly because I don't want the hassle and stress and mainly because there are lot of great tobaccos I can get my hands on fairly easily. The catch is that I am in Europe, and my favourite tobaccos are European so supply is not really a problem, unlike members who're in the US.
 

briarbuck

Lifer
Nov 24, 2015
2,287
5,492
You just have to be on the lookout and be ready. There are unobtanioums/famous tobaccos for sale right now in Curly Block. Buy some and 10 years from now you will have a gem.

There was a period of a couple of years ago when everything was available on EBAY and cheap. Only about a 25% premium for aged stuff. Never paid more than $30 for a tin including 20 year old Xmass Cheer. That was my base for 30+ pounds of aged stuff. Then I bought 100lbs ish new to cellar and age for the future. Worked out that I rarely am smoking anything with less than 5 years on it.
 
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BROBS

Lifer
Nov 13, 2019
11,765
40,026
IA
You just have to be on the lookout and be ready. There are unobtanioums/famous tobaccos for sale right now in Curly Block. Buy some and 10 years from now you will have a gem.
Curly Block sucks a Curly C____

just because a blend doesn't show up often doesn't mean it's good.
 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
I've got a bit of a "rare blend" collection entirely on accident just because I stocked up on a few McClelland blends I enjoy a couple years before they went out of business. I think rarity, rather than quality, is the main ingredient in making a unicorn blend. Of the handful of unobtainium / unicorn blends I've smoked, some of them merit the high regards in which they are held, but there are readily available blends out there that approach or even possibly exceed the unicorns in quality.

Think about Dunhill for example. If Peterson did not pick up the blends, and they did in fact go off the market forever, then blends like Nightcap would be sought-after unicorns within a few years, and possibly right now. However, there are readily available blends on the market in the same genre that I think are objectively better than Nightcap - in particular, GLP Quiet Nights which is Pease's Nightcap-inspired blend that blows the socks off of Nightcap.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,832
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I've got a bit of a "rare blend" collection entirely on accident just because I stocked up on a few McClelland blends I enjoy a couple years before they went out of business. I think rarity, rather than quality, is the main ingredient in making a unicorn blend. Of the handful of unobtainium / unicorn blends I've smoked, some of them merit the high regards in which they are held, but there are readily available blends out there that approach or even possibly exceed the unicorns in quality.

Think about Dunhill for example. If Peterson did not pick up the blends, and they did in fact go off the market forever, then blends like Nightcap would be sought-after unicorns within a few years, and possibly right now. However, there are readily available blends on the market in the same genre that I think are objectively better than Nightcap - in particular, GLP Quiet Nights which is Pease's Nightcap-inspired blend that blows the socks off of Nightcap.

It's the Psychopathy of Scarcity. If something is really hard to find, and people whine over it, it must be good. I've smoked many of these lusted over blends, and they're good, but not better than anything else. They're just not widely available.

Who knows? Maybe they're not widely available because they sucked!

It's human nature to want something that is hard to get and to conflate scarcity with quality.

You know what's really, really, rare? Dunhill Navy Rolls. You wanna know why? "cause Dunhill NEVER MADE NAVY ROLLS. Murrays created the product and slapped the Dunhill name on it.
 

BROBS

Lifer
Nov 13, 2019
11,765
40,026
IA
It's the Psychopathy of Scarcity. If something is really hard to find, and people whine over it, it must be good. I've smoked many of these lusted over blends, and they're good, but not better than anything else. They're just not widely available.

Who knows? Maybe they're not widely available because they sucked!

It's human nature to want something that is hard to get and to conflate scarcity with quality.

You know what's really, really, rare? Dunhill Navy Rolls. You wanna know why? "cause Dunhill NEVER MADE NAVY ROLLS. Murrays created the product and slapped the Dunhill name on it.
totally..
a lot of the Dunhill blends went away IMO because no one ever bought them. They languished on shelves and in warehouses for years without action. As soon as they are "discontinued" people come out of the woodwork wanting to buy them.. smoke them.. relish in them. People who had never even thought of trying them now want to. Praise is sung. Before, when they were readily available no one cared about them.
 

lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
It's the Psychopathy of Scarcity. If something is really hard to find, and people whine over it, it must be good. I've smoked many of these lusted over blends, and they're good, but not better than anything else. They're just not widely available.

Who knows? Maybe they're not widely available because they sucked!

It's human nature to want something that is hard to get and to conflate scarcity with quality.

You know what's really, really, rare? Dunhill Navy Rolls. You wanna know why? "cause Dunhill NEVER MADE NAVY ROLLS. Murrays created the product and slapped the Dunhill name on it.

Exactly. I will add that I think there is usually something to it beyond scarcity, but scarcity is the key component. IMO, unicorn = good + scarce. That's why I just usually avoid unicorns and stick with "good" as my only requirement puffy

However, in all fairness, I have seen some blends becoming unicorns due solely or at least primarily to scarcity, presumably... like certain old codger burleys that have gone out of production, for example. A couple years ago when people were still selling "vintage tobacco tins" on eBay, I saw unopened cans of Ready Rubbed going for unicorn prices. I'm sure it was a good codger burley (if you like codger burleys) but there are tons of good burley blends out there. I'd be bummed if Carter Hall went off the market, but if it did, I would not go seek it out and pay $150 for a tub.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,832
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I'd be bummed if Carter Hall went off the market, but if it did, I would not go seek it out and pay $150 for a tub.
Nor I, but little of this is logical. We're all susceptible to suggestion. Were that not true there would be no marketing. For some of us, the desire to possess what others say is desirable is strong while for others, not so much.
 

Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,819
In my experience there is no holy grail of pipe tobacco. Even some of the most sought after blends when you finally obtain them they're 4/4 star blends, but "average" 4 star blends nonetheless. There's plenty other readily available ones that are just as good if not better.

The fun is in the treasure hunt, the mystique, the legends, the rare finds, the bragging rights that the collector loves. Its part of the hobby of pipe smoking that I enjoy.
 

mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
3,976
11,065
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
There's plenty other readily available ones that are just as good if not better.
I agree that this is true of latakia blends, putting aside the Syrian leaf issue. There are many that are similar enough to be fungible. True of Va and Vapers; they're a dime a dozen. There are unique blends though. There's no replacement for Ennerdale. And certainly none for Holly's Non Plus Ultra!!!! I won't even mention the XXX black ropes from the Gawiths (OK, both Gawiths make a version).
 
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Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
Nor I, but little of this is logical. We're all susceptible to suggestion. Were that not true there would be no marketing. For some of us, the desire to possess what others say is desirable is strong while for others, not so much.
+1
Mimetic desire. Consult Rene Girard. And the anger vented at flippers, guys who have bots, backdoor shop connections, etc., is a classic example of his classification of such emotions as scapegoating.
 
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