A Ruminative Discourse Concerning Expensive Blends

[Donb1972]

Tobacco is like anything else...whatever you enjoy is the "best". My mother loved Mateus(blech), and though she could have afforded much more expensive wine, she didn't want it.

As for the bags: Smoker's Pride Cherry Cavendish was okay, but I prefer Paladin. If the country collapsed, and all I had was Smoker's Pride ~ I could be okay with it ?

 

[burleybreath]

As for the bags: Smoker's Pride Cherry Cavendish was okay, but I prefer Paladin.

I don't know your age, but I'm old enough to remember that stuff from the 1970s. Reminded me of automobile interior deodorant or cheap urinal cakes. The "blend" was far, far worse than Mixture No. 79. Some smokers cut it 50/50 with PA, and that produced a decent room note, but the sickening taste still lingered on the mind, if not the tongue. Wonder if it's the same stuff today? he asked, rhetorically.

 

[Rockyrepose]

As a sort of parable, I'd pick up the matter of Spam, the canned meat. Canned meat is never going to be a premium meal. Frankly, for most of my young life i thought it was organ meats and entrails to be avoided. In fact, I believe it is ground pork shoulder, which is not a revolting cut.

Likewise, some bag tobacco is good quality, not all, but some. Hawaii took up Spam as a sort of state delicacy and it is standard fare at homes and restaurants where plenty of good cuisine is available.

A dear friend and myself went into the mountains to his cabin for a trip, It's isolated with no cell service and rests on the edge of spring fed marsh. The cabin is rustic but has every amenity you would need year round. One evening we pilfered the store room and found a can of Spam, a cardboard tin of croissants and some Velveta cheese slices, you know, abominations actually. We made Spam Newtons.

I don't know if it was the company, the local or the libations but it was delightful. We have, on many occasions, eaten extravagantly prepared meals with expensive ingredients at that cabin and somehow I have the fondest of memories of the sPaM NeWtOn evening.

 

[Staggerlee]

Perique and Latakia cost more because of the time and attention they take as well as the relatively limited availability so naturally any blend that features them will cost more to make and more to purchase.

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

I love all this talk about “cheap tobacco” and “expensive tobacco”. When the government have laid claim to nearly 50% (maybe more) of your income, cheap and expensive become two sides of the same coin - everything is expensive!
Not as expensive as Australia, NZ or Canada, yet, but still bloody expensive none the less.

What’s next? The Americans discussing “sales at the local tobacconists - buy 4, 2oz tins for $3.00 each and get 4 tins free” and still ruminating about prices in “the good old days”? ?

My old dad used to have a saying - “You don’t know your born.” That is to say “you’ve got no idea about how bad things can actually get“. I see that fuel prices for petrol/gas and diesel are roughly the same on both sides of the puddle and I see how this has alarmed the citizenry - especially those who rely on fuel for their work, truck drivers etc paying $1,000 + to fill up their big-rig - and it makes me wonder; ”at what point will the U.S government realise that if they put a chunk of tax on everything - like they do in Europe - then they can start to recoup the trillions of dollars of debt accrued?”

The old adage - it’s never been cheaper to buy now - is true and worth investing in I think because a change is on the wind I think.

Anyway, that’s just my opinion on the matter - now back to cheap and expensive tobaccos. ?

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

During the course of a weekday my Star Grade Lee pipes are filled with fruity, sweet, aromatic, candy flavored cheap blends that smell wonderful and are excellent all day, everyday smokes.

Then, on evenings and weekends I’m prone to pack my larger pipes with more expensive blends.

There is a reason blends with lots of Virginia, Perique, and Latakia cost more. They are better tasting, more satisfying, stronger and more rewarding to smoke. Expensive blends are at least twice the cost of the cheap stuff, and often four to six times more money.

The sad truth is high fructose corn syrup is cheaper than cane sugar, and margarine less dear than real butter, and imitation maple syrup less expensive than the genuine article. So also it is cheaper to sweeten and flavor burley than blend more expensive tobaccos into pipe blends.

I wonder how the manufacturers mass marketed cheap tobaccos, before propylene glycol.

There’s always been something cheaper to smoke, than the very best. And they sell more, of the cheap stuff.




Po’ Folks

It's a sound principle to search out and buy more expensive food where nutrient quality is highly desireable, but all tobacco may as well be another brand of sawdust laced potato chips or synthetic candy, you're only in it for the flavor to begin with (and Nicotine content has nothing to do with tobacco quality, anyone can make a goopy Aromatic with cheap strong Burley if they want), so as long as the blend in your pipe delivers the flavor you want, the source of the tobacco and flavorings shouldn't have any part to play in your enjoyment of the smoke.

 

[uzzi101]

In my opinion every tobacco blend I buy is cheap especially in comparison to cigars or even cigarettes. I love Capstan Blue Flake which is why I bought over 150 tins of it. When Hamborger Veermaster came back on the market in pounds, I bought one and found that a pound of it had way too much shake in it so I decided to only buy tins after that. I didn't care about the price difference, I only cared about how the tins smoked so much better than the bulk.

Almost all of my favorite blends were made in tins which I prefer. I like how tinned tobacco ages in their original tins. Pipe tobacco is so cheap that I never even consider the price of it when buying it.
Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake only comes in tins and I bought over 200 tins of it because I like it so much. I never once looked to find something similar in bulk form or something even cheaper. Astleys no 44 Dark Flake is another favorite of mine and I bought over 150 tins not once caring about the cost.

When Mac Baren Old Dark Fired came out in 2012, I bought 65 3.5oz tins and I paid either 10.99 or 9.99 per tin as they were on sale when they first came out. I could go on and on with blends like Solani 633 which came in 50 gram tins that were vacuum sealed or I could have bought the 100 gram tins which needed to be jarred. For me it was a no brainer and I bought the 50 gram tins.
When Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky came back on the market in 2016, I did a test tin and then I bought 100 50 gram tins. At 7.01 per tin, it was dirt cheap in my opinion and it was a hell of a deal. There are so many great deals when it comes to tins that I never think twice about buying them.

Forgive the intrusion. Any change you would be willing to trade or sell some aged capstan BF? I tasted some 2013 and I’m hooked. : )

 

[Hovannes]

I refuse to buy tobacco that costs more than my automobile, LOL!