Aged Condor...

[hawky454]

For the past couple of years now I've been spending all of my free money on stocking up Condor mostly in it's Plug form but I've got a lot of the RR & LC pouches in my cellar as well, my goal is to get a lifetime supply as just like in the case of Velvan & Erinmore Plug, ya never really know when something will disappear from the shelves for good. I don't even want to think about how much money I've put into this but I know it's a pretty penny. Then I got to thinking, I've never really had aged Condor and I have not heard anyone really describe their experiences with Condor that has 5 or more years on it. I am storing the pouches in sealed mylar bags with the hopes of preserving the flavor rather than promoting the aging process. I've heard great things about aged St. Bruno and every experience that I've read up on has not only been a positive experience but most say that it was the absolute best smoke they've ever had (another reason, I'm also stocking up on St. Bruno). Given that Condor and St. Bruno both have somewhat similar (in style) toppings, it is my hope that Condor will fair just as well with age as St. Bruno. Does anyone hear have any experience with smoking aged Condor? If you do or know of any threads containing any info regarding aged Condor I would love to hear about it. I've found very little in this regard.
Thanks!

 

[josephcross]

I’ve been beginning to stock up on Condor and was just thinking about this very thing.

I havnt tried St Bruno, but if it’s similar to Condor I know I’ll love it.

 

[klause]

Hawksy,
I've smoked quite a bit of the RR that was over 8 yrs old - not ancient, but pushing on a bit - i thought it was sublime. It was an incredibly smooth smoke, very flavourful - quite a bit sweeter, to me, than the fresh.
Got some now that is nearly 12 yrs old, and it has turned almost black in the jar. I also have quite a few plugs, ranging from fresh to 10 yrs old - all in jars, in their wrappers - it'll be interesting to see how they turn out.
Anyway, either way, improved or not, you'll have a good smoke - it is Condor, after all

 

[didache]

St Bruno is my 'go to' smoke and it is a rare day when I don't have a bowl of it. Frequently it is the last bowl of the day before retiring. Although most is quite 'young' I have had a few pouches over the years where it has aged a little - in one case over ten years. klause is right - it tends to come over a little sweeter and smoother than a younger tobacco. The problem is: how much is down to aging and how much is down to small changes in the blend itself over the years?
For those who like Condor, try St Bruno if you can - they are of the same family and both are first class smokes.
Mike

 

[mawnansmiff]

Hawky, that's the first I've heard of Erinmore Plug disappearing...where did you hear that?
As far as I'm aware it is like Condor Plug, only available in Ireland.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[hawky454]

Thank you all for the reply and Klause, that is wonderful to hear, thank you for sharing! It gives me great hope!
Jay, I heard about Erinmore Plug from James Fox of Ireland. One day they had it, the next day it was gone for good. I’ve not seen it anywhere else since... it’s quite sad, even the plugs in Ireland are dying off!

 

[davidintexas]

Don't take all the Condor hawky! Same as you I consider Condor my favorite blend but only have a few plugs and a couple of pouches of RR and LC. I would even consider the risky move of having MacBaren produce it if it would make access to the U.S. less costly. St. Bruno on the other hand, although I like the taste it seems to be bitey to my tongue whereas there isn't a hint of biteness with Condor. Don't know what it is. Any idea? And why is it they don't make the Condor in 50g plugs in addition to the 25g?

 

[weezell]

Condor Plug in an old meer is divine! Love the stuff...

 

[hawky454]

Don't take all the Condor hawky! Same as you I consider Condor my favorite blend but only have a few plugs and a couple of pouches of RR and LC. I would even consider the risky move of having MacBaren produce it if it would make access to the U.S. less costly. St. Bruno on the other hand, although I like the taste it seems to be bitey to my tongue whereas there isn't a hint of biteness with Condor. Don't know what it is. Any idea? And why is it they don't make the Condor in 50g plugs in addition to the 25g?

That is a good question, I don't know why they only make them in the 25g packs rather than the 50g but I've actually grown to like it. For a moment there I had a scare cause I saw that they had been taken off the market. I contacted J Fox about it and they said they had to take them off the market due to new packaging and that they were going to make them in 30g plugs so they could fit larger warning pictures on the wrappers but for some reason that never happened and they put the 25g plugs back on the market.
It's a shame that St. Bruno bites you because it really is a great blend. It must be something in the topping they use that doesn't agree with your chemistry. I wouldn't give up on it entirely as I've had blends that bite me in the past that I've revisited years later that I didn't have a problem with. Maybe my ph changed over time? I have also found that if you slowly try to acclimate yourself to a certain blend that you may just be able to enjoy it. I had that problem with Full Virginia Flake but I just kept at it, I had a lot of nights where I had tongue bite but I eventually got passed that and now it doesn't affect me at all.
Keep buying Condor Plug though! I figure the more people that smoke it the better chance we have at them keeping it in production.
Long live Condor Plug!

 

[davidintexas]

Long live Condor Plug! Ha. Speaking of going back again I tried Rattray's Bagpiper's Dream again hoping for a better result. It tasted good but it also gave my tongue some bite. So I dumped it out and had a bowl of Condor and it was night and day. So smooth, so good tasting. Whatever topping it has gives it just a bit of sweetness that settles well with me. On another note, I had read where you like pretty much all of the GH tobaccos, and while I have several, I just ordered several that I don't have. Too bad they don't offer more plugs on this side of the pond. I tried Dark Flake scented on your recommendation and do like it. It's not Condor but again their (GH) tobaccos do not seem to give me any bite, and the toppings I seem to like so far. If only the distributors of Condor (East Germany? Danes?) would comes to their senses and see what a bonanza they could make on that blend in the U.S. Well, I'll keep hoping? Say, did you make it to the first Texas annual pipe show? I had to work but so wanted to go. Wanted to meet Pipestud as well as you and others.

 

[hawky454]

David, unfortunately I was not able to make it either. With a nine month baby girl at home I just couldn't convince my wife (nor could I actually leave her high and dry when it finally boils down to it), she needs all the help she can get. Maybe next year?
I do really like most all of the GH&Co tobaccos but I'm not near as enthusiactic about them as I was this time last year. I've mellowed out some with buying large varieties of tobaccos and I feel like I might be turning into a codger. I could literally smoke Condor every time and I'd be alright. Dark Flake scented and maybe Brown Bogie are still probably my favorite GH&Co. but now 1792 Flake has really beat both those blends out for my stout smoke of the day. I usually start out heavy in the morning and then level off with Condor as the day goes on(even though that is a pretty stout smoke itself)
It is a damn shame that we can't get more of the Gawith plugs over here and I will never understand why such decisions were made?
I would be the happiest man alive if we got Condor distributed over here in the States again. I'm pretty sure that it was, at one time, available in the States, I want to say it was in the 80's? Does anyone know when?

 

[mawnansmiff]

Hawky, can you not get hold of Condor 'Ready Rubbed' of 'Long Cut (Flake)' over there? Not bragging but both are popular OTC blends over here and pretty much available everywhere.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[jitterbugdude]

Jay.. no form of Condor is sold in the U.S.

Myself, I only have 60 plugs and maybe a 1/2 dozen RR pouches. That'll have to do for now.

 

[davidintexas]

Only 60 plugs? You poor thing. Ha...just ribbing you jitter. I have maybe 10 plugs and they're the 25g at that. And about 4 or 5 pouches of the RR and LC. I'm not going to run out anytime soon as I only smoke a couple times a week, except for vacations.
Hawky, I hear ya. You have to go through the process to get to the point that you know what you really like and don't like. I have bunches of different blends but have only recently come to the conclusion that Latakia blends are not for me, by and large. I may hold onto a couple, or a select few where that weed is only a minute condiment. So I will probably unload those at some point. And I am slowly coming to the conclusion that most VAs of the lighter side are not my cup of tea either. The burleys I still have not come to a conclusion on. I do like some VA/Burley blends. If I had the opportunity to smoke every day then the process would be faster. But it is what it is.
I'll probably spend some time on the GH blends and figuring out which of those I favor. So far those seem to have the least amount of bite and overall have more strength on average than most. I am not a nicotine addict but seem to prefer blends with at least a medium amount of strength. This of course is just my preference and doesn't cast a showdow on any of those blends that others might consider the epitome of good blends. We're all just so different as to our preferences. This is a good thing. So, you and MLC just need to come up with the right blend of essences to get to that Condor "perfectness" to take care of our supply problem, right? ::

 

[saltedplug]

I love Condor but probably spent ~$700.00 on ~3.5 lbs. Expensive but no more than some others. Don't plan to buy more.

 

[hawky454]

So, you and MLC just need to come up with the right blend of essences to get to that Condor "perfectness" to take care of our supply problem, right?

Lol! That will be the day! With my experiments with flavoring Tobaccos the closest I’ve come to was to GH&Co’s scented flakes because they simply just use essential oils, the basic ones can be pretty easy to copy. Unfortunately St. Bruno, Condor and even Erinmore Flake have some extremely complex toppings that have been kept secrets for decades. MLC has come pretty close to cracking what is in St. Bruno but to actually match it would be another thing all together. Anyway, I’m with you, I keep waiting for Troy to crack the code. lol.
Jay, thanks for rubbing it in! How I wish Condor was available over here but no, in the States, our otc’s are blends like Captain Black, Carter Hall, Prince Albert and Borkum Riff. I wish I could just buy it at my local corner store and I’m fact I often have dreams that it’s available everywhere here and then I wake up sorely dissapointed. It’s very expensive to obtain here but worth it in my opinion. To obtain 500g in Plugs you’re looking at spending close to $250.00.
Jitterbugdude, we are close to having a similar stash, I have 55 Plugs left (although I’m not done buying) but I bought 20 pouches of the Spanish marketed Condor RR back in 2016 and I was able to source a lot of the 5 packs of Long Cut from Glenn Quelch when they would still ship to the States. His site is back up and running but unfortunately they no longer ship to the US. He was, by far, the cheapest place to buy Condor from.
Every couple of months I buy 20 Plugs at a time and every couple of months I’ve noticed that the price goes up a total of $1.50 (that’s per 20 not per Plug). So it’s getting really pricey to obtain over here. I could see it finally being sold over here in the States just after I spend a small fortune to secure a lifetime supply... wouldn’t that be something??

 

[mawnansmiff]

Hawky, though Condor Ready Rubbed and Long Cut are priced like all other 50g pouches/tins at around £13.50, Condor Plug is €11.50 for 25g from the only distributor I am aware of, James Fox of Dublin.
Why it is so expensive is anyone's guess. Apparently the Gallagher factory is closing or already closed, who makes it once it leaves Ireland is also anyone's guess.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[hawky454]

So it is my understanding that it has already closed. JTI took over and is now being produced in Japan. There is another MLC post in these forums on the subject. Many folks were worried that Condor would inevitably change and some say it already has. I’m too new to Condor to recognize any changes... it could be that the change already took place well before I had my first transcendental experience with Condor, I don’t know. Same thing with St. Bruno, I fell in love with it before I ever had the chance to try the original and a lot of people say it pales in comparison.

 

[saltedplug]

It's expensive because the owners (I heard Japanese) know that it will sell in the same way as the White Spot pipes.

 

[klause]

It's expensive because that is the price of tobacco here - government taxes!!!
€23 for 50g tin of pipe tobacco, €11.50 for 25g plug of Condor.