Anyone Recall Burlington Arcade?

[jpmcwjr]

Burlington Arcade, by Harry S Tint and Sons, Philadelphia (ultimately purchased by Ashton's.)
This was my main tobacco 40+ years ago, and of course it's out of production for several decades. I'd really love to know if anyone can say XYZ from this blender or that makes a good approximation. The Dean of students at my old Uni recommended it, and I stuck happily with it for 8 or so years before I put pipes aside. Now I am resuming in earnest, I'd like to see whether my current taste buds and nicotine tolerance have changed a lot. I know the nic tolerance has dropped markedly.
A google search showed someone was offering a pound tin of it..... Empty!

 

[lestrout]

Hmmmm - I think I have a tin of this somewhere, but I may have never puffed it. I know of another tin by the same blender somewhere. I need to sample mine and see if I can help you with a counterpart recommendation.
hp

les

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks, Les! The pound tins I remember were wrapped with a purple full length band.

 

[lestrout]

yo jp
The BA tin I have does indeed have a purple label, but the tin is 14 oz. I've puffed 2 bowls now, and can say it does not have anywhere near 70% Lat - more like 30-40%. Age may have changed it a lot, but I don't find too much Orientals or Turkish. I'm still trying to decide if it has much burley - it certainly doesn't have much nuttiness.
Too bad our Morley's morleysson (Bob Runowski) isn't still alive. He would have known what was in it. At least he could have looked at it and figured out what the components are.
hp

les

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks! My "pound" tins may well have been 14 oz.
The only tobacco I've smoked that when lit took me back to the Burlington was Pirate Kake. But after smoking it a bit, the sensation left. I've a lot to learn about pipe tobaccos!
I bought some straight Latakia to mix with this or that to see if I can get closer with another route.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Les-
Thanks for your input! Any more thoughts on Burley content? Medium to low on nicotine content perhaps?
Anyone else with info/guesses on Burlington Arcade? (R.I.P.!)

 

[lestrout]

yo jp
Sorry I haven't been keeping up. I've been distracted by all sorts of stuff. On the tobacco front, I've been plumbing some very old Capstan and the new STP Cotton and other blends. I have an intricate protocol when I try to scope out a blend, which involves setting up a sequence of controls, layup blends and palate cleansers. Since I only puff three bowls a days, and since I always start off with something light so as to not gross out my taste buds, I've had a problem interweaving my BA study in with all the rest.
The nic content here is not particularly high. I have some 'American English' blends here, completely randomly, which I built into this protocol to sharpen my perceptions on burleys within an English envelope. Frankly, I don't look forward to puffing those again, so this reticence has slowed me down a bit. I also know of some Burlington Arcade Light up in Boston, and I plan to get together with my buddy there later this year to do some cross comparisons.
Next week is Morley's, and I plan to enlist several experienced puffers who like this genre to give us a hand identifying some replacements. If Wm. Serad comes, that will be a big help - he wrote the book on Trial by Fire and developed quite a few C&D blends, along with the Serenity and Hebraica series.
hp

les

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks, Les. Particularly your take on low nic with the BA. That'd be consistent with my low tolerance for nicotine.

 

[jpberg]

JP, I have only smoked 10-15 year old BA, but if I had to name a blend that was close to what I think it must have been while fresh,I'd say PipeWorks & Wilke #400, or possibly their High Hat.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks, JP! I will be ordering some before long. Carole herself wasn't familiar with BA, so this will be extra helpful.
I still hold some hope that someone will be able to recommend other close matches!

 

[lestrout]

yo jpmo
Sorry - I've been traveling and focussed on the great new STP blends, but I have scoped out the next several controls to run vs. the Burlington Arcade: based on the thought that it was a higher quality version of the old HoW Barking Dog, I am lining up some Sutliff Man's Best Friend and 4 Noggins Bald Headed Teacher, while I try to find the friend who had some old BDog.
I also have a bunch of pipes to break in, so the protocol of blend sequences I have there will slow down the progress on the BA project.
hp

les

 

[jpmcwjr]

Les, you the man!
I am shocked, though, to find you put travels ahead of researching my question! Shocked, I tell you, shocked!
:lol:
On a more serious note: I am pretty sure Bald Headed teacher isn't it, as I think it has a good does of burley, which doesn't seem to be compatible with me. I have smoked some, and think it also doesn't have enough latakia in it.

 

[lestrout]

Yo jp - I stumbled on another lead: take a look at morleysson's review of C&D Evening Rise in TR. He was the inestimable Bob Runowski, a late notable in my Morley's PC. He would have had personal knowledge of BArcade and Harry Tint, but he died several years ago. He was a great and knowlegeable piper.
hp

les

 

[jpmcwjr]

Just re-read the Morleysson review and still cannot reconcile in myself my current aversion to burley and the burley base of Evening Rise, said by him to be similar to my old Burlington Arcade. Tastes change, body chemistry changes, and maybe that's all there is to it. Meantime, trying all sorts of tobaccos, most with latakia in the mix.
Thanks again.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Just in case any new members might see this and have a take on Burlington Arcade of yore.

 

[skraps]

I remember a discussion with William Serad related to Burlington Arcade. I recall he had a tin that he brought for our founding member at Morleys, Bob Paige. If someone could get ahold of William, he might be your next best bet to tell you what was in this blend.

 

[jpmcwjr]

This tobacco came up again in another thread, so I thought if any fresh eyes were to see this, I might strike lucky....

 

[jpmcwjr]

And now as 2018 stumbles towards Fall, I though I'd inquire about my one tobacco grail, Burlington Arcade.... Anyone??