Change In Grousemoor

[Johnny_Pipecleaner]

Same here and mine was a tin from probably 2016 or 17 if I had to guess. (the one with tons of scent)

Plus any review you read about this blend online indicates the same STRONG essence/flavor that ghosts pipes and sends insecure men grunting and running towards the nearest latakia

 

[greeneyes]

I think the FVF is a combination of natural variation in the leaf/crop, AND a change in recipe and/or processing. I don't think this is "good year versus bad year"; I think they changed the recipe.

 

[Johnny_Pipecleaner]

Anyone know if Best Brown Flake has been affected? I forget if I've ever actually had that one before so it won't really impact my satisfaction. Just curious because that one is high on my list of SG blends to try (if I can find a tin)

 

[alaskanpiper]

Last tin I opened was saucy as all hell. No idea what batch though, tossed the tin, but I just bought it a few months ago.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Strongly agree.

@oldgeezersmoker I don't doubt your experience but I'm not sure what to make of this. I had a tin of Grousemoor 15 years ago that I bought at Iwan Ries. The perfume exuded by that tobacco was not subtle in any way. Tidal wave of floral/perfume bombs bursting so strong you would smell it from across the room.
You can jam your face into these latest tins and smell nothing but hay/tobacco. No topping detected. It's like the spray nozzle was clogged or broken during production.

I would agree that 15 years or so ago Grousemoor might have been more heavily sauced than it is now. But that was true of most UK blends that were wimped down even before production moved to other countries. St. Bruno’s, Erinmore, Gold Block and Capstan come to mind. The variations reported here on reasonably recent production Grousemoor just aren’t anything I have experienced.

 

[jaytex1969]

@BROBS Maybe, for science, shoot an inquiry off to the producer and share any response with us?

I know you're a bit miffed but try to make the inquiry in a calm and respectful tone so it doesn't get deleted by the recipient. nana

 

[BROBS]

@BROBS Maybe, for science, shoot an inquiry off to the producer and share any response with us?

I know you're a bit miffed but try to make the inquiry in a calm and respectful tone so it doesn't get deleted by the recipient. nana


View attachment 13018

Wait... it’s like you know me. ?

Last tin I opened was saucy as all hell. No idea what batch though, tossed the tin, but I just bought it a few months ago.

Where did you buy it from? Could it have been old stock? How dry was it?

 

[BROBS]

Ok here are two tins. The one I opened must have been one of the recent ones of the two lots I have. Check the older dated one... old label.

 

[BROBS]

I cracked one of the older tins and lookie here

doesnt even look like the same product ?

and this one I just cracked actually has scent. The jarred stuff literally smells like straight tobacco. It had no scent from day one so it didn’t fade in the jar.

 

[BROBS]

I was saying this about Full Virginia Flake earlier. It used to come sopping wet with sauce, and be a rich dark smoke. Now it's more of a light grassy flake. The conversation always veers toward "variation from year to year" and suggestions that it'll "improve with some age."

It's just a completely different product now. My immediate concern was that someone arrived at the company and started suggesting they start cutting corners and forgetting their traditional methods in favor of cost-saving measures.

I bought 40 of the 250g boxes of the Full Virginia Flake. When I opened one up to try (before promptly forgetting the others in the so-called "cellar") I was very surprised and disappointed, and after a while sold the boxes off to friends.

That having been said, for whatever reason the tinned version is somewhat better, but still by no means the product that it was, say, two years ago.

They did... it’s called “Gawith and Hoggarth”

 

[alaskanpiper]

Wait... it’s like you know me. ?



Where did you buy it from? Could it have been old stock? How dry was it?

Couldn’t tell you. It may have been boswell’s though, in which case it could have been old stock. Moisture was ready to smoke right out of the tin, but I usually smoke with a little more moisture than most probably. I’m impatient/busy haha. It’s the only tin I’ve ever had (I only smoke about once a week) so I have not “usual” to compare it to moisture wise.

 

[BROBS]

OK well “usual” is so wet you probably couldn’t get it to light so I’m going to guess it must have had some good age on it. Do you remember if it had the warning on the front like my newer tin?

 

[BROBS]

Ok I smoked 3/4 bowl of the stuff I had jarred for a year. It’s definitely better than when new but still nothing like it should. The flavoring was very weak to start and then fades into almost nothing. It tasted like I was smoking a very fine cigarette. Hardly any scent in the room note besides smoke. And it’s not for lack of moisture... it’s still quite wet. (Dried before smoke)

there I took one for the team. ?

 

[SpookedPiper]

I found this somewhere on line for SG tin dating. See if your math equals to what's on here.

 

[BROBS]

Yes so Feb 2018 and Nov 2018.
the Nov 2018 tins are the culprits.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

They did... it’s called “Gawith and Hoggarth”

The merger and facilities move was in 2015. The complaints I have heard about FVF seem to have started with 2018 released tins/boxes. Those did seem to be lighter in appearance than just a year before. I smoke very little SG or Gawith fresh, but I did try some of the 2018 release when I first read reports of people finding such a striking difference in appearance. I had, and still do, a half gallon jar crammed full of FVF from 2017. The 2018 did taste a bit lighter, but it still tasted like FVF to me. No really dramatic difference to the extent others have noticed, so I put it down to crop variations, not the change in structure of the companies.

Sorting the reviews at TR by newest first yields virtually unanimous 4 star ratings across the board from 2019. Some reviewers are new to the blend, but some aren’t.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

I haven't tried Grousemoor yet (it's on the list) but they do a plug version, maybe that has more sauce?

 

[BROBS]

The merger and facilities move was in 2015. The complaints I have heard about FVF seem to have started with 2018 released tins/boxes. Those did seem to be lighter in appearance than just a year before. I smoke very little SG or Gawith fresh, but I did try some of the 2018 release when I first read reports of people finding such a striking difference in appearance. I had, and still do, a half gallon jar crammed full of FVF from 2017. The 2018 did taste a bit lighter, but it still tasted like FVF to me. No really dramatic difference to the extent others have noticed, so I put it down to crop variations, not the change in structure of the companies.

Sorting the reviews at TR by newest first yields virtually unanimous 4 star ratings across the board from 2019. Some reviewers are new to the blend, but some aren’t.

if you notice those reviews are from people in Europe.....
Read the 1 star review talking about brown leaf.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

if you notice those reviews are from people in Europe.....
Read the 1 star review talking about brown leaf.

If you say so. To my own satisfaction, the two years I have sampled are “within tolerance”. Sorry your experience differs.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Go west young men and try G&Hoggarth's Rich Dark Honeydew(SpringDew now in England) way better tobacco which, in all probability, puts a smile on your face'