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BALKAN FLAKE
Dark Flake unscented
Full Virginia Flake
1792 (its got tonquin bean)
all so good
Esoterica Blends
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BALKAN FLAKE
Dark Flake unscented
Full Virginia Flake
1792 (its got tonquin bean)
all so good
Lancer Slices is pretty close to Penzance.
That is a fine blend. I've been waiting for a number of years for that one to fall on my lap again. Down to the last four ounces.
The apricot topping on that one reminds me of Dunhill's Elizabethan.
Interesting, I need to revisit Elizabethan.
The Esoterica blends were created for the US market and are only for sale here. They're mostly semi aromatics and some of them are pretty good and unique. There are no equivalencies. In the UK you do have Germain's Rich Dark Flake, which is a kissing cousin to Esoterica Stonehaven, and I find it more interesting.
A lot of McClelland blends weren't better than everyone else, but their Grand Orientals were excellent, and their matured Red Virginias were superb. There are no equivalencies there, either. I also like their 2015 and 2010 bulk Virginias.
Gawith and Hoggarth are still turning out a first class product and I'm very fond of their Glengary Flake, among others.
You also might look into HU blends, available from Esterval's in Germany. MacBaren also turns out some excellent blends, as does Sutliff in the US. These companies have huge stocks of well aged leaf to work with.
The problem is that the tobacco business is undergoing a significant change as more and more sources dry up, growers turn to other crops, and blenders substitute components in their releases.
For the most part I'm not a big fan of what's currently being produced in the US, the exception being some of the Sutliff product, since they can work with stocks that date from before things started to go to hell. There just isn't the depth and complexity I've come to like. So I've stopped buying and will content myself with what I have.
You seem to know a lot about what’s going on with substitutions and whatnot forgive me if I hijack this thread a moment , with the change in Solani aged burley flake , do you know if it still has white Malawi in it , the tin used to say flavored with a bit of chocolate now says licorice?
Thank you for you help and knowledge. I've never heard of HU blends; where would be a good place to start and how's their shipping to the US? I tend to favor Balkans or Englishes with a good oriental presence. I've been mainly smoking Mcconnell blends lately. I don't know if they're still using good quality tobaccos, but I've really enjoyed their match for Durbar, Original Oriental, and Scottish Mixture.
A lot of people complaining about the changes in Silver Flake. Likely you won't recognize ABF.
Well..... honestly, maybe not overrated. Underappreciated while they were in business, which is sadly so often the case, but not overrated. They manufactured remarkable pipe tobacco.
That's fair, I have a little jar of smyrna no 1 a late friend gave me and only take it out on very rare occasions. If someone had a tin for sale I might buy it if it wasn't too insanely priced.
Ask @JimInks . If anyone knows, he would.
That’s ridiculous . Once stuff starts going for $200-600 a bag , NO INTELLIGENT person would sell it for 50. If you know them, good on you , but fantasy runs deep in your comments
If you're interested in HU, check out Esterval's and look at the descriptions. I'm much more familiar with the VaPer and Virginia HU offerings. You can also go to tobaccoreviews.com to see what others have to say about the blends. K&K manufactures the HU line, as well as McConnell, Rattray's, and a number of others. Until a few years ago they were a very high end blender, but as has been happening with increasing frequency, substitutions are being made.
This was also the year that I opened a freshly purchased bag of Esoterica Dunbar and found it unrecognizable. Even if I were still buying tobacco, I wouldn't buy another bag of this. I hope that it's a fluke, but I'm not going to pay to find out.
Not really. When there's a drop I know a number of places where I can buy it for around $40 to $45 a bag. I have about 35 lbs of various Esoterica blends cellared and spent from between $32 and $42 per bag, with no issues. In total, I've probably bought a good 50 lbs of various Esoterica blends in the past 7 - 8 years, some for friends, some to give as gifts, some to smoke, and never once went above that price point. Not every business is STUPID enough to abuse their customers. They take care of their customers and their customers take care of them.
I am bored at work , I should call 100-200 places and ask them to buy Penzance, Stonehaven, or Peacehaven for $45 a bag ….lots of laughs will ensue …. I will most likely get zero. That is the type of research I do for work. I could do it , but I know the best use of my time .
I’ve bought 99% of my tobacco from online retailers , I don’t have a single Connection in the b&m space . For the vast majority who don’t have long term relationships no one will get what you got. I question even if you could repeat it . I doubt it
I’ve bought 99% of my tobacco from online retailers , I don’t have a single Connection in the b&m space . For the vast majority who don’t have long term relationships no one will get what you got. I question even if you could repeat it . I doubt it
Laziness runs in yours. I've never paid more than $40 for an 8 ounce bag. If you'd take the time to pick up a phone and make friends with B&Ms you'd know that. No intelligent person would pay $200-$600 per bag if they knew it was more available than the internet feigns. See, sometimes I read ignored comments.
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