Get ready to laugh.
That's almost the price from "premium blends" at the three B&Ms nearest to me. It's weird because the Gawiths are like $17 but GL Pease and Dunhill/Peterson tins are $25-30. I like to support them but Jeebus.
A customer asking a company to almost triple their prices to counteract scalpers is hilariously insane.
The issue here for me is not what is "best" but the unique character of each manufacturer. Taste is subjective, but it is undeniable that both blenders had/have a singular, irreplaceable taste style that reaches out across most of their product line. If you enjoy that character over other manufacturers, then those blends are the best...to you.
My experience is the same as Jesse's. I have never paid above retail for Esoterica, I don't have and any special, secret connections, yet I've accumulated more bags and tins than I will ever smoke. No need to get butt-hurt about it, we all have different experiences in this thing we call Life.
And those same people take offense when you don't care for the blends that they like.
Dan's point is an essential one, that some blenders create a very distinctive "house style" for their product. Gawith & Hoggarth, McClelland, Germain's (at least until recently), MacBaren, sit in that camp. With McClelland, the extensive processing produced a distinctive house style to their various Virginias, one that no one has duplicated. McClelland Virginia is instantly recognizable.
Never said it wasn't, but you've seen the arguments that have ensued from one person condemning another's favorite.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane LOL.
I don't disagree. I just thought it worth mentioning Dan's point in all of these "what's the best maker, blend, etc" bullshit that goes on in forums like this. It's like comparing persimmons and kumquats or dragon fruit and durian. All tobacco blends aren't created equally.
I'd managed to forget about that thread. Just bass ackwards.
When was the last time you noticed esoterica was available all over the country? With its rise in popularity or at least explosion in secondary prices, I have a feeling this is no longer the case.
Some of the drop never reaches the general public. Some B&M's have deals where they sell their allotment to a buyer who agrees to buy their entire shipment, or they develop a contact with an agent for overseas buyers. But I suspect that's a small part of the total picture.
It's been that way for over 10 years. The last purchase I made was two 8oz bags of Blackpool for $85 back in May. The owner of the shop called me back though and asked if I wanted any more Dunbar.
By and large, that's true, with the possible exception of Stalin and Goering.
