Hello I was told Penzance is a good pipe tobacco.I looked online but the sites I went to were out of stock,does anyone know a website that might have, it or is it out of season?And any personal experiences with Penzance.
Esoterica penzance?
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Good luck. The company that makes it is very small and production is no where near capable of keeping up with demand, especially with US hoarding practices.
I've smoked it and it's really good, but it's not the end-all be-all.
I've smoked it and it's really good, but it's not the end-all be-all.
I've been lucky enough to have a generous amount gifted to me - although it is very nice, I agree with the TAB, there are some nicer ones out there.
Penzance is fantastic stuff in my opinion. Your best bet if you want to find it is to use Google to find tobacconists in smaller towns that sell Esoterica products. Preferably ones that don't list their inventory online or have very basic websites. Then get on the phone and call them. By doing this I've managed to locate 3.5 lbs of Penzance in the last year or so with maybe a grand total of 45 minutes to an hour of time invested. If they don't have it you're on the phone for 20 seconds. If they do you just need to give them your billing/shipping info. The VAST majority of these smaller tobacconists offer extremely courteous service and are great to talk to on the phone.
It's virtually impossible to find Penzance or Stonehaven (their other "holy grail" blend) in stock on big sites like pipesandcigars.com, smokingpipes.com, 4noggins.com, or any other large online retailer. You can get on their email lists to be notified when the product is in stock, but usually it's only in stock for about an hour before it has sold out again. I have had much better luck calling places because there is much less competition this way. People are lazy and just want to click to order it online. Be proactive and you will probably be surprised how quickly you can find it. Some days you can't find it, and other days you'll find it easily. You just need to call every couple of months and eventually you'll at least be able to see what all the fuss is about.
Also note, I've had MUCH better luck finding the 8oz bags than the tins. They usually run between $32 and $40 a bag. But if you don't like it, there are plenty of people who will buy it from you and give you what you paid for it. I also agree there are other blends just as good as Penzance out on the market. If you really like it, it's worth the search. But there are SO MANY fantastic tobaccos out there that if you can't get Penzance it isn't the end of the world. It's just tobacco after all...you aren't going to see God and know the meaning of life when you smoke it!
It's virtually impossible to find Penzance or Stonehaven (their other "holy grail" blend) in stock on big sites like pipesandcigars.com, smokingpipes.com, 4noggins.com, or any other large online retailer. You can get on their email lists to be notified when the product is in stock, but usually it's only in stock for about an hour before it has sold out again. I have had much better luck calling places because there is much less competition this way. People are lazy and just want to click to order it online. Be proactive and you will probably be surprised how quickly you can find it. Some days you can't find it, and other days you'll find it easily. You just need to call every couple of months and eventually you'll at least be able to see what all the fuss is about.
Also note, I've had MUCH better luck finding the 8oz bags than the tins. They usually run between $32 and $40 a bag. But if you don't like it, there are plenty of people who will buy it from you and give you what you paid for it. I also agree there are other blends just as good as Penzance out on the market. If you really like it, it's worth the search. But there are SO MANY fantastic tobaccos out there that if you can't get Penzance it isn't the end of the world. It's just tobacco after all...you aren't going to see God and know the meaning of life when you smoke it!
Penzance is my #1 favorite tobacco. For me, no other English or Balkan can match its complexity and the sheer joy I get from smoking it.
As others have said, the supply of Penzance is very limited these days. If you're willing to spend the money on an untried tobacco, you can often pick up tins on eBay for US$50-60/tin. Which is ludicrous. But you can often get it there.
Chances are, if a vendor is out of Penzance, they're also out of Germain's Special Latakia Flake, which is nearly identical. But it doesn't hurt to also keep an eye out for the Germain's Special Latakia Flake.
In my experience, nothing else is similar -- either in taste or in the crumble-cake quality of the flakes.
Bob
As others have said, the supply of Penzance is very limited these days. If you're willing to spend the money on an untried tobacco, you can often pick up tins on eBay for US$50-60/tin. Which is ludicrous. But you can often get it there.
Chances are, if a vendor is out of Penzance, they're also out of Germain's Special Latakia Flake, which is nearly identical. But it doesn't hurt to also keep an eye out for the Germain's Special Latakia Flake.
In my experience, nothing else is similar -- either in taste or in the crumble-cake quality of the flakes.
Bob
Penzance is overrated, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, and there are plenty of other blends out there that are comparable. If you love the stuff, like Bob, keep on puffing and more power to ya! If you want to try something comparable to it, try G.L. Pease's Quiet Nights. The new HH LatFlake is pretty damn good as well and has some of the traits of Penzance. I was fortunate and able to buy a tin of it (low investment in case by chance i didn't like it) off of a member on here for what he paid for it. I do like it a lot and smoke it every once in a while only because i have a very limited supply, but the ring of hoops you have to jump through to get some really turns me off to it. I would buy an 8oz. bag if i could find it available somewhere, but i'm not spending hours looking to achieve this. There are too many other lat blends i enjoy on the same level as Penzance.
I've still yet to try Stonehaven, hopefully i will see what all the hype is about if i can find it in the next ten years or so.
I've still yet to try Stonehaven, hopefully i will see what all the hype is about if i can find it in the next ten years or so.
Broth speaks the truth,
very good advice.
You could also try this, some say it's like Penzance, yet fuller...
http://www.hu-tobacco.de/
Newly released, ready-rubbed or krumble kake.
very good advice.
You could also try this, some say it's like Penzance, yet fuller...
http://www.hu-tobacco.de/
Newly released, ready-rubbed or krumble kake.
Penzance is just about my favorite. I happened on a tin early in my pip journey, long before the internet hype machine existed, and I was wowed by it. Really just everything I want in a pipe tobacco.
I smoke it sparingly, so buying an 8 oz bag once a year when i manage to pull the trigger fast enough usually keeps me stocked.
Another similar tobacco that is perhaps a little easier to find is Margate.
I smoke it sparingly, so buying an 8 oz bag once a year when i manage to pull the trigger fast enough usually keeps me stocked.
Another similar tobacco that is perhaps a little easier to find is Margate.
A friend of mine on this forum sent me a couple of bowls of Penzance last week, it was very generous of him.
I have to say it was wonderful, in my short pipe smoking experience, I have not had anything like it. Some are close but not exactly the same. I certainly would buy it, even search for it but I am not going to pay jacked up prices for it.
As layinpipe and broth have said, it's not the only great smoke out there. I am perfectly content stocking up on Nightcap, Gaslight and Plum Pudding.
Just my two cents worth.
I have to say it was wonderful, in my short pipe smoking experience, I have not had anything like it. Some are close but not exactly the same. I certainly would buy it, even search for it but I am not going to pay jacked up prices for it.
As layinpipe and broth have said, it's not the only great smoke out there. I am perfectly content stocking up on Nightcap, Gaslight and Plum Pudding.
Just my two cents worth.
Penzance is a good smoke though I find it a bit lacking. It's become the idee fixe of many pipe smokers. Keep hunting and some will eventually turn up. Or you can look for another fine blend. It's not like Penzance is on a level all its own.
I love Lat-forward blends, been smoking them for 40 years, smoke Nightcap all the time. I got a sample of Penzance sent me, and like a few people said before, the reality of it doesn't live up to the hype. The perennially short supply makes it look like it's really in high demand, but actually it's just because the manufacturer will not, rather than can not, make enough of it. It isn't a bad tobacco, just nothing special.
I smoked about 50 gram of that Fayyum Kake and in my honest opinion it sadly is NOT like Penzance. Yes it has that same smoothness but the lack of orientals makes it a not very interesting blend (for me). It has good flavour (although not as full as Penzance) but it stays the same the whole bowl. It also has not been as long in the press as Penzance so the tobaccos are not as blended together. Therefore it lacks fullness. So in my opinion, if you like a decent all-day smoke without much fuzz that lights and burns perfectly, choose Fayyum Kake. If you like something special, go for Penzance.
Penzance is a good tobacco, but in my opinion its completely over-rated. There are a lot of other tobacco's I would rather smoke than Penzance and those can be found readily at any online retailer or pipe shop. Those that buy it off ebay for $100- $200 are wasting their money, again my opinion. Before wasting a bunch of time trying to hunt some down you might see if you can get a sample of it from someone and try it and see if you actually like it and want more of it.
Penzance is good but not Holy Grail good and personally I don't worry too much about its availability or the lack thereof. I smoked several dozen tins of it for sure but it was never one my top shelf choices. That being said, that's only my take on it and that and $2.39 might get you a coffee. Keep it on your watch list and if you score, try it. If you love it then you have a problem and you'll become consumed with finding more which is ok too I suppose. Try some Bill Baileys Balkan blend and some other Balkans if you want to experiment with that genre and although Penzance is not classified as such, I'd throw it in there as such. Creamy, smokey and lots of what's described as "mouth feel" is what you are getting.
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