Esoterica people
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As Cosmic wrote: "It was designed from the beginning to be a boutique blend. It was never meant to be the McDonalds of pipe tobaccos." Emphasis mine.
You just don't want it bad enough! Perhaps Esoterica has set the bar too high. Perhaps you are not meant to savor the blend.
Do not lose heart though, this thread is grand entertainment on a dark and dreary day up here. I encourage you to keep on keeping on. :clap:
You just don't want it bad enough! Perhaps Esoterica has set the bar too high. Perhaps you are not meant to savor the blend.
Do not lose heart though, this thread is grand entertainment on a dark and dreary day up here. I encourage you to keep on keeping on. :clap:
That right there is the elephant in the room.
It's just another pipe tobacco and doesn't deliver the orgasmic experience that you would expect from something so widely and intensely coveted. I got my hands on a 2 tins each of Penzance and Stonehaven by calling a B&M on the other side of the country and was greatly disappointed when I finally got to try these legendary blends. I guess they were okay, but certainly nothing special. I honestly don't see what the big deal is whatsoever. In my opinion Plum Pudding SR blows Penzance out of the water in the Balkan genre and as for Stonehaven … I just don't get it. I'll smoke a bowl every once in a while just to see if I can find the fireworks and always end up wishing that I had packed up something else.
It is what it is and that's my honest experience with it.
Does Stonehaven need age to make it shine? I've only smoked it fairly fresh.
I've smoked it both fresh and aged 10 years, and all stops in between. It certainly gets better with age, but I never seldom hear angels sing or see the Hand of God descend from the heavens while smoking it. It isn't terribly consistent batch-to-batch. Lots of variation in the leaf used. So, some Stonehaven that I've had, I can honestly say, has been the best Va flake that I've ever had. Other batches are quite good, but on par with a multitude of other similar products.
Far too many pipe smokers enjoy the label more than the blend.
Far too many pipe smokers enjoy the label more than the blend.
See, the problem is that enjoying it requires absolute perfection in your smoking. If you puff too fast or too slow, you miss it. If you are expecting a face-slapping flavorama, then maybe stick to Lane and Sutliff products.
This is all the reason why Esoterica doesn't want to flood the market. If you could just click and order the stuff at will, it really wouldn't be a big deal at all. But, as long as someone is out there stomping their feet and sobbing over, "WHY, o lord, cannot I never try this blend!!!" then,it stays mysterious, mystical, and it crawls into your cold lonely heart and aches for it.
All in all, it's just tobacco. A tobacco that requires that you be an expert to enjoy it. So, if you aren't an expert, then why would you even waste your money on it? Give it to me. :
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This is all the reason why Esoterica doesn't want to flood the market. If you could just click and order the stuff at will, it really wouldn't be a big deal at all. But, as long as someone is out there stomping their feet and sobbing over, "WHY, o lord, cannot I never try this blend!!!" then,it stays mysterious, mystical, and it crawls into your cold lonely heart and aches for it.
All in all, it's just tobacco. A tobacco that requires that you be an expert to enjoy it. So, if you aren't an expert, then why would you even waste your money on it? Give it to me. :
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Enjoying this thread...Esoterica reminds me of when Pappy Van Winkle was sitting on the shelfs being passed by for other Brands...then 6-7yrs ago...BAM!!!...Now you have Truck Chasers and Prices that are Insane.
Ah ha! I always suspected that the problem was me and not the tobacco. Oh well … I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
Anyway … the psychology of acquisition is fascinating. At least now that I've tried it I no longer drool at the mention of it's name like Pavlov's dog. Thank goodness there are so many other readily available and fine tobaccos out there.
Anyway … the psychology of acquisition is fascinating. At least now that I've tried it I no longer drool at the mention of it's name like Pavlov's dog. Thank goodness there are so many other readily available and fine tobaccos out there.
You all are totally missing the amazingness of Esotericas. It's a little known fact that everyone that works for Esoterica is blind and have no feet. Yep, they just sort of flop around in the dark. That is what makes it amazing.
Only a true expert can taste that in the blend. See, a true expert can sense the mood of the guy who blended the batch he is smoking. It's self-evident, right there in the pipe. And, when I smoke Penzance, I am sampling a record of those who were involved in the process. I can easily tell they were blind, it's obvious. The subtler parts of the blend are that they were setting down... and not standing up and can't stand up takes a much more sensitive palate. It's the absence of any shoe aromas that gives it away, ha ha.
Well, we could debate this all day. But, it's an inalienable fact that experts love Esotericas more. Can't even come close. And, one day you might get as good as me, ha ha, then we can share a bowl of Penzance. Just don't slobber all over the stem. If you are a slobberer, then we can't share a bowl. You'll just have to bring your own pipe. ::
Only a true expert can taste that in the blend. See, a true expert can sense the mood of the guy who blended the batch he is smoking. It's self-evident, right there in the pipe. And, when I smoke Penzance, I am sampling a record of those who were involved in the process. I can easily tell they were blind, it's obvious. The subtler parts of the blend are that they were setting down... and not standing up and can't stand up takes a much more sensitive palate. It's the absence of any shoe aromas that gives it away, ha ha.
Well, we could debate this all day. But, it's an inalienable fact that experts love Esotericas more. Can't even come close. And, one day you might get as good as me, ha ha, then we can share a bowl of Penzance. Just don't slobber all over the stem. If you are a slobberer, then we can't share a bowl. You'll just have to bring your own pipe. :
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Everything is debatable. You are not the oracle. I'm going to respond, not for you, because your post shows that you have a closed mind, but for others who would like to stop beating their heads against a rock and buy some of this to enjoy.
It's not about pricing, it's about capacity.
Raising the price will not increase capacity.
Raising the price will make the product less obtainable for many.
Germain's is a small boutique operation producing a wide variety of blends. They have a handful of staff. Much of their equipment is ancient and I do mean ancient, and they use very traditional methods in making their blends, methods that take time to do their work. It's a small pipeline. The product of that small pipeline are the blends that so many like. Change the pipeline and the results change, the flavors of the blends are lost.
Until 2007 you could walk into a B&M and likely find Esoterica products available. It was one brand among many. Then Germain's stopped shipping for an extended period. By the time shipments started up again, the panic had set in. Shipments remained erratic. People started hoarding. The stuff disappeared from the shelves of online dealers in seconds. But at B&M's there was stock on the shelves for days and even weeks.
The Psychopathy of Scarcity had made a beachhead. People figured that something that was hard to find MUST be amazing and better than anything else. It's illogical, but people are illogical.
Online stores remain a small fraction of the total amount that gets distributed. Shipments from Germain's have become more regular since late 2016. Online stores still sell out in seconds. B&M's still have stock sitting. I
If you want to find Esoterica brands become a regular customer of a B&M that carries them. If you are a cherry picker, expect to be shunned.
This is quite the assumption, and an illogical one at that. But logic isn't playing a huge role here. I don't buy any blend because it's cheap. I buy it because I'm curious about trying it. How many of you buy anything just because it's cheap? Raise your hands so that I can count them. OK, some of you are idiots, but not many of you.
Well, irrelevant for you because you're not looking for a solution, you're looking for YOUR solution. But keep thinking that it's irrelevant. More for everyone else. BTW, I picked up a phone and called one of the B&M's that I buy from and ordered a pound of Dunbar for a friend. Took all of five minutes. How much did you purchase?
We're pretty much in that situation now. The few hundred bags that show up on the secondary market each year are a tiny, let me repeat, tiny, percentage of the total amount in distribution.
The issue is capacity, and that is limited. But as many of us have found, getting off one's ass and making an effort will result in finding it. Even so, it will be in short supply because Germain's is a small boutique operation that produces a wide variety of blends, of which, the Esoterica line is only a part.
For those of you who desire to obtain some hard to find blends, start building a customer relationship with a B&M. A real customer relationship. It doesn't matter whether that B&M is across the street or across the continent.
Here's one final bit to chew on. B&M's are a vital part of the supply train. Yes they cost more because their costs are more. Guess what? There is no free ride. But if you want to have access to a wide variety of blends, including hard to find blends, you would be smart to support them. Buy what they have in stock, not just unobtainium. Someday they may be the only access you have, and if you have not helped them to survive you will have screwed yourself.
For myself, I don't give a damn. I've built up a cellar over many years so if the whole business goes kaput, if Germain's, or any other blender decides to call it a day, it won't affect me. But for those of you who are in a different position, protect your B&M's. Support them and they will support you.
Cast a wide net and you will catch some fish. Stop whining. Stop moaning. Stop fantasizing about being the czar of distribution. Do what we have done. Get off your ass and use the phone. Build a regular customer relationship with a B&M that carries what you are looking for.
Or, you can come up with poorly reasoned hair brained schemes that only screw everyone. Your choice.
Unfortunately here B/Ms charge $60 for regular over the counter stuff plus the $30 shipping which makes online the only option. Here is why price increase will work. If a person has $200 to spend a month and they bought 10 units before they will buy less then 10 if a price is doubled. Same for the scalpers they have less certainty to sell at a higher price.
I remember trying Penzance in 2006. Then, it wasn't the ideé fixe i has since become. I didn't like it. I thought it was a badly balanced blend, but I'm super picky about English blends. I jarred it and gave it 6 or 7 years, then tried it again. Still didn't like it. I have a few bags of it, but I don't buy it. Actually, I either share it or give it away.
Stonehaven is a PITA. It either tastes like cardboard or it offers a very rich experience. It took me a while to figure out a moisture level that unlocks it for me, but as has been said earlier, batches vary. A little goes a long way. I only smoke it a few times a year when I'm wanting that particular flavor profile.
Most of the Esoterica blends I've tried have left me cold. I get that they're well made blends of a certain style. But it's not a style that I enjoy. However, there are a couple of Esoterica blends that I really love, and those I've stocked.
With Penzance and Stonehaven I have to believe that there is some lemming effect going on.
OK so the reason for your suggestion is that you're screwed, so why shouldn't everyone else be? As for scalpers, if they can make any kind of profit, they're going to sell what they can.
Speaking of the availability of standard J.Germain's tobaccoes,I'm noticing this very brand is quite easy to obtain anywhere in England,and its priced like any other tobacco in England(read: expensive) and comes in pouch and bulk form.I don't know if the U.S based tobacconists sell this brand anymore.
We seems to be going in circles...Then Move to a different state which has lower state tobacco taxes and many B/M's. I live in NJ...Not much for Local B/M's by me..So I check a number a sites when (sometimes a thread here posts "Esoterica at xxx")...and if you check I do Post these...I seat all day in my underwear Web Crawling Tobacco sites to Post the Rewards of this Area51 Brand...There are Many fine and outstanding Blends out there...Explore.
Some Germain's blends are available in the US, others are not. England has RDF. We have Stonehaven. Very similar, but not the same.
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