Esoterica Release Frequency?

[sandollars]

Hi guys, newbie here with a simple (hopefully) question:
How often does Esoterica get released into the wild? There are a couple that have my interest and would sure like to give them a try.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Never. Abandon all hope!
Not really, but in all seriousness, it seems like every few months or so there is a drop somewhere, but when some does manage to drop on the bigger sites it disappears like a live chicken tossed into a hyena pit.
Keep your eyes on various smaller local B&M tobacco shop websites and you may see some pembroke or margate show up on occasion you can scoop up. Otherwise make friends with B&M shops that have an Arango hookup or suffer the ebay/consignment tin shop prices. Another option might be to trade with forum members once you have enough posts to do so within forum rules. Some folks here have quite the stash and are often willing to help others find the blends they want to try.
In the meantime, ask forum members for blends they find to be similar, or at least similar in quality, that are readily available. There is a lot of good shit out there that can be on your doorstep by friday for much less cash.

 

[litup]

Some of the Esoterica blends seem to get released with a higher frequency than others. Margate and Pembroke, for example, seem a whole lot easier to get than Stonehaven.

 

[morgansteele]

Esoterica will surface again but you'll need to be quick. In the interim, buid some relationships on the boards and you'll be able to get some trades or samples offered. Q: Which blends are you interested in?

 

[sandollars]

Thanks all for your inputs. I have put my name in to be notified if any shows up at a few websites but after hearing the above comments, I bet they don't eve send emails out! LOL! I will keep seeking the holy grail, but it has been my experience that once what one seeks has been found there is often disappointment.
morgansteele: Pembroke and Penzance have caught my eye.... I found some Penzance at 4 noggins but the price is pretty steep. I have plenty to explore and I am a patient person.

 

[elessar]

I agree with alaskanpiper, plenty of other good and great shit out there to worry about Esoterica. Opportunities to buy will come along but there are so many other blends to enjoy it's just the icing on the cake. I have a bag of Pembroke and a tin of Penzance that I've had for months and have not yet even opened them. Too busy enjoying other blends. But I'll get to them eventually :puffpipe:

 

[elbert]

I'm surprised somebody isn't tracking that on a spreadsheet somewhere.
...come to think of it, somebody probably is. They just don't want you to see it

 

[lawdawg]

I've joined a couple esoterica Facebook groups, and it's kind of turned me off to esoterica blends. Many of those guys will buy any esoterica blend they can find in stock, regardless of whether it's a style of tobacco that they actually like to smoke, because they just have to get some esoterica! It's like a little cult. Some of them call esoterica blends "the gold." Way too much hype, although penzance is absolutely a top notch English / Balkan style blend. It's good, but not really worth the effort IMO. Lots of great readily available stuff out there, as others have said above.

 

[logs]

I've only had luck finding Esoterica at local pipe shops and have given up on trying to obtain it online.

While I have some in the cellar, it's not a brand I've let myself become attached to. I agree with Lawdawg, it's not really worth the effort when there are so many other great brands out there. Perhaps the most expensive decision you can make as a smoker is to become too attached to Penzance, Stonehaven, or Frog Morton.

 

[dmcmtk]

Pembroke and Penzance have caught my eye....

PM sent.

 

[sablebrush52]

There is a reliable formula for determining when Germain's will be making a drop. Every time the employees take a day trip to Brighton that coincides with a full moon during which event a wall eyed octopus gives birth to triple headed kittens, an Esoterica drop will happen a fortnight later.
Hoping to buy from an online store is a long shot. People are watching those sites constantly. I don't bother with them. I've found it much easier to buy from B&M's. I've never paid scalper prices for any of it, stocked up, and no longer bother with hunting for any of the few Esoterica blends that I like.

 

[sandollars]

Dave, Thanks for the lead but alas, they too, are sold out
Sablebrush - Please forgive my ignorance... What is a B&M? I am pretty regular because I drink coffee....

 

[cohibajoe]

"sandollars" Sign-Up for Email alerts at iwanries.com as looking at my past orders each month or so I pickup Esoterica. Looking over my last orders from On-Line...March, April and August for the Big drops....Good Luck Hunting!!!!!

 

[sablebrush52]

Sablebrush - Please forgive my ignorance... What is a B&M? I am pretty regular because I drink coffee....

B&M = Brick & Mortar. There are a lot more of them than there are online stores. I had a few that I bought from as a regular customer. Not local, as there is little to no pipe tobacco left for sale in the L.A. area. Just paid regular retail for it, not scalper prices, nor some of the inflated prices that a couple of online retailers are listing at.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Pipe shows are good opportunities too.

Not that I needed any more, but last weekend at Muletown I scored a couple bags of my favorite blend with a few years age on them for a couple bucks over current retail.

 

[sandollars]

I figure with all you guys's expert assistance, I will have a tin or 2 in my possession very soon. The problem is; I WON'T WANT TO OPEN THEM! LOL!

 

[didimauw]

I'm still not convinced they ever release tobacco ever! Everytime I hear about it, it's sold out. I think it's all a lie....

 

[alaskanpiper]

With the exception of two tins, all the Esoterica I have found has been from B&M shops. Some in person, some on their websites. I'm pretty sure someone has built a bot to immediately buy all the Esoterica when it drops at the bigger retail sites. It sells out before you can even push "add to cart" The button might as well read "wake up"
Then half of them immediately show up on ebay for 4x the price. I don't think this is what Jesus had in mind when he first started blending Dunbar....

 

[redglow]

With time, you'll realize that these obscure tobaccos will just fall into your lap. Opportunities arise suddenly.
I walked into a B&M back in March or April of this year and stumbled across a big supply of Esoterica 8 oz. bags.
The store manager said that they had arrived in August of 2018 and nobody had ever expressed any interest in them.
That was a very surprising day. I walked out with about 4 lbs. of fine Esoterica mixtures.
Definitely learned my lesson not to chase these tobaccos at the online stores or on ebay.

 

[sandollars]

I am happy to report that with the sage advice of you all here and with the assistance of alaskanpiper, I have been lucky enough to get my hands on some of this mysteriously blended and aged weed. I have a tin or 2 of:

Penzance
And So to Bed
Dorchester
Dunbar
Margate
Pembroke

AND I got them all at retail pricing. I have so many fine tobaccos already opened and jarred that I think I will wait until I dwindle some of it down before I start trying these.