Esoterica Stonehaven

[peckinpahhombre]

: Most of us have to buy gas for jobs etc. We do not have to buy a certain brand of tobacco.

Which is, of course, precisely my point. A price increase will reduce demand, for precisely the reason you indicate (because demand for pipe tobacco is very elastic - ie buying habits are very responsive to price). I wasn't equating gas to tobacco in terms of elasticity - gas is far more inelastic than tobacco. Nevertheless, gas prices fluctuate up and down based on market prices. Look also at the automobile industry - if they have hard to move models they start offering incentives and discounts to get people to buy (ie they reduce the price). They don't do this for vehicles that are flying off the lots - they charge a premium for those models.

 

[pipestud]

This is the last time I am going to come over to this thread. It is scaring the tar out of me. I find myself understanding what peckinpahhombre is saying and agreeing with him at almost every turn. Peace out.
Pipestud

 

[cigrmaster]

I think peck's analysis is very true. If the price was 50.00 or higher a bag, the speculators would not be all over it like they are now. Even at 50.00 it still works out to 11.00 a tin, certainly not an unreasonable price for a quality blend.
Look at Dan tobacco, they have all kinds of prices for their 8oz bags starting at 32.22 and going as high as 47.79. When they re introduced Veermaster after it was off the market for a long time, the price was jacked up significantly. Now you can get it whenever you want. It is in right now at SP and has been in stock for quite a while.

 

[pitchfork]

I'm late in chiming in, but I agree with Peck's analysis and made a similar point in a PM about the role of speculators. 60 bucks for an 8oz bag translates to only 15 bucks for a 2oz tin, which is what I'd pay for Frog Morton at the local shop. I'd be willing to pay $20-25 for 2oz of Stonehaven, just to try it. That works out to $100 per 8oz, which is what bags often sell for on ebay. I'm confident that prices in this range would help keep Stonehaven in stock and make it more readily available.

 

[tennsmoker]

caveat lector, gentlemen.
I've tried Stonehaven. Ok, if it goes Peck's way, I'll just go find me a tub of PA. If it goes Cortezattic's way, I'll buy it.
Otherwise, I'm not going to lose my head over it when there are soooo many good Vaburs and Vapers out there.
And one note, when Knox Cigar was around (oh, woe, oh, woe it is gone) bags of Stonehave were dime a dozen (not quite, but you get the notion). Penzance was stacked almost two to a row on shelves.
I dearly miss Knox Cigar. It had the prices and the stock. It could have been the SPC of an earlier time.
But, I got off track.
Stonehaven, fine for $30 or so. Not for me if it goes higher. I'll just find me a replacement, as I have in the past.

 

[hunterwold1]

When my friend and I get together for a couple of bowls we usually each bring a new tobacco along to try. One evening I provided Hyde Park while he brought Stonehaven. I liked it and would have it again, but it is not one I would put in to my regular rotation.

 

[dunhillbilly]

Hello everyone: This is why I registered last night I love the interchange of ideas here. I haven't tried Stonehaven, but Penzance is darn good. I think Dorchester beats Dunbar by a hair and Pembroke is just as tasty as And so to Bed. Ramsgate is intoxicatingly rich and creamy good, and Margate is in the mail. Esoterica blends are outstanding, give them a try. BYW, I would still like to try Stonehaven.

 

[cortezattic]

Welcome to the forums, dunhillbilly! :clap:

 

[gwtwdbss]

Welcome dunhillbilly!
There are some epic sized Stonehaven flakes in sampler packs on Briarbid right now if anyone is interested.
http://www.briarbid.com/101413,auction_id,auction_details

 

[dunhillbilly]

Thanks for the welcome Rothnh, Cortezattic, and Chris! Thanks for the tip on the Stovehaven trial pack. See you guys around.

 

[wyfbane]

I totally agree with Peck's logic. I would have a much better chance of *finding* a bag of the stuff on B&M shelves priced at $60, then hitting the distribution lottery and getting there in time for one of the currently priced $35 bags.
As it stands now the only SH or P bags I can find are the ones the speculators and B&M's brother's in law have on ebay for $90-125 a bag.
As such, I've tried neither and remain intrigued.
I may get one of the samplers off briar bid, as it is a great deal.

 

[cigrmaster]

dar, how many bowls did you smoke so far, have you tried it in different pipes? Did you smoke it in a pipe that is dedicated to Va blends? I would not be too quick to dismiss this blend if you have not experimented with it. I remember the first time I tried it, I did not like it and didn't try it again until a decade later. I did not do the above and am kicking myself for being too quick to judge. If I had experimented, I could have bought it ten years ago for much less and had a great supply of aged Stonehaven. I was lucky enough to grab 3 pounds of 2007 and the years of age makes a big difference.
When I first tried ODF, I did not like it but I put it away for a few months, let it dry some, tried it in a couple of different pipes and now love it. I think too many people smoke a blend one time, make up their minds and then miss out on what could be a favorite. I know I have done this in the past.

 

[cigrmaster]

roth, I totally agree that some blends just won't work for each individual, as there are tons I don't care for. Giving a blend a fair shake though with different pipes and after letting it sit a while is something I do now. I have a few blends I am still on the fence about and will be re trying them soon. GL Pease Union Sq, JackKnife Plug, Wessex Burley Slice are three of them. They have been sitting for about 6 months or so and I am hoping I will enjoy them, but if I do not, at least I gave them a fair shot. Now of course if a blend tastes absolutely horrible the first bowl, I do not re visit. SG Firedance flake tasted like puke to me so I did not try it again. A few other Lakelands were really nasty to me so I did not put them away and try them later, I just gave them away. As you said there are so many blends out there, anyone can find plenty to suit their tastes.

 

[taerin]

Just buy an ounce sampler for $10 on Briarbid, there's 5 left!
I have just tried my first bowl of this stuff and I can honestly say that it is truly amazing. Is it better than FVF? At this point I do not think so, but I will go back and forth to check. The pipe I use for my VA's works amazing for flakes, Stonehaven gave me an experience that felt as good as the best smoke I've ever had from FVF, however it had considerably more tongue bite for me. Now I feel the bite could have been caused by a couple of things and may not actually be as bad as it was the first time. I was relighting it like crazy because I never took the time to light it really good once and tamp it like I should (I was doing stuff/busy while I smoked). From my experience lots of relights always make a blend bite more. I got it cube cut atm, dried, and I will rub out the cubes really tiny for the top layer in order to get a really nice even light this next time.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I'm with Roth. Stonehaven and FVF are shit - don't waste your time guys. :D

 

[taerin]

Stay away from Penzance too, it's not worth the effort, I'll take it off your hands :rofl:

 

[cigrmaster]

Eric, try drying the SH a bit more and make sure you smoke it slowly after a real good light. If you have an Apple or Lovat, give it a go in one of those, no larger than a group 5.
dar, Sh is the kind of blend that you need to take the time to get to know. I would also experiment in different styles of pipes.

 

[taerin]

I always smoke my VA's in my natural apple medium sized, does them real well, especially flakes. The first thing I did was cube cut and dry real well, it came very wet. I find that all the really good flakes take a bit of time to understand. SH reminds me a lot of FVF.

 

[jpberg]

My Lord, what a thread. I find Stonehaven to be a very nice blend. That being said, it's just another that has captured the attention of the johnny-come lately's of the pipe smoking community. Does anyone remember the Dunhill scare, the SG flood shortage, the GLP Syrian warehouse fire?
Reducing tobacco production and sales to a "Flip this House" mentality is simply bad form. Those who practice it fall far short of any gratification, other than instant, that this hobby provides, and I feel for them. I suppose all have their reasons, but please, at the very least, if you are going to venture into this piddley scale venture, at least sell it through Pipestud or Rich, so that part of the proceeds come back to the community.
Further, the economics of tobacco blending, sales and marketing are, in the best of cases, far removed from the day to day two-holer economist's theories of distribution, and hopefully will remain so for the foreseeable future. There have been far too many great houses that have gone the way of the dodo as a result of their listening to genius ideas similar to those presented in this thread.