Expensive and Exclusive Tobacco: Effects on Community?

[MaloneDSSP]

Title edited for caps and brevity. Original:

"Do you think the existence of very expensive and exclusive pipe tobacco would change the community we have around pipe smoking?"

First of all - hi everyone. I posted here a few years back when I got my first pipe, and I can say I've very much enjoyed taking a deep dive into the world of pipe smoking since then.

I was thinking the other day that overall, from my interactions with the pipe community (mainly on YouTube and Reddit), there seems to be very little snobbery in pipe smoking.

Of course, it crops up from time to time, but generally people seem to be pretty content to let others just get on with enjoying a pipe of whatever they like in whatever manner they like. Even when someone talks about a "codger" blend, it usually seems to be more or less good natured, and usually the person is describing their own choice of blend.

I like cigars, whisky, and wine, but I rarely interact with communities around those things, because in my experience, people can be incredibly opinionated and at times quite hostile, insistent that a preference for certain (usually cheaper) brands or categories marks someone as being of poor taste, that there is a certain sacred ritual one absolutely must observe on pain of being a pleb, etc.

It occurred to me that one reason might be that there's just no such thing as a $1000 tin of pipe tobacco, or probably even a $100 one (or at the very least, it's vanishingly rare). Pretty much everyone can afford a tin of more or less whatever tobacco they want, so having "good taste" isn't really the status symbol it is in other circles. Of course, pipes can get very expensive, but ultimately, everyone is pretty much smoking the same stuff in them, and people seem to have just as much respect for the humble cob as they do for an artisanal hand-made briar pipe.

What does everyone think? Is it the accessibility of pipe tobacco that keeps things as convivial as they are? Or do you think pipe smoking just attracts people who are a bit less concerned about those things? Alternatively, I might just be blind to it!

 

[sardonicus87]

I don't think availability or the lack of highly expensive tobacco has anything to do with it.

Cars are status symbols in general in many places like the USA. Most people have one. It signals you at least have your life together enough to be able to afford transportation, but since their so ubiquitous, there's no way to be conspicuous and snobby and signal that you're superior or above others or whatever, than to buy that expensive luxury car. And there's affordable used vehicles out there, there's accessibility, and yet there's still people that use cars to be snobby.

With pipes and pipe tobacco, there's not many of us, relatively speaking. It's also hard to really know. Any person you see on the street might smoke pipes, but you'd never know as so many do it privately. That said, pipes aren't a status symbol to the general public. Joe Nobody doesn't care about your pipe, nor that cute waitress or waiter you have a crush on. There's no general advantage of the expensive crap other than circle-jerking and being snobby within a niche subculture.

That said, I'm absolutely sure it happens. But when the only place you can see a mass of pipe smokers outside of a pipe event is on a pipe forum that's moderated, those crap snobs tend to not last long.

There's many factors as to why you don't see it. Too many to point to and say "well, this one thing maybe?". I guess that's my point... it probably does happen and you don't see it, or it potentially happens out of sight, and so forth. But I don't think availability of affordable tobacco and the lack of extremely expensive stuff (outside relatively expensive lots of Esoterica flippers) has much to do with it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

there's just no such thing as a $1000 tin of pipe tobacco,

These were $1000 back in 2015.

 

[tobakenist]

All my tobaccos are SG and GH here in the UK and they are very fairly priced and hard to be bettered.

 

[didimauw]

These were $1000 back in 2015.

View attachment 252591

And to think, that would probably burn my tongue like no other!

 

[Stoaks]

I for one am thrilled at the absence of elitism or "pick a side and be a dick about it" sentiment in this circle. I hadn't really thought about it until now, but it's truly remarkable.

Almost every other hobby I've come across leans hard on the "one true path" type of thing, which is obviously not often the case. See, e.g., mountain biking, cameras, motorcycles, booze, etc.

Here, the guy smoking a $2000 pipe has no (public) problem with someone else getting along just fine with a $10 cob. It's a beautiful thing.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Esoterica, McC's, Copes Escudo, Balkan Sobraine and a few others regularly sell for way over $100. Codger Blends are still the daily bread for many who still enjoy more expensive blends. You don't eat caviar for every meal.

I for one am thrilled at the absence of elitism or "pick a side and be a dick about it" sentiment in this circle. I hadn't really thought about it until now, but it's truly remarkable.

There's plenty of that in the community, spend 5 min on any FB pipe group and you'll want to pull your hair out. It just doesn't fly around here for to long before the offending poster is culled from the herd. We're a pretty congenial and inclusive group, for the most part. We also have pretty outstanding moderators who are very vigilant and put up with very little nonsense.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

In before the title change!!!

Change the community, no. We would still have people that whine and whine about things being too expensive, and those that put down corncobs. I made a post several months ago about a "premium" or otherwise more expensive blend, or starting one... but it pisses cheapskate off so much, then there are the dictionary nerds who want to define everything and nitpick wording, and then those of us who would love an expeinsive premium pipe tobacco, because we've worked hard our whole life for what we have, and can afford to spend a little on the hobby we love.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

You get a lot of this with pipes and not so much with tobacco.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

The issue is likely value. If I can buy great tins of tobacco for $15 to $20, is it possible to make a pipe tobacco that is so much better it is worth $1,000? Some people certainly think Esoterica blends are worth 3 to 6 times as much as MSRP which I find a bit absurd as the only blends of Esoterica I would smoke are Peacehaven and Stonehaven. And I certainly wouldn't pay a premium for them.

In general, I don't think members of this forum care in the least what people smoke and neither look down or up to them based upon their smoking preferences. I wish I preferred codger blends. For the most part, they're easier to get and cost less. I'm also glad people like codger blends, latakia blends, aromatics, etc.. If everyone liked the blends I like, they'd be near impossible to find and the price would go up.

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

That is one of the really nice things I've noticed about the pipe smoking community. If you've got the budget for it and want to smoke some Esoterica in a limited edition Dunhill then no one's going to stop you, and there certainly are well to do folks who appreciate those high end experiences, but you're also not going to get any crud for enjoying a bowl of Carter Hall in a Missouri Meerschaum corncob. There are a lot of great options for tobacco and pipes to suit every budget, and since everyone's taste buds are different there's no definitive best blends or best pipes that are going to provide a universally superior experience. It's all about what you personally like.

 

[PaulRVA]

I remember when I could smoke in the mall, the grocery store my patrol car, my office and even on commercial flights. I feel it’s important to be a good steward and be as supportive as possible to new pipe smokers and new members of this forum. Realistically there’s not many of us around. The days of brick and mortar stores in every mall and ads in magazines have gone the way of the dodo bird. Now let’s throw in the current virtual signaling crowds in society and over bearing government regulations and sooner than later were done for. I could care less what someone smokes or their place in society, budget or preferences, Im just glad to have another smoker on my side of the fence and someone to chat with that has similar interests. If in public and Im asked a question I take the time to listen and share. I’ve given away a ton of cigars and tins just to keep the flame alive and the torch passed on. I have many fond memories of my elders who indulged and I want to ensure that I provide a positive memory to someone else as well.

 

[warren]

No, of course not!

 

[fireground_piper]

I don't think someone could make a tobacco worthy of an expensive or exclusive position if the definition is increase price due to some type of perceived increased value product.

Not an inflated price driven by supply, which already exists.

 

[pantsBoots]

In before the title change!!!

Change the community, no. We would still have people that whine and whine about things being too expensive, and those that put down corncobs. I made a post several months ago about a "premium" or otherwise more expensive blend, or starting one... but it pisses cheapskate off so much, then there are the dictionary nerds who want to define everything and nitpick wording, and then those of us who would love an expeinsive premium pipe tobacco, because we've worked hard our whole life for what we have, and can afford to spend a little on the hobby we love.

I look forward to see what the Editor does with your words, as well!

 

[pylorns]

These were $1000 back in 2015.

View attachment 252591

I was just about to dig for those pictures -all of those did sell too.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I look forward to see what the Editor does with your words, as well!

Surely he doesn't edit our posts.

 

[Zero]

I was just about to dig for those pictures -all of those did sell too.

Ol' Bradley cracked me up on his intro to the review.

 

[VDL_Piper]

You jest surely.........I already have wildly expensive and exclusive tobacco and I can tell you it does nothing for the smoking community in any way shape or form.

 

[JackOrion]

The answer to your question probably lies within yourself. How you respond to people’s opinions and how they present themselves. I’m more willing to say the pipe community has its fair share of people with abrasive attitudes and opinions. At one time the pipe was king and one needs to look no further than General MacArthur as the quintessential image of a pipe smoker.
There are a couple people that are pretty prevalent on social media that have strong opinions about blends and pipes. They’ve called widely popular blends garbage. And I enjoy these folks. I like that they speak their mind even if they come across harsh or arrogant. I also know that nobody can tell me what I like and therefore I nor anyone else can tell you what you like. That may be Cherry Captain Black or a swisher sweet, you like what you like and that’s good enough for you.