Exploring a Blender’s Entire Product Line

[Auxsender]

This is an interesting idea! Given the restriction on the number of blends, you're more likely to find something closer to the numbere by looking at individual tobacconist B&M operations where they do their own blending. That's pretty hard to find, especially if you want to be sure that they do their own blending and aren't labeling someone else's product. On top of that, you might want your choice to be someone who's recognized for excellence, a real boutique blender.

The only one that comes to mind, makes their own blends, has an international reputation, would be Wesley's of Johannesburg South Africa. Blog | Cigars | Smoking Pipes | Smoking Accessories | How to travel safely with your cigars | Tobacco | cigar lighters | cigar cutters | Cigars as gifts | Cigar Humidors | How to protect your cigars | Gifts for Christmas | Limited Edition cigars | Gifts for Men | Djarum | Turbo gas cigar lighter | Sticks for Walking | Wesleys Tobacconists South Africa - http://www.wesleys.co.za/siteguide.html

Good luck!

I know you know Watch City. Do they not also fit the bill? Or LJ Peretti? Or McCranies? Or Uhles? Earnest question here.

 

[mso489]

Maybe I'm just tight, but the going rate for a tin, even in the U.S., is more than I want to spend for a sample. Bulk tobacco, however, can be bought by the ounce usually for low cost. With tins, especially with what are marketed as premium blends price-wise, I want to think I'm quite likely to enjoy the blend and not just go by trial and error.

 

[Auxsender]

HU wouldn’t be crazy to conquer. They have about an eighth of the amount of blends that C&D offer and most of them are excellent. They’re also insanely inexpensive even after shipment to USA. I’m talking average of $15/tin shipped to your door from Germany with many of the tins being 100g. They have all sorts of English, aromatics, VA, VA/Per, VA/Bur, and VA/Bur/Per blends.

 

[BarrelProof]

HU wouldn’t be crazy to conquer. They have about an eighth of the amount of blends that C&D offer and most of them are excellent. They’re also insanely inexpensive even after shipment to USA. I’m talking average of $15/tin shipped to your door from Germany with many of the tins being 100g. They have all sorts of English, aromatics, VA, VA/Per, VA/Bur, and VA/Bur/Per blends.

Plus you’ll have plenty of time to come up with a plan between when you purchase and when they get here.

 

[Auxsender]

Plus you’ll have plenty of time to come up with a plan between when you purchase and when they get here.

I think they used to have shipping problems but ever since they hooked up with DHL, it’s been super fast and reliable. In my multiple (6) experiences of purchasing from them, not one time did it take longer than 1 week for the order to reach my door. Not once. The shipping is about $45 but, combined with the low per-tin price, it’s well worth it to me.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have never heard of anyone talking about C&D in relationship to Virginias. To me, they’re the House Built on Burley. So, while this may not be the thread for it (or maybe it is), I’d love to hear more about your experience with the company’s Virginia blends and which ones you think are worth exploring.

Opening Night is a wonderful non-cased red Virginia flake, and Virginia Flakes are a non-cased lighter Virginia Flake. Those are my top 2 favorites. But, Sunday Picnic, Yorktown, and a few others are notable.
When I started growing and curing my own Bright leaf, I realized that all of the European Virginias were all heavily cased. And, it had me searching for pure Virginias. The D&Rs Rimboches were my first loves with uncased VaPers, but then I found the C&D lines, and I just can’t bring myself to enjoy the EU stuff as much.

 

[BarrelProof]

I think they used to have shipping problems but ever since they hooked up with DHL, it’s been super fast and reliable. In my multiple (6) experiences of purchasing from them, not one time did it take longer than 1 week for the order to reach my door. Not once. The shipping is about $45 but, combined with the low per-tin price, it’s well worth it to me.

That’s good to know. I’ve been out of the game for a while and have a bit of a buying problem. Thanks for knocking down the only hurdle.

 

[ADKPiper]

I haven't done it but if I did I'd probably do Hearth And Home. From what I've seen there are no aromatics and they have a very manageable number of blends. And every one that I have tried has been exceptional. Cerberus, Viprati and First Snow. All excellent.

 

[sablebrush52]

I know you know Watch City. Do they not also fit the bill? Or LJ Peretti? Or McCranies? Or Uhles? Earnest question here.

Watch City does, though they may have more blends than specified. Neither LJ Peretti, nor McCrainie's make all of their blends.

 

[logs]

I'm working on something like this with Bob Runowski blends. I honestly don't know how many he had his hand in, so just working from what is listed on the review website. So far Haunted Bookshop, Bayou Morning, Bayou Morning Flake, Epiphany, Morley's Best, Pegasus and Old Joe Krantz.

I did this a few years back and it's worth the journey. Runowski was a great blender.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Wait for a SPC tobacco special. They often put a whole blender's bar on sale (sometimes 15% off or more).

I believe BriarWorks and Low Country were recently featured with 6 to 8 blends apiece.

Or be "one and done" with Five Brothers or Arango Balkan Supreme.

 

[rmbittner]

With tins, especially with what are marketed as premium blends price-wise, I want to think I'm quite likely to enjoy the blend and not just go by trial and error.

But, see, the “trial and error” would be part of the point of this experiment. Going through a brand’s tins would force me to try blends I would otherwise shun or just ignore. So I certainly don’t anticipate liking everything. But I would expect to learn something from every tin.

I’m not expecting to find any new favorites that I haven’t already uncovered, although that’s certainly possible. But when I started smoking a pipe, I was trying everything I could find, just because I was so excited to learn about pipe tobacco. But I’ve spent the last 20 years or so settling down, focusing on blends I already love or am likely to enjoy because of what they are. I guess I’m just itching to start exploring again.

 

[logs]

It can be done with C&D blends too but it's much easier to break it down by blender than to attempt to master the entire brand catalog. I think it's helpful to divide it up between the original Atlas blends, Craig Tarler blends, Bob Runowski blends, and the Jeremy Reeves blends. There's quite a big shift in style between the Tarler era and the Reeves era. You can see the trend moving away from codger-style burley's to being much more experimental with Reeves. Blends like Sun Bear or Dreams of Kadath are entirely unlike anything Tarler or Runowski would have done.