G&H Dark Birdseye Changed?

[der1trunkene1im1fruehling]

I smoked Dark Birdseye from G&H years ago and I smoke tobacco from that company almost exclusively. I hadn't had DBE in quit a few years and decided to include an ounce in an order from Smoking Pipes. I got the order today and it doesn't look anything like what I remember. I remember a dark and stringy tobacco that included birdseye but I don't see any in this. I also happened to get a pouch of Five Brothers and it is famous for including birdseye and indeed it's present there. I vaguely remember someone commenting in a review some years back that DBE had changed in some way but I don't remember the details now. I looked at the picture of the DBE on the Smoking Pipes webpage and it seems look like what I received but there isn't any noticeable birdseye in that picture either. Is my memory just starting to go or was there indeed some change made to the tobacco? Anyone around who smoked it back in the aughts, like me, that confirm a difference?

 

[pipestud]

All I know is that I have some 2002 G&H Dark Birdseye in a Mason Jar that I smoke irregularly. It is indeed a fine shag cut (not quite as stringy as Five Brothers, which I smoke all the time as cutter with other blends) but no birdseye in this G&H Dark Birdseye at all.

 

[der1trunkene1im1fruehling]

Maybe I'm misremembering that aspect of it then. 2002 was around the time I first started smoking G&H tobaccos almost exclusively. The oldest G&H tobacco I still have around from that period is a mason jar of one of their latakia blends. Anyway, I'll eventually get around to trying it and seeing if it tastes like I remember.

 

[downinit]

The G&H dark birdseye I got 2 months ago from P&C has birdseye and is a shag cut.

 

[JimInks]

It's been a few years since I've smoked this blend (2012), but it was a shag cut with some bird's eye.

 

[markus]

Please excuse my ignorance, I'm still pretty knew to pipe smoking, but what is bird's eye? (Pertaining to tobacco of course.)

 

[downinit]

but what is bird's eye?

Birds Eye tobacco:

Tobacco manufactured from the whole leaf rather than strips without the middle vein or rib will have "birds eye". The mid-rib (or stem) remaining in the processed tobacco looks like a bird's eye.
PS: There is also a cut of tobacco cut called birds eye, similar to curly cut/rolled cut/rolled cake.

PPS: Birds eye can also refer to a type of wood grain found on pipes.

 

[markus]

@downinit, makes sense, thanks for the info.

 

[simong]

I've never noticed a difference from the first tins I had of this blend, to the most recent.

Shag cut then, shag cut now. Keeping my fingers crossed, that someday hoggarth's are going to copy the topping from gallahers 'honeydew' to this blend.

 

[hawky454]

It hasn't ever had that Bird's Eye that you get in 5 Bros since I've been smoking it. I thought the name was kinda odd considering... It's an amazing smoke though so I could care less what it looks like.

 

[der1trunkene1im1fruehling]

I remember the tobacco as being darker, reddish dark brown and long and stringy. At the least, I think the cut may have changed. Right now I'm smoking a bit of Kendal Flake that I got from Smoking Pipes and it's really nice. It's a brighter tobacco than I normally smoke and I can tell that I'm going to have to take it slow or suffer for it. The room aroma is really nice. I find that my mainstays, Dark Flake non-aromatic, Kendal Dark Shag and Black Irish Sliced are very forgiving on the tongue. The same for DBE and Kendal Kentucky. I've also tried a sample of Dark Flake Liquorice that I got from Mars and it may replace Dark Flake NA for me. I notice that Smoking Pipes has got a Brown Flake Liquorice but I wonder if one of the two companies have got it wrong or whether there are in fact both a Dark and Brown Flakes with liquorice from G&H?

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I've never noticed a difference from the first tins I had of this blend, to the most recent."
Simon, yours came in tins? You jammy bugger, mine only ever came in pouches :roll:
Regards,
Jay.

 

[simong]

Jay, you want to buy in Spain like I do, all in tins over there, & less than half price.

BTW, I forgot to mention last time if your ever in Paignton Devon. There's a cracking tobacconist there huge, & I mean HUGE range of baccy. Everything from Germains,hoggarth's,Sam gawith etc. Plus two ridiculously attractive females behind the counter. Well worth a visit if your ever passing by that way.

Regards, Simon.

 

[der1trunkene1im1fruehling]

Well, I've been smoking this DBE and I'd say it's definitely what I remember from ye olden tymes. Good stuff. I like the shag styles of tobacco as they're easy to load and smoke. I've got 500g of Kendal Dark from Mars and an ounce of Kentucky from SP as well along with the DBE. I'm probably going to have to get 500 of the DBE after smoking it again for the first time in probably a decade.
My niece gave me one of those vaporizers sometime last year or maybe it was sometime earlier this year and I smoked that for a few months exclusively but it never really satisfied me. I guess if that were the only option left that I could be satisfied with it but I'm realizing, as I smoke my pipe for the first time in many months, having been dipping snuff for the last couple of months at least, that nothing beats a pipe and a good G&H tobacco.

 

[hawky454]

nothing beats a pipe and a good G&H tobacco.

I'll smoke to that! Cheers!
Have you tried Dark Flake Scented? (not sure if that's the same thing as aromatic but I don't think so) It has a very strong bergamot flavor along with rose or some kind of floral. It's absolutely stellar! Pair it with some Earl Grey tea.

 

[der1trunkene1im1fruehling]

I've had Dark Flake Aromatic and, as I mentioned above, I got a sample from Mars that's Dark Flake Licorice. I'm more inclined towards non-aromatics but I think that the Licorice may replace the plain Dark Flake. Dark Flake Aro. is good though too and I've ordered that along with the plain in the past. Earlier this year I started making my own Earl Grey with a bottle of bergamot from Amazon and some British blend tea bags. I started to wonder if if I'd ever had the real thing when I noticed the ingredients listed on some of the Earl Grey offered by Upton Tea; where I usually get my loose tea. Do you ever drink Lapsang Souchong, tea cured over pine wood fires? I guess I like smoked and fire-cured things.

 

[hawky454]

I have not but that sounds AWESOME!

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I guess I like smoked and fire-cured things."
Best you get yourself some kippers then...great with plain bread & butter ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[oldreddog]

Kippers Jay, only for me on St Swithun's day.