Granger by Lane

[mso489]

Granger is often identified as non--aromatic because of its roughs-cut Kentucky burley base, but it definitely has flavorings. I've heard them identified as molasses and anisette, but interacting with the tobacco I think it can be experienced different ways. Since I grew up from he cradle smelling burning Granger, my loyalty is absolute.

Another Forums member and I, years ago, decided that perhaps the Wellman Process was leaving the tobacco barn door open one sixteenth of an inch while curing the burley.

 

[ParkitoATL]

I wish I could try Granger by the ounce. I have so many burley blends it would be hard to go deep on 7oz without having tried it.

 

[minerLuke]

I wish I could try Granger by the ounce. I have so many burley blends it would be hard to go deep on 7oz without having tried it.

4noggins sells a 2 Oz sample

 

[Ky pipemaster]

I really like Granger. I'm a loyal Prince Albert smoker, but burley is my favorite leaf if done correctly. Prince Albert "in my opinion of course" is the best "for me". The only thing that stopped me from Granger being my everyday smoke is the horrendous bite it causes me. It has nothing to do with experience, cadence or packing techniques, I'm not a young new pipe smoker. It has something to do with whatever additives is used. I have the very same issue with Velvet, Half and Half, Chatham Manor and most MacBaren tobaccos. I'm thinking it is either a flavoring or a preservative. A friend sent me some Granger from the 90s I think, or maybe the 80s, I honestly can't remember the year it was made. But it was completely different from today's stuff. It was almost Graham crackery and zero bite. I liked it so much I bought two 12 ounce tubs before Scandinavian Tobacco ruined the packaging amounts. I was so excited I immediately opened a tub and let a few bowls worth set out to dry a bit. It bit me like a rabid dog. I tried it in different pipes, different times of the day, packed it different, slowed down, nothing worked. I ended up gifting both tubs out to my buddies. I was thinking about getting another can a few years later, so I did. It was the stupid 7oz cans they have now ,anyway the only way I can enjoy it is to smoke it in my Savinelli's with a 6mm charcoal filter. Which is fine like I said before, I really do enjoy the taste and aroma.

I really like Granger. I'm a loyal Prince Albert smoker, but burley is my favorite leaf if done correctly. Prince Albert "in my opinion of course" is the best "for me". The only thing that stopped me from Granger being my everyday smoke is the horrendous bite it causes me. It has nothing to do with experience, cadence or packing techniques, I'm not a young new pipe smoker. It has something to do with whatever additives is used. I have the very same issue with Velvet, Half and Half, Chatham Manor and most MacBaren tobaccos. I'm thinking it is either a flavoring or a preservative. A friend sent me some Granger from the 90s I think, or maybe the 80s, I honestly can't remember the year it was made. But it was completely different from today's stuff. It was almost Graham crackery and zero bite. I liked it so much I bought two 12 ounce tubs before Scandinavian Tobacco ruined the packaging amounts. I was so excited I immediately opened a tub and let a few bowls worth set out to dry a bit. It bit me like a rabid dog. I tried it in different pipes, different times of the day, packed it different, slowed down, nothing worked. I ended up gifting both tubs out to my buddies. I was thinking about getting another can a few years later, so I did. It was the stupid 7oz cans they have now ,anyway the only way I can enjoy it is to smoke it in my Savinelli's with a 6mm charcoal filter. Which is fine because like I said before, I really do enjoy the taste and aroma.

after several months of smoking Granger the horrible bite finally got the best of me there is no way this is like what Grandpa smoked, I'm back to good ol' Prince Albert since i'm an all day pipe smoker it has no bite at all.

 

[f4phantomdriver]

after several months of smoking Granger the horrible bite finally got the best of me there is no way this is like what Grandpa smoked, I'm back to good ol' Prince Albert since i'm an all day pipe smoker it has no bite at all.

I'm with ya brother. Granger, Velvet and H&H ripped my whole mouth up. I have a good supply of Prince Albert and still some of the Pennsylvania made stuff. I don't get it though. These classic blends that Lane took over must be using something that doesn't agree with our mouths. Might be a preservative or a universal flavoring they are spraying on the tobacco. Weird because I can smoke Captain Black and I-Q along with BCA with no problems. Prince Albert has never bitten me or given me a bad smoke. I'll stick with that and Pegasus as my all day smokes.

 

[krizzose]

Don’t believe everything you read on “teh internets!”

Wait….what? Seriously? I’m f$&@ed

 

[mso489]

I've been to a pipe shop that sold Granger by the ounce out of a tub. Some love it, and some don't, so that's a good way of offering a sample. It is no longer offered in a boxed foil pouch as it was for decades.

 

[multitool]

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Granger. Tried it a year or two ago, and bought several tubs.

 

[Lumbridge]

Ahh, codger burleys. So comfortable.

I tend to like STG products, but can't really wrap my head around the play dough thing that some of their codgers have going on. Fortunately SWR does not have this flavor, and I've smoked quite a bit of it.

 

[towhee89]

My first tub of Granger arrived today along with a tub of the SWRA. The Granger smells good but it seems like it doesn't want to burn as good as the CH PA and SWRA I love. It's like there isn't a ton of flavor and is harder to get lit than my other main Blends. It may need airing out or dry time, I'm not sure. Hoping it's the humectants that are preventing it from burning the way I want.

I will say no vinegar or anything like that. I've truly fallen in love with SWRA and wanted to mix it up from CH and pa.
I've thought about leaving it in the tub to air out a bit before jarring, but we'll see.

 

[WVOldFart]

Granger is the kind of tobacco that if you want fireworks and moments of taste explosions, then you shouldn't smoke it, but if you want a good, dependable, all day burley tobacco, this is one to consider. I have a couple tubs of Granger, just to have in case of emergency. I hadn't smoked any for a few years, but I wrote to @Grangerous and he said that it was even better now than before. I have had tubs of it on hand ever since.

 

[towhee89]

Granger is the kind of tobacco that if you want fireworks and moments of taste explosions, then you shouldn't smoke it, but if you want a good, dependable, all day burley tobacco, this is one to consider. I have a couple tubs of Granger, just to have in case of emergency. I hadn't smoked any for a few years, but I wrote to @Grangerous and he said that it was even better now than before. I have had tubs of it on hand ever since.

I wasn't expecting fireworks because my main Blends are OTC burley. I get exactly what you mean, though. I'm thinking it is whatever they flavor it with. I can feel it in my fingers it's sort of sticky. Soft as well. I set it out to dry for a few hours and chopped it with scissors and am smoking it in my Lyon pipe with better results.

Yeah, this is good stuff! Now the flavor is coming through just fine. Did need a relight. The Burley taste almost the same as Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic.

 

[shermnatman]

@Briar Lee - That was one of the most cogent, eloquent, and enjoyable reviews to read.

Well done, Sir!

And, I cannot wait unit our resident Granger zealot and excitable friend - @Grangerous - reads your descriptive phrase: "...There’s a slight topping of a Play Dough essence..." ; he'll likely try to throw holy water on you and call you a heathen LOL!!!

Worry not, just remind him of the fact that "... there ain't no Marshmallows in EGR!!!..."; the recall of that little public fiasco from a few years back always causes him pipe right down.

Ah heck, even if he doesn't go into a Granger-Tizzy over your most-accurate olfactory assessment, say it anyway; and, watch the whirling dervish's head spin around... We could use a little entertaining floor show from him to go with your great review. - Sherm Natman

 

[huntertrw]

Here is a link to the pipesmagazine.com thread from 2014 discussing Wellman's Process.

 

[towhee89]

@Briar Lee - That was one of the most cogent, eloquent, and enjoyable reviews to read.

Well done, Sir!

And, I cannot wait unit our resident Granger zealot and excitable friend - @Grangerous - reads your descriptive phrase: "...There’s a slight topping of a Play Dough essence..." ; he'll likely try to throw holy water on you and call you a heathen LOL!!!

Worry not, just remind him of the fact that "... there ain't no Marshmallows in EGR!!!..."; the recall of that little public fiasco from a few years back always causes him pipe right down.

Ah heck, even if he doesn't go into a Granger-Tizzy over your most-accurate olfactory assessment, say it anyway; and, watch the whirling dervish's head spin around... We could use a little entertaining floor show from him to go with your great review. - Sherm Natman

I didn't notice any Play Doh thankfully.

I am used to PA and CH, and I'd say Granger tastes better towards the end of bowl than either of them.

 

[Puff nstuff]

I never got any Play-Doh from Granger. That's strictly a Velvet thing.

 

[RPK]

I was born in the early 1940’s and can never remember my father not holding and smoking a pipe filled with Granger in his Kaywoodie. He only ever had one pipe at a time and would smoke it over and over all day every day. Occasionally ran a pipe cleaner thru it and would scrape the bowl a bit with his knife or screwdriver, whatever was at hand. The best birthday or Christmas gift anyone could give him was a large tin of Granger. I do remember somewhere in those later years giving him one of those tins when he made the comment, “this stuff is not as good as it once was, they are using the floor sweepings”.

 

[WVOldFart]

I think it’s the most burley tasting, of the old time codger burleys.

Highly recommended.

View attachment 190035
View attachment 190037
View attachment 190039

I agree that Granger has a good Burley taste, but Edgeworth Ready Rubbed was also a very good Burley. The old Sir Walter Raleigh (before STG) had a Burley taste that I have only slightly noticed in other blends. The new SWR if dried out for a few days to let the vinegar dissipate can still produce that distinctive Burley taste.

 

[Briar Lee]

I was born in the early 1940’s and can never remember my father not holding and smoking a pipe filled with Granger in his Kaywoodie. He only ever had one pipe at a time and would smoke it over and over all day every day. Occasionally ran a pipe cleaner thru it and would scrape the bowl a bit with his knife or screwdriver, whatever was at hand. The best birthday or Christmas gift anyone could give him was a large tin of Granger. I do remember somewhere in those later years giving him one of those tins when he made the comment, “this stuff is not as good as it once was, they are using the floor sweepings”.

Granger, and all the other old codger blends, were as much consumer products as a Snicker’s bar or Juicy Fruit gum or Coca Cola.

Wellman’s Process probably was some method of infusion of molasses or licorice or vinegar into a certain grade of commercial burley that had been aged a couple of years in oak barrels:

We are blessed to still have Granger, that it’s not died like Edgeworth, Rum and Maple, Field and Stream, Revelation, Bond Street and many others that weren’t PA, Velvet or Half and Half.

The last codger blend you can still buy a small 1 1/2 pouch of is Half and Half.

 

[towhee89]

Off topic slightly but.... Has anybody noticed differences in batches or pouch vs tub for some of these Stg blends ? The swra I could swear was better in the pouches, the tub really lacks flavor. I was really bummed because I love the pouches. I think the pouches I had may have been from 2022 while the tub is I believe 2025 production. I get there are variations in tobacco from batch to batch, but I could swear the pouches were better. Obviously Granger is tub only now.

I've got my regular SWR jarred in hopes that vinegar may mellow. It's a bit better but still very sour.