As many of you know, Canadian tobacco prices are quite high. It's always worth running the gamble of a customs tariff grab to order from American online retailers. And when I visit a city in the US, I usually make it a point to try and snag some tobacco.
So, today I went to Grand Forks and some quick googling before I left brought up Happy Harry's Bottle Shop. Their website announced they carry "an exciting selection of pipes, pipe tobacco, and pipe accessories". I was skeptical, but I had to check it out.
I will say their humidor is impressive. I don't know much about cigars, but there were dozens of varieties in all sizes sold by the box and individually. They had a large selection of flavoured cigarillos, and a few bags of RYO tobaccos. It took me a couple moments to find their pipe section.
But there it was. A 1/2 dozen Lane bulks packed in 2oz bags, and a selection of 4 Sutliff Private Stock tins. There was also a couple briar pipes selling for $150 (Made in London, red dot on the stem...I should have jotted down the name) just sitting on the shelf, beside the pipe ashtrays, some cork knockers and a bunch of Czech tools.
I picked up a tin of Sutliff's Balkan Luxury Blend 957 and blinked at the price. $2.97. That meant an after tax price of $3.17. I bought it and walked out of the store a little stunned.
So, while the selection of tobaccos is small, their prices just cannot be beat. If I were to buy that locally, I'd be paying at least $35 for it, and it seems to be about 1/2 the price online retails are selling Sutliff tobaccos for. So, the next time I visit Grand Forks, I'll definitely pay Happy Harry's a visit. I think this is an experiment for the business, so I'm happy to throw some money and support their way on this endeavor.
So, today I went to Grand Forks and some quick googling before I left brought up Happy Harry's Bottle Shop. Their website announced they carry "an exciting selection of pipes, pipe tobacco, and pipe accessories". I was skeptical, but I had to check it out.
I will say their humidor is impressive. I don't know much about cigars, but there were dozens of varieties in all sizes sold by the box and individually. They had a large selection of flavoured cigarillos, and a few bags of RYO tobaccos. It took me a couple moments to find their pipe section.
But there it was. A 1/2 dozen Lane bulks packed in 2oz bags, and a selection of 4 Sutliff Private Stock tins. There was also a couple briar pipes selling for $150 (Made in London, red dot on the stem...I should have jotted down the name) just sitting on the shelf, beside the pipe ashtrays, some cork knockers and a bunch of Czech tools.
I picked up a tin of Sutliff's Balkan Luxury Blend 957 and blinked at the price. $2.97. That meant an after tax price of $3.17. I bought it and walked out of the store a little stunned.
So, while the selection of tobaccos is small, their prices just cannot be beat. If I were to buy that locally, I'd be paying at least $35 for it, and it seems to be about 1/2 the price online retails are selling Sutliff tobaccos for. So, the next time I visit Grand Forks, I'll definitely pay Happy Harry's a visit. I think this is an experiment for the business, so I'm happy to throw some money and support their way on this endeavor.