How to Date Esoterica Tobaccos?

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Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,819
I don't think the year of purchase is a factor. The stuff probably sits in a warehouse until they see fit to release it to us peasants.

E is 2020. All of the latest drop (2021) were E to my knowledge. I assume they are still clearing out product they were not able to ship last year because of the pandemic.
Makes sense. I just figured as fast as their products fly off the shelves they wouldn't have any in storage. But after reading thru this thread it doesn't surprise me one bit.
 

Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,819
Meh. I mixed a pound of Penzance with 1-Q, Split up and gave away two pounds of it to forum members that hadn't tried it two years ago, and traded my last bag to Pipestud for some Murray's Three Year Matured Virginia. Compared to what's available today, Esoterica has fallen to mediocre.
You desecrated the holy grail? God bless your soul ?
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,632
44,856
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
The first number sorta matching the year worked until 2020. It wasn't a perfect line up between the calendar year and the numerical change. The first number advanced in the fall. But it was close enough for me to notice it and use for dating.

The new theory is that you ignore the first four number and go to the first letter for the year, a change that was instituted in 2015, making E the signifier for 2020.

Using this information tells me that my recently arrived bag of RDF was made in 2022...

...wait a minute...
 
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3rdguy

Lifer
Aug 29, 2017
3,472
7,293
Iowa
The first number sorta matching the year worked until 2020. It wasn't a perfect line up between the calendar year and the numerical change. The first number advanced in the fall. But it was close enough for me to notice it and use for dating.

The new theory is that you ignore the first four number and go to the first letter for the year, a change that was instituted in 2015, making E the signifier for 2020.

Using this information tells me that my recently arrived bag of RDF was made in 2022...

...wait a minute...
I remember seeing they advance the letter before the year is up but June already? Yeah that is messed up…oh well.
 

GlassMan

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 13, 2020
105
245
Tempe
Hello all, I am STILL confused about this. Would love somebody’s input. I have an iPhone timestamped photo of the day I bought these bags. They had just come in. It was December 2019. The code is 1063D102 it’s penzance. I have another bag that was bought brand new in July 2020. It is 1121E032. The 1 as everyone is saying is denoting 2021, but other people are saying the letter denotes the year. I am soon going to offer these to the market place but I don’t want people to think I’m fudging the date. Would love some clarity. Thank you all!
 
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Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,819
Hello all, I am STILL confused about this. Would love somebody’s input. I have an iPhone timestamped photo of the day I bought these bags. They had just come in. It was December 2019. The code is 1063D102 it’s penzance. I have another bag that was bought brand new in July 2020. It is 1121E032. The 1 as everyone is saying is denoting 2021, but other people are saying the letter denotes the year. I am soon going to offer these to the market place but I don’t want people to think I’m fudging the date. Would love some clarity. Thank you all!
Im not sure where everyone is saying the 1 is denoting 2021 as you say. Especially when you bought them in 2019 and 2020. From what I gather from this thread and most others is that the D is 2019 and the E is 2020.
 
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guylesss

Can't Leave
May 13, 2020
322
1,155
Brooklyn, NY
I am sure there are far more compelling things for me to focus on solving today, and all my apologies for reviving this dormant and much discussed topic, but I've just received a couple of bags from a retailer with an E batch number.

I've been all in with the COVID warehouse mopping up theory, along with the forget-about-the-first-4-digit view. But shouldn't there have been some F batches for 2021, and now a G batch for 2022?

Candy, flowers. Yes. But also home cooking, strong cocktails, expensive wine, and soft lighting. . . .
 
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guylesss

Can't Leave
May 13, 2020
322
1,155
Brooklyn, NY
Judging from the most recent Saturday morning sales of Steve/Pipestud, which have featured quite a few bags with visible date codes, there are some G letter codes in the mix. But it also seems clear that some US retailers (for at least some blends) have received bags in the most recent "drop" with "earlier" codes than one would expect.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,400
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I’m old school. I think you start with coffee in the afternoon. If things go well, you work on dinner and a movie.
I was going to say just talk first. Make sure you really want to date first. And let things go naturally but only worry one step ahead. Also get a wife too. For some reason not being available seems to make you more appealing (my theory is cause you stop acting like a desperate man, which no one likes).
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,400
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
what if the numbers aren't for dating but just for batch tracking. If they get a bunch of returns with the same problem it makes it easier to track. And maybe these have nothing to do with the date. Though the bottom line is they don't care about us reading them. If they did it would be mystery free.
 
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Masterblaster

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 23, 2021
153
604
45
Evans, GA
Well just picked up a bag of Margate from my local B&M. The number on the bag is as follows - 1338H021. So according to this thread the manufacturing date should be February 1st 2023, if I'm reading everything right. But I picked the bag up on January 20th 2023, and I know the shop got their shipment in December of 2022, so the date code doesn't seem to work with this bag!