Identifying Bulk Tobaccos at B&M

[JohnMosesBrowning]

Hi,
Still a newbie here so if this should be posted in the tobacco discussion I hope the mods will move it. Anyway, I've caught on that the bulk blends at my local B&M are Lane Limited that they've renamed. There are two I identified (because I saw them getting refilled) as LL 1-Q and LL BCA. I have two other of their blends and I called to inquire what they really are as not to order them online when I can get them there. Seems reasonable I thought.
Question 1: is it offensive or in poor taste for me to ask such questions? Am I overstepping something by asking them to pull back the proverbial curtain on the blends they are selling?
Question 2: the answers I got about the two blends is that that where implied Lane Limited and she said "B27" and "J6" - but I cannot find any Lane Limited with those designations. Am I just missing them? Any idea what she's got?
Thanks in advance and for all of the great posts already that are helping me along

 

[willisk]

I feel if the shop is marketing them as a house blend and re selling another companies blend then it’s not rude to politely inquire if you suspect

It’s a existing brand!!
I would simply explain why you are inquiring, especially since you are interested in further supporting them!! It’s all in how you ask I’ve learned.
As far as identifying those blends in quite new myself so I can’t help ya! Have ya tried gurgling them?

 

[woodsroad]

"it’s not rude to politely inquire"

Bingo.

 

[JimInks]

They are Sutliff blends: Golden Cavendish J6 and Black and Gold Cavendish B27.

 

[JohnMosesBrowning]

That's so great! That you JimInks!
And yes, just to be clear, I am/was super friendly and made it as clear as I reasonably could that I was interested in buying more but wanted to avoid ordering online what I can get directly from them. I just think this is such an odd phenomena in retail/marketing. I can't think of another commercial example of something like this that I've encountered.
At my local B&M I bought a blend they call "Mackinac" (I'm in Michigan) and it's actually LL-BCA. But I'd already purchased another blend from a tobacconist in Ann Arbor they call "Monticello." Even my newbie nose and palette detected that these were identical blends. I called the Ann Arbor B&M and asked if "Monticello" was really LL-BCA...yup. So now I am nervous to buy anything without sounding rude and asking what their tobacco really is.

 

[ben88]

I think you have every right to know what goes in your pipe.

 

[JohnMosesBrowning]

I guess it's just me being new, but I can't get over how odd this is. The more I think about it the weirder it is to me. Imagine if it were beer. You go to a bar/pub/restaurant and they have "Golden Pilsner" but it's actually Miller Lite. But at another place it's "Sunset Pilsner" and also Miller Lite. Yet you could go to a third place and order "Golden Pilsner" and it's actually a pilsner that they crafted and brewed themselves right there on premises.
Sorry, I think in analogies sometimes.

 

[mso489]

My local independent sells bulk out of jars under his names, but will gladly let regular customers know the sources of the blends if asked, and sometimes will ask if it is what you want by the name of the brand -- Stokkebye, Sutliff, Lane, etc. If new pipe smokers rely on buying by the local store name, that's good business, but it's not treated as a state secret. Sensible.

 

[bnichols23]

Oddly I don't think I've ever done it, usually getting mine online or at my favorite B&M by their names. However I'd think if you were courteous & conversationally said that you really preferred supporting a local store that they'd pick up on it & be appreciative. As so many have said, building a relationship with local guys can have real advantages.

 

[puffy]

If these bulks are kept in glass jars and you can access them.Look at the back of the jars.Some times the code that comes on the bag is on the back of the jar.That's how they know what blend to put into the jar.

 

[justdafacts]

Just really backing up what others have already written, but I also have a local B&M store by my house that does the same thing - renamed the blends in large jars behind the counter, however, when I first walked in as a new pipe novice, the clerk walked me through all the jars explaining to me what tobacco was really inside the jars with the creative "house names" on them. Like someone else wrote here, the local shop by my house does in fact have the Lane mixes taped on the rear of the jar. He spun one around and showed me. He said they do that because if someone comes from anywhere else in the world, and asks for Lane XXX for example, he can look at the back of his jars and find it for the customer. Maybe different from store to store, but my local store was excited to give me a run down and lesson on tobacco and pipe smoking when I introduced myself as a new smoker 2 year ago!

 

[mso489]

I'm especially sympathetic to pipe shops bringing back the newbie customers to get house brands, because it keeps the shops in business, but moreso because it keeps the newbie talking to the shop owner who can advise and assist the new pipe smoker. As we know on Forums, you never stop learning the fine points.