In Defense of Codger Blends

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ParkitoATL

Can't Leave
Mar 11, 2023
405
1,475
Atlanta, GA
My Dr. Grabow estate billiard has a distinctive perfume ghost, which at first bothered me with some other mixes, so it hadn’t seen much action since I bought it.

As soon as I tasted Sutliff Mixture 79, I imagined somewhere in the past, this pipe had seen many bowls of 79, and this is a reunion of sorts.

Loosely packed the billiard with 3g, and gave it a few lights over several minutes; it finally ignited and burned beautifully with very few relights, over an hour. Even when I leaned on it and the bowl got a little hot, it never bit. Huge clouds of smoke.

The main profile is a sweet and nutty burly, very lightly aromatic. There is also a very subtle perfume note here that one could either obsess over or miss entirely. I find it a delightful compliment to the burley.

I’m a big fan of Sutliff Mixture 79!
 
Aug 1, 2012
4,881
5,687
USA
My biggest forum mistake was turning down a tub of Carter Hall from Bradley when he offered to send one to me in Latvia. I was afraid of the customs officers here but it would have been worth it as it's still one of my favorites. I'm almost out of the US production pouches as I gave one to a new piper who talked about his grandpa mixing it with EGR. I hope the new stuff is similar enough. (jiminks, I don't want to bother you by tagging you but if you need a pouch to test against the new stuff, I've got one saved back)
 

Pipewizard420

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 28, 2020
241
515
I'm a huge fan of OTC Codger blends and like pretty much all of them accept for maybe a few Captain Black blends. They are simple classics that usually burn well and most are long standing classics for a reason.

Main choices would be:

Granger
Prince Albert
Velvet
Half & Half
Middleton Cherry/ Wine Berry
Edgeworth Ready Rubbed
Borkum Riff Whiskey

Plus would add some of the Sutliff Match blends that are quite Codger like:

Match Holiday
Field & Stream
 

RookieGuy80

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 6, 2023
734
2,710
Maryland, United States
I do love my codgers and codger matches. I tend to smoke at least one of those blends daily. If everything else went away, I could subsist nicely on Carter Hall, Granger, Revelation Match, Field and Stream Match, EGR, Five Bros, and whatever others I have stashed away. I could live nicely, but not happily. I'd miss the other Virginias and Englishes and even some aros. Just like if my old cover blends disappeared, I'd go on smoking but would miss the comforting familiar feelings I get with them.
 

Hutch Piper

(Hutch1904)
Mar 12, 2022
298
2,541
Charlotte, NC
There’s something comforting about codger blends. They just get the job done - every dang time. I have tons of blends of every variety. Oftentimes, I scratch my head wondering what in the hell I’m going to light up. Oftentimes, I make the wrong choice and wish I had just gone with some Granger, SWR or SWRA.
 

Tate

Lifer
Sep 27, 2023
1,272
17,733
30
Northern Illinois
I could definitely survive with Five Brothers. I haven't tried many other codger blends yet. Seems likes it's easier to get Peterson in my area than the codger blends.
 
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LongIslandPiper

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 8, 2022
260
1,201
If i had to live with a OTC Codger blend it splits evenly between Half & Half/ Sir Walter Raleigh (older production preferred)
 
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SBC

Lifer
Oct 6, 2021
1,612
7,602
NE Wisconsin
I have a strong aversion to burley, so none of the codger blends work for me.
I've tried only Half and Half and SWRA. The latter was recently, and I hoped that it would be the codger blend I could like -- but the burley is too noticeable to me even there.
I can really only smoke variations of VA and OR leaf.
 
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