Inform Me On Watch City Cigar, Ravenwood, And KBV.

[anthonyrosenthal74]

As I was gone from the forums for quite some time, I'm not much aware of Watch City. I can't recall seeing them mentioned much if at all before my hiatus. Also I'm not at all familiar with Ken Byron Ventures or Ravenwood Fine Provisions, and so I could use a refresher on these. Who are they, what are they, are they trustworthy? How are thier blends? How available are thier blends? I will take any and all information you can give me as I'm intrigued, but very ill informed.

 

[NookersTheCat]

They are all essentially boutique blenders/shops... Watch City has a physical location while Byron and Ravenwood (to my knowledge) do not.
They all have their own blends and fans (I've enjoyed all of KBV's wares so far and am going to be placing my first WCC order soon).

Basically though, they are all blenders that use other company's leaf so availability wise, they are all going to be doing some scrambling rn to adjust from their Sutliff stocks drying up.. depending upon which blend you look at. KBV has said he's still 50/50 on continuing from what I've seen so far.

All legit companies with good blends though.. just understand that they are blenders, not manufacturers.

 

[Auxsender]

They’re great.
Go to their websites.
Go to tobacco reviews dot com.
Search this forum for those names.
Google is helpful.

 

[Brad H]

Watch city cigars is a good site to buy blends from.
Their Rougereaux sold out in little over an hour.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

They’re great.
Go to their websites.
Go to tobacco reviews dot com.
Search this forum for those names.
Google is helpful.

Being a long time member here I'm more interested in the opinions of those members here, especially those I've interacted with over the years, as opposed to Google or just the websites of people or companies I know nothing about.

 

[Auxsender]

Being a long time member here I'm more interested in the opinions of those members here, especially those I've interacted with over the years, as opposed to Google or just the websites of people or companies I know nothing about.

Which is why I suggested searching this site for those names as There is a lot here that has already been said.

Either way, I’m sure you’ll find wonderful tobaccos you love just like I have from these blenders.

 

[SpuddsBuckley]

I've been ordering from Watch City after getting burned by Pipes & Cigars one too many times, and they've been really great. Excellent selection, and they ship within a day of placing your order.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I've been ordering from Watch City after getting burned by Pipes & Cigars one too many times, and they've been really great. Excellent selection, and they ship within a day of placing your order.

Have you tried any of thier house blends?

 

[sablebrush52]

I've tried a lot of both the Watch City and KBV blends and have enjoyed all of them. Ernie, at Watch City, is one of those few guys whose integrity extends to the blends that he makes. By that, I mean that he won't substitute components. If he can't find exactly what he needs to make a blend the way he intends it he discontinues it until such time as he can once again make it.

 

[dd57chevy]

Have you tried any of thier house blends?

Everyone's taste preference is different , so speaking only for myself , I really like WC's Fat Bastard .
Wasn't crazy about Old North Church .

 

[sittingbear]

I thought I read that KBV, at least, would stop production now that Sutliff is no more. Is that not the case? (Hope against hope!)

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Everyone's taste preference is different , so speaking only for myself , I really like WC's Fat Bastard .
Wasn't crazy about Old North Church .

I read Jimink's and a few other's reviews of Fat Bastard, and it sounds interesting. I may be ordering a few ounces of that one to try soon.

 

[dd57chevy]

I read Jimink's and a few other's reviews of Fat Bastard, and it sounds interesting. I may be ordering a few ounces of that one to try soon.

Just to mention , WC is another outfit that offers free shipping on orders over $100 .

I always seem able to talk myself into buying that much .

 

[JimInks]

I thought I read that KBV, at least, would stop production now that Sutliff is no more. Is that not the case? (Hope against hope!)

That is not the case. I'm still reviewing KBV blends because he's staying in the blending business. All my KBV reviews that are not at TR are on another forum.

 

[SpuddsBuckley]

Have you tried any of thier house blends?

I have not.

 

[lupy1234]

All three good stuff. I find Ravenwood to be a little on the expensive side. All trustworthy. Read their descriptions and pick what you like.

 

[Brad H]

I've been ordering from Watch City after getting burned by Pipes & Cigars one too many times, and they've been really great. Excellent selection, and they ship within a day of placing your order.

I’ve had watch city a few times package mine and ready for shipped within the hour.
Also the customer support is great. They will call you with a live person if there is an issue with your order.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Ok so looks like I'll be possibly putting in an order at Watch City soon, as well as the others in the near future. Thanks for chiming in, everyone.

 

[NookersTheCat]

If he can't find exactly what he needs to make a blend the way he intends it he discontinues it until such time as he can once again make it.

Something tells me this is about to become a big differentiating point with blenders.
I really hope that the others are at least transparent about it.. Like if Boswell wants to keep Northwoods but their latakia source changed (random example) at least mention it in the description going forward, if not appending it... "Northwoods v2"

 

[krizzose]

I’ve ordered quite a bit from both WCC and KBV, and both have been great. KBV works in fairly small batches, so a particular blend can often be out of stock. If you check the “News” section of the website, they posted a list of what blends won’t be continued. I’m not sure what sort of blends you like, but here are some of my favorites:

WCC-
Stubb’s Pipe
Old Dominion
American Cut Plug Mixture
Rhythm & Blues

KBV-
Van Gogh
Redline
Brown Flek (still in stock, but I think will be discontinued)
Jupiter Slices