Legendary Tobaccos Availability?

[cosmicfolklore]

Balkan Sobranie was what inspired the whole Balkan category, with companies making their own version of this one. Whiteknight by Hearth and Home is about the closest to what BS was like at its prime, but anything in the Balkan category will be close, unless of course the blend leaves out the Orientals, like a few brands do. . Today's Balkan Sobranie leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[RudyG]

I smoked the original Balkan Sobranie back in the 60s and I'm sure if I was to find a tin today it would be over the hill and a mere ghost of it's past.

While Virginias can greatly benefit from age, some blends can also fade away, particularly Latakia blends.

If I'm missing the old Sobranie, then Hearth & Home White Knight, Black House and Magnum would be a far better smoke in my opinion than an old can of BS that would cost a fortune.

I would rather smoke something in its youth to be cellared for a greater future, than something of old age that isn't what it once was.

Let dead men lie and enjoy some of the great blends that are readily available and of much lower expense.

Just my 2 cents!

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Where are you buying your Germains? I get it for £20 or £22, thereabouts. Someone was kind enough to trade some McClelland with me (40th Anniversary) and it is great stuff. No better or worse than a lot of other top-tier Virginia blends, but different enough that I was really glad to get the opportunity to try it.

Not sure what it's like in the US, but if you look hard enough in the UK rare and vintage stuff still comes up - online and in antique shops. And not always for a King's ransom!

Turmeus sell Germain's for £31.99 a tin. I bought some Brown Flake & Medium Flake from them earlier in the year. Every other shop sells out of it fast. I'm on the alert list but unless you're very quick it's gone. I got some more tins of Medium Flake from somewhere else a couple of months back, and that was cheaper, but that doesn't happen very often.

You have more luck finding the rest of the Germain's range but i'm not really interested in them. Tins of Brown Flake, Medium Flake and Rich Dark Flake are very hard to come by. Never used to be anywhere near as bad as it is now. From what i've heard, a lot of it gets flipped for a profit and is sold to China.

I've got a single tin of the 40th that I bought when it was first released but I haven't tried it yet. I agree that there's some great Virginias available in the UK but there aren't any straight red Virginia blends like Mcclelland or the 2019 Carolina Red Flake. Compared to the Virginias I can get in the UK both of the blends I just mentioned are very different and they make a nice change.

Were they worth what I paid for them? Maybe not to everyone. To me they were, tho. Out of interest, where do you buy your rare & vintage stuff online in the UK? The only place I could find over here was Larrysson's website. Mysmokingshop had a little bit of rare stuff for sale a couple of years back, and I managed to get some Sam Gawith Bracken Flake, but that was a one off. My cellar is pretty much done (for now) but I still wouldn't mind having a look.

 

[jaingorenard]

Were they worth what I paid for them? Maybe not to everyone. To me they were, tho. Out of interest, where do you buy your rare & vintage stuff online in the UK? The only place I could find over here was Larrysson's website. Mysmokingshop had a little bit of rare stuff for sale a couple of years back, and I managed to get some Sam Gawith Bracken Flake, but that was a one off. My cellar is pretty much done (for now) but I still wouldn't mind having a look.

Just the generic websites! No longer eBay, but Etsy, Gumtree etc., and antique shops. It sometimes takes a bit of searching, but I've found some interesting tins.

 

[RookieGuy80]

YOBACCO > TOBACCO

Tobacco is very hard to find in the UK I've heard. Yobacco is much easier and cheaper.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Just the generic websites! No longer eBay, but Etsy, Gumtree etc., and antique shops. It sometimes takes a bit of searching, but I've found some interesting tins.

Yeah, ebay is dead when it comes to the UK and tobacco. As far as i'm aware there aren't any UK sites that sell vintage/unavailable tobacco. IIRC Larrysson had to shut his site because PayPal threatened to shut his account because of tobacco transactions.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Tobacco is very hard to find in the UK I've heard. Yobacco is much easier and cheaper.

Yobacco is hard to find in the US, as well. This dude keeps buying it all up.

 

[Lumbridge]

The online stock is just a drop in the bucket. B&M stock gathers dust while their house blends sell.

Hm, that's not surprising. I've yet to find a true, well-stocked B&M pipe shop anywhere I've lived or been to, so that didn't occur to me. Best I've had access to are cigar shops that happen to have a few pipes, pouches, and tins to choose from.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Hm, that's not surprising. I've yet to find a true, well-stocked B&M pipe shop anywhere I've lived or been to, so that didn't occur to me. Best I've had access to are cigar shops that happen to have a few pipes, pouches, and tins to choose from.

Check the forum list of B&Ms. Most of them ship orders.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

While many of the Germain's, Esoterica blends can be obtained, albeit with difficulty, there are plenty of other great tobacco's out there that are much more easily obtainable. Yes, you can obtain out of production tobaccos on secondary sites, at high prices, but for me I'd rather explore other tobaccos. There are plenty of great tobacco's out there, and like a previous post mentioned, if they disappeared, they would be considered legendary as well. Since everyone's palates are different, I'm not going to recommend any blends, so I will just say... start exploring! Lots of great blends out there to enjoy.

 

[username]

I often wonder how much the high aftermarket prices for esoterica is just bragging rights combined with fomo (as it's made exclusively for the us market)

 

[wernerat]

There are so many good blends made. Dont mourn what you didnt know. My first round with pipes was in the US and I smoked a lot of those. They were good. This round Im in Europe and lately Ive been exploring the HU line of tobacco which is every bit as good or better than what I smoked before. Save your cash and invest in what you can get now and enjoy.

I sat around being bummed I cound not get stuff easily from the US. Then I found there was plenty over here. Half the fun is exploring, not smoking what someone else says is/was good.

Hu blends are amazing!!

 

[sunnysmokes]

Just the generic websites! No longer eBay, but Etsy, Gumtree etc., and antique shops. It sometimes takes a bit of searching, but I've found some interesting tins.

Do people list these tins as empty to evade some website rules?

 

[bullet08]

Not too long ago, I really wanted Dunhill NightCap. Purchased NightCap match and I was shocked how good it was. It was some B&M house blend. Then clones were made by some company. Didn't try that based on the reviews. Soon enough, Peterson started making them from same blending house with same exact ingredients. So I grabbed a tin without any hesitation. What a let down! Don't get me wrong. It wasn't a bad blend, but it didn't meet any of my expectations. B&M match was much better. Number of GLP Lat blends could blow that iconic NightCap out of the water. Then found out Dunhill's last version wasn't exactly what old smokers consider the best version. By that time, I lost total interest in NightCap.

If you are truly interested in older blends to spend money on them, I suggest lowering your expectations, and smoking Velvet for 6 months at least before opening legendary blend of your choice. Unless that blend is Velvet. Then I don't have much sympathy for you.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Do people list these tins as empty to evade some website rules?

They used to list the contents as expired and not meant for consumption. Empty tin listings are often just that. There actually is a market for empty tins.

 

[sablebrush52]

I’ve never found the current version of Balkan Sobranie to be worth spit. It doesn’t hold a candle to the real stuff that was made by Sobranie Ltd.
I never paid more than retail for any Esoterica blend and could always find it when others were complaining that they couldn’t. Just took a bit of effort. But the last couple of years of releases were not up to the same standard as pre 2020. I’m no longer buying and have enough of what I like, so I don’t care.
There are plenty of good choices available. You’re not missing anything.
Legend, schmegend.

 

[warren]

I want blends which are readily available, day after day, year after year. A blend I can't count on to be available isn't a blend I'd even want to try.

 

[PipeIT]

I often wonder how much the high aftermarket prices for esoterica is just bragging rights combined with fomo (as it's made exclusively for the us market)

Oh, this then, should definitely get you Royalty Status Rights! LOL

 

[mso489]

Some discontinued blends were excellent. McCellands blends were sourced from specific regions and years. My favorite was Frog Morton Cellar. But I agree with Warren that availability scores high points with me. Depending on your tastes you can usually find a blend or blends that are just right for you. Learn what you like and scout the specifications on blends at reliable retailers, and you can find blends just right for you, as good as any in the past. If you put in the work, you can find your blends, and buy them again next month or next year in many cases..

 

[sablebrush52]

Ah, the old guard! I often wonder how much of the fairy dust sprinkled in those legacy blends is actually rose tinted nostalgia.

Can't speak for others, but in my case, not nostalgia at all.

Blending styles have changed to reduce costs, components have changed to reduce costs, etc, etc with the inevitable result. A lot of smokers remember when quality took a major hit in the '90's. We imprinted on different things, different standards.
One person's "normal is another's "WTF??!!"