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I have that same opinion (affinity) with C&D, Gawith & Hoggarth, and Sam Gawith. There's just something about these houses that make them very special to me for different reasons. Gawith and Hoggarth for their rustic, rough and ready style. I imagine it like how tobacco of yore must have been like, Honest and top notch ingredients. Sam Gawith makes incredible stuff and uses only high end leaf. C&D for their incredible, nay, phenomenal work with Burleys. They make 3 of my Desert Island Blends. I smoke one of theirs most every day.
 

Fralphog

Lifer
Oct 28, 2021
1,911
22,057
Idaho
If one where to inventory my baccy on hand, they would find several different tobacco house brands represented. I like having blending components on hand to make up my own mixtures and to supplement blends that I want to alter to my taste. Most of the blending tobacco comes from C&D, PS or Sutliff.
But, as far as Blends go I’d day C&D and GLP are the two prominent ones.
In the last month or so I did order some tobacco from KBV and G&H that I have not opened up yet.
One of the great values of joining this forum was getting a lot of great tobacco tips and reviews that helpEd me decide to try new blends.
 

J-Evverrett

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 17, 2021
268
698
41
Meriden, CT
I smoke a lot of c&d myself. That’s more of a quality/ price ratio, and I like the company itself. I’m also a big fan of the non aromatic Peterson line, both classic and dunhill, and the G&H family. Aside from that, I try new things all the time. I working on the amphora line a pouch at a time right now.
 

seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
2,958
10,405
Canada
I smoke a lot of c&d myself. That’s more of a quality/ price ratio, and I like the company itself. I’m also a big fan of the non aromatic Peterson line, both classic and dunhill, and the G&H family. Aside from that, I try new things all the time. I working on the amphora line a pouch at a time right now.
Amphora has some good ones. My favorite is the Burley.
Which blends have you tried so far?
 

Servant King

Lifer
Nov 27, 2020
4,111
22,270
38
Frazier Park, CA
www.thechembow.com
I'm weird (and I mean that in a general sense as well as how it applies to pipe tobacco brands). My top three are:

1) Drew Estate
2) Mac Baren
3) Peterson

Definitely Option D applies here. I have no idea why I like Drew Estate so much, other than the beautiful tin art. I only wish I had gotten into pipe smoking before they went kaput. I certainly would've stocked up like a madman once I caught wind of it. Gatsby Luxury Flake and Grand Central are in my top 5 blends easily. Mac Baren was my introduction into the pipe tobacco world, and I just love several of their blends. Ditto Peterson. I'd love to be able to explain in a concrete way why this is so, but it's too abstract for words. Maybe when the species advances beyond verbal expression to something along the lines of Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation will I be able to convey what's lacking. Of course, that would require the species to first pull themselves away from Keeping Up With The Kardashians and the like, so that's a tall order indeed. ?
 
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Feb 12, 2022
3,404
46,940
31
North Georgia mountains.
These days I'm more focused on Virginias and their variants, like Va/Pers and Va/Bur/Pers, etc. I've also grown to appreciate the English tradition of semi aromatic Virginias. I gravitate to makers who specialize in high quality blends of that type with the result that my cellar has quite a bit of Gawith and Hoggarth, McClelland, HU, Motzek, MacBaren, Germain's/Esoterica, Watch City, and the GL Pease blends that C&D makes. I also have a fair amount of small batch like the RO Perique series, a some stuff from Sutliff and KBV. With the exception of Bijou and Yorktown, C&D doesn't figure heavily.

If I like the flavor of a blend I buy it, regardless of who makes it. At this point in the space/time continuum I'm buying very little.
Motzek makes some great blends. Don't see them mentioned often, but I thoroughly enjoy the few blends from them I've tried. My pen pal from Germany occasional surprises me with packages with a variety of blends for me to try and Motzek is one I'm fond of.
 

fightnhampster

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 14, 2019
920
2,562
Indiana
For me if is Pease and C&D. Hands down they make up about 80% of my sizeable cellar.

I figure it is not only because of their blending style (Not heavy handed with toppings, not sticky, more on the dry side than others) but also the component tobaccos they select choose before they even blend them.

I'm sure each Blending House look for different things in me leaves they purchase.
 

DanWil84

Lifer
Mar 8, 2021
1,688
12,572
39
The Netherlands (Europe)
My heaviest cellared tobacco are Macbarren produced tobaccos. Most blends I have to test for cellaring are Peter Heinrichs, after that DTM. I wont touch my cellar before I tried those blends as ill have a supply chain challenge after this year and have to cellar deep on what I like.
 

JimPM

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 14, 2021
251
1,552
I have noticed that I seem to have an unexplainable affinity for the blends from a particular brand, or blending "house". (Not that I don't enjoy or appreciate others as well) And by this I mean that somehow, the blends from said brand just seem to provide "something" that I'm not getting in others at this point in time. I can't determine what that "something" is. But the desire generally leads me to want to at least end the day with one of "those".

If you're one that has noticed that happens (ed) to you, to what do you attribute the phenomenon?

Do you suspect:
A) The addition of some "secret sauce" that the particular company might use across their product line?
B) The skill of the blender(s) employed at that particular blending house?
C) A combination of both is involved?
D) Duh! It just happens sometimes?
E) Entirely something else?
F) Forgeddaboudit - it will change next year anyway.

Just a question of curiosity. No uncontrollable desire to solve, answer, or complicate the process.

Cheers
Yes looking at my collection and knowing that I tend to favor certain blenders more heavily than others; genre dependent often being the case. I think for me "C" is the explanation. However, there are several blenders that just have the magic across many types of varieties. Those ones I hold in much higher regards with respect to their superior craftmanship and knowledge of blend design, effect and customer appeal.
 
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FLDRD

Lifer
Oct 13, 2021
1,662
6,172
Arkansas
Per the continued requests - I'm currently referring to Peterson blends heavy on Latakia.

But I didn't want to say initially, because the actual brand wasn't important, just the phenomenon being explored.

I think part of that was/is seasonal, regarding the genre. It's just recently turned significantly, regarding the weather, and I feel the shift to Virginias tugging at me. I'll probably leave these particular 3 that have a hold of me behind temporarily while I go exploring more: blend, brand & genre.

If I come back to them heavily next season remains to be seen, but I've ordered a bit to have around for the future.

Now I'll be exploring and looking for more delicious offerings.

I'll likely be seasonally leaving behind:
My Mixture 965
Old Dublin
Nightcap

Probably...................................
Those late night desires for that heavy, smoky, goodness...
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
:) Seems like they all fit your style by the looks of that list!
I thought my list was kind of light. I bet there are 3-4 times the blends I don't smoke then there are that I do. I smoke no Latakia or Orientals and barely smoke 2 aromatics. I have no C&D, 1 Pease, one McClelland made Butera. One Estorerica, If I were not such a lazy bastard I would put a good list together of the houses I have nothing to do with.
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
My favorite Klondike Gold is gone, except for my cellar. All rest are just good tobacco.
Ash, remember the all out war of me and Peck chasing down Klondike Gold? I think I stopped at 150-175 tins. I love that shit and got shit lucky it didn't get discontinued till I was done trying to compete with Peck. The rotten bastard held out on my till he got his first 150. I went balls to the walls buying 25-50 lot sizes. I did get him back for holding out on me. I didn't tell him about John Aylesbury Luxury Flake which was a mother to find. I said nothing till I was done hoarding them.
 

kcghost

Lifer
May 6, 2011
13,140
21,408
77
Olathe, Kansas
I'm big fan of G.L. Pease particularly Stonehenge and Six Pence. I don't care for C&D very much but I really enjoy Mad Fiddler. Mac Baren is okay but too many "blah" blends for me but I must admit there HH line is spectacular. And there's many of the "gone away" blends that I greatly enjoy like McClellands.