Part of the issue is that Stonehaven is something of a chameleon. Batches are inconsistent, with "brown" batches that have much less topping which can be comparatively dull and "black" batches that are the full monte. Add to that that it's not an easy blend from which to pry all of it's flavors, that raisony chocolate bag note. It has to hit a very narrow moisture range where it really delivers.
I suspect that most people don't know how get the most from this PITA of a blend and only experience a small portion of what's there.
Years ago, after a meeting of the Los Angeles Pipe Club, I was chatting with a member who complained about Stonehaven, how frustrated and disappointed with it he was, and that he had decided to "punish" it, his exact word, by dumping the bag in the back seat of his car and letting it "fry to death" in the summer heat. The bag had been there for a couple of weeks and he said that if I wanted this "shit" I was welcome to it.
I accepted the offer. What the hell, why not? It was free. So I took the bag home and checked it out. The flakes were really dry, almost crispy dry, and I loaded up a bowl. It was totally amazing. Every note was there, the chocolate and the raisins, the whole nine yards. It tasted like the bag notes. Needless to say, I immediately jarred it and enjoyed really amazing smokes from that bag over the next year. Since then I've been able to replicate that same experience through trial and error. Before this serendipitous event I had smoked Stonehaven, rarely getting all of that flavor profile and often finding it OK, but hardly memorable.
