Name A Blend That's Better Now Than In The Past

[Sicut_Incensum]

Title says it all. We constantly hear about the opposite, of course! So what's a blend that's actually improved over time, either due to the manufacturer tweaking and perfecting it themselves, or because the brand was taken over by a new manufacturer who made it better?

 

[Brad H]

probably going to be a short forum post here boys.

 

[Bbailey324]

I think Granger got better after the transition to STD from Pinkerton. The previous version had some odd almost 'plastic' flavor notes that popped up periodically. I don't get that in the current version.

I can name several match blends that I think are/were better than the original but I don't think that is the point here.

 

[Mrs. Pickles]

Some of the C&D small batch rereleases have come out better than their earlier itierations.

I liked 2022's Carolina Red Flake better than the earlier years. Also, last year's Palmetto Balkan release with the Turkish Latakia let the character of the other orientals be more distinct.

Can anyone speak to how C&D's change to Turkish Latakia has changed GL Pease's English blends, if at all?

 

[LeafErikson]

I heard steak and shake switched from vegetable oil to beef tallow for their fries. I haven’t tried them yet but I’m assuming it’s an improvement.

 

[wyfbane]

All my examples were the H&H matches blended by Russ and sourced with mostly Sutliff... so they're extinct, or going extinct.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I try not to smoke blends that are less than 3 to 5 years old. So it's difficult to tell. I smoke straight Virginias almost exclusively. Given the crops reportedly have declined in quality, I'll hazard a guess and say none for me.