Naming Patterns.

[anotherbob]

Love how sometimes you can figure out the system a brand uses for naming tobacco but sometimes the names are just so esoteric. Examples when the name is primarially a number. Blend no 87 or the John Aylesbury blends, the only one that gives me a hint is Flake Virginia. Below that on the website I was looking at the other flakes are Classic, Commander, General, and Dragon. Those give you no clue that I can follow as to what each one tastes like what leaf it uses or even what general category it falls under. Though I do have to try Dragon because I wonder what a dragon would smoke and the one hint it gives me is a warning of severe tongue bite.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I just wish the companies would stop with the LOTR's bullshit.
C.S. Lewis was way more successful, way more meaningful and creative, but not a single Dawntreader Slices, Pevensie Plug, or Aslan's Breath blends.

And, just because the writer smoked a pipe, we got people coming into the hobby. So, it's like Steven King fans all lining up to start drinking lemonaid, because it's his favorite beverage.

And, what has driven me mad for the lack of any sanity in it, was years of listening to these guys say, "aromatics suck," and then in another thread, "Try the Hobbit Weed. It's my favorite." When Hobbit Weed is a cherry aromatic. But, just because it's named after some midget from a fairy tale, people think it's actually what these hairy midgets smoke. WTF!!

OK, rant over

 

[anotherbob]

I just wish the companies would stop with the LOTR's bullshit.
C.S. Lewis was way more successful, way more meaningful and creative, but not a single Dawntreader Slices, Pevensie Plug, or Aslan's Breath blends.

I could not agree more. For me it feels too much like something that belongs in a Happy Meal. Somewhere in the back of my mind I suspect that at least half of those blends where mistakes that the company has to figure out some way to move and just slaps a hobbit on the label and hopes no one notices.
I still think Capstan wouldn't be the celebrated blend if it wasn't for the Hobbit man smoking it. Not saying it be in the dustbin of history but I doubt it be one of the big must try blends on it's own.

And, just because the writer smoked a pipe, we got people coming into the hobby. So, it's like Steven King fans all lining up to start drinking lemonaid, because it's his favorite beverage.

Hey that makes sense to me. I am always curious about those kind of things. But it wouldn't make me like or not like a drink or food. Just why not try it. With added bonus of if it sucks I can think man Steven King can write but the man has shit taste in beverages.

And, what has driven me mad for the lack of any sanity in it, was years of listening to these guys say, "aromatics suck," and then in another thread, "Try the Hobbit Weed. It's my favorite." When Hobbit Weed is a cherry aromatic.

Humans we have just enough rationality to get ourselves into trouble. We like to think of ourselves as being reasonable chaps, when we're really just apes that are clever enough to blow ourselves up and be too into fashion.

But, just because it's named after some midget from a fairy tale, people think it's actually what these hairy midgets smoke. WTF!!

Which is funny to me even as a kid and read those stories I imagined the pipe weed to be closer in smell and taste to those cigar things then the whiff of amazing smelling smoke that came from pipe smokers.

OK, rant over

Great rant. Not knocking any bodies fundamentally harmless fun, but it's good to know at least one other person here isn't mad for LOTR.
My opinion is that those stories deserve a lot of credit for basically creating the modern fantasy genre and establishing how to do deep world building... I think a lot of what's come after has done more interesting things with the template Tolkien made. I agree Lewis is great but in my opinion was more traditional and less of a game changer.

 

[sablebrush52]

Naming comes down to some marketing department making a decision about what will help the dingus sell.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

The Lord of the Rings stuff is an embarrassment.

 

[warren]

Yup, you select your target market and pick a name that'll suck 'em in, get them to open their wallets to fulfill their fantasy. "One born every minute!"

 

[MisterBadger]

Excellent rant, @cosmicfolklore.

By the way, has anyone ever tried smoking one of those churchwarden acorn 'Hobbit' pipes?

 

[warren]

I think a lot of what's come after has done more interesting things with the template Tolkien made.

Tolkien's template/inspiration was the Irish "little people" or leprechaun myths, so he wrote.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Excellent rant, cosmicfolklore

And anotherbob.

By the way, has anyone ever tried smoking one of those churchwarden acorn 'Hobbit' pipes?

No, but I have a regular churchwarden, a real pipe I've had for decades. Haven't smoked it in that long.

 

[Hillcrest]

C.S. Lewis was way more successful, way more meaningful and creative

Demonstrably untrue on many levels.

 

[anotherbob]

Tolkien's template/inspiration was the Irish "little people" or leprechaun myths, so he wrote.

True and several other traditional things as well. But it's still his stuff that gets imitated heavily in the fantasty genre to this day. In fact his version of Elves is the most common and hyper different then tradional ones. Also the level of world building wasn't really done in that kind of story back when he wrote those stories.

 

[Sobrbiker]

I could not agree more. For me it feels too much like something that belongs in a Happy Meal. Somewhere in the back of my mind I suspect that at least half of those blends where mistakes that the company has to figure out some way to move and just slaps a hobbit on the label and hopes no one notices.
I still think Capstan wouldn't be the celebrated blend if it wasn't for the Hobbit man smoking it. Not saying it be in the dustbin of history but I doubt it be one of the big must try blends on it's own.

Hey that makes sense to me. I am always curious about those kind of things. But it wouldn't make me like or not like a drink or food. Just why not try it. With added bonus of if it sucks I can think man Steven King can write but the man has shit taste in beverages.

Humans we have just enough rationality to get ourselves into trouble. We like to think of ourselves as being reasonable chaps, when we're really just apes that are clever enough to blow ourselves up and be too into fashion.

Which is funny to me even as a kid and read those stories I imagined the pipe weed to be closer in smell and taste to those cigar things then the whiff of amazing smelling smoke that came from pipe smokers.

Great rant. Not knocking any bodies fundamentally harmless fun, but it's good to know at least one other person here isn't mad for LOTR.
My opinion is that those stories deserve a lot of credit for basically creating the modern fantasy genre and establishing how to do deep world building... I think a lot of what's come after has done more interesting things with the template Tolkien made. I agree Lewis is great but in my opinion was more traditional and less of a game changer.

I wish I could smash multiple “love this” reactions, it rates more than just one.

Now, I’ll tread out on thin ice and suggest we examine the infatuation with all things Sherlock Holmes….

 

[Mrs. Pickles]

Tried Tired and True Subjects of Pipe Tobacco branding:

Tolkien
Sherlock Holmes
Boats and merry sailors
British things
Non-sequential number jumbles
Santa
The Ballad of Casey Jones

What else?

 

[BingBong]

Tried Tired and True Subjects of Pipe Tobacco branding:

Tolkien
Sherlock Holmes
Boats and merry sailors
British things
Non-sequential number jumbles
Santa
The Ballad of Casey Jones

What else?

Hmm, I think there are unexplored branding opportunities. Why did they ever stop at Three Nuns? The Pontiff's Predilection, Vicar's Vice, Parson's Preference, Chaplain's Choice.... they missed out. Also, classical composers - get a tin of Wagner, it goes on forever etc.

 

[MisterBadger]

Tried Tired and True Subjects of Pipe Tobacco branding:

Tolkien
Sherlock Holmes
Boats and merry sailors
British things
Non-sequential number jumbles
Santa
The Ballad of Casey Jones

What else?

Oldness (see Old Joe Gowrie Holborn and all, plus spurious dates)
Orientalism
Patriotism (mostly out of favour now the tobacco market is so cosmopolitan)
Celticity (Scottish/Irish Flake/Cake/Cask/Mixture etc, and why is there never a Welsh brand?)

I'm sure there's more...

 

[MisterBadger]

Also, classical composers - get a tin of Wagner, it goes on forever etc.

What Verdi said of Wagner: "Wonderful moments, awful half-hours..." :-D

As for stopping at Three Nuns in the ecclesiastical field, I think that was a wise move, as some of your suggestions, in the light of recent abuse scandals, are suggestive of the kind of leisure pursuit most of us would not want to be associated with. Having said that, I'm surprised that Presbyterian Mixture has never had any denominational rivals such as Catholic Cask, Russian Orthodox Rolls, Baptist Black, Coptic Cob, Wee Free Whisky Flake, Spiritualist Seance, etc.

 

[BingBong]

Wee Free Whisky Flake? Could only be smoked six days a week, somewhat hobbling its prospects of success.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I think something like Harry Potter Plug might sell.

Or Hogwarts Kake.

 

[MisterBadger]

I think something like Harry Potter Plug might sell.

Or Hogwarts Kake.

Or think of the four Hogwarts houses, and some of the characters... Sir, you have struck a rich vein of marketing genius.

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I like the randomness and occasional absurdity of Cornell & Diehl's naming conventions. Nevermind how one blending house can keep over 200 blends in regular production, which is something I've always wondered about, but who wouldn't want to try some Bow-Legged Bear or Cross-Eyed Cricket? I'm pretty sure they have a blend that's evocative of a deoxygenated cow as well. Personally, I'm still waiting for that tin of Audacious Varmint to come along.