I sure hope that the EU won't forbid internet sales soon, since my cellar is minuscule. Are you speculating or have there been talks about forbidding sales? That would really suck.
Ordering for a Cellar Blindly
- Thread starter DanWil84
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Narrow it down to five blends you know you love right now. Bulk up on those if possible. I’d stick with the 5 and add a new tin every month or 2 to change it up. Doing this allows you to keep your coffers full w/ your mainstays and still venture & explore new blends here and there.
Later down the road, if a mainstay falls out of favor/flavor…you can sell the aged bulk off and redistribute the funds towards another blend. ?
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Later down the road, if a mainstay falls out of favor/flavor…you can sell the aged bulk off and redistribute the funds towards another blend. ?
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Sorry to inform you but it's no speculation, the Dutch government has announced it will do so because EU regulations permit them to. In 2024 tobacco counters will be banned from grocery stores, so you can only get tobacco at gas stations and specialty shops, after 2030 there might come a ban for all sales points according to EU regulations. Translation of the dutch guidelines:
Step-by-step reduction in tobacco sales
Tobacco sales will be gradually reduced in the coming years:- 2022: Ban on all cigarette vending machines / ban on catering sales.
- 2023: Ban on the online sale of tobacco.
- 2024: Ban on the sale of tobacco in supermarkets.
- After 2030: the aim is to further phase out the sale of tobacco. First at gas stations and then at tobacconists and convenience stores.
And it can happen in the States too.
The US is already moving in on banning menthol and other flavored tobacco while certain states have banned certain online sales/shipping (I'm looking at you, Washington state).
All the more reason for everyone of us to cellar now (while blends are available and prices are low).
The US recently increased the smoking age from 18 to 21 swiftly and flawlessly without much (if any) pushback or advanced notice. Other regulations can occur just as easily.
Your palate will change when you get older. I wouldn’t buy blind. Stick to what you like. @Chasing Embers gave you sound advice. Buy 500g tobacco that you’ve smoked, are familiar with and enjoy.
There will always be tobacco available somewhere. If there’s anything I have learned through the years as strategic-political advisor in government, it’s that nothing is so unpredictable as politicians. Cross the bridges when you get there. Don’t overthink shit.
There will always be tobacco available somewhere. If there’s anything I have learned through the years as strategic-political advisor in government, it’s that nothing is so unpredictable as politicians. Cross the bridges when you get there. Don’t overthink shit.
Thank you all for your suggestions, you convinced me to not buy blind for a cellar but stick to a few blends I like. I'm lucky I allready have stocked on a few blends I like and I only have to try some virginia and burley blends to determine what my stock will be for those blends. In my heart this wasn't the smartest idea, but you talked my mind out of it.
Well, thanks for telling me. It really is sad news, but hopefully, Germany will take a few years longer to ban tobacco. They are the last stand of pipe smoking in Europe. Either way, I'm so young that there is no way for me to cellar for my whole life, I probably just need to accept it and enjoy the journey.
Like @MacMarty89 said, nothing is set in stone in politics, certainly in EU politics there can be shifts in the landscape with a snap of a finger (imagine a purple Ursula von der Leyen with a glove like Thanos from the Avengers haha) and Germany might take a while. I didn't want to scare you but you better be prepared for something that might never happen.
If I were in your shoes, I would purchase ten pounds each of a full Virginia such as Capstan Blue, a lighter Virginia such as OGS or Capstan Yellow, a Va/Per coin such as Escudo or Deluxe Navy Rolls and 20 pounds of Balkan Supreme. This stash will age well and will be easy to trade later if your tastes tend to go away from one genre or another.
At this point, I am buying 70/80% in my neighborhood tobacconist. Two kilos of tobacco cost me, depending on the tobacco, between 308 euros Capstan 2 kilos. I am practically keeping in cellar, about three kilos per month. Although the variety is quite limited, as I am accumulating, Capstan, Condor, St. Bruno, Amphora Full, and Mac Baren Virginia Flake. The best and what I like the most and at a very good price. Some very cheap tobaccos, and that for daily rotation are a fortune or luck. Buying online is an additional expense for me, although it is still good for me because of the variety of tobaccos they offer. I am buying 20 or 30% at Esterval. I agree with you Dan, it won't take long for Europe to sink tobacco sales.
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Now I know why I can't order in Spain John! Hurray for free market trading or at least what's left of it.
I can vouch for all of the Peterson blends. They should be readily available for you.
You'd have to check the shipping policy, but everything at Watch City Cigar is fantastic.
Other great blends worth stocking up on;
GLP Quiet Nights, C&D Haunted Bookshop, Presbyterian, Three Nuns & Capstan.
Hope that helps.
You'd have to check the shipping policy, but everything at Watch City Cigar is fantastic.
Other great blends worth stocking up on;
GLP Quiet Nights, C&D Haunted Bookshop, Presbyterian, Three Nuns & Capstan.
Hope that helps.
I’m co-opting some of the above but:
Buy 10 lbs each of what you like now.
Buy 10 lbs of each of the “top five” out there(somewhat subjective admittedly)
Get top dollar in sales or trades after the apocalypse. You should be set for years.
Buy 10 lbs each of what you like now.
Buy 10 lbs of each of the “top five” out there(somewhat subjective admittedly)
Get top dollar in sales or trades after the apocalypse. You should be set for years.
If you’re like many your tastes will skew more towards Virginia blends over the years. Cellaring blends featuring Virginias plays towards that and Virginias tend to do well with age.
There aren’t any sure things other than tobacco will never be less expensive or easier to obtain than it is now.
There aren’t any sure things other than tobacco will never be less expensive or easier to obtain than it is now.
Yes, it is sad. I used to buy a variety of tobacco from SP USA. Excellent deal. At neighborhood tobacconists, I can minimize the expense, for the time being. Stock up on all the tobacco you like best, dear friend Dan. The Dutch were always excellent smokers, and you have very good taste in tobaccos. You will have an excellent and enviable cellar.
As usual, best advice is cellar deep and wide.
If there is something you like today, you'll probably still like it tomorrow, no reason not to stock up.
At the same time just buying one of every blend will give you a substantial cellar, and then after it's all gone you'll have a direction for blends to pursue in the long term.
If there is something you like today, you'll probably still like it tomorrow, no reason not to stock up.
At the same time just buying one of every blend will give you a substantial cellar, and then after it's all gone you'll have a direction for blends to pursue in the long term.
I wouldn't buy alot of any blend I've never tried. That's just me, but nothing goes into my "cellar" that I've not tried myself and decided I liked it.
Buy alot of what you already know you like, and make a goal to try a new blend once a week or however often you chose.
Also remember taste can change. I have a ton of latakia blends that I'll probably never smoke. Bought tins early on of English blends I liked, then came to dislike latakia. I keep them in a closet with hopes that one day I'll enjoy them again in the winters or something. But honestly, they'll probably be gifted or traded. Now, I usually smoke a couple tins of something before going deep on it. There is the rare occasion that I try something and know right off the bat that im gonna love it for years to come, but that's rare. When searching blends, I now know what kind of blends I like, so I search those qualities out. Once I find a blend containing my favorite leaf, I then scour reviews and ask others what it compares to and what they thought of it.
Buy alot of what you already know you like, and make a goal to try a new blend once a week or however often you chose.
Also remember taste can change. I have a ton of latakia blends that I'll probably never smoke. Bought tins early on of English blends I liked, then came to dislike latakia. I keep them in a closet with hopes that one day I'll enjoy them again in the winters or something. But honestly, they'll probably be gifted or traded. Now, I usually smoke a couple tins of something before going deep on it. There is the rare occasion that I try something and know right off the bat that im gonna love it for years to come, but that's rare. When searching blends, I now know what kind of blends I like, so I search those qualities out. Once I find a blend containing my favorite leaf, I then scour reviews and ask others what it compares to and what they thought of it.
With the current world issues, I don't think it's a bad idea to get what you can now. It sure seems like they're coming down harder on tobacco. In the US, they're already moving to ban menthol and flavored cigarettes/cigars, and tobacco could be close behind once they realize they've overlooked it (like what happened with the "roll your own pipe tobacco" that avoids the tax). I'm doing my best to get a small stock, I figure having something will be better than nothing! Or it can least be a barter item with other pipe smokers, trading blends and whatnot.
I just started ordering tobaccos online a few months ago, and I was really kind of amazed you can do that without any "real" age verification. The prices can't be beat and it's so convenient with the vast array of options. But it seems like that will be an easy market to stop or target.
I just started ordering tobaccos online a few months ago, and I was really kind of amazed you can do that without any "real" age verification. The prices can't be beat and it's so convenient with the vast array of options. But it seems like that will be an easy market to stop or target.
Buy crap load of whatever you like right now. Even that's crapshoot. Your taste changes. I just buy whatever that sounds good to me. So far, it worked out. But more than 50% of my cellar, I haven't even sampled yet. I'm in US and you know the deal with limited releases. And blends from brands that I know I would like from the discussions and reviews of people I believe that matches taste profile. But everything is more or less taking chance. Good thing is, I really haven't not like any tobacco before. Just prefer some more than the others.