OTC ... ??? Over the Counter ... ? And ?
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Refers to perhaps a newsstand or drugstore that carries a few pouches of tobaccos that are not of the highest quality.
Yes that's it- though you could also buy "OTC blends" from a tobacconist! It's become synonymous with those prepackaged baccys that you can get in many places, whether or not the store has a counter.
It's a retarded phrase. It means Over The Counter and refers to the tobaccos that you get at the drug store/grocery store like Prince Albert, Half and Half, Carter Hall, Middleton's Cherry, Borkum Riff, Captain Black etc. The mass market tobaccos.
Two things make it retarded in my book. One, all tobaccos are over the counter, I mean do I really need a prescription to get Lane's 1Q or Dunhill 965? No, I just need to go to the Tinderbox at the mall. Two, you can't even find OTC tobaccos anymore at the drugstore. Seriously, have you been to a CVS or Walgreens? CVS stopped selling tobacco and maybe your local Walgreens will carry a pouch of Captain Black and their house brand Blender's Gold but you aren't going to find Granger or Velvet on the shelves.
You can sometimes find a few of these brands at a discount cigarette store but barring that you're going to have to mail order it just the same as you would Escudo or Three Nuns.
People crap on these tobaccos because they are snobs who think world starts and ends with virginia tobaccos and orientals. Burleys are feces in their eyes, only fit for chewing and cigarettes. These are the same people that drink single variety Arabica coffees, god forbid someone make a blend with a little robusta in it. They make me sick. It is pure snobbery which causes them to bad mouth burleys.
Most of the "OTCs" are burley heavy. Also most aromatics are burley since burley is a little more neutral in flavor and absorbs the flavored casings and toppings better than virginas. All the more reason for the snobs to crap on burleys.
What really gets me is the intense anglophilia that exists in the forums. All these snobs smoke English tobaccos while reciting the purity laws and worship at the alters of Dunhill, Charatan and Sobranie. Psst, hey fellow pipesters, I want to let you in on something. We had a little war with these guys about 240 years ago. We kicked the limeys out of America once and for all. It's over. Why are you guys longing for the colonial days smoking your latakia blends, watching your Monty Python reruns and overpaying for Dunhills turned in Spain? Get over it. We are Americans, now smoke a drugstore burley or American Aromatic and goddamn act like it. Its time again to knock the brits off their pedestal.
Two things make it retarded in my book. One, all tobaccos are over the counter, I mean do I really need a prescription to get Lane's 1Q or Dunhill 965? No, I just need to go to the Tinderbox at the mall. Two, you can't even find OTC tobaccos anymore at the drugstore. Seriously, have you been to a CVS or Walgreens? CVS stopped selling tobacco and maybe your local Walgreens will carry a pouch of Captain Black and their house brand Blender's Gold but you aren't going to find Granger or Velvet on the shelves.
You can sometimes find a few of these brands at a discount cigarette store but barring that you're going to have to mail order it just the same as you would Escudo or Three Nuns.
People crap on these tobaccos because they are snobs who think world starts and ends with virginia tobaccos and orientals. Burleys are feces in their eyes, only fit for chewing and cigarettes. These are the same people that drink single variety Arabica coffees, god forbid someone make a blend with a little robusta in it. They make me sick. It is pure snobbery which causes them to bad mouth burleys.
Most of the "OTCs" are burley heavy. Also most aromatics are burley since burley is a little more neutral in flavor and absorbs the flavored casings and toppings better than virginas. All the more reason for the snobs to crap on burleys.
What really gets me is the intense anglophilia that exists in the forums. All these snobs smoke English tobaccos while reciting the purity laws and worship at the alters of Dunhill, Charatan and Sobranie. Psst, hey fellow pipesters, I want to let you in on something. We had a little war with these guys about 240 years ago. We kicked the limeys out of America once and for all. It's over. Why are you guys longing for the colonial days smoking your latakia blends, watching your Monty Python reruns and overpaying for Dunhills turned in Spain? Get over it. We are Americans, now smoke a drugstore burley or American Aromatic and goddamn act like it. Its time again to knock the brits off their pedestal.
Yep, drugstore blends, Carter hall, Prince Albert, Walter Raleigh, Borkum Riff, etc... They are loaded with PG preservatives, and bite like hell. The only one that I can stomach is Carter Hall, but even then there are so many better tobaccos in the world... When you compare the drug store price of $7+ for a small roll to about $10 a 2oz tin or a $3 oz bulk, the OTC's are really much more expensive for a heavily PG'd tobacco. Nope, give me a quality McClelland or SG tobacco any day.
LOL at your post anchovyd. Cosmic has a great point. While some if the OTC's aren't bad, namely Carter Hall, and Prince Albert, they do run about the same as what you would consider "snob" tobacco. I'm a huge fan of burley tobacco, and my money is better spent at C&D as they do burley extremely well in my book.
Incidentally while you're uploading your images of eagles the stars and stripes, might I remind you that C&D & McClelland(mentioned in Cosmic's post) are US based companies.
Incidentally while you're uploading your images of eagles the stars and stripes, might I remind you that C&D & McClelland(mentioned in Cosmic's post) are US based companies.
Quite an invective over a largely accepted term!
But I have to admit, I am among those you despise, liking my Arabica beans fresh roasted and ground; my English tobacco styles (as well as VaPers, conceivably all American); and I am an Anglophile. Regardless, while we won our revolution, it's no reason to dislike the English, and certainly not their contributions to pipe and tobacco making.
Or was your diatribe t.i.c.?
But I have to admit, I am among those you despise, liking my Arabica beans fresh roasted and ground; my English tobacco styles (as well as VaPers, conceivably all American); and I am an Anglophile. Regardless, while we won our revolution, it's no reason to dislike the English, and certainly not their contributions to pipe and tobacco making.
Or was your diatribe t.i.c.?
Haha, interesting to see such a debate over the term.
However I am still unclear what type of counter are we talking about?
I am from Belgium. In Belgium, you can buy tobacco from licensed sellers which are usually newsstand as well.
They have a few tobaccos and pipes. You can also buy tobaccos from, obviously, specialised shops.
But I'd never find tobaccos in the same shop I buy shoe polish, turpentine or household products.
So I am still not clear about all this.
That being said, it seems that most OTC would be special types of tobaccos, why is that?
I'd assume that if it's an "unspecialised" shop they might have a limited choice but a choice nonetheless between different types, no?
@Anchovyd: lol fun rant to read, a little far-fetched?
However I am still unclear what type of counter are we talking about?
I am from Belgium. In Belgium, you can buy tobacco from licensed sellers which are usually newsstand as well.
They have a few tobaccos and pipes. You can also buy tobaccos from, obviously, specialised shops.
But I'd never find tobaccos in the same shop I buy shoe polish, turpentine or household products.
So I am still not clear about all this.
That being said, it seems that most OTC would be special types of tobaccos, why is that?
I'd assume that if it's an "unspecialised" shop they might have a limited choice but a choice nonetheless between different types, no?
@Anchovyd: lol fun rant to read, a little far-fetched?
I get the feeling that some consider "OTC" tobaccos to be floor sweepings. How do they determine that the OTc's are made from poorer quality tobacco? Does Middleton only buy the leaves that fall to the ground and are rotted and covered in bird shit?
C&D burley I don't like. Mac Baren makes a couple I really like,oh wait,they quit making Burley London, I like Solani Aged Burley Flake.
Don't like any of them as well as I like Carter Hall.
PG--Sutliffe,Lane,Smokers Pride and others of that ilk.
I also smoke Virginias.
If you like it--smoke it.
C&D burley I don't like. Mac Baren makes a couple I really like,oh wait,they quit making Burley London, I like Solani Aged Burley Flake.
Don't like any of them as well as I like Carter Hall.
PG--Sutliffe,Lane,Smokers Pride and others of that ilk.
I also smoke Virginias.
If you like it--smoke it.
The only massmarket tobacco aka OTC's I enjoy are Carter Hall and Sir Walter Raleigh and even then they tend to go bitter at the last 1/4th of the bowl.
Carver, in the States not all that long ago you could find tobacco sold just about anywhere. Gas stations, grocery stores, drug stores, even the local hardware sold certain brands.
These mass produced readily available brands became know as OTC.
They where/are staples of the pipe smokers in the States for decades.
For most of our forefathers they would have been their only option, and it served them well.
Like any "hobby" people become passionate about the mundane.
Many myself included, like the idea that I am smoking the same product my father and grandfather enjoyed.
Today we have so many choices in quality product, but some of us still prefer the quality product that
people call OTC.
These mass produced readily available brands became know as OTC.
They where/are staples of the pipe smokers in the States for decades.
For most of our forefathers they would have been their only option, and it served them well.
Like any "hobby" people become passionate about the mundane.
Many myself included, like the idea that I am smoking the same product my father and grandfather enjoyed.
Today we have so many choices in quality product, but some of us still prefer the quality product that
people call OTC.
First things first, I hate coffee. Now as for the OTC blends, I don't like them because I find them very bland. After having one or two of them I found out rather quickly why so many people use them to cut other blends. To me they're a very boring smoke. I'm not saying Burley in general is a boring terrible leaf, on the contrary, I enjoy many blends that have a Burley base, I'm just saying that these OTC blends are boring.
In a US pharmacy, you can get two types of medicine; one type you need a prescription for (i.e. Viagra), the other you don't (i.e. Tylenol). One is obviously called prescription medication and the other we call OTC medication. This has never made any sense to me b/c the prescription medication is actually the only one that passes over the pharmacist's counter but it is what it is. So an OTC blend is a blend that you use to get in a drug store by just walking in, picking it off the shelf and paying for it; like an OTC medication that didn't require a prescription. I prefer to call them codger blends since everyone who smokes these blends (including myself) is actually an old codger.
The so called OTCs are some of my favorite blends. I love Carter Hall and Prince Albert. They may be simple blends that are not super complex, but they are delicious. I even enjoy the much maligned Captain Black, which if smoked slow has an enjoyable vanilla flavor. However, it's not worth the premium it sells for locally: PA and CH are $4 a pouch, while CB is $8.
The term OTC doesn't really make sense to me either.
I've only tried SWR and I like it. It fits into my rotation as a morning or mid-day smoke sometimes.
I agree about calling them codger blends, but who you calling a codger?? Lol.
I've only tried SWR and I like it. It fits into my rotation as a morning or mid-day smoke sometimes.
It's like arguing the dollar store verses department stores for pants. Sure, be proud of your pants, whereever you buy them, whatever the brand.
I'm proud to be a snob. If you feel bad because I woukd never wear your pants, so what? I ain't putting your pants down, and attempts to down my pants just look silly, IMO. Wear what you got, and like what you wear. As long as you got pants, you're cool.
I'm proud to be a snob. If you feel bad because I woukd never wear your pants, so what? I ain't putting your pants down, and attempts to down my pants just look silly, IMO. Wear what you got, and like what you wear. As long as you got pants, you're cool.
anchovyd should receive the PipesMagazine.com Award For Satirical Posts ...or get kicked in the nuts. I don't know which.
My head hurts from overthinking (thinking at all) this dilemma. My stomach hurts from laughing so hard at anchovyd's post.
40 or 50 years ago I think I remember a few different attempts at pipe smoking. I was already a cigarette smoker and I didn't have a clue or internet resources. I remember tobacco as a ubiquitous commodity in the form of Cigars, cigarettes, or cigarillos. A 5 cent cigar probably reduced the popularity of pipes, but they were still around.
It wasn't the cool thing to smoke, a pipe. Not only that, it was beyond my ken to smoke one effectively (with pleasure).
Here's another $2.00 worth! (inflation)
Tins or pouches...that's the difference!
but even back then you know, tobacco came tinned and was mass produced with all the attendant mechanisms to provide a consistent brand.
There's a lot of meat in this thread. I like em all. All but the one's that glisten. Captain Black White pouch must be the "twinkie" of pipe tobaccos.
40 or 50 years ago I think I remember a few different attempts at pipe smoking. I was already a cigarette smoker and I didn't have a clue or internet resources. I remember tobacco as a ubiquitous commodity in the form of Cigars, cigarettes, or cigarillos. A 5 cent cigar probably reduced the popularity of pipes, but they were still around.
It wasn't the cool thing to smoke, a pipe. Not only that, it was beyond my ken to smoke one effectively (with pleasure).
Here's another $2.00 worth! (inflation)
Tins or pouches...that's the difference!
but even back then you know, tobacco came tinned and was mass produced with all the attendant mechanisms to provide a consistent brand.
There's a lot of meat in this thread. I like em all. All but the one's that glisten. Captain Black White pouch must be the "twinkie" of pipe tobaccos.
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