OTC tobacco?

[bogie]

In shopping around to find some tobacco i enjoy smoking, i have found a few that i like in an actual pipe store.

I was wondering just how many of you actually just STOPPED smoking anything OTC? Maybe there are some that are a good flavorful smoke that I havent found yet.
At this particular moment, now remind you I am very new to smoking a pipe, I cant seem to get my self to even try anything else OTC anymore. Hopefully there are some dang good ones out there.

Just trying to learn as I go along.
thanks again

Scott

 

[bhpdrew]

I've found that ordering online saves me anywhere from 30% to 70% on tobacco I could pick up at the shop in my area. So I've stopped getting over the counter tobacco mostly because of the the cost at the shop.

 

[bogie]

Ok just so im on the same page, OTC and Drug store blends mean the same thing right? I was referring to the stuff you find in these little tobacco shops and Drug stores and such, not the tobacco found in a true pipe shop.

 

[steamtrain]

I just love hunting down old pipe shops and cigar shops..There still is plenty in PA..If they keep it in old mason jars thats a good sign

 

[buck67]

You will find a lot of people here that enjoy drug store tobacco. I like Captain Black in the white pouch. Others don't. Don't be afraid to buy a small pouch and try it, but first, search around on this forum for some advice or maybe a tobacco review that will prepare you beforehand. I sometimes will just search through old posts to find some buried treasure about a certain tobacco.

 

[hilojohnny]

Many of us are fans of OTC tobaccos while others are not.....As with any tobacco it is a personal thing. As far as personal goes, I really like Carter Hall, Sugar Barrel, Sir Walter Raleigh and Granger.... :D

 

[cortezattic]

Bogie asks

so im on the same page, OTC and Drug store blends mean the same thing right?

Ya, that's the way I take it. There's only one B&M conveniently close to me, and they're mostly into cigars and cigarettes; but some of the OTC / drug store brands they carry are:

P.A., SWR, Capt. Black, Sail, Troost, Sugar Barrel, Carter Hall, Half & Half, Granger, Mixture 79, Middleton's Cherry, Walnut, and a maybe a few more that I've forgotten.
I'm an inveterate P.A. smoker, and I aside from an occasional bowl of Troost, I almost never smoke the others. That's probably my loss, as I might enjoy a few of them if I just took the time to explore a little. There are just so many interesting blends online -- in both tins and bulk -- that there just isn't enough time to sample everything.
Even if you limited your sampling of online blends to a few manufacturers, like McClelland, Pease, and Cornell & Diehl, it would take years to get through all of them. That's why I'm an advocate for more accurate blend descriptions: to help us find a path through the maze. But it seems like most manufacturers think we're gonna steal their recipe. I dunno, go figure.

 

[buckeye]

after smoking cap black for over a month i thought i was going to have my tongue cut out.

i did not think it taste that bad and was told it smelled great but man it bit my tongue bad. i think that's why i smoke mainly english blends now. no more bite. and boswells north woods is my favorite.

 

[bowhatchie]

Personally and it is indeed a personal thing.... In the otc brands I like...CAPT. Black White ( no bite for me) and Prince Albert... I also like to use PA as a base to mix other tobaccos with.

 

[buckeye]

must be it killed my tongue but that was me. going to try Prince Albert. i also smoke to fast that could be my problem.

 

[bubbadreier]

I like most of the OTC blends, you just have to smoke extremely slow to really enjoy them. In a weird twist of fate it is actually easier for me to get B&M blends than it is for me to get OTC blends!

 

[classicgeek]

@bubbadreier: Same here. Although in Canada, I think it's the taxes that make this happen. If you are paying $28 for 50g of OTC tobacco, it's not much of a leap to pay $30 for McClelland, Solani or Mac Baren. As such, I've only ever seen Amphora and Sail, once each. Never seen Capt. Black, PA or any of the others in my tobacconists. If you're smoking on a budget, the best you can do is go bulk, and those are still quality tobaccos at exorbitant prices!
Simon

 

[ohin3]

I never smoked OTC or drug store tobaccos till this year. In the absence of a stash and cash, my girlfriend went to the local drug store and got me a pouch of Amphora Regular. I thought, god bless her heart, but I don't really smoke this stuff. My need to smoke soon overcame my snobbery and I loaded up a Bjarne Apple with the Amphora Regular and wow was I surprised. It had good body and great flavour. That sort of lead me to wanting to get into these type of tobaccos and aromatics. The box pass came along and I took a little sample of Captain Black Gold, Sir Walter Raleigh, Skandinavik, W.O. Larsen Signature Vintage and a couple others. Now I have a new love for OTC and aromatics. I can't deny that the campiness of them contributes to my love for them. I like that they smell like what my grandfather and other men I grew up with smelled like. But most of them are decent tobaccos really. I still regularly buy Captain Black Gold and Amphora Regular. I don't smoke them all the time, but when I am in that OTC mood, I put on the Bing Crosby, load up some half and half or something and think of simpler times driving around with my grandfather in a huge ass car visiting relatives, listening to my grandfather sing and hum all day and the smell of his pipe or parodi. Ahhh simpler times.

 

[jwp159]

I really enjoy OTC tobacco, Prince Albert and Half & Half are my current fav. I enjoy smoking higher end blends also but the OTC's are my go to blends. I do stay away from the big plastic bags like true value.

 

[hobie1dog]

My local Food Lion grocery store carries Captain Black Royal in the dark blue pouch and it is a very similar taste to 1Q

 

[sparroa]

I just finished up a pouch of Sail Green. It is decent. Yesterday I had a really beautiful experience with it - all the stars must have aligned, my packing perfect, my smoking spot on, nice and mild weather. Smoothness, a rich creamy smoke, no tongue bite, a nice bittersweet chocolatey flavour with a little zest. It was an older pouch I had lying around, the tobacco had dried considerably and the casing had receded a little, too. It hasn't always tasted that good but half of that is probably my doing.
I'd stopped smoking for a couple months before joining this forum because I wasn't getting much pleasure out of it all - mostly because I usually have to take the pipe outside. I'm going to take a break from Sail again, but only because I'm going to try ordering tobacco from the US for awhile. If by necessity I have to start buying drugstore blends locally again, I will pick up another one and store it better. It's decent for what's available in my neck of the woods. MacBaren Vanilla Cream, Plumcake, and Scottish Mixture are by far the most promising things I've ever seen in our shops - must be new products here.
Meanwhile, I've only had two other brands. Captain Black White was my first - I've enjoyed the flavour early on but the gloop deposited in the pipe is a little much. I'm sure I will probably end up buying it again eventually as I have a soft spot for it. The other one was the aromatic Amphora Red - I'm not a big fan, won't be purchasing it anytime soon. Tasted like air and very fruit forward in aroma - I much prefer vanilla, chocolate, anise, and other darker notes. I didn't finish it.
If I was down in the States I'd doubtless try Prince Albert, Carter Hall, Walter Raleigh, Sugar Barrel and a few of the other OTCs with a better reputation just to have some inexpensive tobacco to experiment with.

 

[bubbadreier]

For me to get OTC blends other than Captain Black White, I have to drive about 1 hour away. (Does time work in place of miles and kilometers?) But if I want some tins of tobacco or some great bulk tobacco, I only have to drive 2 minutes!

 

[jship079]

for me to get OTC blends other than Captain Black White, I have to drive about 1 hour away

you dont have rite-aid Walgreen wall-marts or any of those stores near you all drug stores in my area carry a big variety of OTC

 

[papipeguy]

bogie, here's a good resource site to find out about different blends. Its a treasure trove of information about any and all types of blends.
http://tobaccoreviews.com/

 

[bubbadreier]

Oklahoma has very strict laws when it comes to alcohol and tobacco. Walmarts in my area only carry CBW and Walgreens only have 8oz. bags of soaked tobacco for like $22, we also don't have rite-aids here. I am out of luck when comes to OTC's. The only place that has a "decent" stock are indian smoke shops and there are none around me!