Overrated Blends?

[Servant King]

I don't know, man. I'm going to stick with casting aspersions on Borkum Riff Whiskey. That stuff is wretched.

I hear ya, loud and clear. I could effortlessly rattle off a half dozen of my own--for example, C&D Autumn Evening tasted like a burning bus tire mixed with a moist orangutan fart. But the stuff flies off the shelves...they even sell it in bulk! So yeah, there's simply no accounting for taste. One man's trashcan fodder is another man's coveted lunting joy.

 

[Spa32]

For me, most of the McClelland Virginia blends.

 

[anotherbob]

All of the ones people rave about. They're all just really good tobacco. Only ever had one perform any kind of miracle.

 

[captpat]

For me C&D Blends are over-rated. I've yet to find one I'd purchase again and several ended up in the garden after the first bowl. Every now and again I'll spring for a new tin because someone on the forum was all gaga about it -- nope, no good, don't know why I can't keep the lesson in mind when I get to check out.

 

[Peter Turbo]

For me, most of the McClelland Virginia blends.

Yeah not a fan of Blackwoods in particular, otoh Xmas Cheer is one of my fav VA's ever.

 

[condorlover1]

The new Condor from Poland, Erinmore which not only tastes like Wrigleys Juicy Fruit but they have messed with the cut of the tobacco. Gone are the thick strands of dark Cavendish and deep yellow leaf and addictive tin note, replaced with a fine cut burley barn yard pottage. I mixed in a few Broken No: 7 flakes to try and improve matters, even added Ennerdale. The result? I would rather cup my hands over Rudolf the Rain Deer's anus hole and slowly breath in his straw derived flatulence!

 

[grimpuffer]

I see a lot of ppl saying it’s subjective.

To me, there’s only one answer: Esoterica

Not worth the difficulty in finding, not worth the mark up in price online, and nothing special about any of their blends.

A lot like Buffalo Trace bourbon to be honest.

 

[K.E. Powell]

Even when things are subjective, there can be some objective reasons to support an otherwise subjective opinion. And the fact something is subjective is the reason it is worth talking about, because the variety of opinion and experience makes for engaging conversation. That's part of the fun of this hobby and this forum.

That all being said, I mentioned in a previous thread that some "legacy" or "classic" blends disappoint me. I did not enjoy Three Nuns too much, and though not terrible by any means, I do agree with others in saying Presbyterian is a little boring. (I also don't much care for latakia blends, so I'm not unbiased here, though I've heard some say the blend doesn't have latakia in it. I mean, it sure tastes like it to me.)

I think I figured out why many legacy blends fail to deliver. At this point, there are many other blenders out there that are doing what they do, but better. Three Nuns isn't terrible, but there are so many other DFK blends out there that are more flavorful and interesting. Some of these legacy blends have been around for decades, and when they debuted, they probably were pretty darn amazing. But there are other options now that are better. Add that to unreasonable hype, and yea, some come out disappointing. I haven't had any that I thought terrible, but I've had some that I won't be keeping in rotation.

 

[Elric]

I'll wade into the fray.

Haven't been a big fan of McClelland blends. Had a couple solid smokes of Honeydew and a couple of their aros but the rest left me meh. Won't pay the going rate for any of it though.

I have a love/hate relationship with C&D. It's either sublime or yuck. Not much in-between. Part of the issue seems to be QC (or lack thereof). Lots of tin bloat in my cellar.

All I can think of off the cuff.

 

[kola]

Never trying Esoterica's Tilbury and liking Va/Bur blends I paid out the going fees for it - about a year or two ago. The stuff was horrid. What a waste. OVER-RATED.

Gimme' my FVF and Syrian,Cyprian latakias and GLP and I'm good to go.

 

[sablebrush52]

All blends, made by all makers, throughout all of the history of the world, are pure unadulterated crap.

So there! Nyah!

 

[cigrmaster]

Years ago I tried SG Brown rope 4 and it tasted like a I was smoking a beef brisket. pretty much the same results as their XX Black. I then tried some GH Ennerdale Flake and didn't care for it. My last time I tried a GH blend was their Rum Flake I believe and again no go.

I then learned to find flakes that I knew I would really love by using tobacco reviews from guys like Tantric, Sykes Willford, Eulenberg, Paddy and a few other old times. That was back around 2001 or so.

I then created my own system when I decided I loved flakes and that is all I wanted to cellar. I would order a test tin and if I loved it I went real deep. I used this method to fill in the rest of my cellar and am very pleased at where it is today. One thing I did do was to make sure there were little to no red virginia's in my blends as I cannot smoke them. I would contact jiminks to get his take on whether it had reds and I should stay away. He helped a great deal. I also read pipestuds reviews as we had plenty in common.

 

[crusader]

The Country Squire blends just don't work for me. I got 8 OF their most talked about blends both arro, English and va's. I really wanted to like them but I found them to be very light and too much pg is used for my liking.
Otherwise, I think JDC has a wonderful site.

 

[Waning Embers]

All of them. One man’s unicorn is another’s trash filler. It really is kind of a crap shoot, never know till you try.

The thread winner right here but I'll add that crowing here about a favorite blend nearly guarantees that it'll go out of stock for months.