P&C Battle of the Blends

[cohibajoe]

Just got a Email from P&C:

"For the past few months, we have put together a large assortment of Battle of the Blends, where two well-known pipe tobaccos battle for the best, all voted on by the fans. Well, the P&C Faithful have spoken, with hundreds of you getting in on the action and voting for what you believe to be the best of the best. We took those votes and were able to determine the winners and created an amazing Winner's Circle. So come and see if your favorites made the cut......"

I love to know how many voted and why the Overall Winner "Captain Black Original" Won?????

 

[balkisobrains]

I'm going to guess it's because they want to sell some Captain Black Original, as well as the other stuff in the ad. =)

 

[woodsroad]

The top six are not my cup of tea, but then again, I'm not your average pipe smoker. Captain Monochromatic is the top-selling pipe tobacco in the world, so that tells you just how far out of the mainstream most of us are. Ask the average pipe smoker how much McClelland's he cellared and he'll look at you like you are speaking in tongues.

 

[derekflint]

Somebody took a dive !!

 

[balkisobrains]

woodsroad

Captain Monochromatic is the top-selling pipe tobacco in the world...

It's everywhere! I'd be surprised if I were to walk into a place that sells tobacco and not be able to get some.

 

[mso489]

Unless I'm wrong, the wins relate to sales of particularly paired sets, not judged by a few discerning pipe smokers, so though you may not think Mixture 79 is a top blend, in terms of sales, paired with another similar blend, it is. Of course the object is sales, since that is what PC does. Also, it illustrates that what the broad population thinks are the blends to buy aren't Forums picks. But we knew that.

 

[cfreud]

I like this feature with P&C. I see it in their catalogs, like Escudo vs. Peter Stokebye (sp.) Luxury rolls. I enjoy debating it myself. Good promo by P&C. And, yes, blech, Captain Black would win because that's what most people smoke. My grandfather believed that the old Amphora was the only blend out there. Sigh.

 

[litup]

I guess I'm naive or don't have a good understanding of the pipe smoking demographics these days because so much of my interaction with other pipe smokers takes place on forums, in pipe clubs, or at the pipe shows - all places where the people I interact with are "serious" about the hobby.
That said, I rolled my eyes when I got this e-mail from P&C. It may be the best seller, but I don't personally know anyone that smokes it.

 

[maker]

kinda like bud light being the overall winner

 

[renfield]

Maker, that’s the perfect analogy, except we’re far more rare than craft beer afficianados.

 

[cigrmaster]

I had a neighbor who only smoked Captain Black Gold. When I told him how many different blends I stocked he looked at me like I was insane. He couldn't grasp the notion of having more than one tobacco to smoke. Most pipe smokers are like that neighbor of mine, we are a very small segment of the pipe tobacco market.

 

[d4k23]

I didn't get the email, but I have definitely enjoyed buying two tins of tobacco at a pretty big discount building my Cellar (some priced out at buy one get one). Not sure how P&C did it, but I thank them for sure!
I haven't tried captain black, but another poster wanted to make me try the grape flavor. To each thier own!

 

[unkleyoda]

I smoke a pipe when I head out to the bars and music shows. Outside I run into a pipe smoker once in awhile. We always ask what the other is smoking. Undoubtedly they are smoking some (insert flavor) bulk cavendish, in a Mr. Broog type pipe. I answer, with Dunhill/Escudo/Mac Baren/GLP/C&D in one of my many Peterson pipes....They look at me like I'm speaking in tongues. I definitely try not to sound or come off condescending about it.
In the end we are all enjoying our pipes.
....and oh crap I've become an elitist.

 

[warren]

litup: You know more than you think. Many here enjoy the Captain now and then.
Pipe smokers, good, old, generic pipe smokers who simply enjoy a few bowls a day that's who enjoy many of the "drugstore" blends. Guys like my grandfather and thousands of others. We "serious" smokers, "hobby" smokers, the bowl a week guys, and those who can't settle on a blend or four are in the tiny minority of pipe smokers.

 

[lazar]

I had a neighbor who only smoked Captain Black Gold. When I told him how many different blends I stocked he looked at me like I was insane. He couldn't grasp the notion of having more than one tobacco to smoke. Most pipe smokers are like that neighbor of mine, we are a very small segment of the pipe tobacco market.

Yes, but we make up for our small numbers by keeping a lot of companies in business with all the hoarding, flipping, PAD and TAD.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

There are pipe smokers and then there are pipe and tobacco connoisseurs, which most of us on the forums are... some completely by accident... such as myself. When I first started smoking a pipe, I didn't know anyone else that smoked a pipe and I went in search of forums and websites to help me dive into the unknown. Doing so put me in touch with, I guess you could call it, the underworld of pipe smokers allowing me to skip right past pipe smoker and straight to connoisseur simply by the knowledge and wisdom gathered by all those who were already members of the forum. And although my first blends were Captain Black White, Super Value Buttered Rum, and Captain Black Cherry (blended by hand by the Devil himself in Hell) in a cheap pipe, I very quickly moved into better pipes and tobacco blends. But I can understand why the majority (as hard as it is for us to think it's not us) of pipe smokers smoke Captain Black White. It's easy to find. You can walk into most cigarette shops, some grocery stores or gas stations or drug stores and find it. And it's really not that bad of a blend as far as over the counter aromatics go. Not all pipe smokers know the names of some of the blends or blenders we know. But you can bet they know the name Captain Black. It only makes sense it would come out on top.

 

[mawnansmiff]

If Captain Black is the world's best selling blend, then how come it has 430 reviews on Tobaccoreviews.com compared to the 520 reviews of FVF?
Maybe it's the best selling tobacco in America only?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[woodsroad]

Jay, maybe most of the Capt. Monochromatic smokers don't own a computer!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, the majority of pipe smokers smoke their pipes in front of the TV, and don't give it much thought. This is about 90% of who I meet at The Briary, buying their 1Q or Cavendish. They are not interested in talking about f'n pipes nor your fancy pants tobaccos. Smoking is just a thing they do, not a hobby. They think the whole notion is stupid.

I can see Captain Black filling the bill for these guys. You never hear of a cigarette club, right? Or a , guys who get haircuts club? It's just a thing, not a hobby to most smokers.
Someone ran the numbers for forum members once, we are like 2% of only 1% of the population that smokes pipes. On the forums, we are the speck of dust on the back of the flea on the dog. People forget this. When we see two people post about a problem they had with a company, we tend to exaggerate what that means in our minds, when it is still within the 3% range of anomaly.

 

[mso489]

My guess is that the majority of pipe smokers don't want to take the time to study a large number of blends nor spend the money on up-market tobacco. The want an inexpensive blend that is reliably available, and they don't want to continually compare their usual blend with four of five others, nor spend time ruminating over which blend to smoke today. Smoking a pipe is a dependable pleasure. A Dr. Grabow or a down-market Savinelli or Stanwell is just fine, wonderful, and they don't want to spend the price of an electric bill on something more. Even though I am on the other end of the pipe "hobby," I understand where they are coming from and enjoy some of the pipes smoked by them, and some of the blends they buy. As the old bromide goes, what music do you dance to?