Penny Farthing - What's Changed, and When?

[fireground_piper]

I could see it having slightly been changed due to the exclusive partnership with 31 farms in 2022 for their perique.

I don’t smoke much of perique blends and don’t think I have had anything since this exclusive deal, but that comes at least as a potential off the top of my head.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

It’s c&d tobacco, which is to say it’s relatively unadulterated—“natural”. It’s going to be different year by year, just like a wine. Aging will change it too.

 

[greeneyes]

I planned on seeing more "nothings changed" replies. But I definitely recall a few members discussing changes. I'll have to do some digging. It was enough to deter me from buying more, but I never really discovered the "why" behind that.

Mostly I keep my opinions to myself and vote with my wallet, so to speak. When the tobacco is different but the folks making it tell you it isn't--not much to do about it really. I smoke other tobaccos that, inevitable changes notwithstanding, continue to be outstanding. When things that I enjoyed previously begin to suffer in quality I simply stop buying them, and I can at least make my opinions known to anyone who is interested.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

It’s c&d tobacco, which is to say it’s relatively unadulterated—“natural”. It’s going to be different year by year, just like a wine. Aging will change it too.

I both agree and disagree with this. Age does change a blend. And being tobacco, there will be subtle changes year to year. But a recipe change is a noticeable change that age nor crop have anything to do with. We saw this with K&K blends amongst others. A recipe change is far more noticeable than "varying crops" or age per blend. Thats what I'm referring to.
I'll hope to find the conversation and share what was said if I ever find it.
As someone who hoards tobacco, I account for changes with age. And per varying crops, I expect very subtle changes - if any. They blend the batches of leaf so there is little to no noticeable change say between a 2019 and a 2021 tin. If there are changes due to crop, its a slow change over time so it tends to go unnoticed (this was discussed on the PM podcast recently I believe).

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

Mostly I keep my opinions to myself and vote with my wallet, so to speak. When the tobacco is different but the folks making it tell you it isn't--not much to do about it really. I smoke other tobaccos that, inevitable changes notwithstanding, continue to be outstanding. When things that I enjoyed previously begin to suffer in quality I simply stop buying them, and I can at least make my opinions known to anyone who is interested.

I'm with ya. Ya know what they say about opinions.
But I agree. If you spend enough time with a blend you love, you notice changes to it when something like a manufacturer change happens.
It's like if Mike sold McClelland recipes - the blends most likely would be different if you removed him from the processing end of the equation.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

I could see it having slightly been changed due to the exclusive partnership with 31 farms in 2022 for their perique.

I don’t smoke much of perique blends and don’t think I have had anything since this exclusive deal, but that comes at least as a potential off the top of my head.

That's a good point and would make sense. Time to search threads on other forums to see if this is what I read about.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

Update : So I talked with Greg about various blends and asked him directly about this blend and it's changes. He said they changed source of Perique about a year ago. There were inconsistencies with the source before, so now they've switched to a single source perique that he says is of higher quality. Besides that, nothing about this blend has changed.

 

[kcghost]

I like most of Pease's stuff but not this stuff. Shag cuts are not very enjoyable to me.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

I like most of Pease's stuff but not this stuff. Shag cuts are not very enjoyable to me.

This and DBE are the only shags I really smoke regularly. I'll do Five Bros a couple times a year, but mostly to de-ghost a pipe.
But I agree, I'm a ribbon guy. My cellar is mostly flakes and I always rub em to a ribbon before smoking. But figuring out shag helped me to enjoy more of them. I pack tighter and smoke slower.

But hey,to each his own.