I live in the NE mountains of GA and there are more vape and discount tobacco stores than anything. There are 2 good actual stores in Dawsonville & Dahlonega.
Shocking Lack of Knowledge
- Thread starter NightShayde
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and some people just have a fetish for prawn they can get paper cuts from. There is also that.
So that's the second Bob I've met or heard of that I am not a fan of. Usually we kick them out of the club but there are always a few that slip through the cracks.
I had a similar experience to this from a very grumpy cigar store owner. I walked in on the off-chance and he said the cans I was looking at had been there gathering dust for years. He'd fired the staffer who ordered them and didn't seem to know much about pipe tobacco at all.Years ago I was scouring around Charleston for aged tins of Pease blends. The ones I found were on the back of the shelf and were cheaper, as they still had the old price stickers on them.
I managed to get some Dunhill Nightcap, 3 cans of Acadian Perique and a few cans of Silver Flake for a fairly decent rate at the time and they all had around 4-5 years on them (I had to rehydrate that Silver Flake though, it was pretty crunchy).
The only decent B&M's left here are very much cigar-oriented (smoking rooms and walk-in humidor kinda places).
It's either that or your basic head-shops selling crappy-looking glass pipes and weed grinders or other tacky plastic stuff with the ubiquitous window filled with fake katanas and anime poster-rolls. Strange places...
The town I grew up in had a cheap tobacco shop that had good OTC blends, they’d keep a tub of Carter Hall under the counter for my friends dad...which we would then pilfer. They also kept a tub of Drum secure for me each month, and had Five Brothers in stock. Nice Indian ladies owned it. Bought my very first pipe there. Eventually they started selling random stuff like drill bits, Kid Rock posters, SuperGlue, and ninja weapons. Haven’t been back in there in ages, but I miss it. Expecting them to stock the likes of Gawith, C&D etc is just beyond what they’re there for,
The stuff we smoke is such a specialty that I make no assumptions that any shop owner will know even one iota of a fact about it. Sometimes, they do, and that’s nice, but I don’t get upset when they don’t. It’s like walking into Bubba’s Bait N Tackle and expecting him to have knowledge of Spey flies and have Redditch hooks in stock.
My closest B&M occasionally had Samuel Gawith in stock. The owners wife, who is really knowledgeable with cigars, told me that “It’s made in Denmark and aged on the ship...”. I just said, “Huh! I’ll be” and bought my tins, grateful they had them at all.
The stuff we smoke is such a specialty that I make no assumptions that any shop owner will know even one iota of a fact about it. Sometimes, they do, and that’s nice, but I don’t get upset when they don’t. It’s like walking into Bubba’s Bait N Tackle and expecting him to have knowledge of Spey flies and have Redditch hooks in stock.
My closest B&M occasionally had Samuel Gawith in stock. The owners wife, who is really knowledgeable with cigars, told me that “It’s made in Denmark and aged on the ship...”. I just said, “Huh! I’ll be” and bought my tins, grateful they had them at all.
Yeah it's sad that nearly all tobacco shops have no clue about pipe smoking whatsoever.... at least our kind anyways... there are a few places that do cater to pipe tobacco needs and they are old shops/cigar bars that have been around a long time and still sell pipe tobacco, however most of the employees don't know back about pipe tobacco and I have schooled these people on their own profession numerous times but in a friendly manner.
Sadly this has become the norm in our so called "society" we are moving backwards at a alarming rate. Look at the old world architecture, clothing, level of craftsmanship of antiques, etc. And level of service is a part of this unfortunately and you hear about examples of this everyday to where we have almost become De sensitized to these facts.
Sadly this has become the norm in our so called "society" we are moving backwards at a alarming rate. Look at the old world architecture, clothing, level of craftsmanship of antiques, etc. And level of service is a part of this unfortunately and you hear about examples of this everyday to where we have almost become De sensitized to these facts.
The ironic part is their "Personal Blends" are almost certainly sourced from the companies you were asking about.
There is a place not far from me that carries Sam Gowith, Ashton, Nat Sherman, Macbaren, and a great selection of bulk blends that come in 2oz bags or large bags. The nice thing is they have a list woth information about each blend including the manufacturer: Sutliff or Lane for the most part. This is where I first got my first tins: SG 1792, Plumbcake, And Ashton Smooth Sailing, and Artisan Blend. Did not do much research before hand and had no idea what to expect from any of them accept for what was written on the label. Upon opening 3/4 smelled terrible lol but tasted great and knew this was a hobby I would enjoy.
There is another tobacco shop that sells tins but I honestly haven't been their since picking up the pipe. They had nasal snuff which was why I went there: Dean Swift, Wilson's OG and a few others.
Thank the Lord we are still able to order online, once that privilege goes away the future of pipe smoking would soon become extinct within a generation or 2.
There is another tobacco shop that sells tins but I honestly haven't been their since picking up the pipe. They had nasal snuff which was why I went there: Dean Swift, Wilson's OG and a few others.
Thank the Lord we are still able to order online, once that privilege goes away the future of pipe smoking would soon become extinct within a generation or 2.
When I decided to restart piping I checked my local area for supplies. There are 6 pipe and "tobacco" stores in town. I hit every one and none of them had pipe tobacco or tobacco pipes. Everything was pot and crack pipes, roll your own cigarette supplies, and vaping crap!
One store had 3 Dr. Graybow pipes collecting dust in the case but no tobacco.
You don't have to be smart to own a business, just have enough money to open one. Some guys are just running a cigar store, some guys have only smoked PA and think one tin of Dunhill 965 and one tin of Blue Note is a huge selection. That's why places like SP stand out.
The funniest shop I ever went to was located in a little room, behind his wife's Christmas decor shop in a colonial house. The guy was just a smoker who needed something to fill his time. He had two Peterson's and a Savinnelli on a side table (described in his pamphlet he handed me as I walked in as "a broad range of old world handmade pipes") and 10 bulk tobaccos. Three of the tobaccos were Stokebye Navy, Bullseye and Luxury flakes, and the rest were bulk aromatics, grandiosely renamed but all with the same description which made me chuckle: "Parsons Peach: top grade tobacco, flavored with peach brandy. Brings out the true essence of the tobacco." "Parliamentary Pistachio: top grown tobacco with an added essence of pistachio. Brings out the true essence of the tobacco." Every awful flavor "brought out the true essence of the tobacco." But I'm sure it was better than selling garland to Karens.
The funniest shop I ever went to was located in a little room, behind his wife's Christmas decor shop in a colonial house. The guy was just a smoker who needed something to fill his time. He had two Peterson's and a Savinnelli on a side table (described in his pamphlet he handed me as I walked in as "a broad range of old world handmade pipes") and 10 bulk tobaccos. Three of the tobaccos were Stokebye Navy, Bullseye and Luxury flakes, and the rest were bulk aromatics, grandiosely renamed but all with the same description which made me chuckle: "Parsons Peach: top grade tobacco, flavored with peach brandy. Brings out the true essence of the tobacco." "Parliamentary Pistachio: top grown tobacco with an added essence of pistachio. Brings out the true essence of the tobacco." Every awful flavor "brought out the true essence of the tobacco." But I'm sure it was better than selling garland to Karens.
These places are catering to the general public/culture.I'm not surprised or shocked.I do miss the old school pipe shops.
Most retail employees need a job and aren't interested in the inventory or learning about it. There's no ego investment at all. The know-it-all attitude often is a cover for knowing almost nothing. When a young employee tells me the store doesn't have something, I go look and often find the item. They not only don't know the store. They don't know the area, if you ask where a different business is located, even when it's nearby, or even within sight. When I find someone who knows something, it's really exciting. There's a dollar store near me with a middle-age guy who knows where every item in the store is located, whether it is a standard item or a new one. Bingo, every time. He'll walk you to it. He's applying his mind to the work, and its fun to him. I sometimes think young employees are afraid to ask their bosses, and the bosses are afraid of an employee who is too interested in learning. One or two questions from you, the customer, will tell you if the sales person has any knowledge. Don't berate, just walk away, or ask for what you want and show them where it is.
Hey! What's wrong with cigarettes, rolling papers and nudie mags? That's half my childhood right there!
About 2 months ago I went to Tinderbox at the South Coast Plaza. I was looking around as I set my 3 tin limit when I buy from California shops and noticed they had the C&D House Reserve. I was surprised but then I remembered I had read that it's a Brick and Mortar only blend. The guy asked me if I had tried it before and I replied I haven't, and when I told him that I think it's cool that it's not sold online he shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't know that. I was surprised since I recognized him from many years ago and figured he was educated on such a simple thing.
he might have known enough to forget a detail like that. Though how is the House Reserve? Sounds like an interesting blend. Even if just for it's "scarcity"
It's pretty good. Fruity rum tin note and smokes nicely. I'll have to revisit soon since it's been a while but I'd buy it again.