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anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,400
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
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.
I had a feeling it would be pretty nice. And very an answer to 1q and blends like that. Have you ever smoked any of the 7Seas blends? The Royal kind of reminds me of what I am imagining this one to taste like.
 

eljimmy

Lifer
Jan 3, 2021
1,304
5,649
Los Angeles, California
I had a feeling it would be pretty nice. And very an answer to 1q and blends like that. Have you ever smoked any of the 7Seas blends? The Royal kind of reminds me of what I am imagining this one to taste like.
I have not had any of the 7 seas. I have been wanting to but I read somewhere that they are kind of like Captain Black. I know I should make my own judgement but that made me not get them. hahaha! Which is your favorite?
 

JOHN72

Lifer
Sep 12, 2020
5,136
51,569
51
Spain - Europe
I have not had any of the 7 seas. I have been wanting to but I read somewhere that they are kind of like Captain Black. I know I should make my own judgement but that made me not get them. hahaha! Which is your favorite?
I'm not in love with of Mac Baren. I have some of the series HH. 7 Seas, for me it's a very boring tobacco...............
 
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Jul 26, 2021
2,176
8,944
Metro-Detroit
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.
The movie Idiotiocracy is a documentary (and good).
 
Jul 26, 2021
2,176
8,944
Metro-Detroit
After you got off the phone, they probably all three called each other and said "hey, a guy just called about pipe tobacco, can you believe it, do people still smoke pipes these days?"

You were most likely the first pipe tobacco call they've received in years, maybe ever.
Most tobacco shops in my area only have vape, hookah, or RYO. The shops are also on every other corner.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,678
29,400
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I have not had any of the 7 seas. I have been wanting to but I read somewhere that they are kind of like Captain Black. I know I should make my own judgement but that made me not get them. hahaha! Which is your favorite?
oh they're basically Captain Black with a tolerable amount of pg as in an amount that only requires excessive drying time. They're kind of like those gourmet versions of common comfort foods. It's Captain Black but better basically is the best way I can put it. I really like them though.
 

That Guy

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 8, 2021
509
1,649
Central Florida
Funny thing happened... I contacted the 3 closest tobacco shops nearest me and asked if they carried brands like Samuel Gawith, C&D, Sutliff etc... all 3 have never heard of the brands. Ummm... how can you run a tobacco shop and not know these brands? Just weird thats all.
My local tobacco shop mainly only carries house blends with funny names so I asked him if any of them were vapor blends. He told me perique is not available anymore and nobody uses it in their blends. I kindly said thank you and left LOL
 

Servant King

Lifer
Nov 27, 2020
4,113
22,307
38
Frazier Park, CA
www.thechembow.com
I have not had any of the 7 seas. I have been wanting to but I read somewhere that they are kind of like Captain Black. I know I should make my own judgement but that made me not get them. hahaha! Which is your favorite?
P&C is having a sale on Vanilla blends through tomorrow. I believe 7 Seas Blue is on that list, perhaps others. I've only tried the Black and the Gold. Black is the winner so far.

Tobacco Trader always has the full 7 Seas line in stock, but they're a bit pricey. Nice folks, though. Uphill battle doing business in that neck of the woods, that's for sure.
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
The population of pipe smokers is small enough, and the esoteric knowledge that goes with pipe smoking is so vast, that the probabilities of finding someone knowledgeable who will work for retail employee wages is astronomically small. You either have to luck up on someone who has other income and just wants to do this as a labor of love and for sociability, or you hire someone who needs a job who knows nothing about it. There may be a few students on Forums who would take a pipe shop job part time, but they would be rare. Suppose I'm a retail clerk in a pipe shop in L.A. and sable comes in and wants to talk Barlings. Oops. Well at least I know what they are.
 

That Guy

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 8, 2021
509
1,649
Central Florida
The population of pipe smokers is small enough, and the esoteric knowledge that goes with pipe smoking is so vast, that the probabilities of finding someone knowledgeable who will work for retail employee wages is astronomically small. You either have to luck up on someone who has other income and just wants to do this as a labor of love and for sociability, or you hire someone who needs a job who knows nothing about it. There may be a few students on Forums who would take a pipe shop job part time, but they would be rare. Suppose I'm a retail clerk in a pipe shop in L.A. and sable comes in and wants to talk Barlings. Oops. Well at least I know what they are.
The sad thing is the shop I went to has been there for like 30 years with the original owner working there. They specialize in pipes and claim to make their own blends and be knowledgeable. Idk maybe old age is catching up to him and the "some timers" are starting to kick in?
 
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romaso

Lifer
Dec 29, 2010
1,702
6,446
Pacific NW
He told me perique is not available anymore and nobody uses it in their blends.
I did hear awhile ago that Perique was hard to get because American Spirit or someone was buying up most of it for a cigarette blend. Don't know if its true or still current info. If he was a small blender he may have been cut off.
 

That Guy

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 8, 2021
509
1,649
Central Florida
I did hear awhile ago that Perique was hard to get because American Spirit or someone was buying up most of it for a cigarette blend. Don't know if its true or still current info. If he was a small blender he may have been cut off.
I thought he was just talking about his blends at first too. Then He said there's no blends being produced at all by any of the big name companies that include perique. ?
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I think most B&M owners are straight shooters and have a good (or incredible in some cases) knowledge base. However, I think many pipe smokers consider themselves a little more expert than they are, so it may be that some pipe shop staff gets into mind-gaming the customers to avoid debating with them. When I know someone is wrong, I just bluff past it. No sense in humiliating them or conducting a debate. An assistant at a shop tried to shame me when I said I'd done a water rinse on my Meerschaum. I just shrugged past it, and the owner, who is knowledgeable, agreed by being silent on the subject. Male egos can be time consuming, mine too.
 
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jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
The movie Idiotiocracy is a documentary (and good).
We have a movie review section! Some threads there are Zombies, too.

And, AT, how about introducing yourself in New Member Intros?
Most tobacco shops in my area only have vape, hookah, or RYO. The shops are also on every other corner.

Those are bold to call themselves tobacco shops, as they are really head shops, or cigar shops.
 
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saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
I hung out at the Pipe and Pint in Greensboro. The owner was very friendly and knew pipes and tobaccos. On any given day another half-dozen pipe smokers would filter in and out. Good place to smoke a bowl and enjoy the ambiance of a dozen glass display cases and the many tins. There would usually be 3 or 4 open tins to smoke from, and if you wanted to try something he'd open one.

This lasted for years until the complex in which he had his store declared all the shops were smoke free. Then big changes happened. He took a cigar guy partner and bought a free standing house and became all business in one fell swoop, so the atmosphere in the shop changed.
I was pursuing cigars at the time and went back quite a bit to smoke them in his vented smoking lounge.

It's still a very good place for a pipe smoker to go, but it's not as friendly as it once was.
 

jp267nh

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 8, 2019
112
258
Connecticut
All we get around me except for one shop is bongs, vapes, hookahs and blunts. I was surprised to find a higher end Colibri pipe lighter at one. New York City isn't much better.

Looking for a reputable online seller to supplement my local guy. So far it's Irwin Ries, but they and my local guy still don't carry what I'm looking for together so looking for one other.
 
Apr 2, 2018
3,113
35,208
Idong,South Korea.
It's hard to imagine someone opening a tobacco shop without developing, over time, some knowledge of pipe and tobacco brands. Still, we on Forums live in a specialized bubble. Many inquisitive, curious intelligent people under, say, forty have never seen a pipe smoked. They sure wouldn't know any pipe tobacco brands, much less premium brands. I know nothing about vapes; if I found one, I'd first think it was a flashlight, or maybe some kind of women's makeup. Vapes just aren't present in my world.
Good log entry,MSO.
 

DanWil84

Lifer
Mar 8, 2021
1,689
12,607
39
The Netherlands (Europe)
In my small experience going to B&M's I generally have a good impression on the knowledge of the people in the shop. This is mostly due to the larger chains are not selling the products these smaller mom and pop stores do and they really can specialize in tobacco instead of giftcards, (dirty)magazines and whats in the newspaper. To bad the market is not large enough to offer more tobacco choices. Also regulations don't help, as there is fixed price for everything and tax labelled, so a "house blend" jarred behind the counter is not allowed.