Small Town Tobacconists Are (Can Be?)Great!

[captainsousie]

I walked into a small tobacco shop in northern Wyoming today and got a pleasant surprise. He still had quite a bit of Dunhill tobacco available (tins of London Mixture as well as bulk of EMP and 965) but he had one tin of BB1938 and it was mine! I also picked up some Bengal Slices and some Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 cigars. Had a nice talk with the owner who seemed to believe his supplier still has quite a bit of the old Dunhill stock. Sadly, only 4 more years until he closes up shop and retires.

I have to go in next week to find out if he can get me any more of the discontinued blends. No anticipation but I'll be happy if luck favors me.

 

[highwaycobbery]

Go to Davis and sons tobacconists, try London guard. Small town b&ms live.

 

[FurCoat]

I visit local B&M's often and always seem to find a treasure. I like to try their house blends and I always seem to find hard to obtain blends like ESO. They need us now more than ever.

 

[eugenepark]

Isn’t it tragic that we all know these small shops often have great selection and friendly service but we as a society overwhelmingly throw our dollars at the huge companies who couldn’t care less about us?

I know in the tobacco space it’s not the same as general retail but you get my point.

 

[Lyle b]

I walked into a small tobacco shop in northern Wyoming today and got a pleasant surprise. He still had quite a bit of Dunhill tobacco available (tins of London Mixture as well as bulk of EMP and 965) but he had one tin of BB1938 and it was mine! I also picked up some Bengal Slices and some Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 cigars. Had a nice talk with the owner who seemed to believe his supplier still has quite a bit of the old Dunhill stock. Sadly, only 4 more years until he closes up shop and retires.

I have to go in next week to find out if he can get me any more of the discontinued blends. No anticipation but I'll be happy if luck favors me.

Only wish I had the opportunity to visit a store like that , they died out here (Aus )a long time ago , about the same time the gumbyment decided that free choice was something this country could do without , support them while you've got them .

 

[kcghost]

I'd be broke if I ever went into a small town tobacconist and found the treasure trove you found.

 

[anotherbob]

you're lucky if you have a decent Brick and Mortar store. Our local does cigars great and really know cigars and is at least honest about still learning about pipes. They have a a solid but small selection of pipe tobacco. If I had to rely on them I would survive but miss some selection. My rule is if I can buy it from them I buy it from them and not online. It's a few more bucks but less then one tin would cost online with shipping and stuff.

 

[Elric]

The B&M I used to frequent turned into a vape shop after the untimely passing of its owner . I used to be able to get some MacB Navy Flake with a crazy amount of age on it there.

 

[captainsousie]

While I love this B&M, I only get to go there about once a year due to the fact it's about 5 hours away from where I live during the summers (and now...thanks covid).

The only other good one is 3+ hours the other direction and man, is it good. I've never gone in when they don't have tons of rare blends.

I'm pretty lucky to have both available and try to get to both of them once a year when I'm back home.

 

[litup]

You are indeed lucky if you still have a brick & mortar store you can support. Between tobacco bans and over-taxation where it is legal, it's almost impossible to have an economically viable B&M tobacco store in my part of California.

 

[badbriar]

Last weekend some friends and I visited a real gem over in Tampa, Edward's Pipe & Cigar Shop. Met Joe, the weekend Pipe-shop pro early Saturday am. Joe took great care of us, hand mixing a custom Va-Per blend with a little sumthin' extra thrown in for good measure. Unbelievable stuff! Also bought a couple of house Scottish bends that were equally good. All in all, a great find. I'll be making a lot of road trips over the Skyway Bridge to Tampa!

 

[captainsousie]

Last weekend some friends and I visited a real gem over in Tampa, Edward's Pipe & Cigar Shop. Met Joe, the weekend Pipe-shop pro early Saturday am. Joe took great care of us, hand mixing a custom Va-Per blend with a little sumthin' extra thrown in for good measure. Unbelievable stuff! Also bought a couple of house Scottish bends that were equally good. All in all, a great find. I'll be making a lot of road trips over the Skyway Bridge to Tampa!

Edwards in Denver is one of the ones I go to and always has rare tobaccos. I wish I had the money and access to spend a few hundred a month there.