Smokers Havens website seems to be down more often than not and I have yet to see any of their blends in stock but once when I bought a tin of Exotique 6 months ago but it has been gone since. Any one know what is going on?
Smokers Haven and the Future of Their Blends
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Last time I talked to Premal he said he'd ordered (and I think paid) for various blends, but the truth is, the guys that make this stuff (Being Germain's) are a tiny outfit, and demand for all kinds of their product (penzance for example) is super high. So it's not like SH can just whip out a few thousand tins of whatever they want. This is not a case where a guy just buys some blending latakia and some base virginia and plops out another run-of-the-mill English blend (thank god).
When I talked to them at the Chicago Pipe Show they were having issues getting inventory and thought he would have stock in July. A fellow pipe smoker talked to them again at the Columbus show and thought maybe sometime in September. I think there is more to the story and not getting straight answers. I have cellared a couple blends, would like to add to them but at this point I am not certain if or when that may occur if at all. Too bad because to me he has some very good blends.
Sasquatch, understood. Which raises the question(s): what is the lead time necessary for special blends? Obviously it will vary by company and availability of ingredients but I wonder how it is managed... For instance, how does Russ manage production of X special blend (say Sansepolcro) to meet demands while producing standard blends for stock? Or Germains? GLPease working with SG folks... Etc. So many moving wheels.
I don't think "lead time" applies to tobacco the way it applies to an order for 10,000 pairs of army boots.
Krumble Kake hasn't been seen for... 10 years or something. It's magic. It's marvellous. The best of its type. And... we can't have it. They don't/can't make it for some reason.
Just as a quick example, about... I think 5 years ago or so... Mac Baren stopped making Dark Twist for awhile. People freaked out when their supplies dried up. The reason as Per Jensen gave it, was that they had trouble finding good enough leaf to do the wrapper, which is whole leaf virginia. They simply couldn't get enough top quality leaf that year and rather than making inferior product, they made none for awhile.
With the FDA crap, the international import side to the SH blends, and a blending house that is just wee and run off their feet... I dunno what the prognosis is. I wish I had more Select Mixture and more Anniversary.
Krumble Kake hasn't been seen for... 10 years or something. It's magic. It's marvellous. The best of its type. And... we can't have it. They don't/can't make it for some reason.
Just as a quick example, about... I think 5 years ago or so... Mac Baren stopped making Dark Twist for awhile. People freaked out when their supplies dried up. The reason as Per Jensen gave it, was that they had trouble finding good enough leaf to do the wrapper, which is whole leaf virginia. They simply couldn't get enough top quality leaf that year and rather than making inferior product, they made none for awhile.
With the FDA crap, the international import side to the SH blends, and a blending house that is just wee and run off their feet... I dunno what the prognosis is. I wish I had more Select Mixture and more Anniversary.
@danno44, something else is going on. You are not getting straight answers. Easy to blame Germain, but in fact they are a business, part of their business is making white label (private label) blends, and they fulfill their contractual obligations to good paying customers. The idea that it is an operation dependent on geriatric employees who can only work on days their rheumatism eases off is a hoot.
I would like to know as well. I just tried again yesterday and the website is still down. It does seem a bit odd.
Which ones are you referring to? Albeit cyclical, I do see Germain blends pretty regularly, there were a bunch on the most recent release! :
:I agree though, it would be nice to see some Smokers Haven blends hit the shelves. Hopefully its not gone forever...
The last 4 times I stopped by no one was there. Many unreturned phone calls. I don't have any answers, but I will try to stop by again this Friday. We'll see.
@jravenwood- It's been ages, and ages since I've seen King Charles or 1820. I could be looking in the wrong places.
Hopefully some SH blends will appear soon!
Hopefully some SH blends will appear soon!
Germain's is a small shop that has taken on a lot more business than it can adequately service. That's the bottle neck. Anyone looking for timely production of their blends should be looking elsewhere. Germain's is kinda the Lucas Electrics of the tobacco industry.
Every now and then a shipment of some blend or another gets delayed. Back in 2006, or maybe 2007, it was Penzance. Before Germain's skipped a few shipments Penzance was a respected blend, but not the object of dark obsession. After the delay, the crazed foam flecked hoarding began. A few years ago Wessex Campaign was suddenly in short supply and people panicked. There's always something that pipe smokers can panic over. It's what we do.
Every now and then a shipment of some blend or another gets delayed. Back in 2006, or maybe 2007, it was Penzance. Before Germain's skipped a few shipments Penzance was a respected blend, but not the object of dark obsession. After the delay, the crazed foam flecked hoarding began. A few years ago Wessex Campaign was suddenly in short supply and people panicked. There's always something that pipe smokers can panic over. It's what we do.
Well said! Recently its bengal slices it seems like...
@stickframer - King charles came out this time and 1820 was around. PM if you want to make a trade I think I have a couple extra of both, happy to share :
:
Jesse's right about Germain. To put it even more bluntly than he did, maximizing volume is very clearly not important to them. Their production is not remotely managed like it would be here in the States. Perhaps for good reasons (e.g. some spectacularly ancient manufacturing equipment), perhaps not. But the bottom line is that stockouts of their top blends, especially those made for third parties, are the rule, not the exception.
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