I have the special reserve version of Plum Pudding. I like it well enough that when they made a flake version, I bought one tin of it (because I hate prepping plugs the way Plum Pudding comes in... I try to avoid plugs at all cost unless they're made like how C&D does theirs where they tear apart easily in the hand and are still consistent, but if it needs sawing and cutting, pass).
I haven't tried any other blend they make, not even the regular version of Plum Pudding. And I like my English blends quite a bit heavier than the ones many people rave about.
I don't know if Plum Pudding Special Reserve is worth the price or not. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it's not a bad blend. I certainly wouldn't call it premium either though. I personally won't buy it again, but that's partly because there's plenty of other English blends I prefer more (like Quiet Nights and the Drucquer & Sons stuff, and I still have other GLP English creations left to try). The other part is that, although I like it well enough, I don't like it enough to buy again at any price point—like a movie, I saw it already, I don't need to see it again, it's not one of the rare ones I could rewatch 100 times and still enjoy it.
As to marketing, I tend to ignore all of it. How a company markets itself usually won't put me off of it. I understand marketing and the need for it, as long as they're not being too dishonest. I think buyers and sellers should both beware. Everyone should beware of everyone regardless, people are dangerous and largely all liars, thieves and crooks; two-faced and dishonest. But I've been accused of being bitter and cynical, and maybe they're right, I did consider getting a lantern tattooed on my hand until I found out it would more likely be confused with some other trend than what it is supposed to be (a reference to Diogenes of Sinope), and also because it would be prominent and people would ask me about it, which would get annoying. So I pretty much ignore all of it.
