STG closes Mac Baren and Sutliff

[PaulRVA]

Capstan, St Bruno, Seattle PC and HH Blends are worrisome.
I hate this for Sutliff, TPC and COJ
As they are Richmond based and I hate to see jobs lost in my town as well as long standing companies supporting this thing of ours.

 

[Pipke]

The same was said when someone said McClelland was going out of business.

I am aware of that. Once they are gone, they are gone. Panic is not conducive for making good decisions. Not everybody can, or should, buy 20+ lbs of whatever while in a panic. Just saying...

There is a sale on Sutliff products by a vendor that is a subsidiary of STG, right now. I took advantage of that opportunity without breaking the bank. Picked up a pound and a half of HH blends that I like too. It will have to do.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

I’m going to bring this up, and not to stir the pot with politics so if this gets deleted I understand, but with Sutliff shutting down, and operations shifting overseas I’m concerned the proposed tariffs will also jack up the costs of tobacco from oversees as well. Just another doomy issue I’ve been thinking about this week :/

 

[wilblee]

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, should buy as much tobacco now as his budget will allow.

It’s only gonna get more expensive and less available.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

Yup, I agree. I just wanted to bring the tariffs up in case people needed more of a reason to pull the trigger now on stocking their cellars up, especially with the topic at hand with STF/MB-Sutliff products.

 

[krizzose]

Holy Crap!! the HH line was the only MB blends worth buying.

Oh come on now! Like Navy Flake isn’t just flat-out tasty.

You sound like a hipster bragging that he doesn’t own a TV

 

[Chasing Embers]

There is a sale on Sutliff products by a vendor that is a subsidiary of STG, right now. I took advantage of that opportunity without breaking the bank. Picked up a pound and a half of HH blends that I like too. It will have to do.

I posted the discount code earlier in the thread.

Not everybody can, or should, buy 20+ lbs of whatever while in a panic

Never said they should as pipe smoking is an expensive habit but if you have a favorite you should buy some.

 

[krizzose]

For six months leading up to McClellands closing, dozens of people came on here and said that Mike told them personally that he was closing, and everyone was like, "bullshit, he didn't tell me that," or "my B&M calls bullshit on that." Then they closed, and like POOF, all of their best blends were no longer to be found.

Now... you can stand around with your hands in your pockets and wait for every MacBaren product to vanish, or if there is something that you can't live without, start maxing out your cards. But, after they are all gone, one thing this forum won't put up with is "where did all of the tobacco go. Why did no one tell me?" These people will get no mercy. I
I've seen it... too many times.

Preach.

The reason this won’t really affect me that much is because the McClelland experience prompted me to stock up on the blends I liked.

Get it while you can

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Oh come on now! Like Navy Flake isn’t just flat-out tasty.

You sound like a hipster bragging that he doesn’t own a TV

Never had that one, that I recall. But, early on, I did buy 5 lbs of Virginia #1, and carried that hot mess like an albatross for years in the cellar. No matter how many years it aged, it was still a mouthful of yellow jackets. Then I pawned it off on Brobs, and it's no coincidence that he became a disagreeable cuss after that, which led to his forum demise.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

Never had that one, that I recall. But, early on, I did buy 5 lbs of Virginia #1, and carried that hot mess like an albatross for years in the cellar. No matter how many years it aged, it was still a mouthful of yellow jackets. Then I pawned it off on Brobs, and it's no coincidence that he became a disagreeable cuss after that, which led to his forum demise.

Yeah the HH line is the only MB that doesn’t torch me unless I’m using a filter.

 

[woodsroad]

The Last of How It Was

 

[Chasing Embers]

The Last of How It Was

View attachment 347696

Love those packages.

 

[huntertrw]

Actually it was 530 million in Danish currency that translates to $78 million in US dollars.

Meanwhile, at Mac Baren's headquarters:



"DKK? I though that stood for Dollars Kold Kash!"

 

[Chasing Embers]

Like Navy Flake isn’t just flat-out tasty.

Never could warm up to that one.

 

[woodsroad]

Love those packages.

View attachment 347712

And it’s Mylar!

 

[eyjaygaming]

It doesn't. Peterson was acquired by STG back in 2018. STG has been selling the current versions of Peterson blends like Night Cap and Early Morning Pipe for six years now. What's being talked about in this thread has nothing to do with that.

To summarize what we think we know:
1. STG acquired Mac Baren Tobacco.
2. STG is restructuring its acquisition as it is incorporated into STG.
3. STG announced that production plants in Denmark will be consolidated.
4. STG announced that Mac Baren operations in the USA will be closed.
5. Sutliff is part of Mac Baren Tobacco.
6. Sutliff is based in the USA.
7. Therefore we conclude that Sutliff is being closed.
8. As of today, Sutliff is still open.

My opinion - the sky is not falling, yet.

No 3+4: STG hasn't announced this. Just to clarify. This has been announced by the Danish press, as they interviewed Mac Baren staff. STG hasn't communicated anything yet. There's more information coming, eg a lot more happening, but this depends on if and how STG will communicate. Sorry, I don't want to be cryptic.

 

[Pipke]

No 3+4: STG hasn't announced this. Just to clarify. This has been announced by the Danish press, as they interviewed Mac Baren staff. STG hasn't communicated anything yet. There's more information coming, eg a lot more happening, but this depends on if and how STG will communicate. Sorry, I don't want to be cryptic.

Thank-you for clarifying that.

 

[jaingorenard]

Just took my own advice. Yes, I have plenty of tobacco that I enjoy. No, I didn't need to do this, but one of my favorite blends, St Bruno, doesn't age for shit, as I found out when I opened my tins and pouches from 2016 through 2018. This is true for the Mac Baren version. The Ogden's version, even when it's decades older, will still have more flavor in it that this stuff, provided that it has been cellared properly.

Don't get me wrong, the Virginias are OK, but all of the toppings have died out, so it doesn't taste like St Bruno in the least. The plastic pouches of the flake, that I bought from Estervals are marginally better than the tins I bought domestically, but only marginally. The topping is kaput. But then again, MacBaren didn't lay enough of a topping to the flake tobacco when it was new. So I bought the ready rub version, which is MUCH better than the flake, IMHO.

The other one was Doblone d'Oro. The current version isn't bad, and I don't yet want to dig into my 2014 and 2015 stocks from when it was a true Three Nuns clone, the only one that's come close to the real McCoy, something which changed by 2018 when MacBaren changed the blend. So, I ordered a couple of tins of that. Not cheap, but...

Did you jar or Mylar? I have a couple of pounds of St Bruno pouches from Estervals and would love them to last... I'm fortunate enough to have had some Ogden's Bruno and I'm devastated I didn't get more of it.

 

[elvishrunes]

Huh? What does Peterson blends have to do with this? Are you saying they too are at risk?

Actually just checked, my tin of Nightcap says manufactured in Denmark by STG, so it’s still possible Mac B makes them, I could swear I heard that, contracted my STG…. So the Peterson line could still have issues.

 

[urbanpiper]

No 3+4: STG hasn't announced this. Just to clarify. This has been announced by the Danish press, as they interviewed Mac Baren staff. STG hasn't communicated anything yet. There's more information coming, eg a lot more happening, but this depends on if and how STG will communicate. Sorry, I don't want to be cryptic.

Can you confirm that Sutliff employees have been notified of their termination and the closing of the factory?