The Best of What's Left

[Sigmund]

This is kind of a take off from @telescopes thread about surviving the shrinking world of pipe tobacco.

Lets talk about something more proactive. What is the good stuff that remains? Once STG wrecks the line what will you turn to?

There are still good blends and makers. We know the bad news. We may as well turn our attention to them and support what remains.

For the sake of this exercise assume anything from STG is gone or cardboard.

My standard go to in the EU are the HU blends and a few from Dan and GLP

Directors Cut
Louisana Broken Flake
Makhuwa
Tuarekh
Salty Dogs
St Bernard Flake
GLP Quiet Nights

 

[paulfg]

the majority of my small cellar is Gawith & Hoggarth,always has been.That wont change for as long as I can still find ways of getting it to Greece.As it is not sold here I really on when I go to uk to buy it

 

[telescopes]

This is a challenge for me in that the majority of blends I enjoy are my own creations. I believe I will be able to find some substututes that are key to the blends in the C&D line. Otherwise, my cellar is deep with G&H and oddly enough, Esoterica - the latter a real pain to replenish. I imagine I will be getting to know Samuel Gwaith some more and C&D and Pease as well.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When McClelland went tits up, I knew that I wasn't interested in the European heavily cased Virginias, so I started trying all sorts of C&D burleys, till I found a few that I really liked. Then I found C&D Virginia Flake, and was wowed. I still enjoy and have worked a few burleys into my rotation. So, really, if you lose something you love, sometimes you just have to find another true love.

In all honesty, MacBarens and Sutliff are not things that i stock up in. I have maybe half a shelf of both in my cellar, and I never really even consider smoking from that shelf often. But, if you are a devoted fan, you'll just have to start exploring other options.

 

[fireground_piper]

There's plenty of stuff out there. I only really feel bad for the B&M houses who are probably scrambling around a little bit to find replacements for their business. I'm sure that's a bit of a headache.

My suggestion would be to just drop preconceptions of a brand you may hold and buy some test tins.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I only really feel bad for the B&M houses who are probably scrambling around a little bit to find replacements

And, it's probably a bit embarrassing for them to admit that they were all mostly renaming and just mixing a few bulks and calling them in house blends. I know that some do a little extra, but... all in all they are mostly just bulks.

 

[Sigmund]

They probably all make up a story about about getting bulk tobacco and mixing it in the back of the shop after hours.

 

[Swiss Army Knife]

Sutliff was a titan of US pipe tobacco but much more so behind the scenes rather than smoker focused. Them going away effects US blenders like Watch City, Peretti, Wilke's and Ken Byron a lot more than it will the average pipe smoker. The big things I'll miss is their good value bulks and match blends. Losing value sucks but it's not like I can't get a decent virginia flake elsewhere. Losing some of those old match blends does sting.

Mac Baren is almost assuredly going to be back supposedly in less than a year, just made by STG.

All that is to say that "What's left" for most people is going to be the same as it was prior to this news. For me it's a huge amount of Cornell & Diehl blends, especially bulks, Stokkebye bulks, Gawith bulks and whatever random things catch my fancy.

 

[mtwaller]

I’m an avid English fan, and I’m of the opinion that some of the finest of the genre are those not affected by the Impending Doom (as far as I know).

-Drucquer & Sons Blairgowrie (and everything else they make, really)
-Captain Earle’s Mystic and Ten Russians
-Ashton Artisan’s Blend
-C&D Star of the East Flake
-Rattray’s Red Rapparee

And probably a dozen others. Having said that, SPC Plum Pudding and Mac Baren HH Latakia Flake are my top two, so it definitely still sucks. But there are plenty of damn fine tobaccos out there.

HU and Gawith & Hoggarth seem to be sticking around more here on the U.S. sites, so that’s great news for us. C&D has loads of offerings. GLP has never really sparked my interest, but I will damn sure start supporting that endeavor, even if I end up just stashing tins away and forgetting about them.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

GLP has never really sparked my interest,

Really? I'm surprised that you would be a Latakia Flake fan, and not tried his latakia blends. You will be amazed at his artistry with latakia.
You're lucky. I envy you, actually. I wish that I could smoke my first GLP latakias for the first time again.

 

[abecox]

I'm mostly gonna miss Bengal Slices, most everything else is stuff that has passable match blends made elsewhere. Hopefully someone comes up with something similar.

 

[Sigmund]

Yes, C&D...sometimes I wonder if they make a new blend every week. Im almost glad I cant easily source them here. It would be some serious work to wade through their offering.

I agree with Cosmic...GLP does some amazing lat belnds. The Vapers I have tried didnt float my boat and only a select group of GLP are sold in the EU. Quiet Nights is good enough to pry 23 bucks a tin out of my cheap ass hands.

If the Peterson blends end I wonder if C&D will put out a match to the more popular ones. Im pretty sure the rights to the name wont be sold. I dont see GLP venturing into that sort of thing. He tends to stick to his own path which is pretty cool. Maybe Kopp could pull it off??? Who knows. Just in case Im stocking up on DNR.

 

[telescopes]

Seeing some of the tins on the above list remind me we have so many great blends to play with. Quiet Nights, Germaine’s #7, and Artisans Blend are always great choices.

 

[mtwaller]

Really? I'm surprised that you would be a Latakia Flake fan, and not tried his latakia blends. You will be amazed at his artistry with latakia.
You're lucky. I envy you, actually. I wish that I could smoke my first GLP latakias for the first time again.

What do you recommend? I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover, and I think the sort of generic/similar labels across his blends maybe just makes me go a little cross eyed and I kind of lose focus browsing them haha.

 

[woodsroad]

There is a butt-load of supposition and speculation here, and some flat-out unsupported allegations.
Keep up the good work!

 

[jaingorenard]

What do you recommend? I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover, and I think the sort of generic/similar labels across his blends maybe just makes me go a little cross eyed and I kind of lose focus browsing them haha.

The Drucquer & Sons blends are blended by G. L. Pease, so I think you'd like any of his English blends!

 

[abecox]

What do you recommend? I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover, and I think the sort of generic/similar labels across his blends maybe just makes me go a little cross eyed and I kind of lose focus browsing them haha.

I'm partial to Chelsea Morning but that was also my "Aha, I get it now!" Blend for pipe smoking when I first got into it like ten years ago. Quiet Nights is quite good as well.

 

[Sigmund]

@woodsroad The whole thread is based on a supposition that some of these blends will go away. Of course we dont know. Rather than to complain about the possiblity why not redirect our energy towards something that doesnt leave us powerless. Sure we can stock up half pissed off. Other than that we can turn our attention to what we do have.

Is it a waste of time? Perhaps. If it is its just one other thread than can die

@mtwaller Quiet Nights is a deep and sometimes has am almost insence like quality of juniper and pine flavor. I havent hand Chelsea Morning since I tried QN and fell for it. To me its probably the most complex lat blend Ive tried. Its awfally hard not to like if you like latakia.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

What do you recommend? I’m guilty of judging a book by its cover, and I think the sort of generic/similar labels across his blends maybe just makes me go a little cross eyed and I kind of lose focus browsing them haha.

I would suggest staring with Ashbury. It is a light Balkan that has a really nice kaleidoscope of incense like aromas. And, then just start perusing his other products. They are all top quality. We used to all refer to Gregg as the Dark Lord, because of his artistry with latakias, but he didn't like that much, ha ha.

 

[sablebrush52]

I'm not going to make specific recommendations because this is a time to blindly fumble around and experience new possibilities.

Try out blends that you haven't tried before, and if you find something you like, stock up on more of it. For now, nothing much has actually changed. Yes, some blends have run out, so try other stuff.

Blenders using Sutliff components will eventually need to find a different supplier, but for now they can go on for months with what they have bought and stored, and they will find different sources and adjust for them.

The big STG change will come in 2026-7 when STG cuts down its offerings to the most profitable. Note, I didn't write best selling, I wrote most profitable and the two are not synonymous. I wonder if Lane is also getting cut.

So turn the focus back to all of those many blends that are not affected by this, like those made by K, GH & Co, Germain's, Dan, C&D, GLP, and others. You have a lot more to choose from.