The Forgotten Blends, Underrated, and Under Valued

[mso489]

Two blends in the expansive Cornell & Diehl catalog that are not often mentioned are Stratfordshire and Tuggle Hall, both English blends with distinctive characteristics. In the Seattle Pipe Club group, one that gets the least attention but I would recommend is Potlatch.

 

[smokeyweb]

Escudo and Three Nuns Original are 2 sleeper blends that I would miss tremendously if they dropped off the shelves.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

If you haven't seen a change then you haven't been paying attention. Just do some digging on any pipe site. There was tremendous enthusiasm for Pease from about 2007 to 2014, with fans ranting about how great he was. That was a peak time for his fan base. He was active on boards. He had his own column here. And now none of that happens. That fan-boy hero worship has gradually died down to the point where I almost never see it expressed online. In fact you'd be hard pressed to get him to answer an email.

If he wants to spend more time pursuing other interests, that's up to him. But his absence has had an effect. He's lost some of the reputation he worked hard to achieve, irrespective of how good his blends are. And yes, you can blame Pease for mold. It's still his company. He's still responsible for the quality of his products.

It could be that Greg just got older and tired of putting up with all the crap he would see at the forums. Who knows. Perhaps he got tired of explaining how aging worked for the 50th time. Who knows. Show me a blend that has never, ever had a moldy tin and I'll show you someone that sprayed so much crap on the tobacco I'd never want to smoke it. Is C&D/GLP worse than others? All I've had personal experience with is an 8 ounce can of Opening Night that was riddled with mold. 8 oz in 50 lb sounds like a 1% problem to me which is well within my acceptable tolerances. I get a lot more concerned with SG blends, especially ones in the rectangular tins, than I do C&D/GLP.

 

[BROBS]

he has made many universally well liked blends and continues to produce well liked new blends.

Not true.

 

[BROBS]

I don't know if these blends count, but Original Flake by Mc Barens(formerly known as Walnut Flake by Ogdens of Liverpool)
Condor Long Cut ,and finally Sail* regular and yellow

The only ones available here are sail.

 

[logs]

It could be that Greg just got older and tired of putting up with all the crap he would see at the forums. Who knows. Perhaps he got tired of explaining how aging worked for the 50th time. Who knows. Show me a blend that has never, ever had a moldy tin and I'll show you someone that sprayed so much crap on the tobacco I'd never want to smoke it. Is C&D/GLP worse than others? All I've had personal experience with is an 8 ounce can of Opening Night that was riddled with mold. 8 oz in 50 lb sounds like a 1% problem to me which is well within my acceptable tolerances. I get a lot more concerned with SG blends, especially ones in the rectangular tins, than I do C&D/GLP.

I'm not trashing Pease at all. I love his blends. They've been among my favorites for years and I don't see that changing. I'm pointing out a noticeable change in the level of interest in him as a blender. He was like a rock star ten years ago, now when he releases something it doesn't make much of a ripple, much less a splash. Particularly compared against C&D lately. When they release some silly limited release nowadays, everyone goes ape-shit. Are C&D better blenders than Pease? I wouldn't say so. But they're way better at communication and keeping everyone fascinated with what they're doing. Pease used to do that too but he gave it up and it's had an effect.

 

[BROBS]

Stop telling. I’m smoking my last tin of Davidoff Medallion Flake this week.

I’m stacked deep on these. ?

 

[BROBS]

I'm not trashing Pease at all. I love his blends. They've been among my favorites for years and I don't see that changing. I'm pointing out a noticeable change in the level of interest in him as a blender. He was like a rock star ten years ago, now when he releases something it doesn't make much of a ripple, much less a splash. Particularly compared against C&D lately. When they release some silly limited release nowadays, everyone goes ape-shit. Are C&D better blenders than Pease? I wouldn't say so. But they're way better at communication and keeping everyone fascinated with what they're doing. Pease used to do that too but he gave it up and it's had an effect.

For sure... new blends these days are mainly based on social media hype, it seems.

 

[krizzose]

Low Country Waccamaw deserves more mention than it gets

 

[Mr.Mike]

I've said it before, sunset harbor flake by Cornell and diel is an amazing Balkan flake, and is rarely mentioned

 

[Mr.Mike]

Davidoff Flake Medallions is one of undervalued those blends. It's every bit as good (or better) than Escudo. It's way better than LBF. It has great reviews on tobaccoreviews. Even so people don't talk about it much and it doesn't get hoarded. When a vintage tin comes up on pipestud it always goes for a comparatively low price. No idea why.

I've been eyeing that up. I actually don't particularly care for escudo, and I'm a virgina VA/per smoker 95% of the time.

 

[BROBS]

Flake medallions are better than Escudo IMO. Especially aged.

 

[Mr.Mike]

I'll have to give them flake medallions a shot it sounds like.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I'm not trashing Pease at all. I love his blends. They've been among my favorites for years and I don't see that changing. I'm pointing out a noticeable change in the level of interest in him as a blender. He was like a rock star ten years ago, now when he releases something it doesn't make much of a ripple, much less a splash. Particularly compared against C&D lately. When they release some silly limited release nowadays, everyone goes ape-shit. Are C&D better blenders than Pease? I wouldn't say so. But they're way better at communication and keeping everyone fascinated with what they're doing. Pease used to do that too but he gave it up and it's had an effect.

Understood. Perhaps Greg just got tired of it. It is a bit like running ads on Facebook for your business. You can't just show up now and then. You have to stay after day after day after day ..... At some point, you just get tired of it all and say the heck with it. I suspect Greg kept such a high profile for 2 reasons, promoting his product and ego. Perhaps he achieved the product success and financial security he was looking for. And perhaps his ego got saturated adequately.

 

[Brew&Briar]

I'll have to give them flake medallions a shot it sounds like.

? Exactly what I was thinking!

 

[Brew&Briar]

Any thoughts on Drucquer & Sons blends? I only see good reviews on Tobacco Reviews.

 

[chicagopiper74]

Balkan by Brebbia is tasty and gets little love!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Some of us keep certain blends out of the limelight so they stay in stock longer. Forum members aren't the only eyes here.

 

[logs]

Don't believe Embers. He has no unshared secrets.

 

[saltedplug]

When I started smoking in 2001 Pease was the reigning prince of pipe tobacco. When he released a new blend it was like a holiday. The boards would rev with posts about his tobaccos, the stores would advertise the blend in the boldest fashion. References to his burgeoning website came fast, and his opinions on aging, especially, were gospel. His photography of pipes posted in his website was delicious.

It seemed he could do no wrong, and he didn't. But FDA did, and when deadline hits some 40% of his blends will be flushed. Think of it, to be an expert blender with a wide following, and to turn out sophisticated blend after blend and then have your earnings gutted. So if he seems quiet these days he is probably working on other ways of making money. In any case wouldn't a potentate take up a different dance when the money got bad?