Arango is just a distributor. Balkan Supreme, once Stokkebye Balkan Supreme, is made by STG.
Thoughts On STG
- Thread starter mr_future
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I haven't been active on here in a few months but to me STG seems like they're pretty much the Disney of the pipe tobacco industry, buying up all the competition and dropping the quality of the products they take over.
That's very comforting to learn, I was very curious whether Sutliff actually owned any farms or not and if not whether they did curing. I've noticed there's been crickets from small blenders like L.J. Peretti who rely on Sutliff, so clearly they aren't concerned or feel no need to alarm customers. In fact the only one I've seen any mention from is Ken Byron and as far as I know KBV is a one man operation.
While Sutliff didn't grow their own tobacco and bought from wholesalers, they did provide a lot of services to small labels, like processing, blending, pressing flakes, etc, that these smaller houses aren't necessarily equipped to do, so there will be some disturbance in the force.
I read that list with concern for my beloved Luminaire. Whew! Safe for now. Probably a good idea to cellar that one up a little deeper just in case it's on the next list i never see till it's too late.
That makes sense, hopefully when the factory is fully shut down there will be a fire sale of all the equipment. However I have a feeling STG will just move all that stuff to Denmark or sell it for scrap
"Does anyone intentionally buy blends from other, more reputable companies that are more aligned with quality tobacco?"
STG is very reputable and is perfectly "aligned with quality tobacco".
"Are there any fans of STG? "
I'm one.
Many of their tobaccos are as good as it gets, real world class stuff, some of my favorites. Like 965, Nightcap etc...
"I had some STG blends on my list but will be trying C&D equivalents."
Ok. Good luck with that. C&D also makes some great tobaccos. You won't have any problems there.
STG is very reputable and is perfectly "aligned with quality tobacco".
"Are there any fans of STG? "
I'm one.
Many of their tobaccos are as good as it gets, real world class stuff, some of my favorites. Like 965, Nightcap etc...
"I had some STG blends on my list but will be trying C&D equivalents."
Ok. Good luck with that. C&D also makes some great tobaccos. You won't have any problems there.
I worked for several Chief Petty Officers who would preach "No one is irreplaceable" from the standpoint that if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted. They also used the other side of that coin - "You don't do what you are told to do you will be replaced."
I can't agree more. I remember being asked to submit my resumé for several jobs after I retired from the Coast Guard but turned them down because:
1. I was offered lower starting pay because I didn't have a college degree (but I had 18 years of work experience in the field.),
2. I was told I would be working for someone who had just earned their college degree but had no practical work experience.
or 3. I didn't get the job because someone higher up wanted someone with a college degree. (I was later told that I didn't get the position because they wanted someone who could be trained. I had plenty of work experience, they thought it would be too hard to train me to do things "their way."
I turned both of
On another pipe forum I noticed Ernie Q of Watch City said they were going to lose the cakes because of this. Sounds like there will be a few more batches but after that its gone.
Already starting to take effect, I'm a fan of Ahabs Comfort so going to stock up on that one. Already have plenty of OD and 558.
Already starting to take effect, I'm a fan of Ahabs Comfort so going to stock up on that one. Already have plenty of OD and 558.
Pretty sure the ones on the list are made by Sutliff, Lumin is made by C&D so, safe for now.
No disrespect, but this is some serious STG Propaganda Advertising.
Don’t take me the wrong way, tastes are subjective, and that is definitely because some people are born that way, or have no appreciation for high quality tastes, or can’t tell the differences, because of having an unrefined palate, genetics etc…
Or people that have consumed so much junk, their palates are use to the taste of bad.
But hey, whatever you like, that is great. Eat, drink, and smoke what you want, that‘s what counts.
But to come on here and say STG is as good as it gets, and world class is complete rubbish.
STG doesn’t even come close to the work Murray did on their blends and for Dunhill, and if you smoked anything Dunhill and Murray‘s own blends in the 80s, I’d find it extremely hard to believe anyone would be puffing up STG so much.
Murray and Dunhill in the 80s were world class, STG doesn’t even deserve to sit at the same table. And if STG are honest about it, they themselves would even agree, that they’ll never fill those shows, and they would even tip their hats to these great legends out of respect.
Nightcap in the 80s Murray did for Dunhill, what STG does now, is no where near the same level and quality Murray did.
Dunhill Early Morning Pipe, and Royal Yacht by Murray in the 80s are also other final examples STG has never rekindled exactly.
Hell, people bash on Royal Yacht now, because STG’s version is crap. Dunhill Royal Yacht in the 80s was one of the pillars of excellence and luxury in pipe smoking, it was amazing. EMP in the 80s was also amazing, nothing now like what STG has done to it too.
I would think, a true pipe geek, would actually find it an insult, what STG has done to many of these blends, and what they did is homogenize them, and kill their unique distinctive pasts.
A true aficionado would know where quality and world class begins and ends.
McClelland was an ending to world class quality!
J.F. Germain & Son is world class quality, that STG will never rival, but Germain gets bashing too. But for someone who can’t even find one blend by Germain, as an example, to realize how much more superior the quality is over anything STG, this is not an aficionado.
STG is middle of the road, and some of it is pretty low too, and STG blends are certainly not at the pillar of the pipe world.
Hell, for all the poor bashing Gawith gets around here at times, the Samuel Gawith and Gawith Hoggarth lines are Royalty compared to STG.
STG is a dismissal presence of the past is all it is now. Why, because look at all the great names they scooped up. Because those names, those businesses of the past, they were the legends, that STG has taken, and tries to keep their greatness alive.
Mac Baren, one of the biggest names in the pipe world, now getting scooped up by STG. What pipe smoker around the world doesn’t know this name.
Even Mac Baren as a business with it‘s rich history, a lot of it’s present day blends, are no where near their earlier glory days. It’s not to say they don’t have some good blends now, there are a lot of them, but there was a lot better too in the 80s.
So don’t take me wrong, as I mentioned tastes are subjective for many reasons. So whatever someone enjoys, that‘s what matters, but it doesn’t take away the truth in what really is quality vs what is not. It is simply, regardless of what is considered quality in an industry, doesn’t mean if someone doesn’t like it, it‘s not quality, it’s simply not their thing.
I believe the lines between quality, craftsmanship, precision engineering etc., are Black & White, not gray blurry lines, hard to distinguish.
Personal Preference vs Quality is a different matter. Let’s not confuse our personal preferences with what actually constitutes quality.
The problem with quality in the eyes of many, is with the mass production big scale, that exists in the world today, where the quality has diminished, that makes it hard for people to distinguish.
STG as an example is like Amazon buying up all the small craft, boutique B&M, and everything in the world is slowly becoming homogenized Big Box.
If we’re going to mention C&D, I’d put anything G.L. Pease does above STG.
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Tobacco was the best, 40 years ago, when I was young and strong and the World was new. Now, it's just STG... 
Tobacco was the best, 40 years ago, when I was young and strong and the World was new. Now, it's just STG...
Thank God, it’s not just STG, oh what a bleak and dismal pipe smoking world it would be, if it truly was only STG.
I will not buy any STG blends ever again!
I only have 1 tin of Orlik Golden Sliced, and someday, when I open it, and it’s gone, it will be the last STG in my stash.We should all be grateful for Steve Fallon with his site Pipestuds, allowing the past to live on, so those with deeper pockets can still get a hold of great quality of the past.
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If pipe smokers the world over are truly not happy, then we simply have to stop buying STG products.
When you consider all the other small local blenders around the world, pipe smokers should seriously stop buying and supporting the likes of STG.
It would be great to see a company like SmokingPipes pull every STG brand from their inventory and then start building up more small local blenders, and possibly have Laudisi start scouring more of the world, and look for more overseas brands to bring in, just like they did with HU.
In the end as people, what do we want to support? If we don’t support local and small commerce, one day there won’t be any left.
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Yeah, well... I do enjoy Night Cap. Currently smoking through a tin of Balkan Sasieni - probably won't buy anymore but it's OK. Arango Balkan Supreme is very good. It's not all bad.
You don’t need to hit the Haterade so hard, @PipeIT.
Not trying to hit anything actually, the explanations I gave with Murray/Dunhill is good information for newer or less experienced pipe smokers stepping into this world.
When we have knowledge we should share, that’s all.
It’s not at all about hate, it’s about the possible negative impact on industries and society.
STG managed to ruin a blend I used to really enjoy - Sir Walter Raleigh. I have a couple pounds of the old stuff that I am working through. The blends are like night and day - not even close to being the same.
If a company doesn’t want to end up as a portfolio piece, they didn’t have to sell to such an entity. Keep that in mind while you reminisce…….all of these companies……..it was their direct choice.
I have smoked a number of STG blends that were just fine for what they were. Smoked some poor ones too. Smoked some bad ones from every company really. I have thrown more “Indy” blends in the trash more than anything else.
Find what you like, at the time when you like it, and stock the hell out of it as you can afford it.
I have smoked a number of STG blends that were just fine for what they were. Smoked some poor ones too. Smoked some bad ones from every company really. I have thrown more “Indy” blends in the trash more than anything else.
Find what you like, at the time when you like it, and stock the hell out of it as you can afford it.
Considering the company began as a three way merger, likely quite a few.
And sometimes you are irreplaceable. My brother works for the military arm of Boeing. He pissed off some of the higher ups because he refused to use pronouns and other such nonsense. Some in management tried to get him fired and it ran up all the way to the president of Boeing. The President said to fire him. They couldn’t. One of his jobs is to reprogram older ICBMs. This is a job that should come as no surprise has a unique skill set. In the end , all complaints were summarily dropped and they left him alone. He does NOT have a college degree. To quote Liam Neison, he has a certain skill set. Instead of firing him, he was left alone and everything dropped. He works in a blacked out room and no one questions him. In the latest round of layoffs the firm never considered him. How could they. The Government pays Boeing for his salary given his TS Clearance. Sometimes, experience does trump stupidity. Not always, but sometimes it does. His cell phone conversations are monitored by the government from time to time - I sometimes imagine using fertilizer and diesel in the same conversation wwith him but that would be unfunny ultimately.