Is this stuff extinct? I've seen posts of people mentioning it or smoking it but I have never seen it on any sights, I don't think I've seen a nicer looking tin of tobacco though. Is it true that it is no longer being made?
Three Nuns
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The current blend is nothing like the original. The original was a Perique laden glorious blend that was in some peoples minds the quintessential Virginia/Perique tobacco. I recently finished my second to last tin and it was incredible with 11 years of age on it. The tobacco starts out quite blond in color, but turns jet black over the years. It is a shame they no longer make it in it's previous form and I am still kicking myself for not loading up on it years ago. The older tins fetch up to 100.00 on ebay when it is on there. I don't chase these older tins because to me, no tobacco is worth that kind of dough, but too many people it is worth it.
I have read that Villigers Cocktail Hour blend is pretty close, or at least as close as a replica can get. Russ Oulette rants and raves about it so it can't be all bad. I think this would make an interesting topic for a Cocktail Hour vs. Three Nuns throwdown if I could ever get my hands on some of the original stuff.
I just looked up Cocktail hour and there is no mention of Perique anywhere in the description. Neither at smokingpipes in their tin description or at Tobacco Reviews. People are comparing it to the new TN with no perique because of the way it is curly cut.
The only blend that is curly cut and has Perique like TN is Wessex Sovereign Curly Cut. I tried it hoping it could be a replacement for TN but the perique in it is too little and it does not have the strength, peppery component or flavor of TN. It is not a bad blend at all but it ain't no TN.
The only blend that is curly cut and has Perique like TN is Wessex Sovereign Curly Cut. I tried it hoping it could be a replacement for TN but the perique in it is too little and it does not have the strength, peppery component or flavor of TN. It is not a bad blend at all but it ain't no TN.
I see some of the old stuff on ebay once in a while.I have never tried to get some though.It does sound interesting.
@hobie LOL
Russel is always making new flavors and P&C says they will specail blend something if you ask for it, I'm sure they can blend you a clone for a reasonable price.
Russel is always making new flavors and P&C says they will specail blend something if you ask for it, I'm sure they can blend you a clone for a reasonable price.
Don't want to hijack the thread, but along those lines I've read and been told that the Peter Heinrich Special Curly tastes like Three Nuns. Course I've also read that it's nothing like it. Any thoughts on that? And if so is it akin to the older Nuns or the current Nuns?
I've smoked the Special Curly but have nothing "Nun-wise" to compare it to.
I've smoked the Special Curly but have nothing "Nun-wise" to compare it to.
jah, the Heinrichs is nothing like TN. It has no Perique, just like the current version of TN. I have not smoked the current version of TN( and never will) to compare to the Heinrich, but it could be similar.
sothron, that is the million dollar question, it was a great blend, people were buying all they could, it makes no sense for them to ruin it but they have. I would be willing to bet the company has received tons of letters over the years begging them to make it the right way again. The only thing I can think of is that they lost their source for Periique.
sothron, that is the million dollar question, it was a great blend, people were buying all they could, it makes no sense for them to ruin it but they have. I would be willing to bet the company has received tons of letters over the years begging them to make it the right way again. The only thing I can think of is that they lost their source for Periique.
If I am not mistaken the current incarnation of Three Nuns contains Kentucky instead.
It is also safe to say that the Virginias used are probably vastly different than the vintage stock.
From the reviews I've read and the testimonies given here, I think it is safe to say that there are better tobaccos to pick up if you are visiting Europe.
Regarding eBay, as always, caveat emptor...
It is also safe to say that the Virginias used are probably vastly different than the vintage stock.
From the reviews I've read and the testimonies given here, I think it is safe to say that there are better tobaccos to pick up if you are visiting Europe.
Regarding eBay, as always, caveat emptor...
No, the Virginias used are the same as in the old blend. It's the perique that's missing, subbed by Kentucky. I'm just glad I have a stash of the old stuff. I've been smoking the current tinned version and it's good. But it's not magical as the perique version. And vastly overpriced now.
jiminks, the new version comes in the same tins as the older Perique version right? I wonder how many of those tins on Ebay are the newer version and are being passed off as the old one.
In that case I would never spring for one because people in the know will be taking advantage of the identification difficulties.
Unless you found a bunch of Three Nuns at an estate sale or a trusted vendor, it'd be pretty hard to be confident about the purchase.
Unless you found a bunch of Three Nuns at an estate sale or a trusted vendor, it'd be pretty hard to be confident about the purchase.
I wonder if the new version was changed because Perique is more expensive or hard to get?
According to this document, Three Nuns contained 22% perique!!!
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/evl27a99/pdf;jsessionid=396744EDC09E30C8365CA3424AB646BB.tobacco03
...that's alot of perique!
According to this document, Three Nuns contained 22% perique!!!
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/evl27a99/pdf;jsessionid=396744EDC09E30C8365CA3424AB646BB.tobacco03
...that's alot of perique!
I was digging around the legacy library for quite a while trying to discover the secret of St. Bruno and what the hell it was they case it with, you can get lost searching around there because interesting stuff pops up all over, mostly from the BAT archives but they have some Gallaher documents too, the big American companies are mostly cigarette subjects, but I've seen stuff about PA, Granger, SRW etc.
The maze of code names can be cracked though with some diligent cross referencing etc, what they use for St. Bruno was called BONBAC and the shit looks pretty complex:
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/document/page?tid=pzk84a99
...the casing was also known as BRUNSAN, after the initial stock supply from Ogden's was exhausted, Imperial started making it in-house and they changed the codename.
I love that St. Bruno flavor and if I could mix up some of its casing, I'd be misting alotta leaf from the spray-bottle!
Here is a huge document covering the whole shootin' match!!!:
...and this is interesting too, a scientific survey of a few different pipe tobaccos,
3Nuns had a high sugar %
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/document/page?tid=fij43a99&page=6
All in all, the LTDLibrary is a good look in the guts of what's what.
3Nuns has a lot of entries:
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/search/basic?fd=0&q=%22three+nuns%22&df=er&c=ba&c=ga
The maze of code names can be cracked though with some diligent cross referencing etc, what they use for St. Bruno was called BONBAC and the shit looks pretty complex:
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/document/page?tid=pzk84a99
...the casing was also known as BRUNSAN, after the initial stock supply from Ogden's was exhausted, Imperial started making it in-house and they changed the codename.
I love that St. Bruno flavor and if I could mix up some of its casing, I'd be misting alotta leaf from the spray-bottle!
Here is a huge document covering the whole shootin' match!!!:
...and this is interesting too, a scientific survey of a few different pipe tobaccos,
3Nuns had a high sugar %
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/document/page?tid=fij43a99&page=6
All in all, the LTDLibrary is a good look in the guts of what's what.
3Nuns has a lot of entries:
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/search/basic?fd=0&q=%22three+nuns%22&df=er&c=ba&c=ga
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