TP has Germain and Esoterica

[wolflarsen]

I firmly believe that those of you that are always searching for penzance or stonehaven are setting yourself up for disappointment. I just don't find them to be anywhere even remotely close to the hype that surrounds them. In fact, I have jars of each sitting around that almost never get opened because I much prefer to smoke the other more readily available blends in my stash.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Indeed! Why not rid yourself of that trash, then? Sell 'em, give 'em away.
But I agree that pining for unobtainium is a waste. Mourning over Dunhill's impending demise is another waste.

 

[lazar]

I wonder if people who compare Penzance to Star of the East or Lancer's are responding simply to the presence of Latakia? Those making the comparison, how many Lat blends have you smoked? Not presuming anything or judging anyone, just curious. They seem like totally different blends to me.

 

[cigrmaster]

wolflarsen,

I firmly believe that those of you that are always searching for penzance or stonehaven are setting yourself up for disappointment. I just don't find them to be anywhere even remotely close to the hype that surrounds them.

I will respectfully disagree with your take on Stonehaven. I am currently smoking through a batch of 2007 Stonehaven and it is fantastic. It ages incredibly well and to my tastes is a world class blend worthy of all the hype. Sure it is a bitch to get but if you know where to look it can be had.

 

[ben88]

if you know where to look it can be had

I despise posts like that. Either tell others where they can get some, or keep it to yourself. Why would you mock someone?

 

[cigrmaster]

Ben, you are right, I should have elaborated.
You can find both Stonehaven and Penzance at small mom and pop b/m's throughout the US in the low tax states for fair prices. If you are willing to do the legwork you will be rewarded for your efforts. When I was chasing Stonehaven back in 2012 this is what I did and it worked.

 

[ben88]

It's 2018, by the way))))

 

[sablebrush52]

I despise posts like that. Either tell others where they can get some, or keep it to yourself. Why would you mock someone?

Despise away. If someone has gone to the effort to find sources, why would they blurt out those sources on a forum? That's another definition of insanity. Besides, my sources do not want me giving out that info for the simple reason that they don't want to be, in their words, "hounded" or "inundated" with calls.
Telling people that they can find what they're looking for if they are willing to make the effort is useful info for those who are laboring under the illusion that they have no choice but to win the online lottery or forego all hope. Very little of what I've bought came from the major online stores. It's come from B&M's with no online presence. If I can find it, others can find it. If they're unwilling to make that effort or expect things to be handed to them on a silver platter, they're not going to get results.

 

[cigrmaster]

Ben, I may have early onset dementia but I do still know what year it is. When I heard of the MC closing back in January I reached out to one of my sources as I was loading up on Butera Dark Stoved. They were still in business and happy to hear from me. I guess there are plenty of small mom and pops still out there today just like in 2012 looking to make sales.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I think Jesse and Harris are trying to say, in a nice way, if you want it, work for it. I doubt that neither have a list of every B&M source that may have it in the USA. They have a couple that have worked for them and they buy from regularly enough to create some loyalty. And even if they did list those sources here, unless you saw the post within a minute or two, other people would have already called them and bought them out.
Both of these guys have been very generous with their information over the years. I think you owe Harris an apology.

 

[techie]

It's come from B&M's with no online presence.

I've seen it described this way in a number of posts, which leads to a couple of questions:
If these B&M's have no online presence, I am assuming they aren't necessarily close to any major/regional city. If so, how are they getting stock of elusive, hard to find, rare blends when, apparently, it's hard for larger, pro-active shops to get them?
From what I've read so far, it's nearly impossible for even the big online retailers to keep something like a Penzance, Stonehaven, or Germain blend in stock for more than an hour or two. How do the little shops even compete in such a competitive environment?
Unfortunately for me, I'm unable to search high and low (disability) for these out of the way B&M's in the rare chance they'll have stock. So for someone like me, I have to pretty much rely on internet retailers. That's not a rant or anything, just the facts. I've pretty much given up on experiencing Penzance or other elusive blends. Unless I want to pay $80 for a 2oz tin on ebay. That's not going to happen!

 

[cigrmaster]

techie, these small mom and pops have relationships with the distributors that go back years. They get their fair share of unobtanium because they also stock stuff that takes much longer to sell. Not everything a distributor sells flies off the shelves.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

Not everything a distributor sells flies off the shelves.

^ This...
My local B&M that does have a lot of the rarer stuff doesn't sell it often, so you might have some on the shelf for a pretty good while. When I bought my first tin of Nording Labrador from him, the date on the tin was already close to a year old. He has a lot of things I have bought that way. Even though he has an online presence, it's only a placeholder basically. Always has old information, pipe listing that have long been sold, but it's there when people search for it. Snagged me a bag of Stonehaven off him last weekend when he got a shipment in. Still goes fast, but the only way to know if he has something you might want is to call and ask. That's how I found out. It takes some work, but it's a huge payoff when hunting these illusive blends.

 

[steamboat]

I said it before and i will say it again. The amount of aged unicorns im finding on Long Island from my motorcycle hunt, is getting out of hand. I am picking up an original 14oz can of Holiday Pipe Mixture tomorrow. It is true, dont be lazy and check your B&M's. I dont mean the one 5 miles from your home. I mean go to google and print out every lotto/bodega in your state, and go on road trips. Thats how you find it.
I am having a blast doing it, combining motorcycle riding with it. Its so much adrenaline when you find this stuff sitting on dusty shelves. The best part is 90% are clueless and not only that your finding them, you can get tins of penzance and offer 5$ for them. They will be glad to get rid of the stuff to make room for vaporizers. Bottom line is print out your entire state, not your local town.

 

[steamboat]

Oh and i forgot to add use common sense. I have been doing this now for a few months and got some experience. Im a New Yorker. For my area almost all the B&M's are owned be either Arbaic or Indians. I like that, cause its in there culture to bargain, suits me well. So when i print lists, i would not go to a place called for an example Uncle Toms Tobcconist. I would skip that one and go to Punjabi Shisha that opened 24 hours. Thats where i will find my Stonehaven.

 

[craiginthecorn]

As several others have mentioned, the B&M shops are your best bet, unless you want to chain yourself to an internet browser. What seems to happen is that the word gets out that a drop is coming and folks start refreshing web pages over and over and over until Penzance or what have you is listed. It’s gone inside of two minutes. And, in the case of smokingpipes, you have to checkout immediately, or it won’t be available, even though it’s in your cart.
My experience locally is that there really aren’t that many pipe smokers. I was pretty shocked that last Saturday, I was smoking with a few buddies and a couple of them mentioned that they had stopped at another shop that had received a large drop about a week (or maybe even two weeks) earlier. One of them bought their last tin of Penzance. I was in that shop the day they got their shipment and saw the entire inventory. I think they got a maximum of six tins of Penzance. They also got probably tens bags each of Penzance and Stonehaven. I bought a bag and a tin of each, Brighton, some Germain’s Special Latakia Flake, 1820, and a tin of Bridge. At my home shop, which is primarily a cigar store, they also got in their largest shipment ever, including probably 5 bags each of Penzance and Stonehaven. More than a week later, the Stonehaven and Penzance and Margate and Tilbury are gone, but there’s some of all the others left.
It seems as though production levels have ramped up.

 

[jeff540]

Just got back from after lunch walk to my B&M, picked up:

8oz Brighton (never had before)

One tin each of Royal Jersey, Stonehaven, Penzance, and Dunbar. I couldn't help popping each one open, as from this haul I've only had Dunbar before. Trying a few tonight, if I really like I may get one or two more for long storage.

 

[sablebrush52]

Oddly enough, my usual "go to" did not get any Penzance or Stonehaven, but they did get just about everything else. I picked up a bag of Cardiff and Scarborough as I haven't tried either. I was a little disappointed at the lack of Stonehaven, not for myself as I have plenty of it, but I'm trying to help out a friend. Over the years, I've managed to squirrel away about 25+ lbs of the various Esoterica blends that I like to smoke. So if I'm looking for it, it's not for me.

 

[ben88]

Well... Calling around did not help getting Esoterica. Helped getting 10lb of McClelland :lol:

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Did you apologize to Harris for your rude comment ben88? It would seem you're more interested here in finding products that you can resell and are here for the purpose of profit only. I certainly will never sell or trade with you again.