Hopeful some here may have some inside knowledge to share. Like countless others, I’m eager for them to find a new home.
Updates on Seattle Pipe Club blends?
- Thread starter 98now
- Start date
SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
No news.
Which is not to say that no news is good news, or that no news is bad news, just that no news is no news.
Which is not to say that no news is good news, or that no news is bad news, just that no news is no news.
From the wee bit that I know Matt Guss, he's trying with all he's got to find a way to keep them alive. It's going to be complicated, but if anyone can do it, it's him. Otherwise, I know nothing.
If it were my blends, instead of putting out a subpar blend that jips my customers who are buying it only because of what it once was... I'd just remove them from the market. I know that we have some fans of some blends that would smoke dogshit, as long it was in their favorite blends tin, but that sort of Mongrel pipe smoker is rare and not very bright.
Find a blender other than C&D, go with C&D, open their own plant, discontinue and go fishing while selling their remaining stock on Tinbids to the Chinese for $$$$$$$$$ per tin.
Well, from the customer's side, assuming I've taken the decision that if no miracle happens, I'm going with find another blend apart from my favorite ever, Plum Pudding Special Reserve, does anyone here have any ideas as to what they'd try to replace it with?
I'm thinking of buying the components, and adjusting percentages until I get it right for me. Start with 50% Latakia, 10% burley, 10% red Virginias, 10% orientals, 10% perique, and 10% light and dark cavendish just for more smoke, Adjust the sliders from there.
I know that blender Russ Ouelette has repeatedly said the customer should be willing and able to do that. If you have no "perfect" blend, but blend "X" WOULD be your perfect smoke, if only it had less of Y and more of Z? Fix it yourself, and have your own perfect blend for you.
Make enough to last me to likely past my death. Relax. Ignore buying panics or blends gone out of production.
I'm thinking of buying the components, and adjusting percentages until I get it right for me. Start with 50% Latakia, 10% burley, 10% red Virginias, 10% orientals, 10% perique, and 10% light and dark cavendish just for more smoke, Adjust the sliders from there.
I know that blender Russ Ouelette has repeatedly said the customer should be willing and able to do that. If you have no "perfect" blend, but blend "X" WOULD be your perfect smoke, if only it had less of Y and more of Z? Fix it yourself, and have your own perfect blend for you.
Make enough to last me to likely past my death. Relax. Ignore buying panics or blends gone out of production.
A
AroEnglish
Guest
It might take me years to dial that in with how infrequently I smoke and I’d also miss all that time smoking blends I do like. But I also love PPSR so I wish you the best in your endeavor. If you do find a way to match it, please do let me know!
With only about a 90 day supply, I'll probably smoke that up, and then use the rest of the English I have close to up, and it's then I start if nothing has been announced by SPC as to a new blender. I can't say I'd ever match what Joe did, even by nothing but luck, but if I find something I personally like as well, I'll post up the recipe.
30 years ago, I used to laugh at people who lost their nut over losing a blend or brand of cigar or chew. Welp, after finding the PP Special Reserve, I'll try and try and fail and fail and fail before I just...let it go. Plus, I flippin' hate that song. And I figure if I ikeep it to at LEAST 40% Lat., with most tries higher, even my failures should be smokable.
One of the great attributes of humans is we are adaptable creatures. Sure we may lament about what was but by our very nature we look forward and find comforts in our present selves.
From an SPC insider on their FB page. Not the man in charge of efforting to get it done, but in the know. Sounds at least a tad more optimistic. If all we face is a delay, I'm ready to do a happy dance. They seem committed to keeping Joe's blends as-is.
Michael Bergstrom
SPC is actively working on it. I will say that if you like certain blends to grab them right now, as there will be a transition period. I’ve seen a lot of rumors floating around (most of them not...
www.facebook.com
I agree here. With C&D producing 2 of my favorite English blends, GL Peases Chelsea Morning and Quiet Nights; I'm extremely confident in their ability to produce these 2 blends at a high level. Their production of the Old London Series is outstanding and I feel it'd be a step up in quality to have C&D produce this rather than Sutliff. It's probably a little biased opinion based on how much of a fan I am of the GL Pease Old London Series quality.
C&D and SPC have slightly different stories about why there's no chance C&D will make it for them, but they both agree on one thing: That marriage is NOT gonna happen. No one has told me this, but reading between the lines, there were obviously discussions, but I just get the feeling the price was too high for SPC in terms of the money per tin C&D wanted to make. Maybe they also wanted a cut of sales and Sutliff didn't, but all of my hope for a C&D deal is gone.
To be clear, taste is subjective, and there are no wrong answers there. But I personally prefer by a good margin the SPC PP blends to even the more expensive Pease's C&D stuff. I do like and respect Quiet Nights, and it's in my top 5 English blends, as I define English/Balkan blends (to many, it's an English if it was popular with the English at any time historically, but to me, it's not a true English unless it has a good deal more Lat. than the "touch" in Chelsea Morning). But I think SPC PP Special Reserve has better quality ingredients overall, regardless of the ratios, and thus more flavor in those ingredients.
That said, you'll find the PP Special Reserve folks incredibly devoted, but it ranks slightly lower on SP's list than does Quiet Nights, and QN has an overall higher rating than PP SR, too. I think that's for several reasons:
1. Price: As a boutique blend, PP SR is over $10 more per 4 oz. than is QN.
2. Too much flavor for some: The ingredient quality in PP SR makes for a stronger taste.
2a. PP SR has more Lat., on top of the stronger taste, and some folks just don't like that much Lat. in their English blends.
The only blend with "too much" Lat. to my taste, bar none, is Pirate Kake, and it's certainly smokeable. I wish Quiet Nights had a stronger, smoky Lat. taste, and slightly more Perique, with slightly less orientals. Again, I'm an English lover and it's still in my top 5 English blends, so what may sound like knocking it is just saying I can't call it perfection. And on that last, SPC knows that if the blends are off, we'll know, and no way we'll pay over $40 for 4 oz. if it is. They don't want to sully their reputation, and much more importantly to them, Joe Lankford's reputation, by offering something that isn't the same quality.
If SPC puts out something that's just junk with the same label, I'll be beyond shocked and disappointed, both. And they won't be getting my money, just speaking for myself. I've got 20 cans cellared, and I'll be switching blends around to make it last longer. So I'll be smoking BriarWorks Pete's Beard's Blend, Ashton Artisan's Blend, and yes, Quiet Nights, off and on, rotating as I do. Plus, I like VaPerBurs, a very few select VaPers, and a good number of very strong DFK blends. My fingers remain crossed, though, that SPC finds a way, just like "life" does in the Jurassic Park series.
The next step for me if not, other than playing around with my own blends, would probably be mixing Pirate Kake with the 3 other English blends I mentioned, including Quiet Nights. The 2nd favorite in my top 5, PP Bourbon Barrel Aged, wouldn't be around either in that scenario, so I didn't even discuss it.
Last edited:
Great response thank you. PP, PPSR, are 2 of my favorites for sure. Adding Quiet Nights, Chelsea Morning, Nightcap. I hope they get the SPC blends figured out . I am deeply cellared in PP and PPSR. I did that years ago when there was a buzz about excise taxes (theft) and adding state sales tax. I decided to not buy pipes anymore and stock up on cigars and pipe tobacco. Sitting on 8 pounds each of PP and PPSR with some age on it and am currently grabbing both when I find it as an added bonus. I think it's one of the 2 great blends and will try and get what I can.
I’m sure there will still be a club, but no more production.
Never found anything in their portfolio to be palatable but still it's a loss to the market.
I'm eager to hear what you come up with, but I'd highly recommend saving at least a little bit of your PPSR so that you can keep comparing it directly instead of smoking it all up. Perhaps you might even save a few ounces for way off in the future. It's up to you, though!
There's no news, one way or the other. That's all I can say about it.
I was thinking if anyone could do it and preserve the integrity of the blends it would probably be Watch City...but I doubt they could produce enough to keep up with demand.