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mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
4,345
12,813
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
I misspelled it , but it means having knowledge of a given subject .
Also an administrative area, as in the Bailiwick of Jersey, where Germain's does its magic.
 

greeneyes

Lifer
Jun 5, 2018
2,357
12,886
Apparently Tobaccopipes and CupOJoes both closed their doors pursuant to this ... "change." Anyone know what happened to the Tobaccopipes previous owners (names escape me) that had been kept on after being purchased by Sutliff? I think they mostly handled public relations stuff and represented the company at pipe shows.
 

Hutch Piper

(Hutch1904)
Mar 12, 2022
414
2,924
Charlotte, NC
Sutliff couldn't even make flakes. They had to commission STG to do that. The majority of what Sutliff did was pour toppings onto already processed leaf. That was about it... and tin them. I'm not sure what science you are referring to.

For years on here, we've had three members who would always say, "Sutliff processes tobaccos for other companies." Yes, they poured goop onto tobacco for other companies. I'm sure they may have done other stuff also, but gooping the leaf was sort of their main job.
Sutliff supplied nearly 50 percent of the leaf my tobacconist used to blend their blends. Most are non-aromatic. That’s all gone now.
 
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Swiss Army Knife

Can't Leave
Jul 12, 2021
480
1,406
North Carolina
It's not really much different than the rest of the world. Really I'd argue the US is the only country with a major manufacturer that is almost entirely pipe tobacco focused, C&D. Kopp in Germany could also qualify but they have less market presence worldwide than C&D does stateside. STG is the overlord but pipe tobacco for them is an afterthought, it's a drop in the bucket. They make more on accessory sales than they do on blends.

We're a very small market and while I mourn the loss of Sutliff because they were a great go-to for cheap bulks they weren't the only option. C&D in the US, the Gawiths and Germain's in the UK, Kopp and Dan Tobacco in Germany, hell even boutiques like Vincent Manill in Belgium keep our little market pretty well stocked with options.
 

Zamora

Lifer
Mar 15, 2023
1,104
2,888
Olympia, Washington
No, Big Tobacco, specifically Altria fka Philip Morris, through subsidiary John Middleton, still sells codger blends, e.g., Prince Albert and Carter Hall.
Which is rather ironic because Prince Albert was originally a flagship product of rival RJ Reynolds and was even promoted alongside Camel
 

cosmicfolklore

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2013
35,922
85,338
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
Sutliff supplied nearly 50 percent of the leaf my tobacconist used to blend their blends. Most are non-aromatic. That’s all gone now.
Sutliff probably did a whole lot more… but, if I said that Willie Nelson was mostly known for smoking dope and playing sappy country music, I’d be correct… even though he did so much more than that in his lifetime. He saved the farming industry by organizing Farm Aid, he wrote many of country’s greatest hits for other artists, helped keep Waylon Jennings alive for an extra ten years, and helped many artists get their start, and established Austin City Limits. But, he is mostly known for… Pouring goop on leaf. Right? I mean dope and sappy country.

Same with Zappa… he is mostly known for his childish 10 year old fart joke humor lyrics, but he did so much more. This may trigger a deep Zappa fan, but ask the average music fan, and that’s what they’d say.

It may trigger @sablebrush52
But the average pipesmoker would say the same thing. But, that is how the guy who buys his tobacco at the drug store and goes home to smoke his pipe alone in front of the evening news is going to think of Sutliff. Plus many other pipe smokers. Is it fair? Everyone can see the same thing from different angles and interpret them their own way. It’s called perspective.
 

cosmicfolklore

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2013
35,922
85,338
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
Just to beat a dead horse one last time...

If I were to say what each company is mostly know for, and be 100% correct in my perspective...

Sutliff is known for goopy goopers
C&D is know for moldy burleys
McClelland is known for ketchupy aromas
GH known for granny panties
PStokkebye known for... three funny flakes? not sure on this one...
MacBaren is known for mastering the art of tongue bite.
Esoterica is known for not existing in online stores at all. The Big Foot of tobaccos.
STG is known for fucking up beloved blends

...all are correct. However, it is also fair to say...

Sutliff did a whole lot more that even its deepest fans don't fully understand.
C&D may have been the master of burleys, but Jeremy is now a master of Virginia small batches
McClelland actually had many non-aromatics that didn't smell like ketchup, even a few Virginias that didn't smell like it.
GH is the master of really strong blends, using really old equipment and some really new stuff.
PStokkebye... I don't know, three flake? That's all I know, ha ha.
MacBaren makes mouth burners, plus the HH line. Or used to...
Esotericas are really all just licorice aromatics and a few that barely has any licorice at all.
And, STG will go down in history as destroying the Pipe smoking hobby for those of us that used to enjoy these blends they bought.

End of dead horse beatings... till someone copies me in a reply again, ha ha. puffy
 

Ahi Ka

Lurker
Feb 25, 2020
7,056
33,495
Aotearoa (New Zealand)
I have a question.

I only know of sutliff through participating on this forum and buying tobacco online.

It’s not that long ago I had no idea where the tobacco I smoked came from, nor what was in it.

Does the guy who buys his tobacco at the drug store or local B&M know who sutliff is? Or who the manufacturer is of whatever blend is their staple?

I’m not being obnoxious, I’m genuinely curious as I’m realising that said guy is the majority of pipe smokers. Also, said guy no longer exists in NZ, they have taken his erinmore and falcon pipe cleaners off the shelves.
 

WVOldFart

Lifer
Sep 1, 2021
2,400
5,663
Eastern panhandle, WV
That's a gross mischaracterization. Carl McAlastair's matches involved much more than dumping whatever sauce on whatever flake. There was a lot of trial and error, looking for just the right tobaccos and the right toppings to make a faithful recreation. Sutliff would search for and order specialty tobaccos just to meet the needs of certain labels, like Seattle Pipe Club. They didn't just go "aisle 7".

And nobody ever said that Sutliff made 42,000 versions of essentially the same blend, just with micro adjustments, and different labels, as has been said about C&D.
I'm not interested in praising or bad mouthing tobacco companies. I always appreciated Sutliff for their desire to try to continue the old blends like Field and Stream, Revelation, Flying Dutchman etc. etc. I enjoyed many of their Match Blends and am well supplied with such blends, but I will miss them and will be sad for all the new pipe smokers that will no longer have the opportunity to try them.
 
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cosmicfolklore

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2013
35,922
85,338
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
Does the guy who buys his tobacco at the drug store or local B&M know who sutliff is?
Probably not, unless they look on the label of a blend they that they make. But, maybe... someone who only enjoys the cheap brand Barefoot wines bought at the local grocery store might not know André Tchelistcheff, but I bet they have heard of Paul Masson.
 
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dd57chevy

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 7, 2023
500
1,474
Iowa
Does the guy who buys his tobacco at the drug store or local B&M know who sutliff is? Or who the manufacturer is of whatever blend is their staple?
I can't speak for New Zealand , but here , Sutliff was probably mostly known by people who by tobacco online .

Chain drug stores no longer sell pipe tobacco . The only brick & mortars that sell it are beer & tobacco shops or a select few actual dedicated pipe shops .

It's a different world now............
 

cosmicfolklore

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2013
35,922
85,338
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
Chain drug stores no longer sell pipe tobacco .
Walgreens still does here in my town, and so does Publix and Ingles Grocers. It must be in areas of the US that doesn't have many pipe smokers where you no longer see them sold. But, in Alabama, expect to see pipesmokers in most places where guys gather.
 

dd57chevy

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 7, 2023
500
1,474
Iowa
Walgreens still does her in my town, and so does Puplix and Ingles Grocers. It must be in areas of the US that doesn't have many pipe smokers where you no longer see them sold. But, in Alabama, expect to see pipesmokers in most places where guys gather.
Maybe they have more local control in the South , I don't know , I've never been there .

I just know I used to buy tobacco at CVS . Then , maybe , 4-5 years ago I tried to buy some & was told (with a tobacco shaming tone) that they no longer sold it .
 

cosmicfolklore

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2013
35,922
85,338
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
I just know I used to buy tobacco at CVS . Then , maybe , 4-5 years ago I tried to buy some & was told (with a tobacco shaming tone) that they no longer sold it .
Yeh, CVS got rid of ALL tobaccos, across the board. That is when I switched my RXs to Walgreens. They carry Borkum Riff, Prince Albert, and Carter Hall, and quite a few cigars. But, I don't ever buy those. I probably should buy them just to support them for carrying them, but... I am really not interested in having any of them.