What Was Your First "I Gotta Buy 5 Pounds of This Stuff!" Tobacco?

[InWithBothFeet]

I bought 8oz of Lane RLP-6 a couple months ago. That's the most of any blend I've bought.

 

[Auxsender]

Nothing.
I have probably 45 pounds of baccy with very little repetition.
I probably have more Sutliff in the form of KBV and Watch City than any other blenders but I’m no more than a half pound deep on any one blend which suits me just fine.

 

[khiddy]

Someone earlier in this thread mentioned not even buying bacon by the pound. I have what I call “the strategic bacon reserve” in my freezer, never dipping below 10lbs at any point. I was given 30lbs of bacon for my birthday many years ago, and that’s when I realized that bacon is a convertible commodity. (I’ll admit I do not understand how investing works.)

Tobacco wise, Sutliff Virginia Slices 507-S was my first deep cellar purchase, and that was well before the Sutliffocalypse was a thing. I went deep primarily to age it, as my first smoke of it was so tasty and I’d heard that it was even better with some age.

I’ve gone much deeper on other blends since, primarily as a result of blends being discontinued (e.g., HH Rustica, Sutliff 515RC-1, 507-S). I use them as a mixer in home blends that I don’t want to have to reformulate for several years.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Wow. The first three responses all included McClelland 5100.

I wish it was still available so I could try it.

For those who smoked it, is there anything close to it?

Its description on various sites sounds a bit like Three Nuns (which, I must say, is a tin I enjoyed very much).

It is nothing like Three Nuns. Cinnamon spicy maple syrup with deep bready tones. At least to me. And I was buying 5 lb bags of 5100 back around 2000, not when McClelland announced they were closing.

I know of nothing like it. The only thing remotely close is F&T Black Jack.

 

[telescopes]

Most of the blends I purchase are for keeping things interesting. I found what works for me is that I found a mild blend that is pleasant and easy to smoke. It also washes out the pipe from ghosts that other tobaccos might leave. A lot of people like to knock boring, but there is a lot to be said about boring, safe, and friendly.

 

[fireground_piper]

I've never bought 5 pounds in one go but I mostly just buy English Chocolate and Blockade Runner at this point. Other than a few tins of HU Indaba and Warped Espresso the past few years, I just keep picking up a pound here and a pound there of English Chocolate and Blockade Runner when different sales pop up on SPC for either.

The down side is if a blend changes drastically over night, I guess I'm screwed. The up side is I have tins over the span of many years to pick and choose which makes any potential variations over time more negligible since I haven't spent X amount of years smoking a single batch.

I have 2019 English chocolate still, but the last tin I opened I believe was a 2024 batch. It's been good to bounce around years (until it isn't I guess).

 

[Servant King]

Mac Baren Plumcake, followed closely by Virginia Flake.

 

[sablebrush52]

For those who smoked it, is there anything close to it?

Not any longer. The closing of Sutliff ended that.

When I first tried 5100, I thought it was a bit of a snooze. Still, I bought a few pounds of it to set aside to see if it turned into something. I'm sure glad that I did!

Other blends that I stocked up on include:

D & R Rimboché A.P. and S.J
McClelland 2015
McClelland 2000
McClelland 40th Anniversary
Russ Ouellett GP-11
Watch City Old Dominion 25th Anniversary
Sutliff Match Victorian (formerly Elizabethan Match)
C&D Yorktown
Savinelli Doblone d'Oro (it's turned to crap in recent years)
Sutliff Edgeworth Ready Rub match
Esoterica Stonehaven
Esoterica Dunbar
MacBaren HH Vintage Syrian
MacBaren HH Acadian Perique
HU Director's Cut - bulk was available from Esterval's in Germany


With the exception of Doblone d'Oro, Director's Cut, Yorktown, Stonehaven and Dunbar, the rest are out of production. And recent releases of the Esoterica blends have not been to the same standard.

 

[daveinlax]

My first 5lb “Pillow” was EMP. Other “Pillows” I’ve bought are Crown Achievement, McClelland 5110, AM Pipe and Balkan Supreme.

 

[Douglas]

Elizabethan Mixture and Bayou Morning. Not because there is a specific threat of their demise. I just love them both and they play well with each other, one milder than the other in terms of Perique. There are others, and likely will more, but these two were the first I bulked up on.

 

[Peterson314]

White Knight was the first blend that I stocked up on after trying my first bowl. Ten to Midnight was the first blend that I bought by the pound. I'm a big fan of Russ's work.

 

[peteyhan]

No tobacco has led me to that range of desire. I stock up on Mac Baron and Capstan tins of all varieties when I see them. Generally I buy two tins when trying something new. This 'just in case' formula serves both schools of thought for me: if I love it I already have a backup and don't need to scramble but if I find it less enjoyable I can wait to see how it behaves with some age, no love lost. That said, 5 lbs is a lot of tobacco. That would last me forever since I love to bounce around to different blends. Cheers

 

[LeafErikson]

I regularly purchase Pegasus in 3 pound increments. That’s enough to last me about a year. I can’t say I’ve ever bought anything in 5 pound increments though.

 

[Pipeski]

First bulk purchase was SG St James. That was the first holy blend for me. The latest 5lb purchase was Sutliff 507C. Being a one or two bowl smoker I’m mainly buying with the intent to age whereas in 10 years or so regardless of laws, regulation, or availability I can enjoy smoking premium well aged tobacco into my senior years. I have 15+ opened tins at anytime. When new stuff pops up I’ll get a tin or two, or snag a tin of something aged on Pipestud to just try stuff that I missed out on. Buy in bulk, put it away and your future self will thank you. Meanwhile enjoy the variety while it’s here.

 

[Scottmi]

Never 5 pounds as, like Oz, that would be more than a lifetime supply, and since i only started stocking tobacco in 2022, it ain't so cheap anymore. however, buying a lb or 24 oz bags of several blends is my speed. First one to go back for 1.5 lbs was Peretti's Pride of Loch Lomond.

 

[Ahi Ka]

The only time I have purchased 5lbs of something was when ordering whole leaf

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Not 5 pounds (that would cost about a grand here in the UK) but the first blends I stocked up on were Warrior Plug and Revor. Glad I did as Warrior hasn't been available for a few years.

 

[ChubbyOldHiker]

I’m still only at this for a few months and I’m still trying about anything I can ounce by ounce. But I let the “it’s cheapest now” thing get to me a couple weeks ago so I bought half a pound of C&D Dark Fired Kentucky because I like the way its crazy high nicotine makes my head swim.

I also bought half a pound of C&D Pegasus at the same time because it sits as king of the intersection of price and tastiness for me. Unfortunately I think my stupid tongue has gotten sensitized to Virginias so it might be slow going through it rrrrrrg

PS I’ve stuck to burleys only for a few days and my tongue feels way better. I will try some Haunted Bookshop again in the morning and see if I’ve gotten over it. Pray for me…

 

[DesertDan]

I don't have 5lbs of any one blend.
But the first blend I bought a pound of was Luxury Bullseye flake.

 

[BingBong]

Being British, I'm rather more modest and think,"oh, I'll purchase another smidgen of that" when I find an agreeable blend. Maybe a couple of tins. Unless it's Cabbie's, of course, when all bets are off and restraint is lost to the four winds. Not 5lbs though, which would be over £1100.