Codgers then vs Codgers now vs Custom/Tobacco House blends

No idea. I will say that both Half & Half and Velvet gave me the sensation of burning plastic or fiberglass in my pipe.

Gentleman, I'm not here to babysit. Both comments are uncalled for.

I wasn't going to answer sparks, as I wanted to draw his attention to the post. I post questions to give someone a thought or a chance to answer with their take on things. I love humorous snide going both ways. That was not snide.

Even though I couldn't get the right words to make all of my points lucid even someone with a limited perspicacity would know what I was getting at.

Please just lock the fargin thread up.

I assume that you are referring to Codgerly blends as Over the Counter Tobacco Blends that were at one time readily available in most general stores

Just guessing here but i would say that the tobaccos and recipes of OTC blends
 (while they may have changed slightly over the years)
pretty much have stayed the same over the years

Bulk blends or House Blends have always been around too but may not have been as readily available to the masses.... pre-mail order for these types may have been exclusive to regional sales only

since the time of mail order and now the online era this has opened up the vast array of all blends and made the availability of all tobaccos easier

I would say that maybe more new pipe smokers are picking up and Trying the Old Codgerly Blends based on the fact that these Old Blends have been around so long that it makes one wonder why ...... so they buy it.

so are Codgerly Blends more or less the same
and are the Codgerly Blends similar to a Bulk Blends by todays standard 

Yes and No and 

well maybe maybe not




lets ask mr scribbles
he knows


 





 

 

I am starting to enjoy the codger blends like SWRA,,CH.. EGR...and i am ready to dip into some PA i bought last week... as far as HH it sucks....and the only thing paladin is good for is being part of my all things cherry home blend!

Some codger blends have been tinkered with over the years. Here's list of a few examples both ways:

1) I have smoked SWR in every decade from WW2 until now. Can't tell any differences in any decade of manufacturing.

2) I have smoked Edgeworth Ready Rubbed in every decade from WW2 until it was discontinued in 2010. The difference I ever noticed was that the WW2 version was slightly deeper in flavor. Otherwise, they have been exactly the same.

3) Half & Half: the mid-1920s version I had lost some topping, but it was the same topping as other years. The burley was savory and woody, more so than in all the other years. The 1950s, '60s, and '70s H&H were exactly the same. I tried H&H a few years ago, and the topping seemed mildly different. Pinkerton made that version. When I tried H&H this year that was made by STG, it was better than the Pinkerton product, and still a little different than the earlier versions I had mentioned. However, it still had several similarities to the older blends. I think the toppings used may be the same, but come from different sources.

4) I had Pinkerton's Granger about three or four years ago. It was rough, very nutty and not very sweet. STG's version is much better (a little smoother and sweeter, and lightly less nuttier), and has a topping the was not present in the Pinkerton Granger.

5) Never noticed any changes in Prince Albert or Carter Hall.

6) 1960s EGR had a little more cinnamon than the current version.

7) Amphora Red and Brown are similar to what I smoked in the 1970s, but not quite the same. The Red was less floral. The Brown had a little less chocolate, a slightest hint of mint, and tad more burley flavor. The versions of both that I was smoking from 2004 to now have not changed in that particular period with the exception the the Red, which, is a little more floral than it was before 2010.

8) I have smoked a lot of SWRA since the mid-1980s. The 1980s and '90s versions used to occasionally catch the back of my throat and I'd cough a little. That doesn't happen now. It's got a little more chocolate now than it did a few years ago, and I believe that the Dutch liquor toppings are not quite the same as they were. But the current version is still fairly close to what I started out smoking in the 1980s.

9) I have seen differences in these OTCs over the years: Model, Blue Boar, Revelation, Briggs, Country Doctor, Barking Dog, Field and Stream, Rum and Maple, and the Borkum Ruff blends. Most of the differences are a result of who manufactured them. The Borkum Riff blends of late are less bitey than the 1970s versions, and the Bourbon Whisky in particular has a little fuller flavor. House of Windsor started out making the other blends (except for Blue Boar) with some quality, but by the early-to-mid-1990s, sales dropped and so did quality control. It wasn't pleasant to smoke them. The earlier productions were mostly consistent.

Overall, I would say the proportions of constituent tobaccos in OTCs haven't changed much or not at all. I think the differences all fall to the source of toppings used. But long time OTC smokers were, I believe, less discriminating in regard to changes, and as many of them were so minor, I figure a significant number stayed with "their" blend. Except perhaps for the later House of Windsor blends.

Those of us who buy tobaccos through the internet and are forum members are easily swayed by the idea of trying new blends, certainly much more so than those who buy in stores only, and don't go to forums. We read a lot about the old days of pipe smoking, and get bitten by the nostalgia bug for simpler times and /or curiosity about what we may be missing that OTC smokers are not. The general public buys what they know and like, and what is convenient for them to purchase. And we'd like to know how much they have it right. As always, it's personal preference that wins out.

I always buy the tubs of Carter Hall and what not. Never had much luck with pouches. It is easy to get carried away with this hobby thinking that only the good stuff comes in tins.YMMV

I presented Jiminks thesis to Yoda....



But then again I asked and was answered...




www.yodaspeak.co.uk/index.php

shite the bed...I feel the death star coming to Vegas!

REALLY!!!!!I make a statement, a truthful one at that, nothing more and i get called an asshole, and you lump me with him and say both are uncalled for? Perhaps I'll give you mine was uncalled for, but the asshole comment is intolerable, for me anyway!

Good job!!!!!!

I have been on a nostalgia kick recently, as I develop a greater appreciation for burley. Plus, it seems more appropriate to use an old codger blend when smoking an old Dr. Grabow, WDC, Kaywoodie, etc. I found this thread, and I thought it was worthy of bringing it out of retirement.

Admittedly my palate is subject to serious question, but I notice some differences in the codger blends..my experience is quite limited..I belonged to that group that didn't change blends very often..stodgy may be a good word..
PA and SWR seem much changed since late '50s and early '60s..Granger also has changed in my opinion..can't address tobacco content but the cut is different as is the flavor that I perceive..


I miss the SWR that I remember..

But one must never trust my imagined rememberances.