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Post by Dramatwist on Jan 27, 2018 4:12:13 GMT -5
The label on the back of the tin I'm working on reads; "...Distributed by MeierDutch.com" in PA. Same as the old?
No.
Damn good, though. Full bowl with no re-lights. Smoky, peppery, smooth...
Smoked in the loo, most likely will catch hell from the SO.
She specifically stated that she dislikes the scent of Bengal Slices.
S***.
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Post by haebar on Jan 27, 2018 8:25:21 GMT -5
You're in the doghouse.
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cappadoc
Junior Member
Posts: 181 
Favorite Pipe: Basil Meadows Billiard
Favorite Tobacco: H&H El Niño
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Post by cappadoc on Jan 28, 2018 10:37:06 GMT -5
Or the sh*! House?
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Post by puffy on Jan 28, 2018 23:28:06 GMT -5
I haven't tried the new..The old was a bit too heavy for me.
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Post by Dramatwist on Jan 29, 2018 12:22:14 GMT -5
I haven't tried the new..The old was a bit too heavy for me. The new one is close. |
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Post by Lady Margaret on Jan 29, 2018 18:13:06 GMT -5
The label on the back of the tin I'm working on reads; "...Distributed by MeierDutch.com" in PA. Same as the old? No. Damn good, though. Full bowl with no re-lights. Smoky, peppery, smooth... Smoked in the loo, most likely will catch hell from the SO. She specifically stated that she dislikes the scent of Bengal Slices. S***.
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Post by crapgame on Feb 6, 2018 13:17:13 GMT -5
Love it! The wife doesn't complain about it when she sits outside with me but still prefers I smoke arid when she is with me or when I smoke fishing etc
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Post by crapgame on Feb 6, 2018 13:17:38 GMT -5
Aromatics
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2018 14:51:14 GMT -5
Ah - I was wondering.... Glad you're not smoking this stuff. |
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Post by briarpipenyc on Feb 6, 2018 15:17:41 GMT -5
Happy wife, happy life.....
Frank
NYC
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Post by briarpipenyc on Feb 12, 2018 8:58:05 GMT -5
My first smokes of "BS" were back in the 90s. Honestly, the tobacco smelled like burnt room deodorizer. Smoked a few bowls and dumped the rest in the garbage. Me no likey this tobaccy...and, the dresser-drawer where I kept my tobacco stash, stunk/stank/stinked to high heaven, for months. But, that was then.
I might have to give this famous blend, another, more contemporary, try.
Frank
NYC
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Post by papipeguy on Feb 12, 2018 9:33:44 GMT -5
I happen to love Bengal Slices; but, since I run the company, I should.
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Post by daveinlax on Feb 12, 2018 16:14:04 GMT -5
I might have to give this famous blend, another, more contemporary, try. IMO this is just a match blend with a historic name with a lapsed trademark in the US. It has as much to do with the real deal as a LV bag or Rolex bought at a flea market does.  |
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Post by trailboss on Feb 12, 2018 16:21:03 GMT -5
Ah - I was wondering.... Glad you're not smoking this stuff. I missed out on all the pit-sniffing back in the 70’s...😝 I don’t even want to look at the old FDS or Cruex jock itch commercials.😝 |
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Post by briarpipenyc on Feb 12, 2018 18:01:32 GMT -5
Daveinlax....thanks for that essential information. I was only slightly curious about the modern version of "BS". Definitely not that intrigued, and "BS" will not be on my bucket list. If I happen to get a bowlfull, free, I'll try it.
Frank
NYC
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Post by Lady Margaret on Feb 12, 2018 18:14:27 GMT -5
I happen to love Bengal Slices; but, since I run the company, I should.
no bias, lol.
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Post by Dramatwist on Feb 12, 2018 18:24:12 GMT -5
I happen to love Bengal Slices; but, since I run the company, I should.
no bias, lol.
...but it IS really good... |
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Post by Lady Margaret on Feb 12, 2018 18:32:36 GMT -5
...but it IS really good...
well, i got a tin a couple weeks ago, tomorrow is supposed to be sufficiently warm and dry, so hopefully I will get to try it for myself 
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Post by Ronv69 on Feb 12, 2018 18:37:17 GMT -5
I have a tin in the bottom of the cabinet that is at least a year old and probably won't be popped for a couple more years,so I have never tried it. I hope age won't hurt it.
It's funny, but I smoke Latakia blends next to the wife all the time. She only complains about aros. She is probably afraid I will turn out like Ruffinogold.
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Post by lestrout on Feb 12, 2018 22:14:10 GMT -5
Well, there are "Match" blends, and then there are attempts to match blends. I personally consider the few really great genius-grade tobacco blenders (1st names such as Greg and Russ) possessing skills that exceed world famous celebrity chefs', even if they don't have their own TV shows or backup bands. Not only are there the requisite olfactory and tasting capabilities, but these greats have to understand how to reduce their mental images of the taste profiles they are trying to achieve to blends of leaf. Like cooking, there are the additional processes (toasting, stoving, fermenting, pressing, steaming, even Cavendishing, etc.) that transform the raw ingredients into finished product. But unlike mere cooks and chefs, great blenders have to see their product go through combustion and pyrolysis before we pipsters get to experience the tastes, which are the whole point of the exercise (to me, it's all about the taste). A cook just has to take a quick nip or bite to see how his dish is doing - he/she has a much more direct route to the results. And then, to bring in the whole issue of formulating the blend to account for ageing adds yet another dimension. A cook has the simpler task of just keeping the dish fresh.
When you consider that many experienced pipsters believe that houses with great experience and history like Dunhill failed to preserve the sanctity of, say My Mixture 965, through pre-Murray, Murray, and Orlik iterations, you must pause to reflect on the difficulty of achieving 'matches'. And they, and folks like Rattray, have the advantages of access to the source leaf, recipes, process equipment, and experienced personnel. Bengal Slices utilized an unusually robust development protocol, and I wouldn't be so quick to discount the magnitude of its (re)creation.
hp
les
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2018 22:41:18 GMT -5
It sounds like a really unusual blend. I have a tin lying around and hopefully will get to it this summer. Need to smoke up a lot of open stuff first.
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Post by sparks on Feb 13, 2018 8:25:36 GMT -5
Well said, Les.
It's very easy for all of us sitting on the sidelines to discount the work and effort that has been put into re-creating a blend like Bengal Slices. While it might not match side by side with the original, it was created in the same spirit and with a dedication to coming as close to it as possible.
I tired of hearing all the complaining about trademarks and playing off of a name 2 years ago. That horse has been beat to death. Let it rest in peace.
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Post by Ronv69 on Feb 13, 2018 12:39:13 GMT -5
JimInks gives it four stars and says that it is better than the original. I look forward to it with anticipation.
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Post by crapgame on Feb 13, 2018 13:49:44 GMT -5
Well, there are "Match" blends, and then there are attempts to match blends. I personally consider the few really great genius-grade tobacco blenders (1st names such as Greg and Russ) possessing skills that exceed world famous celebrity chefs', even if they don't have their own TV shows or backup bands. Not only are there the requisite olfactory and tasting capabilities, but these greats have to understand how to reduce their mental images of the taste profiles they are trying to achieve to blends of leaf. Like cooking, there are the additional processes (toasting, stoving, fermenting, pressing, steaming, even Cavendishing, etc.) that transform the raw ingredients into finished product. But unlike mere cooks and chefs, great blenders have to see their product go through combustion and pyrolysis before we pipsters get to experience the tastes, which are the whole point of the exercise (to me, it's all about the taste). A cook just has to take a quick nip or bite to see how his dish is doing - he/she has a much more direct route to the results. And then, to bring in the whole issue of formulating the blend to account for ageing adds yet another dimension. A cook has the simpler task of just keeping the dish fresh. When you consider that many experienced pipsters believe that houses with great experience and history like Dunhill failed to preserve the sanctity of, say My Mixture 965, through pre-Murray, Murray, and Orlik iterations, you must pause to reflect on the difficulty of achieving 'matches'. And they, and folks like Rattray, have the advantages of access to the source leaf, recipes, process equipment, and experienced personnel. Bengal Slices utilized an unusually robust development protocol, and I wouldn't be so quick to discount the magnitude of its (re)creation. hp les Hear Hear!!! Murmmer Murmmer ..mumble that's is for our Brit members watching Prime Minister's Questions..LOL |
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Post by papipeguy on Feb 13, 2018 18:22:34 GMT -5
Perhaps a bit of history behind Bengal Slices, John Cotton blends and the War Horse blends is in order. Extensive research and testing went into all of the blends. Getting samples of the original blends took many months and relied on the kindness of people across the world so Standard Tobacco could get as close to the original blends as possible. Labs in the USA and Israel were employed to dissect the "DNA" of these blends. An expensive proposition but one deemed necessary to accomplish the goal of providing something that came as close as possible to the original blends. Standard Tobacco was very fortunate to have Russ Oullette become part of that process and many development samples were made and field tested to make sure that we got it right. A lot of people were involved in the Beta testing, which took over a year.
One of the most daunting tasks was getting leaf as close to the original blends as possible. Not an easy task given changes in sources and availability of the constituent parts of the recipes. Frankly, some things are no longer legal to use so like-in-kind additives had to be found or developed.
Are all of the blends for everyone? Probably not but the intent was to offer classic blends to fans that were no longer available.
Nothing remains the same as it was 50 years ago so I prefer to judge a blend on it's own merit. There are many examples of how pipe blends have changed over the years. The fact is that we have to deal with what we are offered and make our decisions based on what we find acceptable for our tastes.
The pipe tobacco business is interesting, crazy, vibrant and exciting. I believe we accomplished what we set out to do and that pipe smokers come to enjoy our work.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2018 19:19:11 GMT -5
Really interesting, thanks papipeguy. Knowing all that, it would be fun to try Bengal Slices alongside Fusilier's Ration - the latter being based simply on Russ's own memory of what BS was like, if I understand correctly. It would be interesting to compare the results of these two very different ways of attempting the same thing. |
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Post by bonanzadriver on Feb 13, 2018 20:01:21 GMT -5
Perhaps a bit of history behind Bengal Slices, John Cotton blends and the War Horse blends is in order. Extensive research and testing went into all of the blends. Getting samples of the original blends took many months and relied on the kindness of people across the world so Standard Tobacco could get as close to the original blends as possible. Labs in the USA and Israel were employed to dissect the "DNA" of these blends. An expensive proposition but one deemed necessary to accomplish the goal of providing something that came as close as possible to the original blends. Standard Tobacco was very fortunate to have Russ Oullette become part of that process and many development samples were made and field tested to make sure that we got it right. A lot of people were involved in the Beta testing, which took over a year. One of the most daunting tasks was getting leaf as close to the original blends as possible. Not an easy task given changes in sources and availability of the constituent parts of the recipes. Frankly, some things are no longer legal to use so like-in-kind additives had to be found or developed. Are all of the blends for everyone? Probably not but the intent was to offer classic blends to fans that were no longer available. Nothing remains the same as it was 50 years ago so I prefer to judge a blend on it's own merit. There are many examples of how pipe blends have changed over the years. The fact is that we have to deal with what we are offered and make our decisions based on what we find acceptable for our tastes. The pipe tobacco business is interesting, crazy, vibrant and exciting. I believe we accomplished what we set out to do and that pipe smokers come to enjoy our work. To quote my buds from the land down under.... Good on you mate! I for one am quite grateful for the blood, sweat, tears and dollars you folks invested in this endeavor. |
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Post by Ronv69 on Feb 13, 2018 21:07:09 GMT -5
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Post by trailboss on Feb 13, 2018 23:21:54 GMT -5
I too appreciate the effort involved between Dan, Simon, and Russ along with John's background in recreating the blends to bring to market...the effort and risk are in the where angels fear to tread territory...especially in light of the FDA (F'ing Dumb Ass) regulators attempts to squash
entrepreneurship.
The only reason that I don't have tins of Bengal slices stashed is because my love for lat blends is on the wane, but the other STG blends I have cellar'd are ones that I enjoy now,and expect to enjoy into the future.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2018 23:40:32 GMT -5
I'm happy when anyone tries to recreate anything. As I have often said, the match can be of better quality and taste than the original.
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