Penzance - Not Buying Into The Hype

Dorchester is what put me on the Virginia path. I ration out the small amount that I do have.

I too would never pay crazy prices for penzance. I have acquired 1 tin so far. It's good stuff. I like it but I always forget about it so I still have most of a tin left. I'm also not going to hunt it down. I will buy it if it is front of me. It's good, I'll smoke it. Nothing more to it than that.

Different strokes for different folks. 12 years ago, Penzance was a highly regarded blend, not a idée fixe. One could walk into any well stocked tobacconist and find it readily available. Then Germain's missed a bunch of shipments and people went nuts hoarding it and the fixation and bullshit surrounding it has never stopped. Much of the mystique lies in its lack of availability. It's been turned into a trophy tobacco. It's not the worst blend I've smoked and it's not the best. I still have a couple of pounds aging away, and will probably sell or trade them if I don't just give them away, as I really don't find it to my taste.

On the other hand, Stonehaven, Dunbar, Dorchester and Tilbury are blends that I like a lot, so I've stocked up on those, but only at regular retail. Stonehaven is a very finicky blend to get to perform, but when it does, it's pretty amazing. And when it doesn't, it's cardboard.

While I have occasionally spent some extra cash on vintage tins, I've never spent anything like the enormous prices being asked these days. There are better uses for my hard earned cash, like investing it to make more less hard earned cash.

Yesterday, Pipestud's new site was launched. I happened to be on it before any announcements went out. All those wonderful rarities were there for the taking. Everything was in stock. And I had no interest in buying any of it. None.

My cellar is done. If I never buy another shred of leaf I have plenty of great smokes from which to choose. I just put out a few flakes of 1995 Christmas Cheer to smoke. Maybe I'll enjoy some Renaissance or Bohemian Scandal later, or some actual Ogden's made St. Bruno. Or, maybe some Savinelli Doblone d'Oro, since I also liked the old Va/Per Three Nuns, and this stuff is very much like it.

There's simply a lot of very good tobacco available today at regular retail. I've yet to experience any tobacco, and I've smoked a lot of legendary blends in my 46 years of smoking pipes, worth the high prices or worthy of the sometimes hysterical hype.

...thankfully, I've talked myself out of the Penzance hype... lots of good tobacco out there at present... I'm enjoying those...

For me it's simple...since most blends taste the same to me, there's not much difference between one blend and another - not enough to go crazy over a blend...

My fear is if I DO stumble upon a blend that stands out from all the rest (a bit like Blood Red Moon)....but even then I shrug and say, 'ah well; plenty of other blends out there'.

...it was close enough for me...

Way to many excellent tobacco’s still readily available for me to hunt down a blend that’s way over priced. Once any blend is hyped up and the price as well, I usually stay clear and spend my money wisely on tobacco’s I know will be around for a while. At this point after 50 years of enjoying a pipe, I have enough of my favorites for my lifetime stashed......it’s time I start enjoying more of what I already have👍👍

Does anyone ever think that esoterica will ever return to being commonly available? Surely this crazy cycle of drops will end eventually.

No... it will always be their standard of operation and production.

They need to raise the price. Sorry to say, but that is how you handle this. At some higher price it would become readily available.

I popped a fresh, 2 year old tin of Penzance last night and it was good but nothing special because I smoked it in the wrong pipe. When I use the right pipe it's fantastic. The "right pipe is a London Made pot, but I have several and I don't remember which one. I think I am going to try it in my slowroll Pibe Dan Reformed tribute stack.
I would have been hesitant to open the tin that I could sell for a hundred bucks, but since it was a gift I have an obligation to enjoy it myself and I will.

my b&m is stocked incredibly well with eso and germains. His prices keep it on his shelf. Also there aren't too many pipe smokers who shop there.

I think the short answer is never.  They've been unable to service the brands that they currently have.  When was the last time they issued Krumble Kake?  That's supposedly still in production.  Add to their small capacity VS large commitments that they are also now making blends for the Asian market.  To be fair, deliveries have been more regular over the past two years, but I doubt that it will ever be more common than it is currently.

I just hope that they continue blending and don't either sell out to another company or shut down.  Apparently the next generation of Germains aren't keen on taking over the family business.