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Post by terrapinflyer on Jan 11, 2021 18:42:08 GMT -5
I am not shopping for anything, but a left turn in the rabbit hole led me to some conignment/secondary market tobacco. First, the prices floored me. Second, I see a lot of Esoterica in 8oz bags. Is that stuff dried to dust? Does anyone know Germain's current status? When did Esoterica stop being made or do they still trickle out?
I guess that's more questions than musings.
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Post by Ronv69 on Jan 11, 2021 19:26:54 GMT -5
I am not shopping for anything, but a left turn in the rabbit hole led me to some conignment/secondary market tobacco. First, the prices floored me. Second, I see a lot of Esoterica in 8oz bags. Is that stuff dried to dust? Does anyone know Germain's current status? When did Esoterica stop being made or do they still trickle out? I guess that's more questions than musings. They still make it and it's probably current production. It's over hyped and sells out as soon as it becomes available. Kinda like Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon. Get to know a B&M tobacconist and get him to order it just for you. It's not bad at retail. |
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Post by urbino on Jan 11, 2021 19:39:27 GMT -5
It's tempting, since Dunbar was my main squeeze in my previous smoking life. I don't know, though. I'd rather stick with things I know I can get.
If I wanted to chase after something with little chance of success, I'd start dating again.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Jan 11, 2021 19:41:18 GMT -5
I'd have go back and check, but these had some years on them. And super inflated price$. I only tried a couple of their blends, though I wouldn't chase them. If a tin of Penzance fell from the sky, I'd smoke it. There are a couple Germain's own brand I like and have enough of them.
Edit: typo.
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Post by urbino on Jan 11, 2021 19:45:11 GMT -5
Definitely. If I stumbled across some at a reasonable price, I'd snag it. Some people enjoy the search, though, and godspeed to them. I'm just not among them.
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Post by trailboss on Jan 11, 2021 19:55:18 GMT -5
Not much to add to Urb and Ron’s advice.
But, If you want to try Esoterica blends, as Ron inferred have a relationship with a brick and mortar store manager to be able to try them out.
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Post by qmechanics on Jan 11, 2021 21:38:38 GMT -5
You can also sign over your first born and make a deal........ I have heard that some Esoterica smokers agree to these terms....
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Post by isett2860 on Jan 11, 2021 23:34:37 GMT -5
They make great stuff.
But I do not chase it.
I have never paid more than retail for it.
Patience is the best practice here. When it’s time for you to
have it. It will appear😆
There are so many other readily available blends out there that I have never tried.
Penzance is really good stuff, but to me it is not the Holy Grail.
Once again. The beauty of this hobby. It’s your journey. Smoke what you like.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Jan 12, 2021 10:45:18 GMT -5
What I've tried has been good quality, but I agree that there are readily available blends that suit me just fine, at a better price point.
I did ask my local shop about getting in some SG 1792 once. No go. He does c&d, Mac Baren, and formerly McClelland, plus codger blends. I'd have liked to support him, but it goes both ways.
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Post by bonanzadriver on Jan 12, 2021 15:46:27 GMT -5
I'm gonna take an opposing side to much of the commentary posted here.
First of all, I do not think it is over hyped. Haven't smoked one of their blends that I did not enjoy. Stonehaven is an absolute delight to smoke, as is Penzance. Margate is pretty much a daily smoke and very pleasant. Not to mention Durbar, And So To Bed, Tilbury, Dorchester and others. All very enjoyable, for me anyway.
Secondly, I don't consider making a few calls, here and there, in search of blends I'm interested in to be all that difficult. After all, I'm usually sitting down in the mancave enjoying a pipe or cigar when I'm doing it. It's almost as if because of the online retailers selling out of it quickly it is somehow determined impossible to acquire?
Thirdly, I don't play the ebay double or triple retail game. I do peruse ebay from time to time, if I find a blend I'm running low on, and the price is reasonable I'll pick it up. Usually it's available at one of my regular haunts after a few phone calls.
Just my $0.02
YMMV
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calabash
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Post by calabash on Jan 12, 2021 19:12:46 GMT -5
I've been back into pipe smoking for a couple years now. I haven't scored any Penzance but, with some patience, I've managed to accumulate a few pounds of other Esoterica blends at retail.
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Post by taiguy66 on Jan 13, 2021 9:23:52 GMT -5
They make great stuff. But I do not chase it. I have never paid more than retail for it. Patience is the best practice here. When it’s time for you to have it. It will appear😆 There are so many other readily available blends out there that I have never tried. Penzance is really good stuff, but to me it is not the Holy Grail. Once again. The beauty of this hobby. It’s your journey. Smoke what you like. Wize words indeed Charlie. 👍 |
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Post by terrapinflyer on Jan 13, 2021 9:30:25 GMT -5
I'm always up to hear dissenting opinion! I, to my embarrassment, had forgotten Stonehaven. That stuff is in another league of goodness and I have a jar or two put by.
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Post by Legend Lover on Jan 13, 2021 11:26:36 GMT -5
I'm fortunate in that I have access to quite a selection of Germain's blends, but I'm never sure which blend is the equivalent to the US versions (like Esoterica etc.). Maybe they aren't, but part of me wonders are these the same blends but with different names in the UK. I've gotta say all Germain's blends that I have are excellent.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2021 12:29:36 GMT -5
It's tempting, since Dunbar was my main squeeze in my previous smoking life. I don't know, though. I'd rather stick with things I know I can get. If I wanted to chase after something with little chance of success, I'd start dating again. I'm with you on this. I already have too many great tobacco blends that I rarely smoke, and other than Penzance, nothing Esoterica offers blows the tennis balls off my walker. Just from trades I have more Penzance than I'll smoke in a year, so I won't chase the drops. But I like the idea of getting a B&M to order something if I 'have to have it'. That was a great suggestion. (101st post - if I could post a photo I could start selling stuff!!!) |
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Post by Ronv69 on Jan 13, 2021 12:32:06 GMT -5
I'm lucky that Stonehaven tastes like hot air to me. I like Penzance, but there are other, cheaper blends that I like better.
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Post by urbino on Jan 13, 2021 17:02:49 GMT -5
It's tempting, since Dunbar was my main squeeze in my previous smoking life. I don't know, though. I'd rather stick with things I know I can get. If I wanted to chase after something with little chance of success, I'd start dating again. I'm with you on this. I already have too many great tobacco blends that I rarely smoke, and other than Penzance, nothing Esoterica offers blows the tennis balls off my walker. Just from trades I have more Penzance than I'll smoke in a year, so I won't chase the drops. But I like the idea of getting a B&M to order something if I 'have to have it'. That was a great suggestion. (101st post - if I could post a photo I could start selling stuff!!!) And if you shipped it next-day air, it'd be the 101st Airborne. |
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calabash
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Post by calabash on Jan 13, 2021 19:01:11 GMT -5
I'm lucky that Stonehaven tastes like hot air to me. I like Penzance, but there are other, cheaper blends that I like better. The Esoterica blends I have tried have all been very good. But, there's no way I would pay four times retail for them. |
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Post by trailboss on Jan 13, 2021 19:29:19 GMT -5
The Esoterica brand has a huge following, and obviously a well earned reputation for excellence. I am not so excellent in my palate, so the stuff does not trip my trigger, plus I have more than I could ever smoke of some fine blends.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2021 20:03:44 GMT -5
The Esoterica brand has a huge following, and obviously a well earned reputation for excellence. I am not so excellent in my palate, so the stuff does not trip my trigger, plus I have more than I could ever smoke of some fine blends. Palate differences among smokers are interesting. There are several blends that smokers agree are among the best straight VA's and VaPers, that I can barely taste. I'm guessing if there are say ten different smell/taste receptors, I'm missing around four of them. I know I'm not crazy because Cabbie's, Byronic Slices and WC 558 blow me away with flavor, as do many others. |
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Post by trailboss on Jan 13, 2021 20:18:14 GMT -5
The Esoterica brand has a huge following, and obviously a well earned reputation for excellence. I am not so excellent in my palate, so the stuff does not trip my trigger, plus I have more than I could ever smoke of some fine blends. that I can barely taste. I'm guessing if there are say ten different smell/taste receptors, I'm missing around four of them. I know I'm not crazy because Cabbie's, Byronic Slices and WC 558 blow me away with flavor, as do many others. I have seen the same thing. Depending on the year or the internet buzz, some blends are all the rage...a few years later, crickets. I recently cracked a tin of yesteryears favorite and it was like grandpa came back from the grave, but I hear nothing about that blend in the "what are you smoking" thread. To be fair, that is not the case with Esoterica blends, they seem to always fare well in the marketplace. |
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Spartacus
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Post by Spartacus on Jan 13, 2021 21:06:07 GMT -5
I enjoy most Esoterica blends and there are a few I wouldn’t smoke if they were free. I don’t mind the chase. Finding hard to get and obscure tobacco is something I like to do.
I don’t pay more than retail for Esoterica and I have accumulated enough to make me happy with what I have. If you’re patient you can find it.
Enjoy the chase.
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Post by lizardonarock on Jan 14, 2021 6:15:30 GMT -5
I am always amused when folks tell me how great obsolete and hard to get blends are great when I cant even remember how good the GLP blend I had last night was. I don't chase unicorn farts but I reckon some folks do and enjoy the chase.
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Post by sperrytops on Jan 14, 2021 16:12:55 GMT -5
Despite the huge following of Esoterica, I feel the only Esoterica blends that deserve premium pricing are Penzance and Stonehaven. For the others, there are better blends more readily available. The few times I've found Penzance and Stonehaven have been in retail stores I know who will sell to me over the phone. I haven't seen either of those two blends on a website in years. The stores that did sell it to me sold at standard retail prices, never scalper prices. I periodically check with them, but alas, I've never caught any in Pen or Stone in stock there over last couple of years. Their other blends (not Penzance or Stonehaven) always have some availability somewhere, but they are not worth it to me. I'll default to GLP, SPC or KBV.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Jan 14, 2021 16:54:30 GMT -5
I agree with the statements above regarding individual palates. The important thing is I know what I like. I have lots of tins of various blends I like that happen to be popular. The majority of my stock is Stokkebye, Newminster, and C&D bulk, though. And ropes.
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Post by bonanzadriver on Jan 14, 2021 17:55:59 GMT -5
I am always amused when folks tell me how great obsolete and hard to get blends are great when I cant even remember how good the GLP blend I had last night was. I don't chase unicorn farts but I reckon some folks do and enjoy the chase. Hmmm??? Although I've been smoking a pipe off and on since 1981 or so, I only really got into it about 4 years ago. I've had the good fortune of attending a couple of pipe show, met several patchers there over the years, as well as pipe club meetings. I've been exposed to many great blends and some, not so much. Many of the blends I have that I "Love", sadly are obsolete. Subsequently, if I happen upon one of the ones on my list of faves or list of "would like to try", I pick em up, if reasonably priced. (recently did this over the holidays when I was able to score a couple tins of Christmas Cheer, great smoke for sure) As for the Unicorn farts?  This might be more of a whirlwind than a fart, but it is nonetheless front to back, top to bottom Esoterica with some Germains RDF thrown in for good measure. I'm not tryin to bust you chops Liz, but the fact that you haven't been able to find, or made the effort to find the more rare / sought after blends, doesn't mean that they aren't worth a little effort. I've stated my position, previously in this thread, that it is not near as difficult as some would make it out to be. Cheers.  |
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Post by Darin on Jan 15, 2021 15:35:46 GMT -5
terrapinflyer ... I'll throw my "meh" into this ring. Tilbury was pretty good but I'd take a bag of D&R Two Timer over that.
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Post by terrapinflyer on Jan 15, 2021 19:32:10 GMT -5
@darin I truly liked Stonehaven, but, yeah. And your palate could kick my palate's butt. D&R makes some good stuff. Ramback, I think, the VaBurOr is very good. It's not varietal like McC, but I've enjoyed it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2021 0:00:24 GMT -5
I enjoy most Esoterica blends and there are a few I wouldn’t smoke if they were free. I don’t mind the chase. Finding hard to get and obscure tobacco is something I like to do. I don’t pay more than retail for Esoterica and I have accumulated enough to make me happy with what I have. If you’re patient you can find it. Enjoy the chase. I get that attitude, but I just want to have a good smoke, and see the chase as making that more difficult - like when I needed Hungarian Paprika for a pork roast, and had to go to four groceries to finally find it. The chase just delayed my feast. The only really difficult tobacco I 'chased' was Penzance. This was thanks to someone sending me a sample I didn't ask for  I smoked it very sparingly, then someone traded me a pile of it, and now I'm good for a couple of years. There are plenty of things I enjoy chasing - I've had an ebay search for a rare Japanese baseball postcard for about 8 years now, and a golf club search for three. I just don't think of tobacco that way. |
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Post by Legend Lover on Jan 17, 2021 3:34:42 GMT -5
I enjoy most Esoterica blends and there are a few I wouldn’t smoke if they were free. I don’t mind the chase. Finding hard to get and obscure tobacco is something I like to do. I don’t pay more than retail for Esoterica and I have accumulated enough to make me happy with what I have. If you’re patient you can find it. Enjoy the chase. I get that attitude, but I just want to have a good smoke, and see the chase as making that more difficult - like when I needed Hungarian Paprika for a pork roast, and had to go to four groceries to finally find it. The chase just delayed my feast. The only really difficult tobacco I 'chased' was Penzance. This was thanks to someone sending me a sample I didn't ask for I smoked it very sparingly, then someone traded me a pile of it, and now I'm good for a couple of years. There are plenty of things I enjoy chasing - I've had an ebay search for a rare Japanese baseball postcard for about 8 years now, and a golf club search for three. I just don't think of tobacco that way. I suppose for some, the chase makes it fun. |
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I smoked it very sparingly, then someone traded me a pile of it, and now I'm good for a couple of years.