Ya know whats driving me nuts ... tobacco availability . I guess the good news is that I'm smoking down some stuff in the old " cellar " but sweet Mary and Joseph , man ... what a drag .
I'll go to one of the etailer sites because I want to make an order and not one of the sites will have half of what I'm after at one time . It's been this way for at least a year .
Well , there are certain blends that are always available and thank goodness for them ...
The Good
I think the premier brand that is just about always in stock is MacBaren . They really are the modern masters and their blends are ready to roll right out of a fresh popped tin , something which others haven't figured out how to do yet . Also , the other brands they make are generally in stock , like Capstan for example . They are bad asses
Also , being Escudo is a benchmark blend , youd think it would be unavailable sometimes ... but i cant recall it being . Seriously , what a stellar blend and the absolute benchmark Vaper
Of course , Peter Stokkebye ( the best deal out there brand ) is always available as are most all bulk brands . But PS really has some great ones and they do a good job keeping everyone stocked . Occasionaly they're out of one if the luxury blends .. but not for long
Sutliff too , with exception of Virginia slices being temporarily out but not for long
There are others but the above are ones that stand out to me
The Bad
Wessex , Dan , F&T , Aylesbury , McConnell , Peter Heinrich etc ...
The Ugly
JF Germain and SG
Oh , some good ones , I reckon
There's always GLP , H&H and Daughters and Ryan .... but I wouldn't smoke that stuff, it's crap imo . Always available though
Availability . The good , bad and ugly
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Ruffinogold
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" I believe adventure is nothing but a romantic name for trouble " L.L.
There a lot of choice pickings in the "good". Im scratching my head with 507c, though it doesn't surprise me. After the fall of the McClelland Empire people googled, found it, tried it and now are stocking it. Maybe they didn't want to get caught with their pants down if goes the wayside.
I keep wanting to smoke a few D&R blends but that whole RYO into pipe tobacco really rubs me raw.
I keep wanting to smoke a few D&R blends but that whole RYO into pipe tobacco really rubs me raw.
Andrew 
I'm just glad I cellared most of my stuff in 2011-2012. I went a little overboard on post-apocalypse McClelland, but I was willing to pay the premium for blends I'd never get another shot at. I am fine with where I sit. I may need some more Watch City Burley.
I hope our names are touching on the watch list
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Ruffinogold
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Ruffinogold
- The Mayor
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I'm sure yours will be better !!sisyphus wrote: ↑Tue May 08, 2018 9:13 am I'm just glad I cellared most of my stuff in 2011-2012. I went a little overboard on post-apocalypse McClelland, but I was willing to pay the premium for blends I'd never get another shot at. I am fine with where I sit. I may need some more Watch City Burley.
" I believe adventure is nothing but a romantic name for trouble " L.L.
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Mr Beardsley
- Founding Member
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One area where I disagree with you Ruff is GLP. I definitely don't think they are the be all / end all tobacco blends, but the few tobaccos from them that I like, I REALLY like. I think a lot of that is the way their latakia actually tastes different to me. The way my tasters work, if it's a lat heavy blend then that's the only component I taste, and they all taste the same to me. Somehow Pease tastes different from the rest and actually works well with me. Other companies I try to stick with a blend that uses latakia sparingly.
I've been lucky enough to stumble across a few tins of Germain's here & there. I'd give up a leg for consistent availability of their stuff. I have a little McClelland stocked up but not much. Luckily I like to keep a wide variety of blends rather than large amounts of a few so when things like F&T pop up in stock I try to snag a couple of them. I waited nearly a year (I think) for wessex burley slice to pop back up on shelves and grabbed some of that. Same with solani.
At the moment I'm doing apartment living in CA with nosey neighbors who like to chat a lot. So I limit my smoking to when they are gone or sleeping. Once life sorts itself out and the missus and I can get out of the land of fruits & nuts my meager "Cellar" probably won't last long. When the hard to find stuff becomes available I try to be ready to pounce but it sure does seem to be getting harder lately
I've been lucky enough to stumble across a few tins of Germain's here & there. I'd give up a leg for consistent availability of their stuff. I have a little McClelland stocked up but not much. Luckily I like to keep a wide variety of blends rather than large amounts of a few so when things like F&T pop up in stock I try to snag a couple of them. I waited nearly a year (I think) for wessex burley slice to pop back up on shelves and grabbed some of that. Same with solani.
At the moment I'm doing apartment living in CA with nosey neighbors who like to chat a lot. So I limit my smoking to when they are gone or sleeping. Once life sorts itself out and the missus and I can get out of the land of fruits & nuts my meager "Cellar" probably won't last long. When the hard to find stuff becomes available I try to be ready to pounce but it sure does seem to be getting harder lately
“If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?” - George Carlin
I'm definitely having trouble finding blends I like. I can't find some of the Peterson blends, 1865 in particular. I haven't seen a tin of Sam Gawith Squadron Leader in forever. Same goes for their Skiff Mixture. Dunhill favorite blends like 965 and London are hit or miss.
The good news is that I'm finding some new blends that are available. G.L. Pease has a number of blends that work well for me. Several of the Seattle Pipe Club blends are pretty good, and I have more on order. Several Hearth and Home blends are becoming favorites.
For the moment, trying new blends and keeping an eye out for old favorites.
The good news is that I'm finding some new blends that are available. G.L. Pease has a number of blends that work well for me. Several of the Seattle Pipe Club blends are pretty good, and I have more on order. Several Hearth and Home blends are becoming favorites.
For the moment, trying new blends and keeping an eye out for old favorites.
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Whalehead King
I don't have a deep cellar, but I do have enough tobacco lying around to not experience a near-term shortage. No panic attacks at Chez King.
When I first picked up the pipe, I lived in Boston so I would go over to L.J. Piretti or to a shop in Brookline on the Green Line of the T, I forget its name, or I would take my motorcycle out to Quincy to see what the B&M there had in stock. I buy tins online, of course, but I'm content with whatever the local selection may be. I don't live in Boston anymore but I have a couple of B&Ms in New Orleans to satisfy my needs when I want to try something new.
I'm not one to stockpile, so I'm not one to buy in bulk. An ounce, a tin, whatever is available. A little dis and dat. Whatever they have in stock.
I'm a connoisseur in the sense that I like what I like, but I'm not particularly persnickety. I dislike too many choices. My mind shuts down when given too many options. I prefer a straight choice: this or that. "Whaddaya got?" Tell me and I'll choose something. I am easily pleased. When I'm not happy, I don't buy it again. I don't like Sail and I don't like Daughters and Ryan. Aside from that, whatever is available is fine with me.
I am a simple man without taste. I may as well live in Mineral Bluff, Georgia 100 years ago and walk into the general store. "Whaddaya got?" Whatever they had, I'd take it and I'd be happy with it.
When I first picked up the pipe, I lived in Boston so I would go over to L.J. Piretti or to a shop in Brookline on the Green Line of the T, I forget its name, or I would take my motorcycle out to Quincy to see what the B&M there had in stock. I buy tins online, of course, but I'm content with whatever the local selection may be. I don't live in Boston anymore but I have a couple of B&Ms in New Orleans to satisfy my needs when I want to try something new.
I'm not one to stockpile, so I'm not one to buy in bulk. An ounce, a tin, whatever is available. A little dis and dat. Whatever they have in stock.
I'm a connoisseur in the sense that I like what I like, but I'm not particularly persnickety. I dislike too many choices. My mind shuts down when given too many options. I prefer a straight choice: this or that. "Whaddaya got?" Tell me and I'll choose something. I am easily pleased. When I'm not happy, I don't buy it again. I don't like Sail and I don't like Daughters and Ryan. Aside from that, whatever is available is fine with me.
I am a simple man without taste. I may as well live in Mineral Bluff, Georgia 100 years ago and walk into the general store. "Whaddaya got?" Whatever they had, I'd take it and I'd be happy with it.