Same Blend, Different Name, And Different Packaging
ghostsofpompeii
Master
Back at the height of the home video boom, when VHS video cassette rental stores were everywhere, and the shelves were stocked with a weekly supply of new movies (mostly direct-to-video garbage), it was common practice to find yourself taken in by the unethical practice of distributors repackaging movies (usually horror flicks) with alternative titles and different artwork. I can't tell you how many times I found myself watching (or worse yet - having bought) what I thought was a new Italian zombie flick only to realize one minute into the movie that I'd seen it before under a different title.
The 1979 movie "Zombie" was repackaged as "Zombie 2", "Island Of The Living Dead", "Zombie 2: The Dead Are Among Us", and "Zombie Flesh Eaters". I've the got same movie under different titles on my shelf. Tobe Hooper, the director of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (who just recently passed away), released the 1976 film entitled "Eaten Alive". The same films could be found on VHS cassettes as well as DVD multi-movie collections under titles like: "Death Trap", "Horror Hotel Massacre", "Legend Of The Bayou", and "Starlight Slaughter". I unwitting found myself in the possession of three different versions of the movie "The Ghost Galleon", disguised under the titles "Horror Of The Zombies", "Ship Of Zombies" and "Zombie Flesh Eaters". Somehow I managed to miss "Ghost Ships Of The Blind Dead" which is also the same movie under a different title. Now I don't expect much sympathy from members here with better taste in movies, but when you consider a movie title like the 1981 "There Was A Little Girl" you might find yourself taken aback by the alternative titles of this film: "And When She Was Bad", "Flesh And The Beast", Madhouse", and "Scared To Death".
But what does any of this have to do with pipe tobacco? You may ask.
With about 75 different aromatic blends currently in my cellar I'm beginning to wonder just how many of these different blends are actually one in the same, packaged under a different name. Some are positively indistinguishable for one another in texture, pouch note, room note, and taste. Many of the Captain Black blends seem to be a dead ringer for Lane blends like RPL-6 and 1Q. And since they're manufactured by the same company it makes me wonder if that's not the case.
I've recently learned it's common practice for some Mom and Pop brick & mortar shops to scoop up a batch of bulk blends from giant bags of Lane or Sutliff tobacco in their back room, pour it into a jar on the counter with a different label, and call it a House Blend. And so long as the customer is happy I guess 'no harm no foul'. But what's the possibility of quality tinned tobaccos from large companies like Mac Baren, Sutliff, Peter Stokkebye, Dunhill, McClelland and Lane being the same exact blend packaged under a different name. I'd hate to think I'm doing the same thing with pipe tobacco purchases as I did with Italian zombie movies ... buying the same one under a different name.
It's understandable how I came to this conclusion since I tend to look for aromatic tobacco with a similar taste profile and characteristics ... vanilla, chocolate, caramel, maple and the like. The manufacture descriptions that pique my curiosity generally read the same - so the real problem is in my choice of similar flavored tobacco products. "What did I expect?". But it did set the wheels in motion for this line of reasoning ... be it right or wrong. And if there was a hint of truth to my presumptions I questioned the ethics behind the ruse of having us buy the same blend in different trappings. The world of tobacco is quite different than say, the world of music. And I couldn't simply repackage an Emerson Lake & Palmer or Beatles album with new artwork, putting my name to it and claiming it as my own. But if that's what some of the tobacco manufactures are doing ... isn't it the same?
Of course I'm basing this on an assumption with no facts to back me up other than what I taste and smell. But I'd be curious to know if anyone out there has the facts to back up what I'm implying or if I've simply warped my mind watched too many of those Italian zombie movies.
Comments
As for big manufacturers doing the same, that's an interesting thought that I have never considered. Now that you mention it though, I have heard that there are some manufacturers that contract out their blends to other blenders like C&D for example. So it seems entirely possible that the same thing could be happening with these manufacturers as with B&Ms. If not directly repackaging under a different name, it seems possible that they could base a contracted blend on a current blend of their own in order to save time and resources and maximize the use of their tobacco stock.
Very interesting topic. I'd like to know from someone who has some actual first hand knowledge as well.
@motie2 That article did a fine job explaining the difficulty in recreating discontinued blends - but my supposition would be more along the lines of an already existing blend setting in a huge vat with employees from different suppliers filling their tins with the same product but in a different labeled can.
I agree that the MATCH blends might be off a tad from the original. I tried the MATCH blend of Edgeworth Ready-Rubbed purchased at P&C as well as the revived Edgeworth Ready-Rubbed now going by the name LANE Limited Ready-Rubbed and both are entirely different in not only taste but texture. And I recall watching a YouTube video of a Presenter who bought an actual can of the original Edgeworth and said it was different from both the MATCH blend as well as the new LANE Limited version. So recreating an older blend can be a bit taxing.
There are times I'm trying to recreate a blend I've devised in my mad scientist laboratory and can't get it right even though I'm following the same recipe and using the same combination of blends. My only real success is Mrs. Hudson's 221B Bakery Blend because it's the only one I can consistently duplicate with the same results. Every other blend I've created seems to be hit or miss when trying to replicate it.
The rest of you: If you are an aro smoker and you don't have the recipe, ask me or ghost. You owe it to yourself.
With tinned blends,I don't think that's too likely to happen. I have no insider knowledge, just lots of years smoking these blends.
As for small B&M's repackaging bulk blends under names they pick. That is a common occurrence and some B&M's don't even hide it. I went into one a couple of years ago and asked for what they had similar to Lane 1Q. The owner pulled a jar off the shelf and said, "This is 1Q, we just rename all the bulk blends." He even had what it was in small print on the label.