Better to have puffed than never at all?

thebadgerpiper

With the recent news of Dunhill, Syrian Latakia, and McClelland Red Virginia blends going off the market, I thought I'd pose this question. Does the news of a blend disappearing cause you to go out and buy a few tins if you've never tried it before?

On one hand, one of the joys of pipe smoking is the sheer volume of blends we can pick from and smoke. Most hobbyist pipers have many blends in our cellars, and we like trying new blends to see if they're something we'd enjoy. If we're presented with an opportunity to try a bowl of something new, we usually take it gladly.

On the other hand, what if we end up loving the blend, but don't have an opportunity to buy any more? That single tin won't last forever, and eventually the last crumb will burn to ash, and we'll be left wishing we could have more. Sure, there's the chance that someone will sell an unopened tin, but do we want to pay an exorbitant amount of money to fill that tin shaped void in our heart?

My general philosophy for tobacco purchases has been focusing on blends I know I can easily buy more of. For example, I avoid Esoterica blends due to how fast others snatch them up. I'd rather not deal with the frustration of missing out on a new shipment.

Last year, when the news came out about Dunhill blends going away, I decided to break my rule and try My Mixture 965. I ended up enjoying the blend, and recently picked up a second tin. I considered buying Dunhill's Royal Yacht, if only for the novelty factor, but wiser heads prevailed. If it's still in stock on IPSD, I might go for it, but I'm undecided at this time.

What say you? Would you buy a blend you know was about to disappear if you hadn't tried it before?

xDutchx

@thebadgerpiper, I have thought about this question in the past, and I can say that I don't need to know I can get an unlimited supply of a particular tobacco, in order to enjoy the only tin of it I will probably ever acquire.

If you were in a foreign country, and had the chance to spend 2 weeks with a beautiful woman, would you pass up the opportunity if you knew that you would never see her again?

Londy3

@xDutchx, great point!  I'd totally go for it. Enjoy as many moments as you can in this life for our time is short.

motie2

In my first pipe life, if I had only one unopened tin of tobacco that I considered kind of special, I would not open it until I had acquired another tin of the same.

PappyJoe

I can't remember the last Dunhill blend I smoked. It's either been 5 or six years ago or else I it was just not memorable.
I know I have smoked Mixture 965 because I have the empty tin.

So no, I won't be rushing to buy any Dunhill. 

Charles

I spent the last year and a half stocking up on Dunhill blends, both tins and bulk, so I can continue to enjoy them for the future. I sense, from the latest P&C catalog that Dunhill stock is nearly ended and the time to purchase and stock up is very much limited.  That said, I will be buying up some other tins to have, trade, or sell down the road.  

I enjoy Dunhill blends and have for the past forty years or so as well as other English and aromatic tobacco blends.  I fear that once Dunhill is off the market, it will likely be a thing of the past.  I'm sure someone somewhere will have stock for sale in the future but then the question becomes At what price?        

Topaz75

I think there are so many excellent blends available that there’s no need to become stressed out about the disappearance of any one in particular. For example, I really enjoy Dunhill Standard Mixture and will continue to score some as long as it’s available. Once it’s gone, I plan to keep calm and simply move on to something else.

motie2

Better to fire up a new blend than to curse the darkness.

ghostsofpompeii

That's almost like the person who is starving to death - yet has one can of SPAM in his cupboard but is afraid to eat it because then he'll have nothing. Then weeks later someone stumbles upon their dead carcass, having starved to death, while the can still sits in the cupboard untouched. So the peoson who discovers the body takes the can of SPAM and eats it without hesitation, because he's hungry as well and doesn't want to ed up like the shriveled up corpse in the corner of the room. If you have a tin smoke it, you're bound to find something to replace it in the next few months. I seriously contemplated buying a few tins of Dunhill "Ye Old Sign" (which I've never even tried) simply because they were no longer going to make it anymore, then came to the realization ... "What if I really like it - and now Dunhill is no making it. Do I really need to submit myself to that kind of  aggravation?" So in the case of the Dunhill brands my attitude is, when a company decides to abandon the pipe smoking community after all these years - I say f**k em and move on as well.

motie2

Aw, that's kicking a neurotic old fool.

Woodsman

I'm in agreement with @Topaz75 that there seems an almost unlimited supply of of similar blends so the loss of one shouldn't be the source of anxiety. However; if the Middleton move to NC causes a change in my Carter Hall I shall be bent out of shape and inconsolable.

thebadgerpiper

Good answers everyone. It's interesting to see the different approaches we all have to this situation.

@Woodsman , you bring up a good point. What if a beloved blend suddenly changes so that it's not the same anymore? I've seen many old school pipers lament Erinmore Flake and how it's changed over the past few years. I never tried the previous incarnation, so it's not an issue for me. However, C&D recently changed their tobacco cutter, so that the tobacco is a finer cut, rather than the chunky loose cut and flakes that I loved when I first bought their blends. Since the tobacco is the same, though, it's not too much of a problem.

judandhispipe

If I haven't tried it, and it's going away - why worry about it? I never got into the "You have to try everything - you might like it" mindset.

Woobie

I got into pipe smoking right after the announcement. And I took the stance that if I never have it, I won't miss it. Then my brother bought me a tin of EM. And I loved it. I'm into my second, and last, tin. I need to snag a couple more anyway, just for special occasions.

Darmon

I have been avoiding buying some of the dunhill blends for that purpose, but I hadn't thought about it for a while and around Christmas order a few dunhill tins, so now I have a couple that will be enjoyed and hope that if they are something I really enjoy, i'll try to find a Match blend otherwise.  There's plenty of blends to find another that will suffice.

Londy3

It's just pipe Tobacco...burn it!

thebadgerpiper

@Londy3 Very true, but there are some blends that are worth preserving and saving for special occasions. 

mfresa

I think we can talk JD at Country Squire into making us a reasonable replacement for EM.

daveinlax

"I think we can talk JD at Country Squire into making us a reasonable replacement for EM"

When Dunhill disappeared from the US last time last time around 2005 every blender and his brother came up with match blends and I'm sure STG/Olik will introduce "tribute blends" but I know people won't be all that be interested in them without that iconic blue Dunhill tin with the sun rays and rooster.

Woodsman

The bad news; I smoke a pipe full of a rare tobacco (To me.) only once a year. The good news; it's for IPSD.

PappyJoe

My take on the Dunhill question.
https://pappyjoesblog.com/dunhill-not-dunhill/

motie2

@PappyJoe -- I wonder if folks who might potentially buy the rights to the names and formulas would be able to get past the "nothing after 2007" Deeming regulations and the hopps they would be required to jump through.....

motie2

"Pipe: The important thing is to start."  ~ Al Pascia