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Let's Talk OTC Tobaccos/Best Of

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  • @paulwansing  I really enjoy Lane Ready Rubbed.  I can't get it to bite me but if you smoke it hot the flavors definitely change.  No chemical taste and, for a lack of another, similar to Carter Hall but less boozy and more chocolaty.  I can see it being a favorite all day smoke for many.
  • I tried H&H Midtown Chestnut, it wasn't bad and I've gone back to it a few times. My Cobs like it.  
  • EdBojoEdBojo Newcomer
    First tobacco smoked was Granger that was 55 years ago, smoked Cater Hall for many years just ordered some anxious to see if it's the same.



  • About ten years ago, before I became a pipe smoker, I was an overnight stocker at a grocery store in Missouri. When I would replenish the huge bags of dog food, I'd pass the cabinet that held all of the tobacco products. Even back then, I had an interest in pipes, and while I knew of brands like Prince Albert and Captain Black, this was my first encounter with Carter Hall. I don't know why, but the yellow tub of Carter Hall seemed inviting to me.

    When I became a pipe smoker, while placing an online order, I decided to throw a pouch of Carter Hall in as my first foray in OTC pipe tobacco. Though I still mainly order artisan blends, I make sure to keep a pouch of Carter Hall around for breaking in pipes, or to have in a cob. While I prefer the pouch aroma of Prince Albert, if I had to pick between the two, Carter Hall wins in my book. That being said, I plan on picking up some more of the Prince in the future.

    I'm not a snob when it comes to pipe tobacco, but there are a few OTC blends (hi SuperValue) that I'll avoid.
  • @paulwansring, I like Lane RR a lot. Never had the Edgeworth,so can't compare it - but it's a darned good smoke.It's now available in a pouch, as well.
  • bambambambam Newcomer
    I have tried quite a few of the OTC blends, Capt. Black regular is a nice mellow smoke, Capt. Black Gold is a little better, Capt. Black Copper ( if I can call it OTC) is the best of the Capt. Black Blends I've tried. Prince Albert is a decent smoke, but I love Sir Walter Raleigh, there is always some of that around as well as Paladin which I haven't seen mentioned at all in this discussion. I never thought about Carter Hall but after reading all of these posts my curiosity is peaked so I will give it a try
  • Personally, I my OTC "guilty pleasure" as it were is Captain Black Royal. I think it is the sentimental attachment I have to the stuff that keeps me going back to it. It is the tobacco my god-father used to smoke, and being he is the inspiration for me beginning my pipe journey it just feels right. Every time I smoke it it brings back fond memories.
  • bambambambam Newcomer
    So I decided to give Carter Hall a try and well, I gotta say I'm not impressed, I think I will stick to my Sir Walter Raleigh
  • Prince Albert, Carter Hall and Borkum Riff are in my current rotation. 
  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited January 2022
    I wonder if anyone in the current generation would even know what the phrase "over the counter" means these days...hmmm. Maybe OTC is outdated given the rise of the internet retailers. 
  • Many patent drugs are advertised on tv as best over the counter remedies..
  • Does the current generation even watch TV? Much less commercials? I thought all they do is play video games and whine and bitch all the time. 
  • Well, i beg to differ. I know many of the current generation that do more than play video games and whine and bitch all the time. You must be mistaken. 😀
  • @vtgrad2003
    Define “current generation”. I know many over 20-year olds that are busy working or going to college. 

    @m@motie2
    Really? You see a post by @v@vtgrad2003 and it just triggers a snide attack. 
  • @PappyJoe

    Well then, I guess we’re both out of line. 
    O tempora, o mores!
  • @motie2
    Translation for those who don't understand Latin: oh, the times! oh, the customs! used as an exclamation of despair at prevailing social or political norms

    Burying the hatchet in someones back repeatedly isn't the same as making peace.
  • Oh, but sometimes @PappyJoeI just get tired of folks running down our country and our government, and the great people of the United States, especially the young people.
    If the MAGA types and anti-vaxxers have such a problem with this country, why don't they go somewhere else? Like we heard in the 1960's -- AMERICA: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT! 

    I understand Viktor Orban, the authoritarian leader of Hungary, endorsed recently by both President Trump and Tucker Carlson, is looking for people to oppress....
    Move there. I understand they have goulash.... :)
  • ZouaveZouave Master
    edited January 2022
    @vtgrad2003 working in the jewelry business, I'm continually shocked by the younger customers perfectly willing to shill out 6,7,8...12k on a diamond online sight unseen. Without getting into a lengthy lesson on gemstones, it's just not something I would be comfortable doing, but the newer generation of consumers has no problem with it.
  • Been smoking Cest La Vie French Vanilla lately.

  • @PappyJoe
    I'm talking roughly 25 and under; and I agree, there are many actually being productive, but I'm not sure you could replace the word "many" with "most".
    I have also seen a huge shift in the level of interest, focus, and productivity in college students over the last 20 years. Probably 80% of the students today would fail the exams I gave back then. 
  • @Zouave
    Kind of like the whole Carvana thing...buying a car online? 

    What I think has happened is that the younger generation especially, focuses more on convenience than satisfaction and quality. The marginal benefit to them of purchasing high value ticket items online outweighs the marginal cost of receiving possibly inferior quality and having to deal with returns and refunds. My brother in-law just recently purchased a fairly sophisticated smart TV from online and a retailer that has no brick and mortar stores; he has now had to repackage it and ship it back 3 times and has been basically without a TV for nearly 2 months now. Personally, I probably would have purchased it from Best Buy from what was in the store; granted, I would have limited my selection choices, but if there was a problem I could immediately take it back and get a new one. That's what I do with computers as well--I always buy from what is in stock in a brick and mortar. I go through probably 2 or 3 laptops a year and have had to take new laptops back for defects many times, but I can always walk back out of the store with a new one, I don't have to wait, I don't have to worry about refunds, I don't have to worry about repackaging, and most of all, I can actually handle it and feel the quality BEFORE I purchase it in the first place.  

    I guess we're just old fashioned that way.
  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited January 2022
    @motie2
    Maybe if you had to interact with literally hundreds of young folk everyday like I have for over 20 years now, and you could see the difference between the younger generation then and now, you'd have a different opinion. The degradation in focus, in effort, in time management, in motivation, is very clear, not just to me, but my colleagues will tell you the same thing. But maybe you wouldn't, I really don't think you ever leave your house, so your interaction with them on any significant level is probably quite limited. 

    Sorry, everyone, for continuing this seemingly off topic 'discussion', but it did start with me innocently questioning whether the over-the-counter label for these blends is a good one given the current online retail environment and the fact that you rarely even see tobacco in drug stores and such any more. The phrase 'codger blends' is probably more accurate, although it might be offensive, lol. 
  • motie2motie2 Master
    edited January 2022
    Righty-o, after ordination in 1973 and serving in the same congregation since 1984, and continuing to teach and serve youngsters since retirement, I have no experience or insight into the younger generations. I’m 

    Why do you attack everyone who differs from your world view? I’ll continue to fence with you because I love this country…. The best on earth. 

    How about discussing pipe smoking?
  • @vtgrad2003 said:
    "Sorry, everyone, for continuing this seemingly off topic 'discussion', but it did start with me innocently questioning whether the over-the-counter label for these blends is a good one given the current online retail environment and the fact that you rarely even see tobacco in drug stores and such any more. The phrase 'codger blends' is probably more accurate, although it might be offensive, lol. "

    I'm in favor of calling them "Classic" or "Century" blends. Classics for any blend that was on the market more than 50 years ago, Century for blends that are 100 years old.
  • @PappyJoe
    I love those suggestions! Is there a precedent for those names in the tobacco industry or did you just make that up? Kind of puts some pipe tobacco in that 'classic car' category which is pretty cool, but also descriptive--those are much better descriptors in my opinion.
  • @vtgrad2003
    I made them up but I'm probably not the first to do that.
  • @vtgrad2003, @PappyJoe;
    I don't have a problem with the codger label, I've answered to a lot worse. When you enforce fire code violations, you tend to develop a thick skin. Call my wife or kids bad names and we have a problem. Call my grand daughters a bad name and learn to sleep with one eye open.
    My grandmother lived by a personal code "If you can't say something good about someone, don't say anything." On that philosophy alone, I bet she has a luxury suite in heaven. When my time comes, if I make the cut I'll be more surprised than anyone.
  • ZouaveZouave Master
    edited January 2022
    Pretty sure that ALL pipe tobaccos fall into the codger zone.  Unless the kids start vaping prince Albert, I think our pastime will always be for the codgers. 😁
  • vtgrad2003vtgrad2003 Master
    edited January 2022
    We should change the name of this thread, then, to

    "Let's Talk Codger Tobaccos/Best Of" 
    or
    "Let's Talk Classic Tobaccos/Best Of"

    Either one sounds better already!
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