Bulk tobacco equivalents for packaged tobacco

Bloodhound61 · May 2018

If there is already a thread dedicated to this topic, please disregard this and point me in the right direction. I couldn’t find one, per se.

I’m a believer in “Smoke what you like, and if you don’t have to pay more for what you like so much the better”. That said, I’ve seen comments comparing tinned/packaged tobaccos to bulk equivalents (@ghostsofpompei & @daveinlax, for example). Creating a list of such might be beneficial both to newcomers to the hobby as well as those of us wanting to try a new flavor, or those of us that wouldn’t mind getting 4 ounces of a favorite for the price of a 1.5 ounce tin by another name.

(The skeptic in me is pretty well convinced that at some manufacturers, there’s a little chute coming off the production line filling $8 tins of Prestige Royal Maple and a bigger chute coming off the same line filling bags of $2/oz Maple Morning)

How about it? What bulks have you found that are very close to a tinned name and just how close do you think they are? Would you know it if somebody swapped one for the other?

Oddjob27 · May 2018

Generally speaking, you can get bulk form of many tinned blends, ie C&D blends. That being said, if you're looking for bulk "comparables" to tinned blends I can see that being a useful list.

Bloodhound61 · May 2018

@Oddjob27, I’m referring, as you said, to comparables. For example, @ghostsofpompeii had mentioned, in one discussion I found,that Sutliff Sunset Rum in bulk was comparable to Barbados Plantation in the tin.

ghostsofpompeii · May 2018

@Bloodhound61 Another example I used was Sutliff Private Blend Molto Dolce with the Sutliff regular bulk blend Crème Brulee. I've done side-by-side comparisons, as well as smoking the two blends back-to-back, and other than one blend costing more I couldn't taste or smell a difference in either blend. The flavor, tin and room notes were the same. Both are extremely moist and crackle when first lit. And if you enjoy a sweet aromatic as I do - they are equally magnificent.

buflosab · May 2018

Having tried both Sunset Rum and Barbados Plantation, they are both great, I feel BP is far superior to Sunset Rum, on the other hand I see a more comparable aroma and taste between Creme Brûlée and Molto Dolce. Hope it helps.

buflosab · May 2018

@Bloodhound61,should have added this. bought a 2 ounce package of Lane Limited 1-Q, also a tin of the same tobacco and honestly could not tell the difference.My expectations that Tin Tobacco is superior to bulk went out the window.

judandhispipe · June 2018

@buflosab - 1Q, or any other blend,is gonna be the same if it is tinned or bulk. Lane does not do anything different to the version it puts in the tin.

As to the OP - you see these discussions all the time over at http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/ . How does blend A differ from blend B? A matter for perpetual discussion.

buflosab · June 2018

@judandhispipe, My confusion resulted from the fact it was the first time I actually ordered A tin and bulk of the same blend. My mistake. Not sure what I was thinking at that time. Thank you for the information, I got fooled once. I would say I'm a relatively newcomer to tin blends, really have only started buying them the last 6 months or so. Still in the experimental stage.

Bloodhound61 · June 2018

@buflosab, your experiment does illustrate one thing and that is that we pay for the packaging. At P&C, tinned 1Q is $4.86/oz versus a max of $2.45/oz bulk. And that's really at the core of the original question....why pay for packaging if an equivalent bulk is available.

@ghostsofpompeii, based on your finding I zapped a tin of Molto Dolce from a shopping cart. Been wanting to try it, only to find out I'd already been doing so out of my Creme Brûlée jar. Like you, I've found it to be moist and require some drying...but that seems common in Sutliff aros based on my limited experience.

KA9FFJ · June 2018

Maybe just a touch off topic, but I usually look at bulk blends for "blending purposes". Explain: Every now and then I buy a blend that I wish I hadn't. When that happens, I pull out the Virginia Gold Black Cavendish and do a mix ( usually 1/2 and 1/2. Seems to make the original blend more tolerable and at the same time cheap (about a buck an oz.)... Just thinking out loud...

Bloodhound61 · June 2018

@KA9FFJ, I did the same sort of reclamation on some tobacco just recently and created bootleg 1Q out of it.

buflosab · June 2018

@Bloodhound61, you are exactly right, Why indeed.

ghostsofpompeii · June 2018

For all you Captain Black smokers keep that in mind. The price of packages Captain Black can be twice as much as for the bulk. And if you happen to live where the tobacco tax is really high the difference in buying a packaged pouch of Captain Black from a drug store (like here in Indiana) is about $10.00 to $12.00 for a 1.5 oz pouch. Where as when I buy it in bulk from Pipes&Cigars it cost me $2.91 an ounce when I buy 8 ounces or more. And there is absolutely no difference.

Bloodhound61 · June 2018

Taking that one step further, @ghostsofpompeii - @daveinlax had suggested in another discussion the following comparables with other Lane bulks:

CB ~ RLP-6
CB Royal ~ 1Q
CB Dark ~ BCA
CB Gold ~ HS-3

Any experience or thoughts?

ghostsofpompeii · June 2018

@Bloodhound61 I agree with all four mentioned.

Kmhartle · June 2018

P&C has some "match" bulk blends that are supposed to be similar to the name brands. Many matches are for older, discontinued blends but some are matches to Dunhill blends and other popular, more expensive current blends. I haven't tried any and the reviews are hit and miss, but I'm tempted to try some of the Nightcap Match.

https://www.pipesandcigars.com/mobile/shop/bulk-tobacco-alternatives/1800134/

Bulk tobacco equivalents for packaged tobacco

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