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Mooch Blend

dstribdstrib Apprentice
in Tobacco Talk
So I have what I call a Mooch-ador where some of my less favorite cigars go that some of my friends get to pick out of as it seems these friends might not finish a cigar or they never seem to have their own cigar. This is also my "Yard" cigar humidor. I do keep some well known budget budget pipe tobaccos on hand which I do like smoking myself and make sure to move to the front of the cellar when I know I have certain friends over. Kind of like making sure that half gone bottle of 20 year Pappy Van Winkle bourbon stays well hidden when my whiskey loving friends come over for a casual drink. I know it may seem selfish, yet most of us are human.

What is your Mooch Blend for that one or two friends that are looking for a hand out?
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Comments

  • judandhispipejudandhispipe Master
    I'm not stingy enough to have a mooch blend, or bottle. I share good quality when my friends are over. My friends do the same. That's part of hospitality.
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  • LostMasonLostMason Apprentice
    If they are new to pipes or just trying it on for size I try to set them up with
    a blend that will wow them or at least entice them to try more.If they are
    regular pipers it will depend on what they bring to the table,they bring a
    pouch of dog turd and I bring out my mystery mix.They bring a good aro
    or VaPer and I'll break out the tins of Dunhill.
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  • PappyJoePappyJoe Master
    @judandhispipe - You live in an ideal world. LOL

    @lostmason - You let them near your cellar? Really? No one gets near my cellar except me. (Not even the wife knows what I have in my pipe tobacco cellar.) and my stash of cigars are kept at 60% humidity in an Igloo cooler with crap piled around and on top of it so that it's invisible. 

    I have to keep my good pipe tobacco locked away or else my sons will find it when they come over and raid it faster than they raid the craft beer I keep in the refrigerator. They only time I break out the good stuff to share is the pipe club meeting and then I only take 3 or 4 tins with me.
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  • BphastyBphasty Newcomer
    I just keep Lane 1Q bulk on hand, its good not the best I know but not gas station trash either. If they like that then I just recommend other stuff to them - they can buy the nicer stuff themselves.
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  • dstribdstrib Apprentice
    @judandhispipe, I want to live in that world. If I share my pappy, my friends may share their wild turkey. Don't get me wrong I do like some wild turkey.
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  • idbowmanidbowman Newcomer
    @judandhispipe, same here.

    If it's open, it's to share.  If it's a sealed tin or a mason jar that I've left sealed for aging I don't generally open anything new for company (but I've broken that rule, too).   Like Jud said - to me, that's hospitality.
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  • LostMasonLostMason Apprentice
    @PappyJoe, for me it's really academic,My son will share a bowl once every two months,
    and the only other person interested enough to try is my BIL and I set him up with some
    cherry blends.As to my cellar,well it aint nothing to scream about but what is there is kept
    safe and secure behind a brigade of Femi-Nazis.
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  • drac2485drac2485 Professor
    I normally share the good stuff because I want to entice them into the hobby but I do have a rule of only one bowl as I have a friend that smokes his pipe like a freight train.  

    Cigars are different.  I have a stash that, before the FDA regs, could be considered a bit over kill for how much I smoke.  I have a cigar about every two weeks on average and until recently had over 1000 hidden in various humidors and coolidors.  At that rate I am set for quite a while.  I do share but normally go for my stash of Factory Throwouts (actual name) because they are less than a dollar a cigar and are quite pleasant but that way if they don't finish it I really don't care, it's not some of my cigars I have aged for 5-10 years.

    As many have said though a lot depends on what they bring to the table.  I have a friend that is REALLY into Scotch and has been sharing some $100+ bottles with me so he pretty much gets free rain of my stash, but like @pappyjoe I do have some of it nicely hidden.
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  • PappyJoePappyJoe Master
    @drac2485 - Your scotch friend is a good one to have. Just so you know I'm not all bad, I keep a bottle of Crown Royal for guests. That generally keeps them from finding my good whiskeys, rums and tequila.
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  • Topaz75Topaz75 Professor
    I have nothing to contribute to this thread other than to say that I really like the name, Mooch Blend. Sounds like someone who once played center for the Harlem Globetrotters.
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  • tomatobodhitomatobodhi Apprentice
    I used to open my humidor to guests and tell them, "Take what you want, just want what you take."

    I only had one friend who consistently reached for nice sticks he didn't or couldn't finish and didn't appreciate. I started hiding those from him, but 99% of the time, people were gracious guests.

    I had friends who would usually take my better cigars, but they loved them and for them they were real treats, and in those cases, their pleasure was my pleasure.

    All of that to say, I guess I default to hospitality, but reserve the right to be less hospitable when someone takes advantage.

    For some reason, all bets are off with pipe tobacco. If I have it on my person, you're welcome to a bowl. If you really fall in love with it, I don't think anything of sending the rest of the tin/jar home with you... Unless it is my last one. ;)
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  • PappyJoePappyJoe Master
    I get what all you guys are saying, I just have a different attitude about it. I have good bourbon, tequila, rum and even some gin that I keep on the shelf behind my desk. When friends and family come over, they are welcome to it. (My previous comment was in jest. I don't hide the good stuff because I don't buy bad booze.)
    My rule for beer is I offer it to friends and family who like craft beers. For family that come from out of town to visit, I usually will buy a 6 pack of mass market big brewery swill for them to drink.

    I don't smoke cigars as often as I use to, but, I still have around 75 cigars in the cooler I use as a humidor. If someone wants a cigar I let them pick. 

    Pipe tobacco? I have 6 or 8 tins/jars that are open and in a display case. The rest of my tobacco is stashed in a small footlocker or in my desk drawer (since said small footlocker is full.). Those I don't let anyone just rummage through. I feel that would be like having a guest come in and rummage through the pantry and refrigerator to decided what they are going to eat.


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  • JosiahWNJosiahWN Newcomer
    My mooch blend is usually whatever is left of something I've sampled recently. If I really liked it I'll be getting more soon anyway and if I didn't love it they can get rid of it for me. Either way they feel like the get variety and special treatment while I get to save my bulk favorites for myself. That being said I do have some friends that I will always let partake in my personal favorites. These are the friends that I know will always do the same for me if I'm at their place.
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