09.07.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:19 pm by blendtobac
As I sit here looking out the window to our swamp, I mean parking lot, having dealt with three days of almost constant rain about a week after Hurricane Irene,which was a few days after the first earthquake in my lifetime in the Albany, NY area that was strong enough to be noticeable, I figure that this autumn is going to be,,,interesting.
I’m working on a couple of new items that I’ve previously mentioned, and I hope to have my final prototypes ready in time to take with me to the CORPS show in Richmond, which is, interestingly enough, about 38 miles from the epicenter of the quake that we felt all the way up here in upstate New York (which is the part with mountains, cows, wineries and apple orchards).
If you haven’t been to the Richmond show (Oct. 8 & 9), and you can make the trip, do it! You will see scads of pipes by some of the best known American and foreign makers, a huge variety of tobaccos, and some one of a kind buys.
Enough rambling- what I wanted to chat about is how our perceptions trigger memories, and how that impacts what I do.
The number one sense in terms of causing memories to flood back is smell. I’m sure that you’ve walked into a restaurant or bakery and been hit with an aroma that immediately sends you back to your youth.
I’m also sure that you’ve wondered why a pipe tobacco has a particular fragrance, but the flavor is different. That’s intentional. The blender wants you to remember the aroma of a blend, but wants to do something else with the taste.
I bring this up because of my latest project- Angler’s Dream.
I wanted to come up with an aroma that would elicit that visceral memory that would transport people back to sitting on Grandpa’s knee, but I wanted it to have a natural tobacco flavor with just a hint of added undertones.
Since chocolate is very compatible with Burley and Honey has been used often in tobacco blends, I had a start. I wanted a little more of an old fashioned “zing”, so I turned to cinnamon for that element. I knew that the honey and chocolate would be pleasant and noticeable in the room note, but that the cinnamon would have more impact on the flavor. I wanted some feedback, so I took some to the Columbus show and asked some of the attendees to give it a shot. What I didn’t expect was a full-blown review to wind up on a forum. Here is the page: http://www.smokersforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=98759
I love to read a review that shows me that the writer “gets it”, and Benjamin Berkeley nailed my feelings about this new entry.
It’s also said that perception is reality. That’s kind of a truism in my opinion. Recently,someone who tested that same new blend said that they tasted maple in it. That’s not reality,but it’s real in the mind of the person who said it. So maybe it’s better to say that perception is reality in the mind of the individual.
My next project will be to work on a couple of new Virginia blends, but without a specific target in mind, so my memories will have little to do with it. I just hope my perceptions are good.
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08.29.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:17 pm by blendtobac
The past 2+ weeks have been a bit of a blur. I didn’t write two weeks ago as I was on vacation, and as much as I love what I do, I didn’t want to do anything work-related at all.
Then I realized that I had made a stupid mistake. I shouldn’t have taken vacation two weeks before a pipe show. The week before a show is always hectic with packing all the samples, signs, paperwork and my personal effects, making sure that my reservations are confirmed, and my flight and/or car are ready. With all that, I never bothered to write my blog. But here’s a short entry, and I’ll write a little more later this week.
I just returned from the NASPC show in Columbus, Ohio, and it is always a great time. Of course, I enjoy catching up with friends and talking to our customers. I also love handing out samples and talking to people after they’ve tried one of our blends, so these shows are great for our company, great for the hobby, and, I have to admit, they don’t hurt my ego, either.
But there’s something I’ve noticed in the last couple of years is the appreciation of the clubs themselves. This isn’t to say that they didn’t appreciate the exhibitors in the past, but I’ve noticed that members of the clubs are going out of their way to thank us for attending. Unfortunately, I think that the increase in appreciation has as much to do with how poorly pipe smokers are generally treated today as with the effort me make to exhibit at the shows, and if I’m right, that’s a damned shame.
I had a wonderful time at the show, but spent much of Saturday night worrying about Hurricane Irene, as the storm track showed that it was heading toward Albany, NY, my home. Three of my daughters live within a ten-mile radius of the city, and my youngest is doing an internship in Lenox, MA. which is in the Berkshire mountains, and that area was projected to be in danger of major flooding. I called my girls to see what they had heard, and tried to get some sleep.
Sunday was sunny when I got up, and I started my trip home,but since I was on interstates, I ran into the routine tie-ups through construction areas. Up near the Ohio/Pennsylvania border, I got a little rain and more construction, so I figured on getting in around 11 pm. Once I got into New York I was prepared, as I had been listening to the Weather Channel on satellite radio, and knew that I-87 south from Albany had been shut down, but that was okay for me, as I would be heading north from exit 24. By the time I got to Syracuse, I ran into steady, driving rain, which slowed traffic down even further, but I figured that I’d just stay the course for a few hours and be home. Yeah, right.
Approaching exit 28, I ran into about 4 miles of bumper-to-bumper traffic which was moving at the speed of smell. It took two and a half hours to get off the Thruway at exit 28, as they had shut down I-90 from Fonda. Then we were re-routed through side streets to get to a secondary route which was fine for a few miles, but then was shut down due to debris, so we were moved to village streets until we could get back on the state route. To say the least, I was tired and stressed by the time I reached home.
Fortunately, there was much less damage than we had expected and it’s beautiful, warm and sunny today.
I’m five weeks away from the CORPS show in Richmond, and I’ll guarantee that I’ll be ready well in advance.
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08.10.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:33 pm by blendtobac
I recently reflected over the changes in the premium tobacco business from the time I started (around 1977) until now, and they are plentiful. So much has changed, in fact, that I can’t possibly even touch upon everything in a reasonable amount of space. There are going to be a lot of disjointed thoughts, so please forgive the scattershot approach to this blog entry.
When I started in the business, the average tobacconist depended upon the pipe smokers for around 70% of their business. Probably 98% of these people were smoking aromatic tobaccos, and pipes at or below $35 were the bulk of the business. Most of our pipe customers were what I call “habitual” pipe smokers. They looked upon a pipe as a means of smoking tobacco, not as a thing of beauty or a collectible.
The vast majority of the tobacco we sold was in the bulk form, from the 30 or so jars we had on out counter. Aromatic blends accounted for more than 90%, Latakia blends for about 5%, and other non-aromatics accounted for about 4%, with a handful of custom blends making up the rest. For those who were into tobaccos without a noticeable flavoring, a number of them experimented with their mixtures, so an employee of a shop of that sort needed to have at least a rudimentary knowledge of blending to be able to tweak a blend. And I’m not talking about the “equal parts of cherry and vanilla makes cherry vanilla” school, but a real understanding of the base tobaccos. Now that I’m creating blends as a part of my livelihood, I’m eternally grateful for the opportunities I had to learn about the noble leaf back then, as a lot of the information has drifted into obscurity.
Of course, we sold a fair amount of OTC (over the counter) blends as well, although not as much as you might expect, as being a mall-based operation, our prices were a fair amount higher than the local drugstore or supermarket. Premium tins like Dunhill, the Sobranies, John Cotton’s, Rattray’s and others amounted to a very small percentage of our sales.
Most of the pipes we sold were relatively inexpensive Italian makes (that much hasn’t changed) with a fair number of English, French and Danish in the mix. We rarely ever saw a pipe above $200 (we currently have a pipe with an MSRP over $7000), and almost everything came from a factory. The market for work by individual carvers in the U.S. was nearly non-existent with the exception of what was sold by Iwan Ries in their catalog.
Our premium, hand-rolled cigar sales were a small proportion of our overall sales, and there weren’t many more than a dozen brands or so, including Macanudo, Punch, Royal Jamaica, Montoya, Arturo Fuente, and Joya de Nicaragua. The most popular Macanudo line was the Jade, which had a candela wrapper. Piercing and v-cutting were the most popular methods of prepping a stogie, as punches and pocket guillotine types were in their infancy.
We sold cigarettes, chew and snuff as well, but they accounted for a small part of our business as, once again, the drugstores and food chains routinely undersold us, although we carried a number of imported cigarettes that no other store in our area sold.
Contrast the seventies with today- many of the blends and brands that we loved are gone. R.I.P. John Cotton’s, Sobranie, Three Nuns, Bengal Slices, a number of the Dunhill mixtures like Three Year Matured Virginia and Aperitif and St. Bruno’s. Notable pipe brands like Bari, Parker, Jarl and Ropp have fallen by the wayside. Premium cigars are now the 800 pound gorilla of the tobacconist’s shop today. In our shop, premium cigars now account for over 70 % of sales, but, interestingly enough, in our mail-order segment, pipes, tobaccos and accessories are more than 50% of what we do.
From my end of the business, the job has become more difficult for a number of reasons. A number of places that used to sell blending tobaccos are gone. I bought a fair amount of tobacco from House of Windsor up until a few years back when they shuttered their doors. If I look back to those early years, I had an amazing resource in New York City. The name of the company was Tobacco Center, and they had virtually any varietal of tobacco you could think of- different grades and colors of Virginias and Burleys, Latakia, Perique and Oriental strains such as Bashi Bagli, Samsun, Smyrna, Izmir, Xanthia, Yenidje, Drama, Basma and more. It was such a pleasure to have access to all these amazing tobaccos, just a day or so away. Now, it’s difficult to find unblended varietals, and some of the tobaccos don’t seem to be the same as I remember them, but that may just be my perception.
By waxing nostalgic, I don’t mean to imply that the “good old days” were that much better than today. In fact, our variety of pipe blends, handrolled cigars and pipes may be at their pinnacle. Artisan blenders like G.L. Pease, Cornell & Diehl, McClelland and to some degree, our own Hearth & Home are bringing new and intriguing tobaccos to market, and the discovery of some of the Oriental varietals will make it easier to revisit old tastes. We are importing tobaccos that weren’t in the U.S. market in the seventies. The cigar market has gone from a couple of dozen brands from the Canary Islands, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua to well over a hundred, and from a different group of nations. The Canary Islands and Jamaica have seen their cigar manufacturing fall off to nearly nothing. The Dominican Republic is now the largest source for premium cigars, and Honduras and Mexico are still turning them out at a rapid rate. Nicaragua is booming, with a number of big brands, and smaller boutique manufacturers who are making a big splash. Cigars and tobaccos from Brazil, Peru, Columbia and Costa Rica are adding to the diversity in that part of the industry.
And pipe collectors are having a heyday. Not only have more of the top-flight Danish, Italian, Japanese, German and British artisans come to the U.S. market, but there has been a huge boom in the number and quality of American pipemakers in the last ten years.
There’s certainly much I miss from the old days, but other than ridiculous taxes and draconian smoking laws, I think I like the state of the industry from the consumer’s view better now than ever.
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08.03.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:43 pm by blendtobac
I’ve been thinking lately about pipe shows. They’re always a lot of fun, and I get an opportunity to see familiar faces, but why do we bother to go to them, other than to sell stuff? I have a better understanding of this now that we don’t actually sell our tobaccos at the shows, which we decided was best due to potential issues.
Pipe shows cost money, plain and simple. There’s the cost of the table, transportation, lodging, supplies, and, of course, labor. When I go to a show alone (which is the majority of cases), it’s okay since I work for Pepsi, Cheez-Its and all the pipe tobacco I can smoke, but when I bring other employees, it costs the company a decent penny. It’s also time consuming because there’s at least a couple of days preparation the week before a show to assemble what I’m taking with me, not to mention travel time and the time away from our home base, during which I can’t do my regular work. And since I’m salaried, it means that I’m going to add a couple more workdays to my week. For all the reasons above, we have had to take a long look at the shows to see if they’re a wise investment.
So far this year, I’ve gone to the New York/Newark show, Raleigh, Chicago and Kansas City shows. At Newark, I was able to handle some business face-to-face with some people, so the show was successful. When I went to Raleigh for the first time, I met a lot of potential new customers and a fair number of existing ones whom I have never had the pleasure of meeting. I also had a nice chat with Chuck Stanion, the editor of Pipes & Tobaccos magazine, and as a result, we are having a number of our newest blends reviewed in the fall edition of Trial by Fire. All in all, I’d have to say that it was more than worthwhile.
Chicago is always a whirlwind, and there’s so much to do that, even with an extra day or two, it’s hard to accomplish everything. This year was no exception, and I knew that this year was going to keep me hopping as I was one of the competitors in the Seattle/New York Pipe Club Sobranie 759 Throwdown, and I had been asked to do a blending seminar during the show. To my shock, we won the Throwdown, so with the positive publicity that created, the value of the show was incredible. Even now, at least a few times every week I will talk to someone who brings up the Throwdown to congratulate me and to inquire about the winning blend, which we call BlackHouse. But more than that, going to Chicago means meeting more people and running into more friends and acquaintances than at any other show.
I made my first trip to Kansas City this year, and now I’m really sorry that we hadn’t gone sooner. It was a very well organized event, and the hospitality was wonderful. I had a number of ”I’ve never heard of you guys” comments, but even more “I’ve been buying from you for years”, so it was of great value to let these folks know that we value their support.
I have four more shows ahead of me- Columbus (a well attended show that is only one day), Richmond (the second largest show, and one that feels like home), West Coast (only in its third year and already one of the larger ones, and being held in Vegas doesn’t hurt) and a return trip to Newark to cap off the year. I haven’t been to Columbus for a few years, but I’m really looking forward to getting back there, and with the new wholesale distribution of our original line, the introduction of our Landmark and Marquee series, I’ll have enough to talk about.
I love the Richmond show. They make everyone feel comfortable, and the show is well-attended. The food is always good there, and I have friends in the area, so I look forward to the show each year. The West Coast show had a lively atmosphere, and being able to smoke on the show floor was a big bonus. I was truly impressed with how well done the show was, and with the turnout. Even more rewarding were the comments from west coast pipe smokers who truly appreciated that we would invest the time and expense just to let them know that we appreciate their business.
Newark is unique. It’s the only show that is held more than once a year, it’’s a one-day event and it’s close enough to Albany that we can drive down in the morning and be back home that evening. Even though the show is on the small side, some of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable people in the hobby attend it regularly. Plus, it holds a special place for me, as it was the first show I ever attended.
When I went to my first shows about six years ago, I knew very few people, and since I was flying blind, I had no idea of how everything worked. I’m not the most outgoing person, so I felt out of place, as none of the veteran vendors and carvers knew me, and I didn’t want to bother them. Then I attended the Richmond show when, unbeknownst to me, Eric Nording (who rarely goes to pipe shows) was there. Eric and I had developed a friendship from events he had done in our brick-and-mortar store, and he found out that I was there before I learned that he had made the trip. When he was told that I was in attendance, he left his booth immediately, walked across the room and being the gregarious person he is, approached my table with his arms open and a bright and loud “RUSS!” ringing across the aisle. He gave me a hug, and all of a sudden I noticed that people who had walked past my table were wandering back my way. These people knew Eric and figured that if he knew me, then maybe I was worth talking to. His friendliness broke down a barrier, and I started to feel welcome. Just as importantly, a number of vendors and pipe makers began to chat with me, and friendships started.
Now when I go to a show, it’s like old home week. We see each other in hotel lobbies, restaurants and at show activities and it’s as if we just spent time together last week. Hands down, the people in this business are the friendliest and warmest I’ve ever dealt with, and I’m really proud to be included in the group. Certainly, the shows are one of the most enjoyable aspects of my job, even with the long hours, the travel and having to play catch-up when I get home.
Next year, I expect my schedule to be pretty full as we will probably include the February show in St. Louis as well. If you get the opportunity to go to any of these shows, you should do so. The experience will be enjoyable and you’ll meet some great people. If you go to any of the ones that we attend, please take the time to stop by; it’s always great to put names and faces together.
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07.27.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:15 pm by blendtobac
Well, with half of the year’s shows behind us, and dealing with the fortunate success of our Marquee Series, it’s time to look at what we’re going to do next.
The first thing on the docket is to finalize the formulae for our line of shisha (hookah tobacco), which is, as yet, unnamed. For those who are unfamiliar, shisha is very different from pipe tobacco in that it is very moist and more heavily flavored. The tobacco is about the consistency of macaroon batter, and is spooned into the bowl and covered with a specially designed grate or a piece of foil with holes in it. A chunk of hot charcoal is placed on the foil which causes the shisha to smolder. The smoke passes through water (or a flavored liquid) which cools the smoke, and the smoker inhales it through a flexible hose. This is a form of tobacco where one can really taste the flavorings.
The popularity of hookahs has taken the industry quietly by storm. Some of the reasons for the growth are military members returning from the middle east who had the chance to try it overseas, the social gatherings and hookah bars bolstered by middle eastern/Indian/Pakistani immigrants and college students looking for a way to get together with friends for a smoke.
We are bringing out ten flavors initially, and they’re fun tastes that most new hookah users should enjoy, and they will be made using the highest quality tobacco in the industry. The flavors are: Frozen Navel- A combination of orange and tangerine with a bit of peppermint, so it will be sweet and citrusy on the inhale, and cool on the exhale. WattaBerry- Watermelon, strawberry and blackberry mixed for a refreshing fruit flavor. Berry Blast- Blackberry, strawberry and raspberry make for a lively combo. Chocomel- A classic pairing of chocolate and caramel to satisfy the sweet tooth. Teaseberry- A flavor similar to an old favorite gum flavor; unique, sweet and cool. Hot Apple Pie- Just what you would expect- apple, cinnamon and a hint of caramel. Peach Cobbler- similar to Hot Apple Pie, but with the flavor of fresh peaches up front. Liquorice Allsorts- Just like the old fashioned candy, featuring licorice (we use the old-time British spelling for the name) and smooth vanilla. Cinnamon Roll- Warm cinnamon topped with a creamy-sweet vanilla. Tropical Cherry- When we first came up with this flavor, we called it Ham Topping (I know, it’s a goofy name) because it consists of the two fruits that my mother used to top a baked ham- cherry and pineapple.
We hope to be able to roll out these new products by fall, and anticipate a big splash.
On the pipe tobacco front, we are near completion on a blend that we hope will be reminiscent of the long-missing Sobranie Virginian No. 10. For those who are unfamiliar with the original, it was a remarkable combination of outstanding Virginias with a touch of amazing Orientals and cigar leaf. It was, all at the same time, sweet, a bit floral and creamy. The latest iteration reminds me of the version that I smoked in the seventies. I just hope that other No, 10 smokers agree.
My next challenges are to come up with a couple of all-Virginia mixtures and a really traditional American blend. Up to this point, our only Virginia tobacco has been Marble Kake, which is about as simple and straightforward as a Brightleaf cake can be.
I felt that I’ve done so many Virginia/Perique combos along with Virginia/Oriental/Perique (Sweet & Savory) and Virginia/Burley blends that it’s time to develop a couple of tobaccos containing nothing but Virginias. The first one is going to be a deeper flavored mix with a warm and mellow sweetness about it. It will be a combination of red ribbon, heat matured red, another red which has been pressed, cut and tumbled and a bit of stoved black Virginia. There’s a nice depth and warmth with a subtle sweetness, and I think it will be a Virginia that will be very welcome in cold weather. I’m willing to bet that a number of people will try tossing a little Perique in it (I have, and enjoyed it, but, as I said, we have enough Va/Pers). The other will be a melange of yellow and red Virginias that results in a smoke that gives hints of tea, toast and honey.
The final project for the immediate future is a real old-fashioned American-style tobacco. We’re going to start with a high-grade white Burley and then we’ll spice it with some dark air-cured, with a hint of dark-fired as well. Then the blend is sweetened by adding some red and lemon Virginia. Finally, we’re going to add a bit of a couple of long ignored flavorings. The result will be a nutty, slightly tangy blend with a bit of warm sweetness. It will definitely be an all-day, everyday kind of mixture.
Our slate of show appearances for the rest of the year will be- the NASPC show in Columbus, Ohio on August 27, the CORPS show in Richmond, Virginia on October 7,8 & 9, the West Coast Pipe Show at the Palace Station in Las Vegas on November 5 & 6, and the Newark/New York show in December. I’m hoping to have final testing and fine tuning out of the way before going to Richmond. If I’m able to meet that deadline, I’ll bring samples to the shows. I may even be in a position to give out some trial versions at Columbus if things go well.
Of course, this is just to cover the next few months. I’ve got a long term project I’m working on for and with renowned pipemaker Bruce Weaver. He has a favorite tobacco which is no longer being made. Based upon the type of smoke it is, it will take some trial and error to get it right, but for a friend like Bruce, it will be worth it if I can hit on the right formula.
Next week I plan on writing about trends that I’m noticing in pipe smoking and what they might mean for the future of the hobby.
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07.20.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:03 pm by blendtobac
The first half of this year has been amazing, hectic, fulfilling, rewarding and tiring. So far in 2011, we have: begun wholesaling our original Hearth & Home series, rolled out five new blends in our Marquee Series (which has been a critical and sales success, thankfully), brought out our 10 aromatic blend Landmark Series, been to four pipe shows, made 3 trips to work with manufacturers on new projects, done a meet-and-greet at one of our retail accounts, developed a line of shisha (tobacco for hookahs) and won the 759 Throwdown at the Chicagoland show. I look back at this year and am blown away by what has happened to Hearth & Home since we started the line around six years ago.
When I came to work for Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe a little less than seven years ago, it was to work on the retail floor, as my knowledge of cigars and pipes had grown enough over 30 years to be able to help people. Scott had wanted to rejuvenate our pipe club, and handed me the assignment to get it going again. Within a year, we had gotten the club off the ground and had a steady growth in our membership. As we approached a half year, Scott told me to put together six blends for the pipe club to try. If they liked them, we would put them out for sale. Our first tobaccos were Armada, American Heritage, Louisiana Red, Virginia Spice, Ten to Midnight and Old Tartan, all of which are still in our product line and continue to sell well.
The members really enjoyed the new tobaccos, and as a result of a request during that meeting, Larry’s Blend was born. We put them on the tobacco bar and asked people to try them. The feedback was outstanding, and Scott told us to put the blends on PipesandCigars.com. Once we did, the internet buzz took over, sales grew and we expanded the line. In the (almost) six years since it started, we’ve expanded to 34 blends in the original series, 10 in the Landmark series, five in the Marquee series, three for the Seattle Pipe Club, two for the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston, and (soon) three for the New York Pipe Club for a total of 57 (maybe we should have named the line Heinz), plus we’ll have 10 flavors of shisha, and have dozens of custom blends we’ve done for folks.
So what now? Well, we still have the Columbus, Richmond, West Coast (Las Vegas) and New York shows to do, and we’ll have at least two new blends to sample by October, so we’ll probably have them in time for Virginia.
I’m most intrigued by the shisha. I have had limited exposure to hookahs, and wasn’t so sure that I wanted to get involved, as the tobaccos are heavily flavored, but after having tried some of the better tobaccos, I realized that they had an advantage over most aromatic pipe blends- the flavoring actually comes through in the smoking, which was my main reason for limiting the number of aromatics in Hearth & Home. Shisha making is much different than pipe tobacco. First, the tobacco has to marinate in a honey or molasses-based casing for two to three days, and then the flavoring has to be added. The end result is a very wet and sticky tobacco with a raucous amount of flavoring. Also, you have to be careful with the types of tobaccos as the smoker inhales smoke from a hookah, and if too much higher nicotine tobacco is used, the smoker can get light-headed and/or queasy.
Because flavoring is so important to these blends, I wanted to make sure that ours were different than most. One thing that we’re doing to make it work is that we are using top-grade Virginia in our blends so the natural sweetness of the leaf can help. Then, we use combinations of flavorings rather than just cherry or vanilla. Some of the varieties among our first ten will be Frozen Navel (orange, tangerine and peppermint, with a very cool feel on the exhale), Cinnamon Roll (warm cinnamon with sweet vanilla cream), Liquorice Allsorts (licorice and vanilla), Chocomel (chocolate and caramel) and even one that tastes like an old favorite- Teaberry gum. The early tests have been a big success, and we’re hoping to put this in shops around the country. It will be among the best quality shishas available, and I hope it will do very well.
For my next pipe blends, I’ll be working heavily with Virginias, as I want to roll out a couple of all-Virginia blends to go along with Marble Kake. I’ve got a bunch of ideas, but haven’t actually made any yet. It should be fun.
We just started making Magnum Opus and BlackHouse available in 8 oz. tins, and may do the same with Sweet & Savory. This blend is a real sleeper. If you’ve ever enjoyed a Virginia blend that has a floral character, then you’ll love S&S, but it also has a bit of Perique and dark fired Kentucky to give it substance. Give it a try, if you get the chance.
I love how crazy things have been. I always seem to get more creative when I have a ton of projects on my plate. I guess that it’s because the busier I am, the more thoughts run through my rather mushy brain. The only issue becomes the constraints that time puts on all of us, but I’d much rather be busy.
In September, I’ll be putting together a project list for 2012 for discussion with our team. Hopefully we will continue to come up with ideas to make things more enjoyable for all of you. As long as you keep asking (and buying), I’ll keep working on new products and ways to make the old ones better.
Russ Ouellette
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07.13.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 6:58 pm by blendtobac
Since we were fortunate enough to win the Balkan Sobranie 759 Throwdown at the 2011 Chicagoland Pipe and Tobacciana Show, I’ve had a number of phone calls, emails and conversations about the contest, so this seems like a good place to write about it.
I believe that it was early March of this year (maybe late February) that I was first contacted by Matt Guss of the Seattle Pipe Club with the concept and the invitation for the Throwdown. A number of blenders were contacted with the idea that we would receive a sample of Sobranie 759 from the eighties and our task was to replicate it as closely as possible. I thought it would be a fun exercise to give it a try. Of course, when I found out that I would be facing Mike McNeil of McClelland and Carl McAllister of Altadis, I knew this was going to be a daunting task as I don’t have the resources that they have, and both Mike and Carl have impressive track records.
What made it a bit more difficult was that I had to lose a week during the time we had for development, as I had to be out of town to work on a new project, attend the Raleigh TAPS Pipe Show and to stop by Uptown’s in Nashville, as they are selling Hearth & Home.
Not too long after the announcement, I received a 21 gram packet of 759 from a tin that was jointly purchased by the Seattle and New York Pipe Clubs.
Upon inspection, the blend appeared almost completely dark, which meant that the Virginias had darkened, and would leave me few visual clues as to how to proceed.
Since I smoked 759 frequently during the late seventies, I knew something about the blend to begin with, so I wasn’t completely lost. The Latakia content varied depending upon the time the blend was made. In the eighties, the Latakia used was Cyprian, so that meant I was still in the game, as I have no access to good Syrian. There definitely was the Macedonian influence, so some Yenidje and possibly some Basma would be needed. I had some very sweet Virginia that I figured on using to balance some of the heavier flavors. These were my thoughts before trying the sample.
I’m very fortunate to have a pipe that was made for me as a gift from Rolando Negoita. It’s a wooden-shanked pipe with a bowl made of double-fired porcelain. The beauty of this pipe is that a pass of a pipe cleaner and a swipe of a paper towel brings it back to neutral- absolutely no “ghosts” get left in it, so I use it when I need the get the actual flavor of the leaf. I loaded the pipe with some of the sample and noticed some familiar things- the smokiness and the incense-like character, the mellow sweetness under the surface, but there was something I didn’t remember. It was a deep flavor that caught me in the back of my throat, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. I’d have to figure out what that was if I was going to get close.
I made up a trial run, but the proportions were way off. There was too much of the floral/incense note, not enough depth and something was off in the middle- a lack of mature flavor, which would make sense as I was using leaf that was harvested around 3 years ago, and the sample was about 20 years older than that.
I reduced the Yenidje and Basma and replaced some of the yellow Virginia with a red Virginia that was “artificially” matured using steam heat. I added a small amount of unflavored black Cavendish to bring in a bit of brown sugar flavor, and a touch of Perique for depth. I gave it a couple of days to marry and tried it, but, although much closer, there was something missing, and it bothered me. I took a pouch with me on my nine day trip so I could study it.
In the meantime, Mike and Mary McNeil and Carl McAllister were picking the tobaccos apart to get an idea of the composition of the blend. I had thought about trying to do the same thing, but I figured that the discoloration of the leaf over the years would make it less than accurate, so we all were taking somewhat different approaches to the same problem.
I had taken a lot of samples with me to the Raleigh show, and during a short break, I loaded up a bowl of one of my newer blends, Steamroller, and stepped outside. Steamroller was created for people who want a decent amount of Vitamin N, but also want some complexity. As I was puffing, I noticed that same “catch” in my throat that I got from the 759, so my answer was somewhere in that blend. In giving it some thought, I figured that it was either a bit of dark air-cured Burley, or some dark fired Kentucky. Luckily, the gentleman I was working with has some air-cured available, so I added a bit to the blend and it was closer, but not quite right, so I figured that the missing element was dark fired.
When I finally got home, I made a couple of further adjustments in the Virginias and Orientals, and I added a small amount of dark fired Kentucky. When I fired up that sample, I had momentary flashes of when I regularly smoked 759. I then tried some of the baseline sample. They definitely weren’t identical, but I didn’t think that I could do much to make them closer, so I made up enough to send for the judging.
Once the samples were gone, I kind of put the contest out of my mind, as I felt that there wasn’t much of a chance of winning, as my resources are more limited, but I felt good about my effort, and I wasn’t embarrassed at all with the entry I submitted.
During the span from completion of my entry and the Chicago show, I noticed that a number of people were talking about the event in the online forums, and that there was a lot of interest.
When we got to Pheasant Run for the show, I was informed about how things were going to be done for the Throwdown, and I was very impressed with the professional manner in which it was being executed.
When the show wrapped up for Saturday. we were hustled over to the smoking tent for the judging.
I was seated at a table with Mike McNeil and Paul Creasy, who stood in for Carl McAllister, and we were across from the judges- Neill Archer Roan, who has the scholarly blogsite “A Passion for Pipes” (www.apassionforpipes.com); Rick Newcombe, author of one of my favorite pipe-related books, “In Search of Pipe Dreams”; and Joe Harb, who is well-known to serious pipe smokers as on of the reviewers (along with Tad Gage) for Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine in the “Trial by Fire” column.
There were presentations about the history of the blend and its maker and a description of the rules and the judging criteria. We also had the chance to talk about our procedures and our thoughts about the challenge, and the judges spoke, as well.
When we got around to the awards, they announced the People’s Choice award, which was voted on by the attendees, but without being compared to the baseline sample of 759. The People’s Choice was based solely on which blend they preferred, and Mike’s blend (now known as Blue Mountain) won.
After that, they described how the judging process went, and the judges were asked to evaluate the blends based on appearance, aroma, smoking qualities and taste. These were weighted categories as appearance didn’t count for as much as, let’s say, taste.
As they began to announce the scores in each section, I knew that I wouldn’t score well in appearance, as I had some yellow tobacco in my blend, and the baseline blend had no bright leaf at all.
But over the next three sections, I did well, and when the totals were announced, our blend had won. As surprised as I was by winning, I was dumbstruck by a tentful of over 300 pipesters giving us a standing ovation.
When I was given the award, I was asked to say a few words, and I kept it short by showing my appreciation to the clubs for the event, and to thank them for allowing me to be included with such terrific competitors. I wrapped up quickly so I could get to a seminar I was delivering, but the rest of the weekend was largely spent thanking people for their congratulations.
Once I got home, we sent out the first batch of the tobacco (now called “BlackHouse” as a tribute to the black tin that 759 came in and the company “House of Sobranie”) to be tinned. Once it arrived, all 158 tins were gone in less than 40 hours, and the next batch of 155 only took five days. We’ve just received a new batch, and we now have 8 oz tins as well, but this has been far and away our best new product introduction, and I hope that the blend continues to do well following the strong roll-outs of Magnum Opus, Sweet & Savory and the Lakeland Brickles.
It was definitely an amazing experience for me, and I want to thank everyone who has been so kind with your nice comments about the blend and your congratulations on the win.
Russ Ouellette
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07.06.11
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:27 pm by blendtobac
A while back I tried doing a blog, but frankly, I got distracted and let it drop. Well, that, and the fact that I didn’t really think that anyone would really give a rat’s hindquarters about what I thought or was doing.
I’m not a social networking guy as I was raised with a distaste for airing one’s laundry in public, but I’ve come to realize that a number of people who enjoy Hearth & Home tobaccos would like to know what’s going on, especially in terms of new product development, so I’m making a note to myself to post something at least once a week.
Let me go over this year so far. It’s been a whirlwind. The first notable event was the new tins and wholesale distribution of H&H. Now our tobaccos are being sold at a number of etailers, b&ms, and has a national distributor so individual shops have easy access to our blends.
That said, I wanted PipesandCigars.com to have some exclusive products now that other shops can carry our blends, so I developed three new blends to make up a line called Hearth & Home Marquee Series. These belnds would be dramatic departures from the rest of our line by either doing something radically different or by using elements that are hard to find, or maybe both.
In February we rolled out Magnum Opus, Sweet & Savory and Lakeland Brickle. MO is a bright-tasting Latakia blend containing the hard-to-get Yenidje, and has a flavor and aroma reminiscent of blends that are just memories. S&S is a Virginia/Oriental/Perique that also has some dark fired Kentucky and is totally unique. It has Yenidje, Basma and Izmir, and it goes from the sweetness of the Virginias to the floral quality of the Orientals, and then the Perique and Kentucky start to make their presence known. Lakeland Brickle is a flat pressed Virginia and dark Burley blend with Lakeland-style floral flavoring that melts away and the lets you taste the tobacco beautifully.
At the same time, I released Steamroller, which is part of the original series, and is a hearty, complex blend for those who want a good dose of Vitamin N.
Shortly after these releases, some people who tried the Brickle mentioned that they would like a heavier flavor and a little more strength, so we produced Lakeland Brickle Fortissimo which has what was asked for, with a different flavoring.
All of these blends have done well in terms of sales and critical response, and the feedback from early purchasers was great.
In March, I sampled them at the New York Pipe Show and got raves. A few weeks later I took a trip to North Carolina to go to the Raleigh show as well as to work on a new project for later this year (do you know what shisha is?). The folks in Raleigh loved the new stuff, and Chuck Stanion from Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine took samples with him to be reviewed in the fall issue. From there I went to Nashville to do a “meet-and-greet” at one of our wholesale customers, Uptown’s. They pulled out all the stops, and we had quite a gathering. I walked away wondering if this is what celebrities feel like.
Around that time, I received and email from Matt Guss with the Seattle Pipe Club with a proposal. I was invited to participate in something called the Balkan Sobranie 759 Throwdown. The Seattle and New York clubs pitched in and bought a large tin of 759 from around 1988 and would send a sample to blenders who agreed to become involved in the contest. I was more than happy to join in, and awaited the sample.
When it arrived I found out that I would be competing against two blenders who I consider friends, and whose skills I respect greatly- Mike McNeil of McClelland and Carl McAllister of Altadis. I also found out that Greg Pease and Craig Tarler of Cornell & Diehl were invited as well, but were too busy to get involved. Obviously, I was surprised to be included in that company, but looked forward to the challenge.
I tried the sample, and it was wonderful, albeit different than the 759 I remember, but it definitely has familiar elements about it. I knew that Latakia and Virginias were my starting point, and it was always my belief that Yenidje was part of the blend as well. There was a little catch in the back of my throat that made me think that there was dark fired Kentucky in there as well. With that as a starting point, I made my first trial. It was a pleasant blend, but the Orientals were too dominant. The second batch solved the balance problem, but it was missing something- a subtle, warm sweet note that was just under the surface. The addition of unflavored Green River black Cavendish was what it needed, and after the third attempt, I felt that I had gotten as close as I could get. I don’t mean to made it sound that simple; it actually took around three weeks to finish. I submitted the requested amount to the Seattle club. The judging would be done before the Chicagoland show, which is where the winner would be announced. When I learned who the judges were, I knew that the blends would have to be good to stand a chance, as they picked three more-than-capable people- Neill Archer Roan, who has the intriguing blogsite, A Passion for Pipes; Rick Newcombe, who wrote one of my favorite books about our hobby, In Search of Pipe Dreams; and Joe Harb, who has the difficult task of reviewing tobaccos for P&T.
There was a lot of activity gearing up for Chicago, and we had a contingent of six who went, along with box upon box of merchandise. The show went incredibly well, and, as always, it was great meeting people and spending time with friends. Saturday night (when the Throwdown ceremony was scheduled) came upon us very quickly. I went to the smoking tent where I met up with Mike McNeil and Paul Creasy, the General Manager of Altadis’ pipe tobacco division, who was standing in for Carl McAllister. We sat together at a table, with the judges facing us, and a podium between the tables. The clubs really did this up right, and I couldn’t believe that there was an audience of at least 300 people.
The host, Matt Guss, and his brothers gave some great background about the contest, the history of the blend and the House of Sobranie, and then set the criteria they used. They had a second award, called the People’s Choice which was voted on by attendees who tried all three blends, but who didn’t have the opportunity to try the 759, so they voted solely upon the merits of the blend itself, and Mike McNeil took the trophy for his version, which is now available under the name Blue Mountain.
They began to go through the judges’ scores by category, and I was behind after the first, caught up a bit after the second, moved a little ahead after the third and also took the fourth. My blend, BlackHouse, has won the Throwdown, and I didn’t honestly think I had a chance. The rest was a blur, as they whisked me away after saying a few words, because I had to present a seminar on blending.
Once we got home I sent out a batch of the blend for tinning. When we received the first 158 tins, around half were already sold, and we were out within 40 hours of putting it on our website. The next 155 went quickly as well, and we are now making 8 oz. tins, which will be available in the second week of July.
I just got back from the Kansas City show, which was terrific (great job, folks), and am getting ready to work on a couple of new projects. We should have our line of shisha (tobacco for hookahs) on the market by the end of summer, and I have a new Virginia/Oriental/cigar leaf blend that will be ready soon.
But there’s no rest in sight as I get ready for Columbus and Richmond, so if you come to a show and I’m asleep at our booth, I apologize, and feel free to wake me up.
Russ Ouellette, blender, Hearth & Home Tobacco/PipesandCigars.com
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