IS Ashton Celebrated Sovereign & Old London Pebble Cut BACK?

[fumo bro]

I noticed that many German online tobacco stores are selling the old Ashton blends, such as Celebrated Sovereign & Old London Pebble Cut. For example, refer to Esterval´s Pipe House http://www.tecon-gmbh.de/index.php. I have not seen these blends being sold on any USA online stores. These tins are pretty pricey – about $28 USD for a 100 gram tin plus 19% tax and then shipping from Europe. Has anyone smoked the newer versions of these blends or does anyone know who is the current producer? Any input would be well appreciated.

 

[Rusty]

Are you living in 2011 or did your post do the time-warp?
In a word - Yes!
The original Ashton line was resurrected by McClelland in the US in 2010 - all hail McClelland!
Is 2010 the future for you? If so stay cool; your turn is coming.
http://www.pipeshowonline.net/McClelland_TheyAreBack.php

A short bit of history... CE McConnell was the original manufacturer of the original Ashton line in the 80's. Following CE McConnell's closure in 1989 the ancestor of Kohlhase Kopp, who acquired CE McConnell's assets, manufactured the original line for both US & Euro market. At some point in the 90's Ashton (it was RD Field actually) asked McClelland to make the Ashton line for the US market. So the same line was being made by McClelland for the US and by Kohlhase Kopp for Europe. In approx. 2005 Ashton decided to go with Kohlhase Kopp's new Ashton tobacco line which was intro'd in 2006, I believe. I suspect the thinking was that more flavoured tobaccos would sell better than tired old natural delicious treats (do I sound biased?). So the originals were sadly discontinued in both the US and in Europe and both markets lived with the new Ashton line produced by Kohlhase Kopp. That still appears to be the case in Europe because Kohlhase Kopp's website is not showing the original line. So you're seeing old Kohlhase Kopp stock on Euro retail websites.
http://www.kohlhase-tobacco.com/

But frankly I think the original line reached its peak with McClelland. And They're Back!

 

[fumo bro]

When I go online to buy pipe tobacco, I do not see Celebrated Sovereign or Old London Pebble Cut under Ashton - so I assumed it was discontinued. Your historical background was excellent and much appreciated! I am somewhat ignorant since I learn everything I know about pipe smoking from online sources. The local smoke shops (or should I say the local cigar-and-cigarette shops) aren’t very helpful and do not stock any pipe tobacco except the drug-store brands. I just placed an order for McClellands’ reproductions. Thank you very much for the info!

 

[Rusty]

You're very welcome.

There is actually quite a bit of tobacco history on the web if one knows where to look.
A few years ago Ashton-Cigar (this is the same Ashton referred to in my post above) left an orphan page, about the blends, disconnected on their site (text from it reproduced below). But I also asked RD Field for his recollections and happily not too long after McClelland brought them back. I think the two are not connected but we are fortunate these days.

CE McConnell was a legendary London tobacco maker. They of course made the Robert McConnell blends but they also made a lot more. They did quite a bit of 3rd party manufacturing, and Ashton is but one example. Another one that they made was the Elephant & Castle blends. Superb stuff. And Marble Arch has kindly put a series of web pages up about them and, of course, CE McConnell. There is even a reproduction of a letter where we actually see the transition to the company that became Kohlhase Kopp. That was end of tobacco making in London, AFAIK. With that the Rattrays, McConnells, Ashtons, and all the rest went to Germany. And Oh did they change!

http://www.serjacopo.com/e%26c/E%26C_000.html

Following is the text from Ashton-Cigars page about the Ashton line...

Ashton Tobacco Story
Ashton smoking tobaccos came into being in 1984 as a complement to the Ashton pipe C.E. McConnell Ltd., a small but renowned tobacco house in London, was selected to fashion and produce only the finest of pipe tobacco.
Both Ken and Michael "Mick" McConnell had been raised in their family's tobacco business and so possessed the knowledge and "hands on" experience that was fast fading from England. Together with William Ashton-Taylor they labored to find distinctive English Mixtures and Virginia Blends that would set Ashton Smoking Tobacco apart. That they succeeded wias due in no small part to their insight into very old methods of tobacco curing "cold pressing" and "maritime carrottes" being but two examples.

When C.E. McConnell closed its doors a worthy successor had to be found - and was. The
McClelland Tobacco Co. was selected to produce Ashton Smoking Tobaccos, as this tobacco house is today the best in the world in the manufacture of premium pipe tobaccos. It was agreed that all original recipes were to be strictly followed, no matter the added expense. Ashton is pleased to present the six smoking tobaccos listed below.

Black Parrot
Celebrated Sovereign
Original Oldchurch
Brindle Flake
Old Dog
Pebblecut

Some of the Ashton story is useful history and then there are also imaginative marketing elements!
Ashton is a distributor in the US so, of course, they're telling the story from a US distributor's point of view and the European parts aren't relevant because they don't sell there. So, for example, they completely dropped the German manufacturer era from 1990-1998. They're telling the story as if McClelland was the only manufacturer after 1989. But there is a lesson here. Be careful that you understand the owners purpose for the web site and who they are. That influences the message. When we look, for example, at Kohlhase Kopp's website we should realize that we're looking at a German distributor's site rather than a manufacturer's site. Many smaller manufacturers do both. There are blends they make that aren't mentioned as well as blends listed that they distribute in Germany but that they do not make themselves. It's intended for German retailers and consumers.