Some thoughts on "Match" blends

[monbla256]

I cannot say that I have tried ALL the various "Match" blends now being produced I have tried several which portend to be a "match" for two of the blend/mixtures I used to smoke regularly back in the '70s/'80s, 965 and 759. A word about how I and many others of that time smoked first. The concept of "aging" tobacco blend/mixtures really was not anywhere near what it is today and I like so many of my fellow pipe smokers smoked and liked our tobacco "fresh" rather than "old". When one takes either of these two blend/mixtures specifically and let's them sit for 20/30 years, the resulting blend/mixture is NOT what it was when they were "fresh" out of the tin back then. Being heavily Va based, they tend to mellow and "marry" many of the distinctive nuances they had when "fresh". A recently opened tin of McConnal, Murray, earlier Dunhill 965 is NOT what it was back when it was "fresh" though it does still have many of the aspects of the blend as made then. That certainly is not the case with the few 759 matches around. The "match" blenders do a fine job of replicating the blend/mixture they are working from NOW, but from the memory and standpoint of one who smoked a LOT of these blend/mixtures "back in the day" they have a way to go !! :twisted: So if one want's smoke "what it was like" back in the day, ya need to invent a time machine !! :twisted: These are merely some ramblings from one of "those" old codgers :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Ozark Wizard]

The environment and the strains of plants have changed a bit from 'back in the old days'.

 

[ftrplt]

Can only say that Brothers Monbla and OW are spot on. When I started up with the pipe in 1964, I'd never heard of anyone "aging" their pipe tobacco. No one I knew did. One went to the tobacco shop, purchased your cutter/pop open tin/s, cans, or packets, opened'em up and smoked them! When one ran low, you ventured back to the shop and purchased more. Never any thought that your fav 'baccy wouldn't be there when next you needed it. I remember the last time I bought BS759. JR Cigar in Statesville, NC many years ago (can't remember the year). Bought my usual 5 or 6 tins (may have been the larger ones); they had plenty, I left quite a few. Went back a few weeks later to resupply; no hab BS759 :evil: Guy behind the counter told me there would be no more!!I called JR in Burlington/Mebane, they had some; first come, first served. I drove like a madman to B'Ton and got their last 4 tins!! Never would I have thought that my fav 'baccy's would be gone; never to return. John Cotton 1, 2, and 1&2, the Four Square blends, Barney's PunchBowle; just to name a few. However, even if these wonderful blends were still available; they wouldn't taste quite the same as 20/30/40 years ago. It's just the nature of tobacco. Things change. The soil changes. The curing methods shift a bit. The old guard passes to the new guard. Today, as some of the old blends are reappearing (a good thing); they still aren't exactly what us ol' codgers remember from the 60's or 70's. But I'm damn glad to see them back in a "pretty close" rendition. And I appreciate all the good folks who are trying to "match" some of the old stuff. Dang site better than not having it at all :lol: :cheers: FTRPLT

 

[MisterE]

Good points all!

The memory of how they were even shifts, too. In death, some of the old blends become bigger than life. I think it can become the pipe smoking equivalent of trying to recaputre the high school glory days. It's much better in retrospect.

I remember smoking a lot of Nightcap back in the early 90s. When I got ahold of a vintage tin from that period last year, damned if it didn't quite taste as I had remembered! Same stuff. Exactly the same stuff. If someone had relabeled it Nightcap Match, I would have said, "nope, they didn't quite get it!". Granted, with age it changes, but not enough to say it's not een close.

I totally agree that a good match is better than nothing at all...

 

[pipetrepid]

if a pipe smoker wanted escudo or three nuns, he went to the shop, bought them and opened them. did`nt see a need to "stock up" . wish i had stockpiled three nuns, rattrays old gowrie , etc.. but, as they say, hindsight is 20/20. anyway, there are many good blends around now but they`re not the same. bill

 

[Richard Burley]

I've had all, what? three?, versions of Revelation. The matches come close enough, and may even be "better," actually. Don't really miss others, although a Balkan Sobranie No. 10 clone would be cool, and I'm curious about the Edgeworth.

 

[JimInks]

I've had all, what? three?, versions of Revelation. The matches come close enough, and may even be "better," actually. Don't really miss others, although a Balkan Sobranie No. 10 clone would be cool, and I'm curious about the Edgeworth.

The Lane Limited version of ERR is not the same even though they claim they used the original formula. It has more cocoa and less molasses, and is short ribbon cut instead of being ready rubbed. I like it, but it's not ERR. Sutliff's ERR Match is closer, though it isn't exact. The cut is different, but the flavor is more molasses than cocoa, with a shade less depth. Here's my review of the new Lane version: http://brothersofbriar.forumotion.com/t30528-jim-s-lane-limited-ready-rubbed-review

Even though it's true that it's virtually impossible to exactly match old blends (Russ Ouellette said it's the hardest thing to blend), Sutliff does have several that come pretty darn close. Here's a link to my Match review thread for those who missed it:
http://brothersofbriar.forumotion.com/t29479-jim-s-sutliff-match-reviews

 

[tslots]

Funny, I read this thread earlier and went to do some errands.  
First song I heard in the car was Don Henley's Boys of Summer.   I found these lyrics appropriate:

"Out on the road today, I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, "Don't look back. You can never look back"
I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but ..."

I have no reference for those old bygone blends as I didn't start the pipe until 2000.   But I'd imagine lots of smokers are thankful someone has at least tried to recreate the more popular ones.   Based on Jim's reviews, they came pretty close with many of them.   I'll likely try a few to see if they can stand on their own as good quality blends that fit with my tastes.

 

[eklektos44]

Funny, I read this thread earlier and went to do some errands.  
First song I heard in the car was Don Henley's Boys of Summer.   I found these lyrics appropriate:

"Out on the road today, I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, "Don't look back. You can never look back"
I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but ..."

I have no reference for those old bygone blends as I didn't start the pipe until 2000.   But I'd imagine lots of smokers are thankful someone has at least tried to recreate the more popular ones.   Based on Jim's reviews, they came pretty close with many of them.   I'll likely try a few to see if they can stand on their own as good quality blends that fit with my tastes.

Everything was always better in the past...

 

[Dutch]

Everything was always better in the past...

Surely you can't be serious? :suspect:

 

[eklektos44]

Ah...tricky Dick..such fond memories..... :lol!:

(that was said with a touch of irony....besides I'm not sure Nixon was anymore destructive than what we've got now...)