Thoughts on changing blends

[Smokey-smokey]

I was reading a thread started by Cartaphilus regarding Escudo and how it changed, which made me think of some things and wanted to get your input.

We know most blends change overtime. We know that sometimes they change for the better, for the worse, or whatever. We know we judge those changes based on our experience with the previous recipe and, at the end of the day, better or worse is a matter of personal decision.

Further, we know blending tobacco is challenging and not every blender can keep a blend consistent over a very long period of time. We know crops change from year to year.

Also we know that, sadly, blenders sometimes cut corners to save money and screw up something good.

Those are all facts we all know to well, but now I pose a question to all of you: Do you think these changes in blends and/or discontinuation have to do with appealing to new generation of pipe smokers? Kind of a broad question, so let me explain a little more.

We see drastically changed blends all the time. I used to love Erinmore Flake because it was bold, assertive, had a strong flavor AND flavoring. My experience with this blend was exactly the same Cartaphilus had with Escudo: from one tin to the next, the change was overwhelming. The new EF, while good, is not something I intend to keep around because it is simply not Erinomre Flake anymore. Now, think of the newer generation of pipe smokers and, in general (WITH MANY EXCEPTIONS) they tend to favor milder aromatics. So, "in-your-face" blends like EF or more natural tasting blends like Escudo get changed so it can appeal to Jr.

To clarify, and before proceeding, I repeat: this is just a question/theory, I am not a market expert.

So, think of the new generation of pipe smokers, about half are "hipsters" - To an 18-20 year old who has never smoked a bowl of Va/per might be a good kick in the pants, nicotine wise. You might say the same about Lat. bombs. They might opt for something milder. I feel like I'm rambling, does this make sense?

****Then again, I'm inclined to believe I'm over thinking this whole thing *********

Let's use Greg Pease as an example. According to him, he was trying to work on a replacement for Raven's Wing, one of his blends, and the result was something completely different, which he called Maltese Falcon. This, to me, says "pride in your work." Yeah, he's in the business to make money, not because he loves me, but his approach is worth mentioning. Then you have other blenders who might cut a lot of corners, bastardize a blend, and say "here you go, here's your X blend." Some people who have been smoking it for a while will notice, others who have never tried it may or may not like it, they keep selling and the world keeps on spinning.

What are your thoughts?

DISCLAIMER: I don't mean to say that every young pipe smoker is a hipster or that every hipster is a pipe smoker.

 

[Northern Neil]

I agree with your liking of GL Pease's approach to Ravens Wing / Maltese Falcon. If it isn't the same blend, why try and pass it off as the same.

That being said, I think the changing of blends from year to year has more to do with "saving a buck," or changing crop than it has to do with the younger generation of smokers. In fact, the younger smokers that I have met seem to prefer non-aromatic tobacco's and it is the new comers / first timers who are going for the aromatic blends.

Nonetheless, in the end it all boils down to marketing. It ís much easier to sell a product that has a good reputation than it is to try and build brand loyalty from scratch. SO I wouldn't be surprised if this is just the easy way out.

 

[Smokey-smokey]

Nonetheless, in the end it all boils down to marketing. It ís much easier to sell a product that has a good reputation than it is to try and build brand loyalty from scratch. SO I wouldn't be surprised if this is just the easy way out.

Again, I'm no expert, but I think you hit the proverbial nail with this statement.

This kinda leads me to another thought, the difference between a blender like Greg Pease and a giant like STG.

See, I called my local tobacco shop to see if they could order some five brothers for me, the guy said "sorry, we don't sell mass market products." My thought was "yeah, you kinda do."

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

A lot of venerable blends that have been around for decades even centuries are at this point just a label.

Look at the new Thee Nuns, it doesn't even have the same ingredients as the original Bell's.

Blends change for a number of reasons - availability of ingredients (this is especially the case when a blend goes from one blending house to another), our own personal tastes, how the finished product is stored (warehouses with bad climate control), etc.

Good thing there are a lot of fine blends to choose from out there. Makes losing an old favorite much less depressing.

 

[monbla256]

I've had some experience with this having smoked a pipe since 1969 especially with two blends that were my daily "staples" for almost 30 years.
First, let's take a blend that almost DEFINED the term Balkan back then, Balkan Sobrainie's 759. In the late '60's/early '70s it was a very full, sharp, Oriental forward Va based blend that had a noticeable Latakia presence for sure, but it ALL was so smooth and BALANCED that it was HEAVEN to smoke.    Then, by the late '70s, they began increasing the amt of Latakia overall so that by the time I stopped smoking it ( late '80s when it started being available in only 4 oz tins and pouches) the other Oriental part of the blend was totally overpowered by the Latakia and it was NOT the blend I had enjoyed for years. Much if not ALL of the full, nuanced blend that it was had drastically changed and finally it was discontinued altogether! Why did they do this? For many reasons known only to the firms blending it sadly.   
The other blend/mixture which might have more relevance to this discussion is Dunhill's 965, which is still in production today though it's only a "Dunhill" tobacco in name only as Dunhill does NOT produce ANY tobacco products anymore, having sold their "brand" to STG/Orlik. When I first started smoking it, it was still produced by Dunhill in London, then McConell took over production of the exported tinned blends with Murray's in Ireland taking over in '81. During bothe of these changes in producers I have to say the blend stayed so much the same it was hard to tell ANY difference till it was stopped in the mid/late 2000's for awhile till STG/Orlik got production going again. I've had some of the "new stuff" and have to say the new guys have done a GOOD job getting it to be like "it was" albeit maybe a bit sharper without as much sweetness from the current version of Brown Cavendish as was used previously. Having been a smoker of ALL of the varieties I can tell a new smoker who's trying it that they ARE smoking 965, not a blend that is "like it" .
Something that has to be said along with this ( my OPINION now) is that back then, we wanted to smoke "fresh" tobacco so most of us did not Age/cellar blends, rather we smoked 'em "fresh" from the tins ( or from the "baggie" if we bought bulk store blends) so the flavors were more sharp etc  and this thing these days of taking a 30 yo tin of a blend and trying to duplicate it is fine, but IT IS NOT as the blends were originally sold and smoked by many of us back then . They are like 30YO AGED versions of them!!
The ONLY constant in the world is CHANGE and we ALL want consistency in our lives don't we ?  :twisted: :twisted: