Bulking Up

[Tim_McD]

Good Day Gentlemen,

I have been pretty much only using tinned tobaccos and I think that it is time to start in on some of the bulk mixtures. The goal will be to take advantage of the price per quantity and having the ablity to sample the same product over time.

My likes are pretty middle of the road; here are tins in my current arsenal that I would reorder. Any suggestions for bulk equivalents would be very welcome.

Dunhill	Nightcap
McClelland	Aston Revival: Brindle Flake
McClelland	Christmas Cheer 2012
McClelland	Frog Morton
McClelland	Frog Morton Across Pond
McClelland	Frog Morton Cellar
McClelland	Frog Morton On Bayou
McClelland	Frog Morton On Town
McClelland	Stave-Aged Virginia Ribbon
Peterson	Irish Flake
Ramback	GOLD
Samuel Gawith	Grousemoor

 

[oc_in_fw]

Someone recently posted the FM bulk equivalent- I hope they visit this thread.

 

[Argonaut]

The Grouse is sold in bulk.

 

[Tim_McD]

The Grouse is sold in bulk.

And I would have started with that, but everywhere I looked the bulk Grousemoor is out-of-stock.

My guess is that it is too niche and shops dont want to keep large amts of a quirky product on hand

 

[nesta]

Most of those are tin-only. There is a bulk McClelland blend which is supposed to be very comparable to Frog Morton, but I don't quite remember which it is. I want to say #5110. However, given how much you appear to enjoy McClelland's tinned latakia blends, you may well be happy with most of their bulk latakia blends. However, while not outrageous, their bulk offerings don't offer nearly as good a deal as some other companies.

You seem to like decent, mild-medium latakia blends. I'd highly recommend trying Peter Stokkebye's "Proper English." It's exactly what the name implies, it's well balanced, and it's affordable. A pound can be had for under thirty dollars. Actually, I'd recommend a number of their blends. Every one I've tried has been pretty good. If you like aromatics, their Sweet Vanilla is great. Their flakes are wonderful, too, for high quality VA blends (look out for the Luxury Bullseye Flake if you aren't a fan of perique, though! It's got a little bit of a spicy kick!). If you enjoy burley at all, get the Cube Cut. It's a killer cocoa-y burley and Virginia blend (mostly burley) which burns slow as anything, tastes great and for a mostly natural blend it has a fantastic aroma.

Keep an eye out for Grousemoor. If it comes into stock, DEFINITELY try some Grousemoor Plug. It's the same flavoring as the mixture, but the tobacco base is different - darker, deeper, smoother, and a touch more nicotine (still only medium bodied).

If you want something like Irish Flake...that might be hard. Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. might do the trick with a few of their blends...but....even when they say something is "unscented" you might find that to be a bit of a stretch. However, while they are about the polar opposite of flake tobacco, similar nicotine strength and somewhat familiar flavors may be found in GH Kendal Dark and Dark Birdseye. Especially Kendal Dark, which features prominent use of dark fired tobaccos. To my taste, they are pure, unadulterated tobacco without any additives, unlike many of their blends indicated as "unscented."

 

[Tim_McD]

Thanks for the product suggestions, I will be building a list of things to pick up an oz of and once I have a "cartful" I can pull the trigger. I dont care for aromatics (with the exception of Grousemoor, because it isnt so much an aro..it is "different") so the english / balkan blends are where I would like to concentrate.

I will be sure to include a few of the Peter Stokkebye tobaccos, as well as the McClelland 5110. I had not considered the Grousemoor plug, but a Google sweep of the web last night showed it to be OOS in every online tobacconist that I checked. And since I am not swearing off tinned tobacco, I have no problem buying up a couple of tins and waiting patiently until the bulk version surfaces again. I am two 50g tins deep on most of the tobacco on my spreadsheet - some a bit more.

I have read through the BL Review pages, I keep checking the PoD updates and the Acquisition thread. I cannot hope to sample everything that is listed (lets be real - Aaron's stash has to be visible from space), but the tobaccos that consistently popup and are readily available get put into a list that I check against Tobaccoreviews.com to see what the comments are for it.

I am not locked into what I have tried already, so any add'l suggestions are welcome

 

[nesta]

It's pricey, but not much pricier than McClelland stuff, and in my opinion quite a lot better, so if you haven't tried it before, give Squadron Leader a go. Additionally, Cornell & Diehl's Star of the East is very nice, and though the blender claims it's 50% latakia it's not at all overwhelming to the palate like I'd expect.

Also, you might try looking through tobacco reviews .com