On another pipe forum they were discussing alternatives to Penzance, given its perpetual MIA status. It was generally agreed upon that there are no true alternatives, even including similarly rare and equally praised Germain-produced Smokers Haven blends Krumble Kake and Our Best Blend. Nevertheless, guys were still tossing around names of tobaccos that they felt came closest. Someone mentioned Low Country Cooper. I'd never heard of this brand and after some research found out it is SmokingPipes.com's house brand produced by Cornell & Diehl. They make only five or six blends, but the Cooper, Waccamaw, and Black tobaccos sound pretty darn good, according to their limited reviews over at tobaccoreviews.com. Anyone here have experience with Low Country tobacco? I'd love to hear about Cooper, Waccamaw or Black.
Low Country tobacco lowdown?
- Thread starter KarlMaldensNose
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I've had Cooper and Black both were very enjoyable and worth trying with cooper being my favorite of the two. They haven't knocked SG, or Dunhill off my favorite English list though.
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James, have you smoked Penzance before, and if so is there any validity to the claim that Cooper is in the same ballpark? But I'm not really looking for a Penzance copy. In the end I just want to try those three Low Country offerings and judge them on their own merits.
I have, but I've never found Penzance as good as some do. I like it but honestly I find it a little one dimensional and my personal preference is for a sweeter VA and more oriental in my English. I like the cooper better, and the black at least as much. Penzance beats them on presentation and ease of smoking. It burns very well and is easy to load properly, this I believe gives a lot of newer pipe smokers a good experience where they struggle with other blends. But if you get to the point where you can judge moister levels well, can pack most tobac well for its cut, and good breath control there are several others I prefer - Black and Cooper among them.
I am in no way familiar enough with tobacco to say what tastes similar to Penzance, but I will say that Hearth and Home's Black House and Dan Tobacco's Bill Bailey's Balkan Blend are excellent tobaccos that I enjoy a lot. Again, I don't know how similar they are because I'm still pretty new to all this, just saying they're worth a shot if you like the Lat/Oriental thing.
I cant atest to how cooper tastes but Waccamaw is very good .
