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August 25, 2006

HH Vintage Syrian

Quite a number of months ago, I was scanning some of the entries over at a.s.p., and stumbled across one offering samples of a vintage Syrian latakia. I figured what the hell, and contacted the gentleman who was inquiring, and said I'd be happy to try it. A week or so later, a small envelope arrived in the mail. I brought it inside, grabbed a beer and sat on the couch to investigate.


From the envelope I pulled some literature about the product, and a small sandwich bag with a Mac-Baren sticker on it, partially filled with tobacco. I opened the bag and tested the waters with my nose. Something about that was damn good. I burrowed my nose deeper into the bag and was hooked. I set the bag down and headed into the kitchen for a pipe. I loaded up the pipe, but before I lit away, I read the literature. I did note that this blend was considerably drier than anything I had encountered before.


From what I interpreted - correct or incorrect as it may be, this product, HH Vintage Syrian, was a new product that was being produced by Mac-Baren. It had been introduced at the Chicago Pipe Show, which had occured just a few weeks prior, and would be presented to the masses in or around August of this year.


There was a brief description of the tobacco which, really made the tobacco seem as though it would be way too complex, and muddled with all the different blends occupying the same bag:

"A little under half of the volume is a smooth, and yet powerful, Latakia from Syria. This tobacco gives the blend the overall "smoky" taste. To add a spicy note to the blend, Turkish Oriental has been added. Different Virginia tobaccos from 3 continents add a sweet natural taste. To complete the taste with depth and body, they added some Dark Fired Kentucky from the USA."

Somewhere online I read that there was something like 37 different tobaccos making up the other 50% of the blend. As Doodle might say, "too complicated, make it simple". That's really neither here nor there. I lit away.

Oh my.

Oh my.

I tasted again.

I pulled the bag back up to my nose and inhaled deeply. I tasted again.

Que Magnifique! This was truly the most amazing thing I had ever tasted (as though I've been at this that long). Oh my. I was absolutely speechless; the Syrian Latakia was so much different that the Cyprian variety I was used to. Crisper, yet more smooth. An understated boldness about it, more regal in it's aroma. This, this was something I could definitely enjoy every single day.

In fact I probably would have, however there was just one problem. My sample was only so big. Somewhere in the area between 1 and 2 ounces and that was it. And no definitive date on mass release of this delicacy. I was going to have to do something I had never done before in my entire life.

I was going to have to demonstrate a mature level of moderation.

Sure you laugh, but I pulled it off. In fact, when it was announced on a.s.p. that Mars Cigars was finally unveiling HH Vintage Syrian to the public, I still had 1 or 2 bowls left of the sample. Hooray! I ordered two tins just as fast as my porky fingers could type.

The day they arrived, I was filled with utter glee. I held the two tins (which were much larger than I had envisioned), close to my chest with pride. A few days later I opened one to enjoy with my estate Oom Paul.

My prior tin experience was limited to that of Haddo's; this was hard for the pudgy fingers to get into, I had to enlist the assistance of Jeri for this. Inside, the tobacco was very firmly packed and cradled into a piece of crepe paper. I unfolded the crepe, and scraped away enough for a bowl. Oh this shit is mighty tasty.

And then the music stopped.

Ok, maybe not as crushing as Carcass calling it quits, but pretty devastating as it were.

The entry on a.s.p. was pretty clear: "HH Vintage Syrian is gone". It couldn't be true. I headed first to Mars, and then to several sites. Not in stock. Gone. Sold out. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS!

They say it's was a limited production run, and should be available again. But when? Now, I have to moderate myself, again.

Contrived by Joshua at August 25, 2006 12:23 PM

Comments

I just read your concern over the limited availability of MacBaren Vintage Syrian. I just bought five tins from Lil Brown Smoke Shack via the internet. They have a relatively short selection of limited release tobaccos, so I'd phone to make sure they have inventory. At $9.75 a tin, I've found Lil Brown to be offering the best deal on Vintage Syrian available.
https://www.lilbrown.com/index.cfm?productid=5685

Their phone number is 800-706-2480.

Be very specific when you inquire. Lil Brown has a considerable employee turnover, so you may get a clerk who is new.

Best of luck...HH Vintage is a great tobacco!! Incidently, I spoke with a chap at MaBaren who said he thought that unless there is a run on Vintage Syrian, it'll be in production for a couple of years.

Steve

Posted by: Steven Rossellini at September 23, 2006 08:17 AM

I've ordered 4 thanks to your information, and am enjoying a bit now in anticipation of the new tins arrival. Thank you, thank you!

That is the best offer I've seen, most of my usual haunts offer it at a bit higher price, so again, thank you!

Happy puffing, and thanks for your comment!

Posted by: Joshua at September 24, 2006 12:00 PM

Lil Brown has sold out of Vintage Syrian but JR Cigars https://www.jrcigar.com/index.cfm?page=pipes2 now has a large quantity in their inventory at just $8.50 per 100 gram tin. The JR real-time inventory is tied to the web page, so if it takes your order, there's inventory on hand. I attempted to place an order for 99 tins (the maximum possible via the web page) and it accepted the order, which indicates that they have at least 99 tins on hand. (Of course, I didn't order 99 tins...I just wanted to check the size of the inventory.)

Posted by: Steven Rossellini at December 23, 2006 03:10 PM

I haven't done any business so far with JR Cigars (nothing against them...but now I see the perfect excuse to start!)

Posted by: Joshua at December 26, 2006 04:32 PM