old fillmore vs. new fillmore

[vaperfavour]

the old fillmore was the best vaper i ever smoked, the bad tin affair being over i find the new fillmore still does not taste like the first runs of that delicious monument to perique. is it just me? does anyone else find new fillmore not quite right?

 

[IHT]

maybe i've never had "old" fillmore... the stuff i've been smoking (as a fellow va/per whore) has always been super strong in the perique dept with an underlying sweetness to the VAs.
when was it first released and did it come in a specific tin??

 

[Midnight Blues]

Fillmore has been one of my favorites since its first offerings, and I continue to smoke it regularly. I haven't noticed any changes. Hopefully Greg would be kind enough to give us an update on this amazing tobacco....

 

[John Offerdahl]

Pease is very reluctant to change the recipe of a blend. He would discontinue it before changing it. However, he uses Green River Perique, which is burley taken through the same curative process as St. James Perique. It can be argued that the Green River is real or fake perique, but it can't be argued that while it is a very good product it isn't QUITE as good as the St. James stuff (though probably more common in pipe tobacco). It is also still a little inconsistent, thus there may be some variation from one batch to the next. It's POSSIBLE that what you are noticing, then, is the result of this Green River Perique.

Of course, it's also possible that any of the original run you have and are smoking has gotten enough age on it that the blend has improved, while the newer tins you are smoking aren't yet really quite at the same point.

 

[Midnight Blues]

Pease is very reluctant to change the recipe of a blend. He would discontinue it before changing it. However, he uses Green River Perique, which is burley taken through the same curative process as St. James Perique.

John, welcome to the board. I've heard of Green River Perique but I wasn't aware of its use in Fillmore. I've taken this description of Fillmore right from Greg's site,

A thick-sliced broken flake in the Scottish tradition. Ripe red Virginia tobaccos are combined with a generous measure of fine Louisiana perique, and then pressed to marry the components and deepen the flavors. The cakes are sliced and gently broken before tinning. Fillmore presents an elegant sweetness and delightful piquancy, enhanced by a creamy richness that develops throughout the bowl. Sit back, and enjoy a lovely, leisurely smoke.

 

[puros_bran]

If you speak with authority people will listen.

 

[Anonymous]

Blending tobaccos is like blending wine, whiskey &c. The compoments are always varying from crop to crop, and your job is to come up with a consistently close approximation of the original concept.

So, yeah, blends change subtly from batch to batch at times, even without the age factor complicating the picture.

Such is life.

:face:

 

[vaperfavour]

it just seems that the new stuff doesnt have any sweetness to it and towards the end of the bowl a cinnamon like taste emeges that i dont remember ever being there before. maybe it just needs to age somewhat but in o7 all the tins i bought ( about 30 ) were all delcious right out of the tin, the newly reformulated stuff smells like fillmore and even starts off tasting like fillmore but then descends into something foreign. i think greg cant get the same virginia or something cause to me the new dated 10-29-07 isnt quite right. its not bad just not like the original stuff. the original was lighter in color and much sweeter, it was heaven in a tin. now it tastes like c&d s bayou morning flake. i am hoping it is just young tobacco!! :suspect:

 

[Carlos]

Did somebody say "Bayou Morning Flake"!


Actually, I had a tin of Fillmore open on the desk. It was ok. But it sat there being shuffled around for several months and I got into it again recent. What a change in such a short time, after having been opened. Wonderfully sweet and full flavored now.

Definitely a blend to stash and let age.

 

[John Offerdahl]

Pease is very reluctant to change the recipe of a blend. He would discontinue it before changing it. However, he uses Green River Perique, which is burley taken through the same curative process as St. James Perique.

John, welcome to the board. I've heard of Green River Perique but I wasn't aware of its use in Fillmore. I've taken this description of Fillmore right from Greg's site,

A thick-sliced broken flake in the Scottish tradition. Ripe red Virginia tobaccos are combined with a generous measure of fine Louisiana perique, and then pressed to marry the components and deepen the flavors. The cakes are sliced and gently broken before tinning. Fillmore presents an elegant sweetness and delightful piquancy, enhanced by a creamy richness that develops throughout the bowl. Sit back, and enjoy a lovely, leisurely smoke.

I'll quibble, if I may. Notice that Greg doesn't state "St. James Perique", but instead says "Louisiana Perique".

 

[Slow Puffs]

Is this what you are talking about, the original post on this thread?

Trouble at the Fillmore
12th September, 2007: Posted by glpease in Product News
Ouch. Near the end of June of this year, a batch of Fillmore spent significantly too much time in the presses, resulting in a product that, while made from the same tobaccos, is very much different from what Fillmore is supposed to be. The tobacco isn’t bad, it’s just not right. The affected batch is considerably darker, an almost monochromatic deep red/brown, and doesn’t display the lovely golden strands that pepper the warmer hues in the real thing. Neither does this batch deliver the fruity aroma and complex sweetness that are hallmarks of Fillmore.

Again, the tobacco isn’t bad, but it isn’t Fillmore. To the best of my knowledge, the only bad batch is dated 24th May, 2007. If you have one of these tins of “French Roasted” Fillmore, and don’t like it, please contact me to arrange its replacement. If you do like it, enjoy it while you have it, because the manufacturer has assured me there won’t be anymore mistakes like this one. I hope he’s right…

Addendum: It’s come to light that the actual date of the tins is 24th May, 2007, not 27th June as previously reported. -glp

This can be found in GLP's "news" section.

Paul

 

[vaperfavour]

Well, not really, i was sent a new tin to replace one of the bad tins. this new tin is dated 10-29-07. it smells like " original " fillmore but as it is smoked it quickly starts to taste like, well.. not fillmore i have a comparison tin dated 02-14-07 and this tobacco is lighter in color and still has that stewed fruit with cream taste that im in love with. the tobacco in 10-29-07 tin does not have that taste, it tastes too earthy and has no real virginia sweetness to it. getting worried.....! could this mean the end of fillmore? do i speak heresy? if the blend can no longer taste like it did when first released.. ale: ............. anyone have tins for sale from 07?? will fillmore become a lamented tobacco like stonehenge flake??? am i paranoid?? should i re-iterate? anyone have tins from 07 for sale??

 

[Midnight Blues]

I'll quibble, if I may. Notice that Greg doesn't state "St. James Perique", but instead says "Louisiana Perique".

Well John when I read "Fine Louisiana Perique" St. James Perique comes to my mind. There are several Pease blends that state "Perique" Barbary Coast and Hado's to name two and it would be a safe assumption that the Green River variety of Perique might be used here. I have no inside information so I just base my statements on what I've read.

All this being said, I've smoked Fillmore from the beginning and have always found it enjoyable and consistent....

 

[IHT]

Well, not really, i was sent a new tin to replace one of the bad tins. this new tin is dated 10-29-07. it smells like " original " fillmore but as it is smoked it quickly starts to taste like, well.. not fillmore i have a comparison tin dated 02-14-07 and this tobacco is lighter in color and still has that stewed fruit with cream taste that im in love with. the tobacco in 10-29-07 tin does not have that taste, it tastes too earthy and has no real virginia sweetness to it. getting worried.....! could this mean the end of fillmore? do i speak heresy? if the blend can no longer taste like it did when first released.. ale: ............. anyone have tins for sale from 07?? will fillmore become a lamented tobacco like stonehenge flake??? am i paranoid?? should i re-iterate? anyone have tins from 07 for sale??

could simply be "age".
a lot of tobaccos vastly improve with some "air time" (getting to breath after opening - may take a few months even).

 

[glpease]

Well, not really, i was sent a new tin to replace one of the bad tins. this new tin is dated 10-29-07. it smells like " original " fillmore but as it is smoked it quickly starts to taste like, well.. not fillmore i have a comparison tin dated 02-14-07 and this tobacco is lighter in color and still has that stewed fruit with cream taste that im in love with. the tobacco in 10-29-07 tin does not have that taste, it tastes too earthy and has no real virginia sweetness to it. getting worried.....! could this mean the end of fillmore? do i speak heresy? if the blend can no longer taste like it did when first released.. ale: ............. anyone have tins for sale from 07?? will fillmore become a lamented tobacco like stonehenge flake??? am i paranoid?? should i re-iterate? anyone have tins from 07 for sale??

Interesting. Just to set the record straight on a few things, first, the recipe for Fillmore has not changed, nor have the component tobaccos, nor has the protocol for its manufacture. On the perique, it's L. A. Poche's Acadian, which is a blend of Green River and St. James leaf, fermented in the traditional manner, and blended to ensure consistency from batch to batch. Perique is not as stable a crop as the Green River leaf is, so I feel this consistency far outweighs any slight benefit from using the straight St. James leaf in its best years. The Acadian is fabulous, or I wouldn't use it.

While I'm on the subject of perique, the whole boatload of BS that "there is only one farmer growing REAL perique" is just that. Last year, at least 6 growers in the parish were in contract with Poche, and this year, I'm told the number is even higher. The quality of leaf that is being delivered is better than it's been in decades, thanks in no small way to the contributions of Mark Ryan, who now owns and operates Poche. (Of course, I've said this all before, but there seems to be a large contingent only interested in myths and folklore, seemingly unfettered by facts. Reminds me of the W.H.O.'s "study" on ETS, in some ways...)

Off my soapbox, now. Sorry.

I'm really not sure what's going on with your Fillmore. I've spot-checked production, and it's been fine, but there seems to be something happening with some batches. We've dropped the 1-pound tins, because they were packed too tightly, causing anaerobic fermentation to begin practically overnight, resulting in seriously bulging tins, threatening to issue their contents in a somewhat abrupt fashion. No such problems have been noted with the 2oz or 8oz tins. Neither have I noted any untoward behavioural differences between the 2s and the 8s.

If anything, your older tin should be darker than the more recent one, not lighter. This puzzles me. Please drop me a note via the contact form on my web site, and I'll gladly follow through on this, and work with you towards a satisfactory arrangement, whilst also collecting enough data to figure out just what the problem is or, hopefully, was.

Honestly, since the little fiasco in the early days, I've had very few problems with Fillmore, so I'm inclined to think that either your recent tins are aberrant, or your older ones were. In either case, I'd like to get to the bottom of it more than anyone.

Cheers,
Greg

 

[ftrplt]

I like a man (in this case, Mr. Pease) who "tells it like it is!!!" I've wondered for quite a while how that one lone farmer made all that Perique...and no other farmer in the area wanted to make any money by helping out with the demand!!! FTRPLT

 

[Midnight Blues]

Greg, that sure clears things up, at least for me. Please pass the Fillmore!

 

[regor]

I just finished a bowl of Fillmore and it was as good as it always is. There are times when it does taste differant but its not the tobaccos fault. Body chemistry is differant at differant times and that sure effects the taste. Meds I take make it taste differant times but it is always close and always taste good. Body chemistry and any number of other things like what you have eaten , the temp inside and out, the smell of something thats cooking can change things a little but even all this stuff you can sure tell that its Fillmore and it sure taste good!!!