Oldest American Pipe Tobacco Shops

[cosmicfolklore]

I don’t think Stokkebye had an issue, a federal agent did.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Okay, I missed that. I feel a lot better knowing my tax dollars are going to protect me from buying a misnamed pipe tobacco from some itty, bitty shop in Gatlinburg, TN. That could easily spread to a full fledged terrorist attack left unchecked. The Agent should have just shot them all in their shop in that mall and left the bodies there as a lesson to anybody else considering such a heinous crime.

 

[sablebrush52]

I have a thing about people or groups who take credit for the work of others. Over the years my work has won a couple of Clios, a couple of Emmys, and an Academy Award. But you won't see those trinkets keeping my doors from closing because other people, not directly involved but higher on the food chain, stuck their names on it during the submission process.
So a few bodies left as a reminder? I can live with that.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I went, they had signs that said this blend X was grown right here in Gatlinburg, this one was grown on the Blue Ridge Parkway, etc... then the long dissertation you’d get when you’d ask about it. No, it was terrorist level stuff. But, if I switched my lisense plate on my car with someone else’s, I’d get a huge fine, or arrested. Laws are there to level the playing field and protect folks. Switching my tags doesn’t hurt anyone, but I pay the consequences. Eh... ha ha... I’m not passionate enough to debate this. They are across the street from Ripleys Believe It or Not and a really bad wax museum. And, next door you can buy a souvenir corn cobs with Gatlinburg written on them for the bathroom, “See Rock City” hats, and Hillbilly action figures. It is very buyer beware type stuff to begin with.
But, hopefully, they have their game in order. As I said, they had some very charismatic employees. And, no one wants to see any B&M tobacconist get the shaft.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I have never been to their shop. Somebody else posted about them here 6 months or so ago. I ordered several samples, liked the one. Liked the Newfound Blend, ordered a couple of pounds. I don't question at all what you're saying, probably makes sense about why they were out of the business for awhile. Also sounds like they'll have big problems if the FDA deal ever comes down.

 

[64alex]

I just smoked a bowl of Peretti "Cuban Mixture" which is said to be the oldest American blend in production since the beginning of last Century. Very good blend, complex in flavor (I think there are 8 different leaves) and low in nic.

If then you are looking for the oldest blend in the world you have probably to look at Samuel Gawith who has probably the oldest blends (I think the oldest is Groosemour which is said to be 200 years old). If the tobacco remained the same or not over all this long period is a different issue.

 

[judcole]

Not quite as venerable as some of these, but still worth a mention, is Paul's up in Flint. Can't e-order tobacco; have to call them up. Try some Arrowhead. While on the website, check out the pics of their museum.

 

[bigpond]

Changes to climate, soil composition, pesticides, etc, have led to dramatically altered crops as we’ve all seen in the last few decades alone. Even with a 200 hundred year old recipe, the likelihood that today’s blend is anything more than a loose approximation of what was smoked in past is a rather fanciful notion. And one in which many of us have shared :roll: ::
You can pursue this is a few different ways depending on interest. Are you interested in trying blends from pipe celebrities, or are you more interested in a historical survey (living through history), or perhaps you have an interest in ancient leaf?

 

[briarbuck]

As the owner of the nation’s third-oldest continuously operating tobacco specialty store, Straus Tobacconist, Jim Clark shoulders a heavy load. He faces not only the typical daily demands that confront any business owner, but he also has the added pressure of protecting his store and its 136-year history in today’s anti-tobacco environment with local, state and federal entities all seeming to want to outdo each other to put tobacconists out of business....
And Clark would know. He’s the steward of a business that traces its roots to 1880 when Henry Straus began a cigar wholesale company in Cincinnati. By 1905, Henry had built one of the top-selling cigar operations in the country. In 1894, Nathan and Samuel Straus, whose relation to Henry is unclear, established a different business that specialized in pipes and pipe tobaccos. Around 1905, the Straus brothers moved their business to the same Walnut Street location that Straus Tobacconist occupies today. The two different Straus concerns remained separate until 1970, when they became part of Straus-Keilson, a wholesale tobacco, candy and grocery distributor that owned a number of small tobacco and candy stores in the area.

Nice shop downtown Cincy.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When you ask yourself what blends did men smoke back in like the early 1800's... keep in mind that there wasn't much of a distribution of "brands" of anything nor were there any preservatives. So, most likely tobacco that was available, was locally grown, and since Brightleafs and flue curing weren't discovered till the 1850's, we know it wasn't Virginias. Also, there really weren't tobacconists until the 1850's when cigars became popular. So pre 1850's, men would have gotten their tobaccos from general stores. It is possible that tobacco would have been imported from trades from Central and South America, but it would have been smoked as a burley in the pipe.

The way we smoke today is NOTHING like what pipemsoking would have been pre 1850's.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Also ropes and twists would have been the most common method of presentation in stores back then. A farmer would have just dropped off a pile of last year's whole leaf crop at the general store, and it would have been up to the store owner as to how it would have been sold, most likely choosing to twist it. Or, maybe the farmer would have made the twists to make his product more appealing over the competition.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Burleys back in the day were much stronger than the stuff that has evolved for the cigarette industry. I think has been said on here that GH&co's 1792 is about the oldest recipe. But, there are still some locally produced Twists available that are sold for pipe and chew, like Cotton Boll Twist, Mammoth Cave Twist . These are about the closest to what men would have had access to pre 1850's that is still American produced.

 

[davek]

As the owner of the nation’s third-oldest continuously operating tobacco specialty store, Straus Tobacconist, Jim Clark shoulders a heavy load. He faces not only the typical daily demands that confront any business owner, but he also has the added pressure of protecting his store and its 136-year history in today’s anti-tobacco environment with local, state and federal entities all seeming to want to outdo each other to put tobacconists out of business....

And Clark would know. He’s the steward of a business that traces its roots to 1880 when Henry Straus began a cigar wholesale company in Cincinnati. By 1905, Henry had built one of the top-selling cigar operations in the country. In 1894, Nathan and Samuel Straus, whose relation to Henry is unclear, established a different business that specialized in pipes and pipe tobaccos. Around 1905, the Straus brothers moved their business to the same Walnut Street location that Straus Tobacconist occupies today. The two different Straus concerns remained separate until 1970, when they became part of Straus-Keilson, a wholesale tobacco, candy and grocery distributor that owned a number of small tobacco and candy stores in the area.
Nice shop downtown Cincy.

Haven't been to Straus in a lot of years. You in Cinti. Folinator?
I used to smoke Smokies Smoke Ease from Galin Burlier when I was a cigar smoker mostly.

 

[skaukatt]

Another relative new comer yet historic even in its current form, https://www.owlshopcigars.com/history.htm
This place looked amazing in its pipe hey-day. They've got some great blends. Try Harkness Tower.

 

[briarbuck]

Haven't been to Straus in a lot of years. You in Cinti. Folinator?
I used to smoke Smokies Smoke Ease from Galin Burlier when I was a cigar smoker mostly.

I am. Jim is a good guy. You can still smoke in Downtown location with no problems. Big humidor, excellent selection (a rarity these days) and a decent amount of pipe stuff.
I used to work for a Bank and would go over there and hang out with Jeff Ruby and Andy Ferman from WLW for a cigar. It always was quite the hangout.