Oldest Smoked Tobacco...

[pcfdave]

Hello there, I was thinking about this the other day about how many of us don't have some of the famous old stuff and probably never will own it. So in the spirit of living vicariously though the smoking descriptions of others I wondered if some of you would share what you have smoked recently that is "vintage" and how you would describe the taste. Of course we probably won't write up as elaborate of a review as Jiminks but that's okay anything is fair game. I'll start with:
1. 2015 Frog Morton OG and it always provides an unparalleled smoke that is creamier than anything else in the latakia blends world I have tried. Others have the taste in part but can't seem to match whatever is in it that makes the smoke so creamy and mouthfeel like.
2. 2017 McClellands Christmas Cheer - bought it because everyone references it as being amazing. I enjoy it but honestly it doesn't rise much higher to me over other straight Virginia's today i.e. Ken Byron Ventures "You're Welcome" or "Hey Wire". Probably because I prefer more the sweetness from Virginia's than necessarily the sour/soda that is at times present here.

Cheers and fire away!

 

[lraisch]

I'm currently smoking a tin of Samuel Gawith's Commonwealth mixture which is 22 years old. It's a blend containing 50% latakia and is quite good. I found fresh tins to be a little too heavy for me, but with this much age it seems to have smoothed out and the latakia has perhaps faded slightly.

Probably the oldest tin I have ever smoked was an obscure tin of Cathedral which was from sometime in the 60s. In that case the flavors had merged into something muddy and unpleasant like a bottle of wine kept a decade or two past its peak.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

We all had some samples of Capstan from the 40's. Ashdigger had sent us all out some to sample as a forum.

My pipe club had bought some vintage Country Doctor from pipestud, and we all sampled that at a meeting. It was from the 40's also.

The Capstan was pretty good, and it was interesting that the older stuff had more nicotine strength to it, but the flavor was sort of flat.
The Country Doctor was a typical flavored codger blend. I can't remember the details, but I do remember that I really didn't care for it.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

When the KC pipe show was still going on we would do a vintage tobacco tasting at every show. We regularly had tins from the 1920-30's show up. I have quite a bit of 16070's codger blend all unopened in 1lb tins.

 

[Big John Shea]

Early 1980's Mac Baren Dark Twist from a perfect sealed tin. Still the most incredible tobacco I have in my jars.

 

[Jwebb90]

I’m currently smoking through a tin of 2014 Esoterica Dorchester. It is pretty meh.

 

[AroEnglish]

The oldest tobaccos I’ve tried have been from @RustiePyles CPG through last years box pass. They were from the 60s and 70s. This thread reminds me that I need to revisit them.

 

[chilllucky]

At the 2019 Chicago Pipe Show I was handed a cigarette from a cutter top can. Probably 1950's vintage. It tasted like the best virginia blend I'd ever had and smoked like a cigar. At one point I had an inch long ash. On a cigarette.

 

[canucklehead]

1960s, 70s, 80s Prince Albert. The late 60s/early 70s tins did have hints of dust and rust and the flavours were definitely "old" instead of "aged". The late 70s/early 80s stuff was good (if you like PA that is).

I have some 20ish year old Jack's Tobacco Firehouse Dog with Syrian Latakia and perique that is pretty good, but it doesn't taste like a Lat blend any more and it's not spicy at all, it is the proverbial "stewed fruit" now.

I also have (from the same friend that gave me the other 20 year old tobacco, from his late father's cellar) a 20 year old jar of "mystery dog turds" which I'm 99% sure is Sam Gawith No. 4 aromatic twist. Very dark, almost black, doesn't burn easily (understatement) and still smells strongly of tonquin. Great stuff.

 

[pappymac]

I have about 4 oz. of George Washington from the mid-1970s. My grandfather was a pipe smoker and that’s all he smoked until they stopped making it. Every now and then I will smoke a bowl of it in one of his pipes I was given.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Dobies Four Square Curlies from the late 70s is my current vintage smoke. It has a terrific sweet maltiness that I only get from very well aged Virginias. Exceptionally smooth - couldnt get it to bite if you tried, and the flavor persists through the entire bowl.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I participated in the tasting of some circa 1926 Velvet tobacco courtesy of @ashdigger :

Group Tasting of Ancient Velvet Pipe Tobacco :: Pipe Tobacco Reviews

Hey folks I’ve ran a few of these in the past. This time there will be 10 participants to taste this. Actually 12 but there are ten slots left. I opened one tin, one tin is going to Jiminks (he just doesn’t know it yet) so that’s 10. Crazy how math works. The tobacco is dry but IMHO it smokes...

pipesmagazine.com

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

The oldest I smoked was some 1980's MB Virginia blends. It was incredibly strong and tasty, I was shocked. Most of what I smoke these days is 5 to 6 years old. Presently smoking 2018 Capstan Blue Flake, F&T Cut Blended Plug and Vintage, Union Square and 2015 Orlik Golden Sliced. I have a sale posted with a number of tins of 8 to 12 year old tobacco, 8 oz tin of Union Square from 2014 and 2006 Lancers Slices.

 

[Auxsender]

I’m currently smoking through a tin of 2014 Esoterica Dorchester. It is pretty meh.

Perfect description. Meh.

 

[sablebrush52]

The oldest blend was from the 1920's, Richmond Blend if I remember correctly, that tasted like zombie vomit. I also participated in the Capstan trial, which was from 1938 and 1941 with the 1938 tasting like a very muted but recognizable Capstan and the 41 tasting like a science experiment gone horribly wrong. I've also been gifted with Capstan from the '50's and 60's that was okay. I've had Edgeworth from the late 1960's that was spectacular, Warhorse from the 1930's that was, um...interesting, 1950's Craven Mixture that was very muted, but pleasant, MacBaren Navy Flake from the '70's that was very sweet, St Bruno from the 70's, 80's, and early 2000's I think, that was enjoyable, 70's and 80's era Balkan Sobranie fresh, which was superb and 759, of which I smoked a lot back in the 70's. Three Nuns from the '90's. Also a number of different blends from years gone by that I don't remember specifically. Once in a while these very old blends provide a surprisingly satisfying smoke. Mostly they are faint ghosts of their former selves.
I'm glad I got to enjoy some legendary blends in their prime, so I don't have a need to dig up their corpses.

 

[rmpeeps]

I can’t accurately date the oldest blend since I didn’t buy it new.
I started pipe smoking in early ‘97.
Shortly afterwards I acquired a 6-8 ounce batch of GH&Co Bob’s Square Cut from a fellow in College Station. He said it was “about 10 years old”, so mid-to-late ‘80s. I had no reason to doubt him.
It was rather magical stuff.
After buying some of the then current version, I realized there had been a change in the blend. Not bad, still very good, but just different.
After occasional newsgroup posts over a couple of years I managed to find another jar from “before the change”.
Both of these batches are gone, but I learned that as early as the mid-90s quantities of certain leaf varietals were becoming unavailable.
All that said, I still have and smoke several blends from 1998 onward.

 

[sablebrush52]

Both of these batches are gone, but I learned that as early as the mid-90s quantities of certain leaf varietals were becoming unavailable.

Yep. I've heard pipe smokers talk about how quality started slipping in the '90's. Certainly when I remember what I was smoking in the '70's and '80's, the rich smoothness of what you could buy right off the shelf isn't what it was.
But that said, many of today's blends, while quite different in style, still provide a very pleasurable smoking experience.

 

[Winnipeger]

I have a jar of McClelland No. 24 Matured Virginia from 2001 that I dip into occasionally. Purchased from Pipestud. It is EXCELLENT.

 

[anotherbob]

my oldest was 2 year old Cairo from my cellar. It was Cairo but with a touch more wow. Oh I smoked something random thing that was 2 years old and just was meh but it was meh before that too, or why I have no clue what it was.

 

[captpat]

My oldest was 12 yo FVF, the tin seal was still okay the tobacco was just okay, certainly not as good as I had hoped. My theory is that tobacco reaches a peak and starts to decline, just like wine.