What Tobacco Did Bing Smoke?

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choch

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 10, 2011
128
0
Cincinnati, Ohio USA
I'm a huge Bing Crosby fan, he is one of the most important figures in American music in general, and jazz in particular. Another thread made me wonder, might anyone know tobacco(s) did Bing Crosby like to smoke?

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/273/cornell-diehl-crooner
There is a blend called crooner by C&D that apparently was a custom blend made for him. It's very hard to authenticate whether or not it actually was or if someone just tried to capitalize on his name. It sounds like a very hit or miss tobacco though, you either like it or hate it with no middle ground it seems. I'm sure there were other blends he smoked.

 

choch

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 10, 2011
128
0
Cincinnati, Ohio USA
watch


 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
I had some Crooner the other week. It was in a nice big bowl and it was sweet and buttery.

Unfortunately my sample had been completely dried out and then re-hydrated, so I'm pretty sure the smells and flavors were drastically reduced and I was mostly left with cube cut Burley.

I wish they sold it in tins.

 

warren

Lifer
Sep 13, 2013
11,700
16,209
Foothills of the Chugach Range, AK
Before he quit smoking (cigarettes and cigars as well as the pipe) after his operation, 1970s?, he most likely smoked various blends depending on what was available. Probably many blends over the years. Runowski's blend, which was recreated by C&D, came along late in Bing's life and only shortly before he quit smoking as I understand.
The pipe was part of his persona, a signature perhaps. He, like a lot of us, liked his nicotine and wasn't that picky about how he got it.
No real help on your search, sorry.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,863
554,057
Bing smoked an American English blend named Hayward Mixture for a long time. I suspect he had other favorites along the way, too. I was always a bit doubtful about the Crooner story, but if he did smoke it, it had to be near the end of his smoking days.

 

stanlaurel

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 31, 2015
701
9
@choh - Thanks for the Bing clip! I love High Society.
bingpipe-11.jpg

Bing is a great guy and he has made my life richer in many ways besides being a pipe smoking inspiration.
I have been smoking "Crooner" and also "Chestnut" which I believe is similar to "Hayward Mixture" which is no longer made. Even though I enjoy trying to see if I can smoke what he smoked, I keep in mind that all of my pipe smoking is a tribute to him.

 

papipeguy

Lifer
Jul 31, 2010
15,778
35
Bethlehem, Pa.
C&D Crooner is a heavy deer tongue blend. Their Gentleman Caller is similar but closer to the original Half & Half to me. One thing about deer tongue is it will ghost a pipe so I dedicate a Stanwell Golden Danish to GC.

I would not be surprised if Bing also bought tobacco from Kramer's in Hollywood. The original owner's daughter runs the store and really knows her pipe tobaccos. I'm sure a call to her would yield some information. you would not be the first to ask her.
http://kramerstobaccoshop.com/frontpageframeset.html

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,256
108,360
I'm doubtful about the Crooner story as well, but I love it as a morning smoke! Bought four pounds of it during SPC's last C&D sale, and smoke it exclusively in my MM reverse calabash and blasted Kriswill pickaxe.

 

skraps

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 9, 2015
790
5
There always seems to be confusion about Crooner. It was not a Runowski creation.
I suspect we will never really know whether the Crooner story is authentic. We can only take C&D at their word I suppose. Jim is right on with Hayward Mixture. I have seen copies of a letter that he sent ordering several pounds of it from the shop that carried it. That shop name escapes me at the moment.
I suspect he smoked a variety of tobacco. There has been mention of him purchasing tobacco from Kramers, as Papi mentioned, as well as Pipeworks & Wilke and Ed Kolpins, Tinder Box in Santa Monica.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,863
554,057
Stanlaurel: while Chestnut is in the same family as Hayward Mixture, they have differences. Hayward has a little more latakia, and is a less complicated blend in regard to the number of tobaccos used to make it. It's also lightly less sweeter, and just a little more burley forward. I like them both.

 

edgreen

Lifer
Aug 28, 2013
3,581
15
One thing about deer tongue is it will ghost a pipe so I dedicate a Stanwell Golden Danish to GC.
I've dedicated a pipe for deer tongue. Anyone's but mine. I really hate that stuff

 

billinsfl

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 28, 2010
209
6
Bing also smoked a lot of marihuana in his pipes. He was turned on to it by Louis Armstrong during the course of their friendship. Bing was an early proponent of the legalization of marijuana, and his publicist and business partners did their best to get Mr. Crosby to tone things down a bit so he would not suffer economically.

 
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