Resurrection
-
G. L. Pease - Apr 5, 2022
- 4 min read
Years ago a friend, knowing that I collect GBD pipes and related ephemera, gave me a lovely 7oz tin of GBD Black Cavendish Mixture, manufactured for them by Sobranie House. I’d never seen this tobacco, so it was certainly a welcome addition to the collection.
The tin had been opened for some unknown length of time when he’d acquired it, and while the label and exterior of the tin were in fairly good shape, there was a lot of oxidation internally, and the contents had long since become drier than bones in the desert. I was reluctant to try it in that state, so it has remained displayed on a shelf until recently, when the curious chimp on my shoulder finally got the better of me. I grabbed the tin from the shelf, and gave it the once-over.
The plastic overcap is discolored from age, but still perfectly pliable, and it pulled away without incident. A small paper label on the enclosed aluminum pull-top indicates that the tobacco was “Matured In Rum,” so that spirit was definitely used in some part of the process. A translucent paper disc under the pulltop reveals the pedigree of the tobacco’s Sobranie manufacture.
The back label reads, “To obtain the full pleasure of majestic Virginia-the skill of hereditary craftsmen in London select the pick of the world’s finest tobaccos-then handle it with time tried care to produce the required richness and pleasantly deep satisfaction. Guaranteed entirely free of any adulterant or artificial flavouring. TOBACCO AT ITS FRAGRANT BEST” Clearly rum is considered neither an adulterant nor artificial. The original printed 200g weight declaration on the label had been covered by a paper sticker at import showing a net weight of 7oz, indicating this tin to likely be from the late 1970s or early 1980s.
But, what about the tobacco? Black Cavendish means different things to different manufacturers. In the US, it’s a term usually applied to cut leaf that has been heavily sugared and steamed or roasted for hours at a relatively high temperature to darken it and partially oxidize and caramelize the sugars. Usually, additional flavoring agents, commonly vanilla, are applied after the heating process.
But, as this was a Sobranie of London product, it was more likely moistened, hot-pressed in steam jacketed presses and held under pressure for days or weeks before being tumbled in a heated conditioning drum to return the leaf to ribbon form at the correct moisture content. My guess is that the rum was applied before or during the cavendishing process.
Examining the contents revealed that much of the rust had fallen away from the sides of the tin, both as large and small flakes, and as countless tinier particles too small to see, let alone fish out with tweezers, so the first order of business was to find a way to get rid of as much of it as possible. Since rust is at least somewhat paramagnetic, a bit of grade school science came to the rescue. I spread the tobacco out in small quantities in a shallow bowl, picked out the larger rust flakes, and then carefully raked through it with a strong magnet, removing most of the smaller particles.
The tobacco was then carefully sifted to remove a large amount of dust, and hopefully whatever tiny rust particles remained. At this point, a little over 110g of desiccated ribbons remained, so all that was left was to carefully condition the tobacco back to a smokable 12-13% moisture.
Rehydrating tobacco this dry and frangible can be tricky business. It has to be done very delicately to avoid breaking the ribbons up even further, and in measured amounts to prevent over-moistening. In a dry environment, tobacco can give up its water very quickly, but it is much slower to absorb it, so just spraying it with water is ill-advised. My normal method would be to put it in a bowl covered with a damp towel and let the leaf take up moisture gradually; this can take days of monitoring, rewetting the towel as needed, and waiting. Feeling a bit impatient, I chose instead to put a carefully measured amount of water in a small atomizer, and began delicately misting and turning the ribbons until they were evenly coated. Then, it could be safely transferred to a jar and sealed until the leaf had time to take up the added water, a process that can take several hours.
After an hour or so of messing about with the stuff, and a few more hours of impatient waiting, it was time to give it a try, of course, in a GBD pipe. I picked a sandblasted Sablée lovat that has always performed its best with virginias, and gave it a go. The verdict?
It is delicious. Despite the years of abuse the tobacco had suffered, hints of rum punctuate a deep, rich virginia goodness. Background notes of stewed figs are present, and an earthy, almost malty sweetness, with an elusive tartness that keeps the palate interested. The room note is subtle and engaging, not at all cloying. There’s no way to know how far this rehydrated tobacco deviates from what it would be like had it never endured such abuses, but if I’m ever fortunate enough to find a sealed tin of this stuff, I’ll sure as heck give it a go to find out.
Photos by G.L. Pease
Written by G. L. Pease
More Pipes and Tobaccos Articles
1 Response
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 619. Our featured interview tonight is with Corey Hays. Corey is a 26-year old pipe smoker that is part of our ongoing series of pipe smokers that are under the age of 30. He is from Mississippi and has never lived more than 20-minutes away from The Country Squire Tobacconist. He was influenced to smoke a pipe by reading J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and 20th Century American History. He has been smoking pipes for three years. At the top of the show, Brian will have a tobacco review of a special tobacco that you could only get a pipe show.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 618. Our featured interview tonight is with AJ Khaled. AJ is a 22-year old pipe smoker that is part of our ongoing series of pipe smokers that are under the age of 30. Interestingly, he wasn’t initially inspired to take up the pipe by The Lord of the Rings, but more so by the author Tolkien himself while he was reading some of his other works. AJ has some really unique custom made pipes where he gave design specifics to and had them made by pipe makers Chris Askwith and Arcangelo Ambrosi. At the top of the show, we’ll have an “Ask the Pipemaker” segment with pipe artisan Jeff Gracik.
The other day, I was having a conversation with a friend about tobacco moisture. He tends to believe that a freshly opened tin presents the blender’s notion of the ideal moisture content for that tobacco, and that’s how it should be smoked. He’s not wrong, but as with so many things in our wacky world, it’s a little more complicated than that. When thinking about ideal moisture content for any specific tobacco, there are criteria for determining “correct” levels that can sometimes be at odds with one another. The proper moisture content for packaging tobacco, for instance, may not be the ideal moisture for smoking it. By way of background, let’s have a very brief and simplified look at the life of our beloved leaves once they’ve left the curing barns. Whole leaves or strips, the lamina of the leaves with the midrib removed, are boxed or baled quite dry for storage and transport. Before the tobacco can be worked, it has to be conditioned to a moisture level that allows it to be handled without shattering. There are various ways to accomplish this, but the end result is leaf that is pliable and easily manipulated without breaking. It can then be pressed into soft cakes that are cut into ribbons, or blended in stacks destined to be turned into plugs or flakes. At this point, it’s too moist to be considered “finished,” and has to go through a redrying stage. Since all of these steps may take place over a matter of months, or even years, tobacco can go through several conditioning/redrying cycles before it becomes the finished product. When it’s time to package a blend, the moisture level of the tobacco may have to be adjusted once again. If it’s too damp, there’s an increased risk of mold blooms, either within the sealed tin, or when spores are introduced after the tin is opened. This is never a good thing, so there’s a fairly hard upper limit to how much moisture is acceptable at this stage. If the leaf is too dry, on the other hand, things get troublesome in a different way. Dry, fragile tobacco can break into small fragments, even to the point of some of the leaf turning to dust during handling when packing the tins, and when those tins are jostled about during transport. This, again, is not ideal, establishing a lower limit for moisture content. Then, there’s the tobacco’s potential for aging to be considered. In order for these biological and chemical changes to take place, there has to be enough moisture to support the metabolic processes of the microorganisms involved in the various stages of fermentation that begin once the tin is sealed, and to allow for equilibration of various volatile byproducts of those processes. Finally, within the relatively wide window of upper- and lower-boundary conditions, there’s the moisture level for best smokability to be considered. That’s where things can get a little tricky. Different smokers have different preferences, and this is confounded by the fact that different types of tobaccos behave differently when their relative moisture content changes. To my palate, mixtures containing high percentages of latakia or oriental tobaccos generally tend to smoke and taste their best when on the dry side, while blends that predominantly comprise Virginia tobaccos like a bit more moisture to bring out their sweetness. But, this is a very general guideline, and I often find exceptions. Sometimes the same tobacco can be quite mercurial in its presentation depending on how damp or dry it is. The other day, I had a bowl of a latakia and Virginia-rich flake, fresh out of the tin with no drying time, and it was delightful, with the sweetness of the virginias taking center stage. A subsequent bowl, after a bit of drying time, rendered the orientals more forward, softened the sweetness, and polished the sharper edges of the latakia’s flavor profile. Same tobacco; two very different experiences. Additionally, things like ambient air temperature and relative humidity can play a significant role in the way any tobacco burns, but more importantly, how it tastes. (When it’s hot and humid, I generally abandon my latakia mixtures in favor of VAs and VA/perique blends.) If you haven’t experimented with this, it’s a fun thing to play with. Take enough tobacco out to fill your next bowl, and let it sit out for a while – anything from a few minutes to an hour or two, depending on the climate. (For those in tropical zones, this might actually have the opposite result. Yes, there really are people in some parts of the world who keep their tins sealed to keep moisture from getting in, not out.) See how it tastes in comparison to fresh from the tin. When tobacco is on the dry side, a gentle hand when packing is advised. What about when we rediscover an opened, long-forgotten tin whose contents have become all but desiccated? Can it be brought back to life? While the tobacco won’t return 100% to its best form, as some of the volatile components from aging will be lost to the ether, it can certainly be made smokeable again, and might yield some pleasant surprises. Of course, first give it a try as is, and see what it’s like. There are a couple of good ways to bring the moisture level up, and some not so good ways. I don’t recommend spraying it with water, putting apple or potato slices in the tin, or any other drastic measures. Tobacco takes up moisture much more slowly than loses it, and it will take time for all the strands to reach equilibrium, so a gentle approach is advised. My favorite is to put the leaf in a small bowl, cover the bowl with a damp cloth or paper towel, and set a plate on top. Keep an eye on it over a day or two, checking the progress periodically and ensuring the cloth remains damp. This also works […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 617. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general, including Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s acquisition of Mac Baren. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss pipe shows, pipe show organizing, and the Las Vegas International Pipe Show.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 616. Our featured interview tonight is with Gabe Hall. Gabe is a 23-year old conservative Californian from Bakersfield that is involved in politics part time. He is part of our newer ongoing series of pipe smokers that are under the age of 30. Both his story of starting pipe smoking, and his smoking routine are a little bit different than the usual story. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Ok, the old Pundit is gonna say this only once. Well, maybe twice: It’s beach time! Some of my happiest pipe-smoking memories were created on the back deck of an original Pawleys Island, S.C., beach house. Listening to the waves dash and flop were pure music, highlighted by the squealing laughter of children frolicking along the beautiful Atlantic shoreline. Now, before you go bellowing about shark attacks, Pundit has his No. 1 Rule about sharks and warning flags, even if no flags are flying on an empty stretch of coastline. Having fished the surf many a day and evening, and even occasionally on a high pier resting on mighty shell-encrusted pilings and stretching out over the aqua-tinted waters, it became apparent that predators with large, sharp teeth prowled menacingly close to splashing bathers So, Pundit Beach Rule No. 1, ankle-deep wading and strolling, only. Make quick swims if it is not too windy, and never if menacing fins are seen cutting the water like the bow of a battleship. Rule adjustments might be needed for kiddies and exuberant beach paddlers in the family. Another necessary adjustment in the rule is no swimming alone. OK, beach lesson over. You don’t have to take Pundit’s word. Check out sea-going pipe-smoking experts: Herman Melville, who knew a thing or two about ferocious whales, and Sir Ernes Henry Shackleton, a famed adventurer who took on frozen seas. No sharks, but the message loudly proclaims oceans harbor many a menace, some large in body with huge teeth and some just frozen solid mountains of floating ice. And while checking up on Pundit, you might enjoy Chuck Stanion’s Herman Melville’s Literary Pipes February 4, 2022, in Pipe Line and his masterful story on the Shipwreck of Shackleford’s Endurance, also in Pipe Line. Now back to Pundit’s time on the beach, in a chair at sunrise on a screened-in deck, seas dancing, pipe in hand. Vacations today seem to be all hurly-burly, hurry, scurry, and worry. Back when a seaside deck beckoned, I packed not only fishing equipment, and some clothes, but also a shoulder bag full of pipes and enough tobacco to survive a voyage with Sir Shackleton. Each morning, noon, and night watch was accompanied by different pipes and different blends. Pipes ranged from Dunhills, Cavicchis, Ser Jacopos, Ashtons, Petersons, and Savinellis. Blends tended to be simple: aromatics and English containing various additives, of course. On rare occasions, I made a Pundit blend, which combined English with Latakia and aros with Virginia. Pundit blends were meh, but there were Cornell & Diehl, Capstan, Samuel Gawith, Three Nuns, Wessex, and the late lamented McClelland, plus a couple of others to save the rare moments. Pundit beach time was also a time for testing THESIS (taste, heat, enjoyment, strength, issues, satisfaction). There is but one way to do this properly and that is to employ a new cob pipe. Cobs give a good overall THESIS, sort of the cheaper version of precious sea-borne meerschaums. Cobs are, in a way, landlocked meers, and provide an excellent idea of how a particular blend will emerge. Ok, enough of experimentation. We are on a beach vacation, right? Observing the sun rising over an orange-lit horizon with a pipe and a cup of coffee is simply put, enchanting. Sun and ocean seem to merge for a brief moment in a blur of beauty. You can find yourself at the beach, leaning back in a chair, letting the morning-salted breeze sweep over you whilst you puff gently in between sips. Ahh, that’s a morning on the beach. There is nothing quite like it in the Pundit’s mind. And now for a couple of thoughts from real experts on sea adventures: Herman Melville is an American author, poet, and novelist best known for “Moby Dick.” But let us not forget Cornell & Diehl’s Melville at Sea tobacco series of blends: Billy Budd, Redburn, and John Marr, other noted works from Melville’s pen as well. It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation. He who has never failed somewhere, that man cannot be great. Failure is the true test of greatness—Herman Melville. Then there is Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton. Pipes, as mentioned by Chuck in his excellent piece on the great explorer, who relied on his pipe when the going got rough. Through endurance we conquer― Ernest H. Shackleton And finally, a Pipe Smoker of the Past cannot go without mentioning: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, born May 22, May 1859, and died July 7, 1930. If you are struggling to identify Sir Doyle in your mind, then you might be too young to be reading this. Of course, he is the prodigious author of the great detective Sherlock Holmes novels. Holmes and his drama are must-reads on any pipe-smoker’s novel list. ‘Nuff said! It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
A great GBD find! I love collecting ephemera almost as much as I enjoy collecting pipes. I was gifted a few tins of dried out tobaccos at the TX Pipe Show last fall that I spritzed awake with distilled water over a few days. I’ve had them slowly dehydrating in bags with Bovida packs since November. I sampled a couple last week and they tasted fine. I’ll probably jar them up soon.