A Pound of Dried Up Samples

[TheIronMonkey]

I'm pretty confused at this point. I definitely don’t understand the import of what the C&D person was saying. There’s got to be something left to taste then.

What’s to be confused about? Once the oils are gone, the tobacco will never offer what it once could; dried tobacco can be rehydrated and made smokable, but that doesn’t mean it will provide what it once might have.

There are different aspects to enjoying an aged or old tobacco, and this is where things get really subjective. For me, the novelty of being able to smoke stuff from almost a hundred years ago in a hundred year old pipe was fun and a great experience. Was the tobacco tasty? Not particularly. It was old, maybe a bit musty. But, the experience made up for a lot.

Some tobaccos that are well kept might improve with age—this is where YMMV and why people enjoy ten year old Virginias.

 

[WhiteCrown]

Oils evaporate much more slowly than water, so any given "dried out" tobacco could still be fine. What if only water has evaporated and not the oils yet? How would you know? Add the fact that multiple people have posted contrary experiences on this very thread, and that could be quite confusing. You just gotta give it a try I say, then if you are confusing yourself it's your own fault

 

[kcghost]

The guy n Facebook is seriously mistaken. Once the oils are gone they're gone.

 

[WhiteCrown]

The guy n Facebook is seriously mistaken. Once the oils are gone they're gone.

I agree with you, "ancient" tobacco is definitely not able to be revived as the "guy on facebook" claims.

I do believe that whoever he is, he does in fact revive old tobaccos. They are maybe several years old and had been stored in something with an almost-good seal though, so they hadn't evaporated as much although they may have been quite old. And he probably calls them "ancient" in hyperbole. And they probably haven't evaporated all (or most of) the oils yet, otherwise he wouldn't have had multiple successes.

We don't know how old it was, or how dry it was, or what it was, or what it was stored in, or for how long. What we do know, is some tobacco can not really be revived, and some can. However, even the person holding the physical tobacco in their hands may not even know for sure until they try it. Unless you have equipment or a test to measure oil content. Does that even exist? It sure would be more trouble than just trying it out I think.

 

[JRW11b]

Tell me more about these "ancient aromatics"....

 

[AroEnglish]

Tell me more about these "ancient aromatics"....

They’ve been sitting in ziplock bags for a year or two and some are nearly dust.

 

[mso489]

Ardent pipe smokers like this membership take great care with their blends, but most tobacco is tough stuff and keeps much better than you'd think under many circumstances.

I'd sample some of these in small-chambered pipes or in partial bowls. I think a lot of it would be better than you think, and better than you thought when you first sampled them.

After that, send the ones you don't like to some newbie, explaining the true situation. They may like the selection just fine.

The standard way old time sailing ship crews stored their tobacco was in cloth drawstring bags in cramped quarters "before the mast." Some of the voyages were long. By most accounts, the tobacco remained smokeable.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Just my $.02:
If you didn’t like them before I’d assume you wouldn’t like them after squirting them.
Mail them to someone willing to try rehydration…

 

[mso489]

Actually, I've had several experiences where my first go-around with a blend was pretty negative, but when I put the blends aside for a while and came back to them, it was a whole different experience.

I attribute this to aging, to a degree. Also, some blends improve quite a bit with simple drying -- they burn and taste better. But I think most of the change is with the smoker.

I think sometimes the subconscious goes to work and figures out how to smoke and taste a blend. In any case, it is safe to say that your tastes will change, sometimes transforming something you didn't like at all into a thoroughly enjoyable blend.

This has happened to me at least twice, notably with C&D Bayou Night and before that with Iwan Ries Three Star Blue, and probably more often than that, once I'd learned that it happened at all.

 

[Lumbridge]

So stupid was I that I through out a tin of tobacco that I’d accidentally left lying around for 6 months. I might have given that one a go.

Anything that's too moist when I open it, I leave in the tin/package and check it periodically until it reaches my desired level of moisture, and only then do I jar it. I find that this is especially helpful with overly moist aromatics. Round tins don't seal as well as mason jars, but they aren't as bad as some make them out to be.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I think you ought to realize that rehydrating the tobacco will take time. I would allow at least a month for it to work. You do not want to rush this phase.

That's not my experience at all; it's never taken more than a few days using wetted pottery shards. From crunchy to excellent humidity,

 

[sablebrush52]

The title of this post resembles the contents of the fridge in the townhouse I’m moving into.

 

[AroEnglish]

Well I did the first round up and it’s almost right around a pound.

I would give them away. Some people, such as myself, prefer their tobacco a little on the dryer side.

If you’re willing to take them for free, PM me!

I’ll throw it up in the FT section as a giveaway if you’re not interested.

 

[dsturg369]

Package received today... Awesome selection. I truly believe that all are salvageable. My plan is to resurrect them and, if successful, to gift out to new beginner pipe smokers. Thanks very much again.

 

[AJL67]

The title of this post resembles the contents of the fridge in the townhouse I’m moving into.

Reminds me of the George Carlin bit "It's either good cheese or bad meat". Meat cake! lol