How Old Is Too Old?

[RookieGuy80]

So a week or so ago Mrs. Rookie and I were at an antique store. A couple cool razors and pocket knives, but no pipes. Well, no pipes but I did see a couple boxes of Revelation from Philip Morris. I don't know how old they were, but the boxes didn't have UPC bar codes, so they're at least that old. They were selling them for a song.

I'm not at all familiar with aged tobacco. I started smoking about 3 years ago during the pandemic. So the oldest tobacco I've ever (knowingly) had is 3 years old. I know from reading and some experience that virginias and perique will deepen(?) over time. I read that burley isn't really effected. And most of Revelation is burley. But there is a little bit of Latakia and some Virginia in there as well.

So my question is simple. Is it worth rolling the dice on a box or two? Or would the tobacco inside be too far gone to bother trying to smoke? I know it's going to be as dry as zombie farts. And I know this is a simple OTC blend, not a McClellan unicorn or some Virginia laden flavor bomb that's going to have gone through some metamorphosis to be a beautiful butterfly. But I do like the Sutliff Revelation Match. I just don't want to waste my money. Thanks everyone!

 

[Piping Abe]

I would by them all and try one. Resell on Tinbids and make some money.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

If the cost is reasonable, it would be nice just to pick them up as a bit of memorabilia of days gone by. In regard to smoking, there have been many who have slowly rehydrated old tobacco in order to give it a whirl so to speak. Sometimes it turns out ok, sometimes not, but if the financial outlay is small it may be fun to give it a try. As mentioned, you may be able to resell and make a few bucks, if that is of interest to you.

 

[jguss]

The answer to “how old is too old” is largely a matter of taste, but offhand I’d say if there’s a danger of breaking a hip one or both of you are too old.

 

[Snook]

I would by them all and try one. Resell on Tinbids and make some money.

Never heard of Tinbids before, very cool.

 

[Snook]

If the cost is reasonable, it would be nice just to pick them up as a bit of memorabilia of days gone by. In regard to smoking, there have been many who have slowly rehydrated old tobacco in order to give it a whirl so to speak. Sometimes it turns out ok, sometimes not, but if the financial outlay is small it may be fun to give it a try. As mentioned, you may be able to resell and make a few bucks, if that is of interest to you.

On that note, how do you typically rehydrate yours? I've tried the piece of damp paper towel method in the past with some success, but I'm curious if there are better ways.

 

[RookieGuy80]

On that note, how do you typically rehydrate yours? I've tried the piece of damp paper towel method in the past with some success, but I'm curious if there are better ways.

I usually rehydrate it one bowl at a time. I've had success doing the thing where you load the pipe, cover the bowl, and exhale a while.

To everyone suggesting TinBids, believe me I've thought about it. But if it's not good, I wouldn't feel right selling it. If it is good, I might share a bowl here or there but I wouldn't sell it.

The price isn't bad, I think between $10-$20 a box with like 5 or 6 boxes. Cheap enough that it's definitely worth the gamble, if indeed a gamble it is. If there's a chance to be able to smoke this.

 

[jaytex1969]

You say "box" and not "tin".

That makes me think it's a less than sealed situation.

For smoking, I'd buy a tin or can that old, but maybe not a box.

For the sake of novelty or collect-ability, buy what you wish.

If you sell it, represent it the same way, as a novelty, not for smoking, and don't sweat it.

 

[kcghost]

I know it's tempting to buy these, but they won't be guaranteed to smoke so once your moneys on the table there's no going back. There are a lot of burley blends out there so buy one of those for $10 or $12 a tin and be ahead in the game.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

On that note, how do you typically rehydrate yours? I've tried the piece of damp paper towel method in the past with some success, but I'm curious if there are better ways.

I once rehydrated some bone dry Hansom Flake by using one of my cigar humification packs, the kind that you dip in distilled water. I placed the pack inside a jar with the tobacco and kind of shifted everything around once a day. After about 3-4 days the tobacco was at a perfect moisture level and smoked wonderfully. If you use the search function, there will probably be multiple threads on how to do it but this worked for me in a pinch.

 

[sittingbear]

I recently sampled some Velvet from 1926. It tasted just as good as (albeit slightly different from) the modern product. I'd say go for it!

 

[Steddy]

On that note, how do you typically rehydrate yours? I've tried the piece of damp paper towel method in the past with some success, but I'm curious if there are better ways.

I’ve had good luck rehydrating with a 72% Boveda pack and a ziploc bag.

 

[sablebrush52]

So a week or so ago Mrs. Rookie and I were at an antique store. A couple cool razors and pocket knives, but no pipes. Well, no pipes but I did see a couple boxes of Revelation from Philip Morris. I don't know how old they were, but the boxes didn't have UPC bar codes, so they're at least that old. They were selling them for a song.

I'm not at all familiar with aged tobacco. I started smoking about 3 years ago during the pandemic. So the oldest tobacco I've ever (knowingly) had is 3 years old. I know from reading and some experience that virginias and perique will deepen(?) over time. I read that burley isn't really effected. And most of Revelation is burley. But there is a little bit of Latakia and some Virginia in there as well.

So my question is simple. Is it worth rolling the dice on a box or two? Or would the tobacco inside be too far gone to bother trying to smoke? I know it's going to be as dry as zombie farts. And I know this is a simple OTC blend, not a McClellan unicorn or some Virginia laden flavor bomb that's going to have gone through some metamorphosis to be a beautiful butterfly. But I do like the Sutliff Revelation Match. I just don't want to waste my money. Thanks everyone!

Buying aged blends is always a craps shot, especially if we're referring to decades old tobacco. Check the condition of the tins for pinholes or rust. Give them a shake and listen to whether the contents sound dry, kind of like sand. If the tin is compromised, the contents will br dried out and quite possibly stale. Yep, tobacco gets stale.

But, you won't really know what shape the contents are in until you smoke it, so that's the gamble you will have to decide to make.

After all this time it's also likely that the Latakia, which isn't the dominant player in Revelation, will have faded away, and may be a whisper at most. Who knows? You might really like the result.

This is my long winded way of saying that while we can give you some things of which to be aware, no one can tell you with any kind of authority the condition of what is in those tins.

 

[dsturg369]

When I first started smoking a pipe, I was very fortunate to be gifted some 40+ year old Prince Albert and it seemed to be a little dry at the time. It was FANTASTIC. Now, I prefer it on the dry side

 

[Wet Dottle]

OP, I've had very good luck with those old boxes. Inside the box, Revelation and a number of other blends used to come inside a foil bag. Not perfect, but good enough to protect the tobacco to the point where it may need just a little rehydration. Are the boxes still sealed and free of water stains? If the boxes are in good shape, I would snag them in a New York minute.

 

[FLDRD]

1/2 your age + 7 is the minimum...
Oh, wait. That's how young is "too young".

 

[RookieGuy80]

1/2 your age + 7 is the minimum...
Oh, wait. That's how young is "too young".

So twice my age minus 7? I have to do math this early in the morning? Boo!

 

[RookieGuy80]

OP, I've had very good luck with those old boxes. Inside the box, Revelation and a number of other blends used to come inside a foil bag. Not perfect, but good enough to protect the tobacco to the point where it may need just a little rehydration. Are the boxes still sealed and free of water stains? If the boxes are in good shape, I would snag them in a New York minute.

The boxes were still sealed in the original plastic wrap. I thought it would be like the way Carter Hall came, foil pouch in the box. It looks like I know what I'm doing this weekend!