LL Bean Tobacco

[momeerphil]

The father of a friend of mine died last year. He was a pipe smoker and left his pipes to his son who is not a pipe smoker. The son knew I was a pipe smoker and gave the box of pipes to me. Included in the box of pipes was a can of LL Bean Tobacco. Below are pictures of the front and back of the can, which appears to be unopened. Does anyone know what years LL Bean sold pipe tobacco? Has anyone smoked any of this? Any info or help would be appreciated.

 

[mso489]

Interesting. I bought a L.L. Bean pipe, a straight pot that seemed likely to have been made by Dr. Grabow. It had

a nice deep orange stain and a comfortable Vulcanite stem. I owned it for maybe fifteen or twenty years but finally

traded it in. It had a stinger that did not easily slide out. I do not remember that the tobacco was offered in the same

catalog as the pipe. I would venture a guess that the blend includes burley, just in keeping with the L.L. Bean informal

outdoorsy brand.

 

[fishingandpipes]

My understanding is that it is relabeled Edgeworth.

 

[papipeguy]

This is my LL Bean pot that I bought, circa 1977,with a pound of Bean tobacco. I've heard the Edgeworth story many times but frankly don't remember much about the tobacco after this many years. I do agree that you should open it and rehydrate if needed and then smoke it. Why not?

 

[buroak]

That is a nice find. I wish I could tell you something about it.

 

[momeerphil]

Thanks to all for the info. I intend to purchase some Park-Lane Fireside first, then maybe try the LL Bean tobacco. I would like to find an LL Bean pipe to try the tobacco. Sure hope they sold a corn cob pipe under their name!

 

[toby67]

Very nice score indeed, I wonder how a thirty plus year old tabacco would taste, I agree that it will most likely need rehydration. Keep us posted on how dry it is why you open the can and also what it tastes like after rehydration. Wouldn't it be a score if it tastes great, if not you could always mix it with a bit of Va or whatever your into.

 

[momeerphil]

Will definitely post on how it smokes and tastes.

 

[huntertrw]

"My understanding is that it is relabeled Edgeworth."
fishingandpipes is correct.

 

[nathaniel]

Haha! That stuff looks pretty awesome. So are you gonna smoke it?

It's funny, I work at a Subaru/Volkswagen dealership where I work on the old l.l. bean special edition outbacks all the time. That bean fella's got his hands on everything!
So did anyone notice the ridiculous math mistake on the label? "9 parts white Burley, 3 parts sweet Burley"?

 

[agnosticpipe]

I think that Briarcraft made pipes for L.L. Bean, maybe similar to their Smokemaster pipes. They show up on ebay once in a while, but usually fetch a higher price than the usual pipes of that sort. Not bad pipes though, you should be able to find one without too much trouble.
Be interested to see what you think of the tobacco though, so post some feedback on your experiences with it.

 

[melvinsunsmokedcastello]

If that can hasn't been compromised its moisture will be fine. On New Years I cracked open a cutter top of Bugler cigarette tobacco. Whoosh said the tin as it was opened, and sealed inside after all those years was perfect tobacco. Its smooth and slightly sweet and other then the cut you wouldn't associate it with cigarettes at all as far as room note goes.
We smoked it side by side with a fresh pouch of Bugler and the flavor has indeed ran true. The blend hasnt changed over the years apparently, but man..the old stuff has so much more smoothness and depth. It seems cigarette tobacco ages well also

 

[fnord]

Momeerphil:
I can't speak to the L.L. Bean tobacco but Bean pipes on the Bay usually run in the 25 to 50 buck range. That's always seemed a bit high to me for an estate burner, but Bean has a wonderful reputation in the U.S. - the brand is damned near iconic - and I figured most buyers were stoking the nostalgia fireplace or knew a helluva lot more than I did.
BTW, there are some great threads here on rehydrating vintage tobaccos and a lot of us have learned from the best.
Good luck.
Fnord

 

[momeerphil]

I will definitely check the threads on rehydrating vintage tobacco. Want to make sure I do it right and not ruin what may be a delicious old can of pipe tobacco.

 

[jitterbugdude]

"So did anyone notice the ridiculous math mistake on the label? "9 parts white Burley, 3 parts sweet Burley"? "
Uh... what math mistake?

 

[judcole]

If that can hasn't been compromised its moisture will be fine

Completely agree. If it's vacuum sealed,and unopened, why would it need rehydration?

 

[conlejm]

"So did anyone notice the ridiculous math mistake on the label? "9 parts white Burley, 3 parts sweet Burley"? "

I see no mistake. Perhaps they could have divided out the Greatest Common Factor of 3, and said instead "3 parts White Burley, 1 part Sweet Burley". But otherwise it makes perfect sense to me.