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ophiuchus

Lifer
Mar 25, 2016
1,560
2,059
Ive encountered a delicious mysterious aroma in old pipes before.

I have come to the conclusion its the deer tongue, coumarin or tonka bean that was used in a lot of the old blends. It has a unique complex sweet vanilla cinnamon coconut fruity aroma. Coumarin is the active ingredient in deer tounge and tonka bean, that gives the aroma and taste.

After smoking C&D’s Gentleman Caller (which contains deer tounge) in my cob pipe, the pipe developed that delicious sweet aroma.

In fact Ive read that tonka been is used in fragances that try to mimic the pipe tobacco aroma.

Another blend that gives the pipe that delicous sweet aroma is Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic blend. I swear it has coumarin or a synthetic replica in it.

-TimPiper

I think you nailed it.

I think part of it is the neutralization of aromatic (and malaromatic) properties of your tobacco’s leftovers after burning, but I also believe a great deal with it has to do with flavor agents that had been used in the past, coumarin in particular. A number of American “OTC“ blends incorporated deer tongue or tonquin-derived coumarin (Half and Half, Carter Hall and Captain Black all come to mind here) as a kind of aromatic sweetener. Heck, cigarette companies used coumarin until the early 1980s.
 

timpiper

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 31, 2013
101
109
Australia
I think you nailed it.

I think part of it is the neutralization of aromatic (and malaromatic) properties of your tobacco’s leftovers after burning, but I also believe a great deal with it has to do with flavor agents that had been used in the past, coumarin in particular. A number of American “OTC“ blends incorporated deer tongue or tonquin-derived coumarin (Half and Half, Carter Hall and Captain Black all come to mind here) as a kind of aromatic sweetener. Heck, cigarette companies used coumarin until the early 1980s.

Yes tonquin/tonka & coumarin were banned at some point. Like you said most OTC blends included it to some degree, even capstan and blends like gold block and half & half etc
These blends have been reformulated and are now missing that old time pipey aroma to some degree.
 

f4phantomdriver

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jun 23, 2019
111
176
Get some Crooner (cube cut burley with deertongue) and mix it with your favourite OTC to turn up the old timey pipeness. I like Half&Half mixed half and half with Crooner.
That actually sounds delicious! I might just mix some Crooner with some Velvet.
 

anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,799
29,628
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I was going through some of my grandfather's old pipes and came across a few that smelled great. The bowls had a fruity sweet aroma, which I was amazed that the scent was still present after 25+ years. I took a whiff of some of mine and they smell similar to a typically dirty ashtray... including the pipes that I use w/aromatic blends.

In search of this scent I purchased a bunch of OTC tobacco pouches, including Captain Black (White and Royal), Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic, Prince Albert, Carter Hall, Borkum Riff, etc., which were probably the brands that he would’ve smoked and were readily available, but no luck.

Any suggestions of what he might have been smoking that leaves a pleasant marker behind? Thanks
rest and cleaning will help.
 
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anotherbob

Lifer
Mar 30, 2019
15,799
29,628
45
In the semi-rural NorthEastern USA
I was going through some of my grandfather's old pipes and came across a few that smelled great. The bowls had a fruity sweet aroma, which I was amazed that the scent was still present after 25+ years. I took a whiff of some of mine and they smell similar to a typically dirty ashtray... including the pipes that I use w/aromatic blends.

In search of this scent I purchased a bunch of OTC tobacco pouches, including Captain Black (White and Royal), Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic, Prince Albert, Carter Hall, Borkum Riff, etc., which were probably the brands that he would’ve smoked and were readily available, but no luck.

Any suggestions of what he might have been smoking that leaves a pleasant marker behind? Thanks
my previous suggestion is based on the believe that the smell you mention is certain tobacco oils mixing with the natural briar aroma. When almost any pipe I've smoked is deep cleaned I get that smell and rarely smoke the kind of tobaccos you're wondering about.
 
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