Smoking 100+ Year Old Balkan Sobranie Cigarettes

[samcoffeeman]

I know this may be a faux pas, as this is a pipe site, but I digress. When I Saw this on eBay for @$30 I said why the hell not. And ya know what, they're damn tasty..non filtered in a early(patent number) Dunhill cigarette holder. They have a Virginia Tang, very flavorful, incredibly rich and smooth. Just realized I don't have a picture of the tax stamp on the back that says series of 1910!

 

[sablebrush52]

Wow! That's amazing that they're not stale mummy dust! Congrats! My favorite coffin nails were the Sobranie Chaliapin cigarettes. Wonderfully rich smokes.

 

[hawky454]

I wish I could have tried cigarettes when they were actually made of quality tobaccos. Mike McNeil talks very highly of the old school cigarettes that came in tins. I imagine they were very flavorful more akin to pipe tobacco. Cigarettes these days are mainly to give you a fix rather than flavor.
Great score on those, man!

 

[Strike Anywhere]

WOW! That's pretty cool.

 

[georged]

Mike McNeil of McClelland fame absolutely LOVES pre-war tinned cigarettes. They're in excellent condition surprisingly often. Several years ago I had a couple from his stash that the tax stamp dated to 1915. (I think he broke them out because it was their 100th birthday). Yum, yum. :D
Seriously, if any of you pipesmagaziners come across an intact, sealed tin of old cigarettes, regardless of brand, let him know. Or contact me and I'll let him know. You'll have a no-haggle sale if the price is anything close to reasonable.

 

[kcghost]

I brought some pre-1960 cigarettes to the KC pipe show and McNiel, Brian Levine, Lee Von Erck, and Greg Pease just enjoyed the hell out of them.

 

[theloniousmonkfish]

Congrats, those look tasty. Used to smoke Players when there was extra change in my pocket.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I had what would now be 50 year old Sobranies. But I smoked them a half century ago.....

 

[slowroll]

Now all this brings back memories. Not of 100 years ago, but a while. I used to occasionally smoke Sobranie cigarettes, and the odd pack of Gitanes, along with my Sobranie pipe tobacco.

 

[deathmetal]

Those look delicious. Even as recently as the 1980s, cigarettes had some flavor. Now they are different varieties of an ashy taste.

 

[hawky454]

Mike McNeil of McClelland fame absolutely LOVES pre-war tinned cigarettes. They're in excellent condition surprisingly often. Several years ago I had a couple from his stash that the tax stamp dated to 1915. (I think he broke them out because it was their 100th birthday). Yum, yum. :D

That is really cool you got to try some with him!

 

[condorlover1]

I have smoked sealed cutter top tins of Woodbine, Players, Players Weights and Park Drive over the years. I have smoked some stuff that was circa 1916 from an unopened package of stuff destined for the troops in France during WW1. They taste a lot better than anything modern I can tell you.

 

[lochinvar]

I miss Sobranie, Turkish Specials, Jockey Club and Karelias. Great taste.

 

[fnord]

I gave up the nails ten years ago when I turned fifty.
But I'd gladly give up the extra days, months or years in a nursing home to smoke one of those vintage fags.
So jealous, but so happy for you, Sam.
Fnord
PS. My 92 year old, soon to be, ex-mother-in-law has a lump of static lung cancer in her lower left lobe. To me, it's the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded and there's two outs. "Mary? Would you like to start smoking again?" WTF not? F.

 

[clickklick]

George beat me to it!
Call Mike McNeil if you come across more! Or heck, even if you just want to share!

 

[aldecaker]

That box of Player's Navy Cuts brings back some memories. I used to enjoy those, along with English Ovals and Turkish Specials. Even a pack of Caporals once in a while, when I wanted a little extra hair on my chest.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I'm always looking out for some..ive never had the opportunity to try one of that vintage.

 

[jvnshr]

Thanks for sharing it with us Sam. I envy you. Unfortunately, I have to close this one (rules) while smoking a Korean Parliament Hybrid. I used to smoke it a lot when I used to live in Korea. I am on a business trip and although I quit smoking cigarettes some time ago, I said why not to remember those old days.