VERY vintage tobacco

[kcvet67]

This arrived Friday from Steve Fallon(pipestud on ebay).

The USPS switched to using ZIP Codes in 1963, the adress on the label uses the old Delivery Zone designation which means it pre-dates 1963. 47+ years old.

The discoloration is tobacco stains, not mold.

The tobacco is a little on the dry side which is how I prefer it. I've smoked two bowls so far and it's very good. Full flavored but very mellow. I don't want to get too attached to it since the odds of getting more are pretty thin.

 

[bubbadreier]

Wow that is some old baccy!! I am glad it was smokable and tasted great!

 

[fred]

I'm glad that the gamble paid off for you. It's a crap shoot

as to whether or not the blends that have been in a tin for

over 10 years will still be smokable. Good for you!

 

[pappy]

And... you'll have a verrry cool tin to keep when your done! Nice ebay catch!

 

[igloo]

Very cool . I like how the tin is 4oz ,what a deal .

 

[yoru]

that is very cool, nice find mate

 

[admin]

I want some! :D

 

[sjolie]

I've seen tobacco listed on eBay, but always with a disclaimer that it's only for "collectablilty", or something like that. Why is that? Are sellers unable to offer for the purposes of actually smoking it?

 

[zunismoke]

"I've seen tobacco listed on eBay, but always with a disclaimer that it's only for "collectablilty", or something like that. Why is that? Are sellers unable to offer for the purposes of actually smoking it?" eBay's rules preclude offering for smoking, but anyone who has been on ebay very long knows it is a tongue in cheek thing. If we buy it, we are not going to sit there and look at it. May be for a while, but it WILL get smoked!
"I'm glad that the gamble paid off for you. It's a crap shoot

as to whether or not the blends that have been in a tin for

over 10 years will still be smokable. Good for you!" I have to disagree with the 10 years, unless it is an aromatic. I have Dunhill 965 from 1981 that I opened a couple of years ago, put in a Mason jar and it is still very smokeable. I also have 50 year old tobacco that I removed from sealed cutter top tins that is also very smokeable. Even most tins that are not sealed and dried out can be hydrated successfully. It is when they are older than 20 years and not sealed that I have noticed the most problems. A lot of those tins have lost not only the moisture, but the oils and thus the flavor as well. I think a lot of those were left subject to heat and thus the loss of the oils. Actually when it comes right down to it, whether a tin is smokeable or not depends on the personal experience and opinion of the individual smoker.

 

[hilojohnny]

Wow...nice going....what a great experience!.... :D

 

[kcvet67]

As long as the tin and the seal are intact the tobacco should be good, but even a tiny pinhole can ruin it after a few years. In this case, the tin opened with a noticable "pop", indicating that the vacuum seal was still good. Buying from someone like Steve is the only way to go if you want to try vintage tobacco, he's very knowledgable and very well respected in the hobby.

 

[unclearthur]

Steven is a good honest guy.

 

[crazeybobby]

Awesome find, ENJOY. :D

 

[romeowood]

That's just...wow. :worship:
If I may be so ignorant, did you get this to compare to a younger, similar blend; or for the sheer experience of it? Was it all it was cracked up to be? Would you say that the smoke offered by this was simply incomparable to anything available "fresh"? I'm really curious, as a beginner cellarer. I don't even know if "cellarer" is a word--that's how beginnerer I am! :lol:

 

[python]

Nice pick up!

 

[kcvet67]

If I may be so ignorant, did you get this to compare to a younger, similar blend; or for the sheer experience of it? Was it all it was cracked up to be? Would you say that the smoke offered by this was simply incomparable to anything available "fresh"?

I got it primarily out of curiosity, I've had my share of vintage tobacco but nothing this old. I think "incomparable" is a good way to descibe it. Not because it's the greatest tobacco ever made but because it's unlike anything I've had before. Half a century of aging has given it a pretty complex taste, I can't really identify individual components. Good stuff though, I'm glad I have the chance to enjoy it.

 

[romeowood]

Half a century of aging has given it a pretty complex taste,

May we all age as well then :D
Glad you enjoyed it, kc, what a great find and a great experience to have!

 

[letsgodowntherabbithole]

My wife, who isn't a pipe smoker at all, read this thread and said "thats really cool".
I have to agree, I'm glad you got to experence this, and I'm glad you opened it and are smoking it. Very cool story