What Is the Single Most Special Blend, or Tin, in Your Stash?

[sablebrush52]

Do you have a blend or tin that is particularly special to you? It doesn't have to be some rare superstar or some form of unobtainium, just a single blend, or tin, that is special to you.
In my case, it's a single tin of State Express London Mixture. Here's why it's special to me. At the close of the 2016 WCPS, Jon Guss bought a couple of tins of it from a couple who were at the show to sell off the contents of a long deceased spouse's collection and cellar. Among the items for sale were several of these tins of London Mixture. Nobody was paying them any attention, rather, other buyers were scooping up the tins of Balkan Sobrainie Original Mixture and other superstar blends. Jon wasn't familiar with the blend and I had no memory of it.
After the show closed, Jon popped one of the tins and it was still moist and the scent was amazing, but nothing compared to the flavors that several decades had bestowed on it. It was one of the most memorable smokes I've ever had.
Since the show had closed and the couple had departed, there was no way to try to buy any of the remaining tins. I hoped that they would be back in 2017 and that maybe they would still have a tin or two to sell. I have to tell you that I thought about that possibility from time to time throughout the year between shows.
When I walked onto the floor at the 2017 show I looked for this couple, and to my disappointment, they weren't there. So much for my hopes of having another round with this wonderful old blend. Jon knew how much I had been looking forward to possibly obtaining some and he knew that I was very disappointed that it had not come to pass.
A week after the show closed I received a package in the mail. It was from Jon, and it was his one remaining tin of State Express London Mixture. I've put it in a safe place until I can bring it to the WCPS 2018 and share it with Jon.
That tin is the most special blend in my stash.

 

[docspipe]

For me it's a 2010 purchased, older styled rectangular tin of Peterson's Irish Flake. I kept one aside while the rectangular tins (which I prefer) were still being used. I'm glad I did as I noticed a change of taste in Irish Flake once Kolhasse Kopp no longer produced it. In spite of this, Irish Flake is still one of my favorites. I find the KK produced Rattray's Stirling Flake to be more of what I remember of Irish Flake in the rectangular tins.

 

[mso489]

Nothing rare or exotic to report, but some that really pique my curiosity and yet still entice aging them some more -- McC's Christmas Cheer 2015, and also their Navy Cavendish, Low Country Guendelose, C&D Burley Flake #1, Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding and Potlatch, a tin of Edward G. Robinson, a tin of Nightcap and Royal Yacht I'm giving some age, Gaslight and Haddo's Delight, and Dark Star. Those are a few. As I try a few more aros, Stanwell's Melange (hardly an exotic) seems like it might be better to me now than when I bought it a few years ago. I'm also quite curious about a well-aged tin of C&D Riverboat Gambler, which has never been top rated but I suspect of having improved over four or five years. There may be some clunkers in the stash, and others that will need a little boost of condiment tobaccos. But I believe I have some goodies here. Nevermind a small tub of IR Three Star Blue and a tub of Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic. All in good time.

 

[edwinbaz]

I have one tin of Davidoff Flake Medallions.

When my daughter was born in August of 2016 I had purchased some Gurkha Centurions to pass along to my friends, but while I was looking at pipes of the year for '16 a few weeks back I realized I never purchased any pipe tobacco to mark the ocassion. Well, I quickly pulled my inventory list and saw that I recieved a tin of Davidoff Flake Medallions as part of P&C PToMC a few days before she was born. I located the tin in my petite cellar and put it away someplace else. I'm gonna age that tin, get the 2016 pipe of the year and then I'm gonna smoke it in said pipe in a few decades to celebrate some special occasion in her life. Those medallions should age very well.

 

[alan73]

I had wanted motzek Strang for over a year or so, TAD from reading these forums and specifically Sablebrush’s positive affirmations..., and magically after being on this forum for a few months , someone was selling a fairly large quantity that I purchased that will last me years . Still looking to get some more, haven’t seen it available since then.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

An old YouTube friend I did a trade with sent me a tin of Orlik Bullseye and Orlik Golden Sliced from Great Britain. I've had them since 2012, and though they aren't super special they are unique to my tobacco collection. One they have the awesome anti-smoking labels on them (the only two like that in my cellar), and two its my understanding that Orlik Bullseye has been discontinued.

 

[philobeddoe]

I have a sealed cutter top tin of Balkan Sobranie from the late 50’s that I cannot bring myself to open. I suppose the anticipation of how wonderful the tobacco will taste is stronger than my need to find out.....for now.

 

[Chasing Embers]

G.L. Pease Mephisto. Only two tins left.

 

[lasttango]

I have several sealed packages and boxes of packages and sealed plugs of Condor. These are the tobaccos in my stash that I covet most. Each time I start getting carried away by the fear of the tobaccolypse, I start buying up all the Condor I can get my hands on. (I start buying Condor, Semois, Royal Yacht, Hyde Park and G+H Rich Dark Honeydew).

 

[admiral]

I guess mine would be a tin of Renaissance

 

[saltedplug]

2003 A.A. Peterson Escudo. I'm saving it to share the next time I visit my tobacconist. Problem is that I never go visit my tobacconist. Haven't been there in over 5 years.

 

[ashdigger]

I have a tin of Dunhill Flake that is dated 11-15-11. What's special about this tin is that it is the very first tin I purchased specifically for cellaring.
I've had older and I have rarer. I've even run "tastings" here on the forum with unique baccy, but this one is ground zero for my cellar.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

A couple 1996 and 1997 100g McClelland tins of Mature Virginia 22 and 27.

Got those in Columbus last year for what I considered a good price.
Now the only problem is I don't want to open them.

 

[hawky454]

My special tin is Peter Henreich’s Curly Special. It’s a 200 gram tin gifted to me out of the blue from Smoking Pipes (in 2010 when they could still do that legally) I’ve not opened it after all these years and I don’t plan on opening it until Christmas of 2020 to give it an even 10 years of aging. I’ve actually never tasted it before but I’ve read the reviews and it’s sound like it’s right up my alley.

 

[curl]

I live in Houston. We visited Sarasota last weekend, and I found a few tins of Esoterica at a shop at Bird Key. I bought the one tin of Stonehaven he had and the two tins of Dunbar he had in stock. I was kinda excited to find them since I hadn’t any luck finding these from the online sellers. I’m sure I overpaid for these tins and that probably contributes a little to my treasuring them.

 

[ray47]

I have actually 3 that are special to me. I have a tin of Dunhill My Mixture 965 that my youngest son gave me 4 yrs ago for Christmas. It was the first pipe tobacco he ever bought me. I also have a tub of Mixture 79 that my wife got me 5 yrs ago. It was the first time I actually smoked Mixture 79. She knew absolutely nothing about pipe tobacco. I smoke it very little but do enjoy it from time to time. Lastly, I have a sealed quart jar of the old Rum & Maple No.59 which I bought in 2008.

 

[raevans]

For me, it's a tin of G.L. Pease Tribute. Original 2001 first run that I picked up from Craig Tarler at the CORPS show. I had planned on sharing a bowl with Craig in 2021, sadly that will not happen now. Maybe I'll get lucky and run into the Darklord at one of the shows and be able to talk him into sharing a bowl or two.

 

[prairiedruid]

My last log of Motzek Strang and years down the road I will eventually smoke through my stash of 3 Oaks Syrian and that last tin will be very hard to open.

 

[zerohunter]

Sable, that's an awesome story.
I have two jars of Smokers' Haven Our Best Blend, one for aging and one for smoking. They're probably my most prized.

 

[balkisobrains]

I have an "O.G." jar of 2035 Dark Navy Flake from one of my first pipe tobacco purchases. I guess that it is nearly 15 years old now, something like that. Basically everything else was bought within the past couple of years, since I had stopped smoking for a while and didn't keep much from the first go-round. ::