What Would Holmes Have Smoked?

[choch]

This weekend I've been rewatching the excellent Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series (it's the gold standard Holmes IMHO) now that it's available on Netflix streaming. This evening I was browsing some online stores and came across "Peterson Sherlock Holmes" blend, which is described as:
"This mixture is made from an old Irish recipe dating back to 1880 and is one of the finest tobaccos smoked in the time of Sherlock Holmes. The high-quality Virginia and burley blend pocesses all the natural flavor and aroma associated with Premier Virginia tobaccos"
This got me thinking, what were high end pipe tobaccos like in 1890's England, and what would Holmes (were he a real person) have been smoking? Any thoughts??
Cheers,
Craig

 

[kabong30]

I'm in the same boat on watching Holmes. Just got started on season 2 :D I'm also a big fan of the new BBC series but there is decidedly less pipe smoking (read, none).

 

[schmitzbitz]

A strong black shag kept in a Persian slipper hung on the mantle. Usually smoked in a clay, oily black with use, but sometimes in a "cherry wood" dark with age. As Holmes was an addict of the strongest sort, this would likely be a very strong blend - I can envision something like Tambolaka fitting the bill.
Watson smoked ships tobacco (a rope, I suspect) prior to his engagement, however switched to Arcadia mixture to appease the fairer sex.
McClelland has a take on both - and a third tobacco only mentioned by room-note in the tome, Honeydew.

 

[judcole]

Peterson's Sherlock Holmes is am enjoyable smoke. Need to grab a couple more tins.

 

[cortezattic]

Like schmitzbitz alludes, it must needs have been rugged stuff. Think nicotine, not nuance!

I seem to recall from one of the stories that Dr. Watson complained about the room note, or perhaps just the choking volume of smoke.

 

[zanthal]

I thought some mention of the type of tobacco had to have been mentioned in the books (which I have not read).
I don't remember where it's based, but there is Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club... I'm smoking Great Hiatus right now actually.

 

[hobie1dog]

I think he liked "Walnut" :laughat: You know, something he could have bought at CVS

 

[irishsmoker]

Think of the most dry and fowl smelling nicotine heavy tobacco you can think of, and that is what Holmes would've smoked.

 

[spartan]

Straight Dark Fired Kentucky Leaf ::

 

[baronsamedi]

What he smoked was probably strong and cheap. Probably tasted like a black shag RYO from the drug store and loaded with nicotine!

 

[ohiopuffer]

Being a genius wouldn't he probably have experimented blending his own tobacco?Just a thought as I do not know alot about Holmes I have never read any books but a friend has suggested I watch the series you guys are talking about.

 

[mluyckx]

Straight Dark Fired Kentucky Leaf

I agree based on reading the books that it would have been a dark, strong, shag-cut, heavy nicotine tobacco with a unpleasant room note. I have one.. Gawith & Hoggarth Kendal Kentucky
Shag: check

Dark: check (although not quite black)

Strong: check (it's 100% dark fired Kentucky)

Nicotine: check (it can give me a buzz.. and I smoke nails for 30+ years)

Foul smelling: If I believe my wife.. double check
MIght be on to something.... all I need is a old "disreputable" clay, black with age, or an oily briar :puffpipe:

 

[schmitzbitz]

Good call there Mick; I think you are onto something - according to the Samuel Gawith site, Gawith Hoggarth first opened their doors under the G&H name in 1878, focusing on "twist tobacco" while Samuel Gawith focused primarily on snuff.

We also know that Conan Doyle was a student until 1881; then spent time at sea on a whaler prior to opening his failing medical practice in 1882. It was here that he first began to pen the iconic detective stories, with "A Study in Scarlett" first published in 1886; making the good doctor (and by extension, the detective) contemporaries of G&H tobaccos. What I can't determine, however, is just when G&H blends were introduced - SG has a much better history available - and just how far-reaching G&H blends were - I can't find any evidence of A.C.D. having lived in the Kendal region, but rather Sussex, Hindhead, and Edinburgh (which isn't to say he wasn't influenced by the Lake District; I just can't find solid evidence to support this).

 

[dochudson]

What he smoked was probably strong and cheap. Probably tasted like a black shag RYO from the drug store and loaded with nicotine!

Five Brothers?

 

[romeowood]

Escudo :D

 

[baronsamedi]

Escudo covers the strong part!

 

[gecko13]

Anybody know where I can get a sample of Tambolaka ?

 

[lraisch]

McLelland's makes their "221B series" based on blends mentioned in the canon. The Black Shag is awful stuff, though probably just as Holmes prefered (remember he also smoked cigars and cigarettes).
The Arcadia (Watson's blend) is quite good, a nice mild English.
I also enjoyed Honeydew to a certain extent.

 

[cortezattic]

gecko13 asks

Anybody know where I can get a sample of Tambolaka ?

4noggins carries it, but they're currently (6/2012) out of stock. No great loss in my book -- cigar leaf and Burley.

 

[zanthal]

I think he liked "Walnut" [:laughat:] You know, something he could have bought at CVS

hobiedog has a good point. What makes Sherlock Holmes notable is his passion for logical deduction, not his choice of tobacco.
But Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club's Great Hiatus is the one blend that I could actually conjure up any sense of the Holmes stories while smoking. I'm sure it's entirely subliminal because of the name
Is the Jeremy Brett TV series any better or worse than this latest incarnation?