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The Holly Grail

Fyodor

Fyodor

New Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2005
Messages
607
So what would you pipe smokers out there consider the holly grail of pipe tobacco? Being new to this it's hard for me to make out what is highly coveted among aficionados. What would be the equivalent of say, a Cuban Davidoff? Or if that is too hard how about the equivalent of readily accessible tobacco such as would compare to the popularity of Padron and Arturo Fuente in the cigar world? Is pipe tobacco comparable to cigars in this way? Is there at all a consensus out there about what is great? And also, is there any easy way of obtaining aged pipe tobacco?

-mark
 
Hey Mark, I'll be interested in reading any responses too. The whole idea of being able to buy sealed tins/cans of tobacco and "cellering" interests me. Especially since one can buy a tin of tobacco for under $10. It makes it really possible to attain a nice collection without spending too much money (although I could see myself doing just that!). While a tin of pipe tobacco may be under $10, a box of cigars of equivelent value could be $100 or more for 25 cigars. That can add up really fast (as I look down at my coolerdor filled to the rim).

I notice there are some ebayers selling older tins of tobacco...anyone have any experience there?
 
Good points Eric, and I also look forward to cellaring my favorite pipe tobaccos as soon as I figure out what they are. It's all so cheap and I hope it remains that way! I'm a bit leery of ebay but I guess it's rather easy to age pipe tobacco and that makes it easier to be confident about buying it than it would be with cigars, I'll have to look into it.
 
I'm not sure there is a "Holy Grail" per se. A lot of people consider the earlier era Dunhill tobaccos to be VERY desirable. I know some people that would give up their first born for some of the blends that GL Pease no longer produces after the fire destroyed much of his tobacco stock a few years ago. I also know some people would pay very handsomely for some of the old House of Windsor blends that are no longer in production. There are so many different great blends that have come and gone over the years that it would be hard to pin down one or two. Especially when it comes to pipe tobacco where there are so many different tastes amongst smokers.

As for the Fuente and Padron of pipe tobacco, I guess one could say that Cornell & Diehl and maybe Dunhill would fill those roles. Lane might fit in there as well. I would say that GL Pease is almost more like Don Pepin Garcia at this point, fairly established, but very "hot" in that almost each new blend he puts out gets rave reviews from his many devotees.

I think in the end the "Holy Grail" tobacco is different for everyone. I would love some of the original Dunhill Nightcap and some of the original HoW Revelation, but I'd be even happier getting my hands on some of the house stuff my grandpa smoked if I knew what the heck it was.

If you buy vintage stuff on eBay you need to look very carefully at the seller. Sometimes you open one of those old tins and find nothing but dust. It's important that you can send it back for a full refund if that happens. There is a website out there that sells vintage tobacco, but I can't remember it off the top of my head. Google would likely be your friend.

Good luck!


EDITED TO ADD: You can see that preembargo posted one I forgot as I was typing. That's at the top of a lot of pipe smokers' lists.
 
Cellaring is a great way to improve an already enjoyable tobacco. Here's one distilled source of information:

The Aging and Cellaring FAQ

Here's a couple of basic rules. 1. Aromatics don't impove with age. 2. Blends that are mostly Virginias are the ones where you will see the greatest improvement.

Tins can leak over time. Most folks who "cellar" their tobaccos transfer single tins to the small jelly size Mason jars. Or they'll buy in bulk (if available) and divide it into pint or quart size jars for aging. Wup, just thought of another link.

Pipes & tobaccos magazine

They had a researched based article a while back on the benefits of aging.

As far as blends from yesteryear: Balkan Sobranie, Three Nuns, the original Murray produced Dunhill blends, many others. Alan's caution is well-advised. And you'll have to decide if you want to spend high dollar amounts for blends that may have been stored indifferently vs. finding the ones you like that are currently available and put some down for about 5 years.

Have fun! :)
 
Balkan Sobranie and the original Three Nuns.

Both are rare and when a tin shows up on Ebay, the price is high.
 
it's up to you to find the holy grail based on YOUR tastes, not mine.

i like burley, you may not, so it's really up to you to find the type of tobacco
you like, then try different blends in that category.
 
Thanks for all the great info, I'll be reading up on the cellaring FAQ page. Looks like I'll be investing in some jars too!
 
I'm one of those 'ISO Balkan Sobranie' for two decades guys. I finally gave up trying the 'nearly' styles, and determined to blend my own.

problem was, some of the ingredients were no longer commonly sold.. specifically turkish yenidje and syrian latakia were very hard to obtain..

so. i fussed with it, accepted substitutes, bid WAY too much a few times and only once got lucky..

and fussed with it. NOW there are a few turkish & syrian blending tobaccos available.. Latest attempt is *nearly there*.. IMO the closest blend i've obtained in satisfaction if not identical taste to the original Balkan Sobranie..

I won't specify sources or fine points, it's not a precise art, you may pick alternates and perhaps do better.

Roughly it's 45% dark brown cavendish (for RYO/Pipe, I'd use brown twist if strictly a pipe smoker) , 20% bright red aged virginia, 10% each Syrian Latakia & Cyprian Latakia, and 15% Yenidje Turkish.

I added a splash of cognac cause i had it, and stuck it in some cedar cigar boxes. it's tarry, smokey, spicy, strong, smooth, .. i'd put it about 95% of the way to what i intended.

still missing a touch of strength, and i got a shade too much Syrian Latakia, it's got more 'botanical' taste than I wanted.. I think i'll drop the Syrian to 5% and add Black Flake for that part. Still.. it's DARN CLOSE..

and aged, it might in fact be perfect. i'd have to see if the botanical flavors diminished over time. (botanicals = evergreen-ish type tastes, wintergreen, mint, that sort of thing).. it's not annoying but a shade 'present' in the aftertaste.

fwiw.. IN My Experience.. blending it yourself is both more economical and more likely to please than throwing money at someone elses extras. I went from 'not VERY pleased' to 'QUITE pleased' with my efforts, after a couple attempts at blending. As long as you avoid aromatics, you can always adjust proportions to a new balance.
 
I picked up a 100g tin of Dunhill Elizabethan from the '80's and I would have to say that it is my holy grail as of yet. I have a few tins & pouches of the Balkan Sobranie, but have not smoked any yet (maybe tonight!!). The tin that I have opened is perfect condition.
 
Some great baccy's listed here. I like the BS and older Dunhills as well. The "holy grail" baccy, for me is one I have tried, and never found anything to compare. I was able to sample some Wall Frank Vir from the late 30's.......absofrigginlutely amazing. This really opened my eyes to the advantages of cellaring pipe baccy.

I also list the Momoyama as a holy grail of sorts. A very, very unique aro with an interesting taste profile. There are sooo many out there that have kinda died out.
 
My Holy Grail is usually whatever I'm smoking at the moment. Sorry assed answer huh.

Wont attempt just one but these are in the top 10.
The pre-Murrey Dunhills
GLPease Renaissance
Ashton Pebblecut


out of the current production stuff
GLPease Blackpoint,Embarcadero, and Westminster
McClellands St James Woods
C&D Yale Mixture
 
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