| Author | Message | ||
     Jonathan Wilkins Member Username: Jonny_sokko Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2006 |
What is the oldest currently produced tobacco or tobacco belnd? Are there tobaccos or blend that have kept the same recipe for 100 or more years? It would be fascinating to try a smoke that may have been consumed by our fore fathers. | ||
| Marc T. Member Username: Neuromancer Post Number: 138 Registered: 03-2006 |
Grousemoor from Samuel Gawith is said to be a pretty old blend...here's their description: This 200 year old blend is comprised of hand-stripped flue-cured Zimbabwe leaf, steamed to a Golden color then stoved into a unique melange of flavors. Made in England. | ||
| Misha Erementchouk Member Username: Merement Post Number: 2 Registered: 11-2006 |
Presumably this should be something by Samuel Gawith. The press used at the factory is more than 250 years old! It was bought second hand. Unfortunately, there is only one blend that is claimed to be in production for more than 200 years. It's Grousemoor. People used to say that 1792 is produced starting 1792 (the year when the company-predecessor of SG was founded), however, it should be checked. I guess, it would not be a big deal to send e-mail to SG. Regarding American blends. People often mention Edgeworth RR as the oldest one. However, the oldest American blends in active production could be those of Heritage Series by C&D. This series is a reproduction of old blends by Atlas (the "predecessor" of C&D). Atlas Blending Company, in turn, was created in 1880, 30 years before Edgeworth RR was introduced, if I remember correct. | ||
| Felix Ungar Member Username: Felix Post Number: 15 Registered: 09-2006 |
American Indian medicine men were smoking a precursor to today's St. James Parish Perique before Europeans even showed up on the continent. If you have a hairy chest, leather tongue and a desire for an extremely powerful nicotine rush, you could try the straight Perique offering by McClelland. More realistically though, I suspect you're looking for something a bit more smokable than pure Perique to sample tobacco from years old. I think some of Carole Burns' (Pipeworks & Wilke) Wilke-series tobaccos go back to the company's founding in the early 1870s. Suggest you e-mail or call her 800 number and ask what her oldest blend is. And please post what you found out...I'd be curious to know as well. | ||
| Markus Wischermann Member Username: Markus1970 Post Number: 510 Registered: 03-2005 |
Jonathan, Presbyterian Mixture is claimed to originally have been made exclusively for Dr. John White, a dignitary of the Scottish High Church, in 1910. That's at least what the information accompanying the tin says. There are probably older blends. And I don't know how much of the above story was written by marketing people... Best wishes Markus | ||
| Richard A. Blake Member Username: Dick_blake Post Number: 16 Registered: 09-2005 |
Edgeworth may be the oldest. I know Prince Albert was introduced about 1910 and Velvet may have been out a few years before PA. I believe all of these have the same recipe as when first introduced. | ||
| Mark White Member Username: Canlov Post Number: 134 Registered: 04-2004 |
According to William Serad, in his Trial by Fire compilation, Robert McConnell's Red Virginia is made from a recipe that dates to 1848. I have a couple of tins aging in my "cellar" - I suppose I should crack one open just to see how it is right now, they've been aging since April 2004  Mark | ||
| Warwick Member Username: Warwick Post Number: 86 Registered: 11-2004 |
A number of Samuel Gawith's blends, such as 1792, Grouse-Moor, Skiff, and Kendal Twists are blends that originated with Samuel Gawith over 200 years ago. See: http://www.samuelgawith.co.uk/tobacco.htm I don't know if there are any blends older than those. | ||
| Ryan Potter Member Username: Capt Post Number: 1 Registered: 01-2006 |
I know Grousemoor has been around for over 200 years! | ||
| Robert C. Runowski Member Username: Morleysson Post Number: 245 Registered: 09-1999 |
Among AMERICAN MANUFACTURED tobaccos, Edgeworth RRd was developed in 1903 (I'm reading the can as I type) but was preceded by many of the twists and plugs used for smoking or chewing. Both Prince Albert and Bull Durham (and the now departed Duke and Country Gentleman) all preceded ERRd as well. | ||
| Peter Doyle Member Username: Darkgael Post Number: 76 Registered: 03-2006 |
Let me add a question, what blends have the oldest tobaccos - in the sense of aged tobaccos? I know that C&D's Easy Times uses a 20 year old Burley as part of the blend. Peter |