1975 vs Current Production Heine’s Blend
Sept 14, 2022 16:15:37 GMT -5
Ronv69, Zach, and 5 more like this
Post by turbocat on Sept 14, 2022 16:15:37 GMT -5
A big thanks to don for sending me a jar of 1975 Heine’s Blend which inspired me to do this comparison. I always enjoy hearing about vintage vs new tobacco and I must not be alone in that so I thought I would share my experience.
for those who aren’t familiar with Heine’s Blend it’s an old “OTC” old codger burley produced by Sutliff from the 1930’s to present I believe. It’s tobacco forward, mild flavors in the background as typical of this genre.
The 1975 is a narrow/ fine ribbon cut while the current is broad ribbon bordering on rough/chopped. A change I have seen in some tobaccos that used to be termed “smoking tobacco” and is now “pipe tobacco”. The 1975 clearly shows it’s age in being much darker than current.
“Tin note”- the 1975 has a rich, quality aged tobacco background that is wonderful that is missing in the current, but both smell nearly the same otherwise.
For smoking I used a new cob for each and I filled a bowl with 1975, then took it out and weighed it and the filled the other with same weight of the current due to cut differences.
The most notable first impression between the two is the 1975 seems like a much higher quality burley than current. There were fundamental differences that I don’t think simple aging would have produced. This didn’t really surprise me as I know tobacco grades aren’t as available these days as they were then, with more slipping out of the market regularly.
What was different and what was the same between the two- The current has a kind of cigarette note to it, slightly harsh, the classic burley flavors, cocoa, nut, etc. are subtle if detectable at all at times. The 1975 had a rich cocoa (from the tobacco not topping) and mild nuttiness, quite nice. Both had the same flavor of something deer tongue like, but I don’t think there is actual deer tongue in either. The fruity flavors were virtually identical in both. The current has an anisette flavor that is identical in a number of current production Sutliff tobaccos, such as M79, RR match, and others. This was different and faint in the 1975. The current has a musky type flavor that peeks out now and then, this was missing in the 1975. The sweetness levels seemed identical in both. Most interesting to me was nicotine strength. The 1975 was stronger by a noticeable amount, in what I would call medium while the current is closer to mild. This could partly be due to the thin ribbon cut smoking faster than the current giving the impression of more strength, but I believe it is actually stronger.
What changed due to age vs recipe? Who knows.
It was a joy to smoke the 1975, thanks again Don. This is all of course very subjective and just my opinion but I had fun and will enjoy dipping into the 1975 occasionally for a flashback treat.
for those who aren’t familiar with Heine’s Blend it’s an old “OTC” old codger burley produced by Sutliff from the 1930’s to present I believe. It’s tobacco forward, mild flavors in the background as typical of this genre.
The 1975 is a narrow/ fine ribbon cut while the current is broad ribbon bordering on rough/chopped. A change I have seen in some tobaccos that used to be termed “smoking tobacco” and is now “pipe tobacco”. The 1975 clearly shows it’s age in being much darker than current.
“Tin note”- the 1975 has a rich, quality aged tobacco background that is wonderful that is missing in the current, but both smell nearly the same otherwise.
For smoking I used a new cob for each and I filled a bowl with 1975, then took it out and weighed it and the filled the other with same weight of the current due to cut differences.
The most notable first impression between the two is the 1975 seems like a much higher quality burley than current. There were fundamental differences that I don’t think simple aging would have produced. This didn’t really surprise me as I know tobacco grades aren’t as available these days as they were then, with more slipping out of the market regularly.
What was different and what was the same between the two- The current has a kind of cigarette note to it, slightly harsh, the classic burley flavors, cocoa, nut, etc. are subtle if detectable at all at times. The 1975 had a rich cocoa (from the tobacco not topping) and mild nuttiness, quite nice. Both had the same flavor of something deer tongue like, but I don’t think there is actual deer tongue in either. The fruity flavors were virtually identical in both. The current has an anisette flavor that is identical in a number of current production Sutliff tobaccos, such as M79, RR match, and others. This was different and faint in the 1975. The current has a musky type flavor that peeks out now and then, this was missing in the 1975. The sweetness levels seemed identical in both. Most interesting to me was nicotine strength. The 1975 was stronger by a noticeable amount, in what I would call medium while the current is closer to mild. This could partly be due to the thin ribbon cut smoking faster than the current giving the impression of more strength, but I believe it is actually stronger.
What changed due to age vs recipe? Who knows.
It was a joy to smoke the 1975, thanks again Don. This is all of course very subjective and just my opinion but I had fun and will enjoy dipping into the 1975 occasionally for a flashback treat.
