On a whim, I got a carton of 12 tins of unopened Square Snuff, dating from maybe the 80’s or so; there’s some rust, of course, on the steel tops and such, but no signs of rust-through except on maybe one of the tins. I’ve read about the coring and sieving and such, including the use of a magnet, to remove any stray iron bits that may have worked their way into the snuff itself. I haven’t so much as even opened any of the tins yet, for fear of screwing something up with them and ruining the lot. Is there anything else I should be looking out for with this stuff?
In my experience the rust scent is equal to the amount of rust that will burn you. A rust burn will heal quick enough. Leave the rusty one for display. Open and box the best looking tin you have. Any dish with a lid will be fine. Don’t worry about humidity as the snuff will actually gain moisture. Whatever you put it in remember it is to protect the snuff from environmental smells. The remaining ten snuffs can then form a pyramid that you can enjoy for a few seasons.
Just follow the instructions from the ones that have been posted previously. I havn’t had a major issue with rust yet, and some tins are as old as the 1940s. They can dry out a lot, so some rehydration may be in order. Take the most care upon opening. If the lids are rusted to the tins, work a knife around the edge bit by bit until it comes loose. I just got a tax stamp dated 1951 bottle of Maccoboy. The cork pretty much disintigrated when I tried to pop it out. Inside the snuff was really dried out. There were tiny white flecks in it. I suspect the rose oil crystalizes over time and thats what they were. I tried a little. Not much flavor, but the nicotine was still there. I may rehydrate a portion and see what happens with that.
Same with my Maccoboys. Some wierd crystals inside.
I tore up a can of Carhart’s 1954 sweet scotch recently. Ripped the thing apart and buried my nose in the snuff inside. Iron and everything. Unfortunately it had gone very bland and did not have much taste. So instead I had some beer and a pinch of Irish High Toast :o)
So how do your rehydrate a tin of vintage snuff? And is it advisable to put moisture in snuff that is too dry?
Own FlavouringTry that, but sub out the Bourbon for water.
I hope I’m hot stepping onto some toes but I must say this; I prefer fresh snuff in solid, new tins! LOL Old snuff is no good snuff same as old wine is no good wine. Well cared for, matured old snuff and wine are something else. A bottle of old red wine which has been standing upright in someones garage for 20 years is useless except for the bottle which might be a collectors item. A bottle of red wine which was tenderly matured at the right temperature for 20 years while lying on it’s side, might turn out a gem. I think the same rules apply to snuff. But, of course, I might be wrong and therefor I would like to hear from you, ladies and gentlemen, members of the jury.
So do I, Pieter. I only buy the snuffs that are no longer made, I.E. DeVoe’s Scotch, Lorillard’s Maccoboy, Rainbow Sweet, Peach & Honey Sweet…
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I’m just waiting (im)patiently for someone’s old stock of Illingworths, stored for years in a perfectly climate controlled environment, to go on sale.
In this case, I figured (and I still haven’t mustered up the courage to open any tins yet) that the cost was so very favorable compared with a new carton of the stuff as to make it worth the risk. Assume that only half of it is useful, I’ve still gotten one hell of a deal on snuff.
Well, Pieter, for me I was looking for snuffs formerly sold in glass containers and also ones that are no longer made. In one case at least, I had to buy a large lot of vintage snuffs (most of which still need to be opened). Snuff is generally much better fresh, but when the maturation is done right, I think it produces a real winner. It all depends on how the condition of the container is. Glass with cork is best, but if there is any air getting through the cork, the snuff gets musty. Steel tins are fine, but extremely prone to rust. If rust eats through then air gets through, plus you have the added factor of rust contamination. I opened an almost 60 year old bottle of Maccoboy a few days ago. Sadly the cork had dried out, and air penatrated and dried the snuff out. However, the 40+ year old bottle of Levi Garrett (which you sampled) had a very good cork seal with wax across the top of the cork to prevent air getting in, so that one matured well. Over all its hit and miss getting these. You can only inspect so much from a photo on ebay and the sellers are not usually knowlegable enough to answer most of your questions. “Sealed” in the description does not nessesarily mean hermetically sealed! Of course its “sealed” from a collector’s standpoint. I doubt if these sellers know we are actually using these snuffs.
Well, opened the first tin. Thing is an all-steel container, complete with what looks to have been a sort of twist-lug type arrangement for the top. Hopelessly rusted, and so couldn’t open it that way. Flipped the tin over and opened it from the bottom, instead, using a can opener. No rust or iron in the snuff, but the snuff itself was a hard mass. Gently removed it with a plastic stick (spatula-wise), transferred to another container. Pale tan in color, and quite dusty. On a whim, tried a pinch just as it was. Awful, simply awful. No scent, no nothing, except for a faintly musty odor. I’ll try to rehydrate and/or air it out a bit and see if it’s salvageable.
Update on the vintage snuff (Square Scotch, circa early 80’s): Managed to empty about half the tins into a good, tight sealing glass jar. Haven’t done anything yet in terms of hydrating it; I can tell from my attempts to pinch it, and from the clouds of fine dust it kicks up, that this stuff is even drier than the usual Scotch snuff. A question - if the evaporation technique should prove impractical, can one simply use a bit of distilled water, maybe with a bit of salt, as recommended in one or two of the older books on snuff, to try to restore something to it? I get the occasional whiff of smokiness from the stuff, which makes me think it might just be possible to revive it. Any other thoughts on how to revive this stuff? If nothing else, as a base and mixer?