Aged Solani Silver Flake Not The Same

[vink]

So silver flake was one of the first blends that I liked a lot when I first started smoking a pipe. I really enjoyed the fact that it had a nice sweetness balanced by the spicy, nutty Kentucky. I then cellared about 3 pounds in 2015-2016. Since then, each jar I opened haven’t tasted the same. I can’t get any sweetness out of it! The blend still kind of good but I don’t understand where the Virginias sweetness went!
Anyone has experienced the same with this blend once aged? Could it be a topping that faded away?

 

[Worknman]

Was it a first impression or something you smoked all the time? I've found that over the past 3 years I've been smoking that nothing tastes quite like I remember it if I haven't smoked it in a while.

 

[sablebrush52]

So silver flake was one of the first blends that I liked a lot when I first started smoking a pipe. I really enjoyed the fact that it had a nice sweetness balanced by the spicy, nutty Kentucky. I then cellared about 3 pounds in 2015-2016. Since then, each jar I opened haven’t tasted the same. I can’t get any sweetness out of it! The blend still kind of good but I don’t understand where the Virginias sweetness went!
Anyone has experienced the same with this blend once aged? Could it be a topping that faded away?

Welcome to the downside of aging. With some blends the nature of the change isn't a plus. It's a misconception that all Virginias sweeten with age. Many do but others lose sweetness.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sounds like the Dark Fired overwhelmed the Virginias.

 

[PipesRock]

Some stashed 6 month's to year here...

 

[Chasing Embers]

View attachment 121028

Some stashed 6 month's to year here...

You didn't leave it in the tin did you?

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

I’ve smoked a good bit of Solani Silver Flake both fresh and aged. The stuff is very tasty fresh & it it simply delightful aged imho. ️

 

[PipesRock]

Safely in jars in the closet. lovely tangy, plummy, stuff now. Here's hoping anyway.

 

[lightmybriar]

My first quality tobacco was Capstan Blue. I loved it. That was 2014. Every time I try it now, it doesn’t give me that same thrill as when I first would smoke it. I think it’s just my tastes changing beyond what my memory leads me to expect to experience. I still occasionally smoke it, and enjoy it, but I’m hoping one day it will come back around somehow to wow me all over again.

 

[mortonbriar]

Interesting. My 2014 ODF tin I cracked open recently has lost a lot of its kentucky smokiness, making the virginia's far more noticeable.

I intend to let all blends with latakia or dark fired components sit for a few years to lose some smoky freshness, because I prefer them subtle and it has been my experience that age seems to do that to them.

 

[karam]

Welcome to the downside of aging. With some blends the nature of the change isn't a plus. It's a misconception that all Virginias sweeten with age. Many do but others lose sweetness.

Everybody newish to pipe smoking (like me, though I may be moving to somewhat experienced after a few years of trying blends other than Nightcap) should read this, especially the bolded part. Found recently that 2 year aged StBernard Flake is less grassy but also less sweet than fresh. More substantial and bready, still very good but different, I also had the misconception that ALL Va/VaPer turn into baclava after a few years.

I guess the question many of us newer smokers have is which blends markedly sweeten with age

 

[Morrison Jeremiah]

All tobacco alters with age.
How that change is perceived by the individual smoker can depend on many factors.
I don't think it's possible to pin it down to a precise science.

 

[vink]

No I

I’ve smoked a good bit of Solani Silver Flake both fresh and aged. The stuff is very tasty fresh & it it simply delightful aged imho. ️

but have you noticed that the sweetness had faded a bit or it get sweeter with age? Do you find that blend sweet in the first place?

 

[vink]

Sounds like the Dark Fired overwhelmed the Virginias.

Have you noticed that? If I remember correctly you’re a fan too. I thought it was maybe a batch from the same year but tried different vintage and it was about the same... I’m just wondering if I thought it was sweet at first but it was not that sweet or maybe it was the new pipe bowl coating I had at the time that made it sweet or it’s the age or maybe I was crazy thinking it was sweet!

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

No I

but have you noticed that the sweetness had faded a bit or it get sweeter with age? Do you find that blend sweet in the first place?

It’s fairly sweet to begin with. The Virginias play rhythm while the Kentucky plays brass. After a few yrs age, it all comes together in a symphony lightly burnt caramel & ginger. Maybe a touch less overtly sweet, but definitely betta. ?️

 

[hawky454]

Welcome to the downside of aging. With some blends the nature of the change isn't a plus. It's a misconception that all Virginias sweeten with age. Many do but others lose sweetness.

I agree with this for sure but to me 5 - 7 years is still pretty young for a tobacco. Could also just be that the OP's tastes have changed. I'm currently finding out that blends that never used to bite are tearing my mouth up, could be the frozen food diet I've been on ever since my divorce but something has changed in me, not the tobacco. There are just so many variables at play here. The best test would be to buy a new tin of Silver Flake to see if it wows you like it once did, although the blend could have since changed as well. It's the gamble we take.

 

[vink]

It’s fairly sweet to begin with. The Virginias play rhythm while the Kentucky plays brass. After a few yrs age, it all comes together in a symphony lightly burnt caramel & ginger. Maybe a touch less overtly sweet, but definitely betta. ?️

Yeah sounds about right! To me it was kind of Va forward with a nice spicy nutty kick from the Kentucky. Now it seems more like a Kentucky forward blend to me that’s what I don’t understand...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Also, BriarFox by C&D also seems to lose all sweetness, or at least the batches I cellared. Esoterica's Tilbury seems to lose sweetness as well.

 

[hawky454]

Also, BriarFox by C&D also seems to lose all sweetness, or at least the batches I cellared. Esoterica's Tilbury seems to lose sweetness as well.

Curious, how aged were these? I think Tilbury is pretty much perfect right out of the gate but I have no choice but to age it, that is the conundrum most of us find ourselves in. I've still never tried BriarFox but I do have 10 year old tin in the cellar.

 

[vink]

Also, BriarFox by C&D also seems to lose all sweetness, or at least the batches I cellared. Esoterica's Tilbury seems to lose sweetness as well.

Now that you’re saying it I noticed that with Tilbury too!