Aging Lakelands

[jaytex1969]

Since Grandma Kendal is slowly taking up more room in my cellar, I thought I'd ask. How do Lakelands age? I don't recall reading much about this.
Thanks.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I have some that are two or three years old in sealed jars. Like aromatics, the stories about them losing flavor over time aren't quite true.

 

[bazungu]

I have smoked 2-3 year old lakeland blends and they were really good, as good quality (mainly virginia I believe with some additional burley) leaf is used they seem to age pretty well! Especially the Kendal flake gets beautifully sweet and smooth. I think the perfume will diminish a bit over time and integrate more with the tobacco flavors but I highly doubt it will get stale. I would love to try a 10 year old Ennerdale or Kendal flake, just have to be patient...

 

[saltedplug]

While the posts above lean the other way,I'm thinking, having not tried aged Lakelands, that the toppings, strong as they are, would get in the way of being able to discern melding and smoothing.

 

[pepesdad1]

I've got some 5 year old G&H Dark Plug....still knocks my socks off when I smoke it. Has it gotten any better?...can't tell, but it certainly hasn't lost any of its punch.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I think that mine has gotten stronger in flavor, sweetness, and strength. But, not by much. I’ve gotten crystals on some ropes, but they were already pretty sweet to begin with. So, I’d hesitate to say they’ve improved greatly, or even significantly. But, it loses nothing with age.

 

[wyfbane]

My experience with the geranium flavor came several years ago at a Seattle Pipe Club picnic. A kind gentleman had gotten a tin of tobacco from the 1950's and shared a bowl with me. For the life of me I wish I could remember that name of it. I don't have many friends who smoke and my connections to those with aged cellars is next to nil so that bowl was the highlight of my smoking experience to now.
It was magnificent. It was also full on flowery like the Lakeland essence. I now have several pounds of Lakelands in my cellar but will never forget that awesome introductory smoke.
I hadn't thought about age fading as a result of how I came to know it. I wouldn't worry much.

 

[mrenglish]

In my limited experience, Ennerdale Flake dissipated enough to let the tobacco flavors to come forward a little bit. However, the Louisiana Flake still has a mild essence to it even though it is supposed to be unscented. My Dark Plug U/S has a ton of crystals on it but there is not a huge difference in taste.

 

[ekert]

I was recently told that aromatics don't age well. I wish I had known that before paying a pretty penny for aged McClelland aromatics :-(

 

[Chasing Embers]

I was recently told that aromatics don't age well.

They don't change much. I have some Sutliff Chocolate Truffle, then Altadis, from 2010 that still tastes like the new stuff. Negative comments about aros often come from those that don't smoke them. You did well with those McClellands.

 

[pepesdad1]

regarding aged aros...
I've had some 1-Q that aged for 5 years and was just as good when I opened the jar as the day I put it in the jar...maybe slightly better.

 

[perdurabo]

I've some Bob's that aged well but smoke it fast cause after three or four years it has a mellow tea note, then drops in flavor fast.

 

[mso489]

No Lakeland experience, but I'm aging some Brown Sugar Flake that is Virginia based that I expect will do well. I have inadvertently aged some non-Lakeland aromatics in the past, probably Virginia based, and it became more tobacco forward and lost some of the flavoring, which to my taste was a distinct improvement. These were the re-named Tinder Box bulk blends from Lanes and other big blenders.