Opinions on "Barrel-Aged" Tobacco

[K.E. Powell]

I know this is a tobacco that has been met with something of a mixed reception, but I am finding myself really enjoying Peterson's Irish Cask (a.k.a. Irish Oak). This blend is purported to be aged in sherry oak barrels for a month before being tinned. And I must say, the oaken flavor does stand out, and the sherry itself is barely perceptible, but in a good way, i.e. it adds a slightly sweet and tart aftertaste after what is a blast of woodsy and bready flavors.

But without the flavor that comes from the barrels, I cannot help but hazard to guess this would be an otherwise bland blend. That made me think of other barrel-aged tobaccos, and lo, Sutliff releases a barrel-aged crumble cake that based on early reviews seems to be quite good. I haven't tried it yet, but damn if it doesn't look mighty good. That leads me to wonder: does barrel-aging truly enhance the flavor, or at least lend tobaccos a unique character?

I enjoy pairing my pipe tobacco snobbery with my beer snobbery, and in the craft beer world, "barrel-aging" is the new hotness. I've had some such beers where the aging made it taste overly bitter and more akin to liquor, and I've had others that really gave it that extra punch and depth (Founders in particular usually knocks these kinds of blends right out of the park). Others still just seem bland regardless have hour long it purportedly sat in some cask somewhere. I would hazard to guess barrel-aged tobacco is similarly variable in quality. With beer at least, "barrel-aged" pretty much guarantees you're going to pay a little more than normal. I'm not sure yet if that is the case with pipe tobacco.

That leads me to ask you fine folks two questions, the first general and the second specific. First, do you generally enjoy barrel-aged tobacco? Second, is there a set of guidelines, say, an "industry standard" that is expected to be followed for a blend to be "truly" barrel-aged? I imagine there probably isn't, but I'm curious nonetheless. I know with some kinds of whiskeys for example, that that they must be made in certain places and aged in a certain way for it to be particular to its kind.

Look forward to hearing from you all as always!

 

[woodsroad]

No, terms like "barrel aged", "Limited production" or any other verbiage dispensed by tobacco purveyors are not regulated, standardized or for that matter guaranteed to bear any semblance to reality whatsoever.

 

[OzPiper]

I can only speak of ageing wine and spirits in barrels. I have NO experience with barrel-aged tobacco

Firstly there is a huge difference in the influence from new barrels vs old (previously used barrels)
The source of the wood is important. French oak tastes very different to American oak (different species).
Oak from different forests in France (Troncais vs Limousin) taste differently to one another
The influence of the wood diminishes with each re-use. Very old barrels impart very little "woody" character at all.
Ancient barrels encrusted with tartaric acid crystals are neutral in their influence. You may as well use stainless steel barrels.

With 1st use barrels, the degree of internal charring will have a huge impact. Barrels used for bourbon usually are heavily charred - not a desirable factor for ageing fine wine, especially whites
Raw new oak is NOT a desirable influence. Imagine sucking on a piece of green wood
The best casks/barrels use wood that has been "weathered" for a few years to leach out the unwanted "nasties"

The previous contents of the barrel (wine vs spirits), unless expunged by thorough cleansing or shaving the staves will have an impact on what is stored next in those barrels.
Sherry casks/barrels have long been prized for maturing Scotch whisky.
The shortage of sherry casks led to the now commonplace practice of using a plethora of different pre-used casks (port, Bordeaux, Sauternes, Bourbon, cognac, etc, etc) for maturing wine, spirits, and now tobacco

The length of time spent in a cask/barrel will obviously be a factor.
Barrels are porous, so oxygenation, evaporation are important to the maturation process.
But TOO long a time in cask/barrels will result in an overly woody character, which is a huge negative.
I have (old) rums, cognacs which would be much better if they had been taken out of casks years earlier

And NO. There are NO industry standards

 

[cersono]

I love Irish Oak! But I really doubt it's been barrel-aged. Barrel aging should result in a pretty inconsistent and unevenly processed product, as the tobacco layer in contact with the barrel walls should understandably soak much higher amount of aromatic compounds than the tobacco in the middle of the barrel. Probably that may work for small-batch artisanal blends, but is it even possible for mass produced mixtures, such as Irish Oak?
I don't find any flavours in Irish Oak that couldn't be explained as deriving from the use of casings or Perique.

 

[Egg Shen]

Gimmicky, annoying, copying beer just to try to have a new product offering. There is just no way tobacco can interact with a barrel like a liquid, which actually permeates and exchanges with the wood.

 

[EchoPlex]

I don't know about the exact process, but the Barrel Aged Plum Pudding, as an example, turned something that I thought was just okay into something truly wonderful and a real treat. Crumble Kake 4 and 5 are also fantastic and deeply complex to me. A testament to the barrel aging? Who knows. But I love them. So yeah, I am a big fan of most barrel-aged baccys.

I have to wonder if the process is more of a "finishing" than "aging" though. Those familiar with barrel-finished bourbons, ryes, etc., know that they typically use "wet" barrels that, in some cases, can still have a small amount of char slurry in them. One of the NDPs I love buying from uses ex. Stagg and Willett barrels to finish their MGP and it is crazy how much influence transfers to the MGP. I would love to know how Stuliff is doing theirs. I doubt they are using wet barrells, but it would be interesting to know, in any event.

 

[kcghost]

If you like the tobacco that is all that counts. Other's opinions to the contrary have to viewed as the "tobacco microwave background" and is to be ignored.

 

[AppalachianPipe92]

Unless it's perique, I don't really care for it. As others said, I think it's kind of gimmicky. And when it's flavorful, I dont care for the strong liquor flavor the leaf takes on as a result.

 

[K.E. Powell]

Gimmicky, annoying, copying beer just to try to have a new product offering. There is just no way tobacco can interact with a barrel like a liquid, which actually permeates and exchanges with the wood.

By and large, that would be my understanding too. I think it would have some impact, however mild. One of the reasons I clean out my jars when they are emptied of tobacco is because the smell and some remnants of tobacco remain, and I have found they can impart their flavor and scent on whatever comes after. It's not a major change, mind you. But it is noticeable.

But yes, there is no way this impacts tobacco in the same way as alcohol. Agreed 100%.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Isn’t there a tin of tobacco which comes with a small piece of a bourbon cask in it?

 

[karam]

Isn’t there a tin of tobacco which comes with a small piece of a bourbon cask in it?

I think that was a McClelland blend.

On barrel-aged tobacco, i think it’s a marketing gimmick. How would any taste be imparted by the barrel permeate unless mixed loads of times?

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Isn’t there a tin of tobacco which comes with a small piece of a bourbon cask in it?

I think that was a McClelland blend.

On barrel-aged tobacco, i think it’s a marketing gimmick. How would any taste be imparted by the barrel permeate unless mixed loads of times?

Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel has a stave.

Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged - Seatlle Pipe Club Pipe Tobacco | Smokingpipes.com

Seattle Pipe Club's Plum Pudding Bourbon Barrel Aged takes the same tobaccos as their popular Plum Pudding blend but ages them in charred oak Kentucky bourbon barrels.

www.smokingpipes.com

 

[OzPiper]

Isn’t there a tin of tobacco which comes with a small piece of a bourbon cask in it?

Yup.
Frog Morton Cellar

 

[UB 40]

I like Irish Cask a lot. When you open the tin it smells of sherry a little bit. But I couldn’t get a hint off that smell in the smoke, just the Perique. That’s good for me, because I don’t like alcoholics like whiskey or rum aromas in my smoke anyways. But if the producer says that it’s ripened in a cask, it may be right, why not? What impact it has on the blend? We would know if we had the chance to compare the blend with and without casking.

 

[RookieGuy80]

I've been wondering this as well. It makes sense for your sherry/bourbon/ other dark liquors to pick up the tannins of the oak, the liquid would be moving around in there. But in order for the tobacco, all the tobacco, to pick up anything, it would have to be stirred around regularly. Otherwise, wouldn't the tobacco closest to the wood be the strongest flavor with it rapidly decreasing as you go to the center of the barrel?

I think the barrel is a great idea logistically/ for warehousing. Known dimensions, easily stacked, easily obtained, and it looks great on the side of the label.

 

[prairiedruid]

Just a thought; maybe they lightly rinse the barrel and take the collected liquid and mix it into the tobacco. Then pack it in the barrel; 30 days later it is done. This way it would impart a light barrel aged taste to the tobacco.

 

[ADKPiper]

I've enjoyed all the barrel aged blends I've tried.

 

[crashthegrey]

People seem confused. The tobacco is not oaked like alcohol. Rather, they select a used barrel and the tobacco absorbs the liquid and gases of the alcohol that was oaked. It picks up flavors of the liquor. I can see many have commented without trying one. McClelland Cellar is the big one, of course, but the barrel series from Sutliff has been a big hit. The newest Phantom Privateer has a distinct rum note on a VaPer, which is pretty great. While there is no standard, per se, the common practice is one month in barrels. It works well for adding a liquor note to a tobacco, making it essentially a light aromatic style tobacco.

 

[NomadOrb]

Like with anything else, there are some good and some bad. When it's done well, I have no problem with it.

I enjoy the Camacho barrel aged cigars.

 

[fireground_piper]

@K.E. Powell perhaps you are in luck, if you’d like. My basement flooded this morning due to a tripped GFI outlet while my water softener was regenerating. The sump pump failed and the softener continued to let water flow out into my basement for a few hours which is where I keep a lot of my cellared tobacco.

Most of it is fine, but I 4 tins…….Mississippi River, Mississippi River special reserve, Mississippi rum barrel aged and plum pudding bourbon barrel aged that now need to go into jars because the manufacturer uses cardboard sides on their tin and they got wet.

If you’d like samples of all 4 to compare, PM me a place to send them to. I have to open them anyway at this point. All from 2020.