Tobacco Aging Diminishing Returns?
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Virginias age very well.
The big debates on aged tobacco seem to center on Latakia. While the vividness of Lat diminishes over time, this is a matter of personal taste. Older Lat is softer but still plays a role. What appears to emerge with ageing is the quality and balance of the blends. A "lat bomb" that has no quality foundations with other leaves may taste flat over over the years whereas other Latakia blends will allow other components to emerge while still maintaining the flavour of Latakia.
In particular I find that Greg Pease's Latakia-heavy blends age beautifully. Several years ago I smoked a 10 year old tin of GLP's Odyssey (the original tall tin) and it was sublime. The VAs were even sweeter with time and the Lat had mellowed and found a new voice.
The big debates on aged tobacco seem to center on Latakia. While the vividness of Lat diminishes over time, this is a matter of personal taste. Older Lat is softer but still plays a role. What appears to emerge with ageing is the quality and balance of the blends. A "lat bomb" that has no quality foundations with other leaves may taste flat over over the years whereas other Latakia blends will allow other components to emerge while still maintaining the flavour of Latakia.
In particular I find that Greg Pease's Latakia-heavy blends age beautifully. Several years ago I smoked a 10 year old tin of GLP's Odyssey (the original tall tin) and it was sublime. The VAs were even sweeter with time and the Lat had mellowed and found a new voice.
I hope this happens to pirate kake because that stuff is quite the "camp fire" lat bomb to me!
I think, regarding Latakia, it depends what you want from a blend. I suppose this applies to Perique as well. I prefer my Latakia be a subtle, smooth, "pinch of salt" kind of thing. For me, an English with 15 to 25 years is a wonderful smoke. Right now, I'm smoking a tin of Rattray Professional from 2001. The Latakia is really just a slight tweek to the Virginia. My Wife asked me if the can has mold in it, lol. It's nicely aged with a musty tin aroma. But, if you like yourself a Latakia punch in the nose, you wouldn't want to age blends like I do.
Mike S.
Mike S.
Virginias and VaPers I consider the same as far as aging goes. A year or two is going to take the edge off of either. Past that, your VaPers get deeper and lose pepper, getting plummier (which is how I prefer my perique), and straight Virginias get deeper and sweeter. I don't know how far you can go with them, but I've had 10-15 year aged and I haven't noticed a drop in flavor quality.
My consumption of latakia blends has slowed WAY down, and I prefer a lot of age to cut the metallic taste I get from fresh latakia. Two of my favorites are Presbyterian and McConnell Oriental. If you age either about five years, the latakia dies off to a leathery note in the background, leaving the Orientals center stage.
My consumption of latakia blends has slowed WAY down, and I prefer a lot of age to cut the metallic taste I get from fresh latakia. Two of my favorites are Presbyterian and McConnell Oriental. If you age either about five years, the latakia dies off to a leathery note in the background, leaving the Orientals center stage.
I have found that latakia ages well. The changes are more subtle than some Virginias. This past year I smoked through some remaining tins of 965, Nightcap, and Elizabethan circa 1982. The VA component in each had a pronounced sweetness and the Syrian Latakia in the 965 and Nightcap was sublime.
Optimal age is the point where it tastes best for you. That may vary from fresh to 30 years. Time certainly alters the tobacco but doesn't guarantee that change is an improvement.
Almost everything in life displays diminishing marginal returns. Aging tobacco for six months can really settle it down, while an extra half year on a fifteen year old tin does basically nothing.
Point being, it’s fun to see what additional age will do, but after a very few years the differences will be too subtle for all but a select few to notice.
Point being, it’s fun to see what additional age will do, but after a very few years the differences will be too subtle for all but a select few to notice.
The bottom line is that very few of us will really know much about any of this long-term aging business because cellaring tobacco is a relatively new phenomenon that has become popular in light of the "new" FDA regulations that might cause a bunch of blends to be withdrawn from the market. Sounds like you already know the general wisdom about how well certain types of tobacco would be expected to age. For most of us, it's gonna pretty much be a bunch of guesswork and "wait and see" until we know how well some blends do over time.
I am smoking through a tin of 2006 Orlik Golden Sliced. Superb. Sweet and spicy flavors shining through. Smoking Ashtey’s 44, Patriot Flakes and Hamborger Veermaster that are all from 2014. All exceptional. 5 years seems to be a nice sweet spot.
Well maybe. depending on what you mean by "long-term." Nearly any classic blend that's still being produced today can be compared against a vintage tin with some age on it. Five to fifteen year old vintage tins are reasonably easy to find via buying and trading with others. It will cost you some money but gives you a chance to compare new vs old to get some idea of what aging will do to a blend you like.
The real difficulty is tins with 20 years or more. It's a challenge to find tins from the 90's era and crazy hard to find them older than that. Partly it's because, as you said, not that many people were actively cellaring before GL Pease and the FDA got everyone jazzed up on the idea. But also because tins failed, got moldy, or got smoked, and more generally the idea of storing a perishable item for 30 years or more just isn't that feasible for most people.
I was thinking the same thing, though I expect most of us haven't tried blends that have been aged that long, and like you said, they usually go for a pretty penny when sold
Burley may not bloom with age, but it keeps well. Aromatics don't improve in flavoring, but if they have quality leaf as a base, the fading of flavoring may actually be good to some pipe smokers. Latakia can fade, or fade a short time after a tin is opened if it is long aged. I'll leave the Virginias to the experts, but I do like a good Virginia despite my burley proclivities.
All most all of the tobacco I smoke is from 2012 or older. It is almost all va,vaper,vabur flake and plugs I enjoy the flavor of aged over fresh, that's just me.
Not all wines age well. Buy some vintage bottles with some age. If you have a palate for appreciating wine, you would change your statement. How many properly stored blends of aged tobacco have you tried? I primarily smoke Virginia blends and I've found the vast majority improve with age.
Cellaring isn't solely about aging either. It's also to insure having access to blends that may go out of production. I wish I would have been able to purchase more McClelland blends. It's hedging against substantial price increases in the future. It's to protect against the efforts of the anti smoking Nazis.
Me exactly. Had a couple of favorites disappear in the 90s. Not out of production, the distributor stopped delivering in my area, and online ordering was still a few years away. After that I started buying all I could and putting it away for future use.
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