As I'm quite new to pipe smoking,I'm curious, do all tobaccos benefit from aging? I've seen mentions of buying certain blends to cellar. I have an order in now im hoping to get before christmas so should i have doubled it to age some, or do only some blends require time?
Age All Tobaccos?
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The "pure" tobaccos, non-aromatic, English blends hold up the best. Aromatics will benefit from a "drying out' period, but will not have as long a shelf life.
This is what I have been led to believe, so your mileage may vary. Aromatics don't really change all that much during aging. Virginia seems the age the best according to most, because over time the Virginias will mellow in the blend, and a Viriginia that smokes harsh may be a little easier on the pallate when aged. Latakia tends to lost some of its flavor when aged, but the role of Latakia in the blend will determine how well it will age. For instance, if the blend is a light English with little Latakia and more Viriginia, the blend will benefit from aging as the Latakia was not the main component and you wont have to worry about it losing its flavor. Now if blend is Latakia heavy, aging it might not be the best idea, because a lot of the flavor will be lost once aged. And as far as I have been led to believe, aging burley doesnt really have much of an effect on the taste either. Hope this helps!
I'm a great believer that blends are meant to smoke how blenders have meant them to be, fresh as they come, some nead a bit drying thats is all, but there are many that will disagree with me.
Call me odd but I prefer not to age my tobacco for real long periods of time.I smoke most of mine within the first year.
All of the above is good advice....
So, I would answer your question this way.
Maybe.
Latakia blends will mellow.
Virginias to me just get better and better.
Aromatics.... not so much, but.... I have had a happy accident.
This is 10 year old PS-38 Highland Whiskey.
Found it in a box when I cleaned out by storage barn.
It is really very nice.
So, I would answer your question this way.
Maybe.
Latakia blends will mellow.
Virginias to me just get better and better.
Aromatics.... not so much, but.... I have had a happy accident.
This is 10 year old PS-38 Highland Whiskey.
Found it in a box when I cleaned out by storage barn.
It is really very nice.
Trust you to have a happy accident Lawrence, :lol: it could have turned out different though, aging has it's dangers, it can go wrong, yet I havn't found anybody that is into cellaring that has admitted to it going horribly wrong, after all it is just experimenting, how do you know when laying a tobacco down for a few years do you know how it is going to turn out ? each to their own.
for me putting away tobacco is more to me about storing up for cost savings. I know one day we will either not be able to buy tobacco or we will have to pay prices like aussielass 40 to 50 for a 50gram tin which I might do but only on rare occasion. Tobacco gets more expensive every day.
Virginias, yes. They may well get smoother and/or sweeter. I have smoked lots of aged Dunhill Flake (formerly known as Light Flake), SG Best Brown, Ben Hartwell Signature, and McCranie's Red Ribbon. I like all these tobaccos very much when they aren't aged, and they have only improved with time.
I have some tins of Penzance I am anxious to try - one will hit 5 years next fall. Also got some HotW and Peterson's Sherlock Holmes coming up in the next month or three.
I have some tins of Penzance I am anxious to try - one will hit 5 years next fall. Also got some HotW and Peterson's Sherlock Holmes coming up in the next month or three.
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I'm with you, Lawrence. As a rule I'll put stuff away for at least a year, but stuff always slips by and the next thing you know something has 5 years on it, and you say to yourself "let's go for ten". Then all of a sudden, you've got a bunch of tins that you hate to even open.
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