I read somewhere recently that when it comes to cellaring tobacco it's okay to just store the original tins, providing you don't open them, which in that case it'd be better to then store it in a mason jar or something similar. Well my question is, is it okay to cellar un opened tins of GL Pease or Cornell & Diehl? I bought some Oak Alley and Jack Knife recently, the first blends I ever had from those guys, and the tins are different than say my Symphony by Mac Baren. You guys know what I'm talking about? I know it's kind of hard to understand, but if ya'll know what I'm talking about....is it okay to do that seeing how the tins are different?
Cellaring - Original Tins or Mason Jars?
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Leave them in the tins. The C&D type tins in the 2oz size are the best to cellar. Then would be the round european style tins. Ive never had a problem with the rectangular SG tins either but some say they have. Only tins I’ve had problems with are the small rectangular tins like Kingfisher, I had 4 lose their seal and were only 6 or 7 years old.
It depends on how long you're going to be cellaring it. The canister type tins hold up better than the rectangular and square metal tins. But having recently decanted all of my C&D Haddos into jars I can see that even the later 8 oz tins were beginning to show some corrosion at the solder joint.
I wouldn't keep anything tinned, at least without being further encapsulated in Mylar, for longer than 7 to 10 years. If you're thinking really long term, jar it.
I wouldn't keep anything tinned, at least without being further encapsulated in Mylar, for longer than 7 to 10 years. If you're thinking really long term, jar it.
How to test a jar: twist and see if it tightens further
How to test a tin: twist and see if it pops open
I like the test for jar!
How to test a tin: twist and see if it pops open
I like the test for jar!
I recently opened an 8 oz tin from 2005. No issues. I’ve had a number of coin twist tins from the 1970s with very few issues. I’ve never seen the need to open sealed tins to transfer the tobacco to jars. In my experience, the very small number of failures don’t outweigh the interruption of the aging process inside a sealed tin.
Mike S.
Mike S.
The only issues I have had have been with the rectangular tins like Penzance and Kingfisher used to come in. Just popped the top on a 15 year old tin of Marlin Flake (100g) and its contents were fine.
Right. And I recently had to dump a pound of aged Haddo's from between 2001 and 2005 because the canister tins had rotted out from the inside and failed. So I guess that aging in tins was a waste of years. I've had failed tins from Germains, MacBaren and others. And since I posted the thread about the C&D tin failures on this site, I've been getting emails about other failures, including McClelland tins, and those were supposed to be the best. Once you jar it, the aging process resumes. Bag those tins and they might not dry out if the tin fails. Or roll the dice.
Long term cellaring of tins is always a coin flip. Only,.....you don’t get to call heads or tails.
I, too, have had multiples of early Haddos and Bohemian Scandal compromised due to internal corrosion. Several McClelland tins have also been turned into rusted ‘zombie vomit’ along the way. The most recent disturbing failure was a 1993 McClelland tin I received recently. While moving some tins around something just seemed wrong; I detected the dreaded ‘chink’ sound upon shaking it. There were tiny dusty pits on the lid (look closely for these). Upon inspection of the side if the tin I found the same thing. Below is the sad demise of a 25 year old McClelland treasure, that MAY have been luscious a year ago.
McClelland Failure
I, too, have had multiples of early Haddos and Bohemian Scandal compromised due to internal corrosion. Several McClelland tins have also been turned into rusted ‘zombie vomit’ along the way. The most recent disturbing failure was a 1993 McClelland tin I received recently. While moving some tins around something just seemed wrong; I detected the dreaded ‘chink’ sound upon shaking it. There were tiny dusty pits on the lid (look closely for these). Upon inspection of the side if the tin I found the same thing. Below is the sad demise of a 25 year old McClelland treasure, that MAY have been luscious a year ago.
McClelland Failure
Be cautious of Samuel Gawith tins as the contents tend to be so damp (not just moist) that they will eventually rust from the insides.
I found this out to my displeasure a few weeks ago when I broke into my cellar to steal a two yearold tin of Brown Sugar Flake, all four internal corners were covered in rust.
The tobacco tasted fine but I should imagine a few years down the line it would be quite nasty.
Regards,
Jay.
I found this out to my displeasure a few weeks ago when I broke into my cellar to steal a two yearold tin of Brown Sugar Flake, all four internal corners were covered in rust.
The tobacco tasted fine but I should imagine a few years down the line it would be quite nasty.
Regards,
Jay.
I firmly believe round coin twist tins and 2oz. C&D style tins rarely fail! Never had or heard of a newer model 2oz. style tin fail. The ones that fail are the old style GLP tins and 8oz. tins. Talked with a lot of people and from experience this is found to be true.
I leave in the tin but I run 1 inch aluminum tape between the lid and the tin as a peace of mind in case the seal get compromised.
Once opened I reseal the tin with a double layer aluminum foil placed under the lid and sealed with electric tape and then a second seal of the lid with aluminum tape.
I prefer keeping the tins for space saving, easy the locate/recognize the tobacco and to not interrupt the aging.
So far no problem neither with the sealed tins nor with the resealed ones which remain fresh as opened for at least 2 years since I started to reseal in this way.
I use jar for bulk and for the SG plugs that come in 250 gm box and which I break in about 50 gm pieces.
Once opened I reseal the tin with a double layer aluminum foil placed under the lid and sealed with electric tape and then a second seal of the lid with aluminum tape.
I prefer keeping the tins for space saving, easy the locate/recognize the tobacco and to not interrupt the aging.
So far no problem neither with the sealed tins nor with the resealed ones which remain fresh as opened for at least 2 years since I started to reseal in this way.
I use jar for bulk and for the SG plugs that come in 250 gm box and which I break in about 50 gm pieces.
That's something that cellarers are doing, especially with the square and rectangular tins, and it should help provided the tin doesn't rot from the inside out.
Tins weren't designed to be a long term, as in close to a decade or more, storage solution. Some tins hold up, some do not. Pressure sealed tins leak at a very slow rate. Them's just the facts.
And then there was that recent business about Esoterica bags with poor seals and pinholes. All of my Esoterica bags have been heat sealed in heavy duty Mylar food grade storage bags. I did find one bag that was suspicious. The others were fine as far as I could tell, but why take the unnecessary risk?
“Tins weren't designed to be a long term, as in close to a decade or more, storage solution. Some tins hold up, some do not. Pressure sealed tins leak at a very slow rate. Them's just the facts.”
Sable if this were true why would C&D put out a cellar series that is supposed to sit for 10-15 years?
Sable if this were true why would C&D put out a cellar series that is supposed to sit for 10-15 years?
C&D also put out all the the tins that failed on me and many others. I can't speak for the cellar series except that I think it's a great gimmick that capitalizes on the growing fashion (fad?) of cellaring.
[Tins weren't designed to be a long term, as in close to a decade or more, storage solution. Some tins hold up, some do not. Pressure sealed tins leak at a very slow rate. Them's just the facts.]
I understand tins can leak or can rust inside. The real question is not that it can happen (we know it happens) but how often this happens. It is very different if it 1% or 50% over 10 years. If it is just a small % of the tins some people might prefer to take the risk of losing few tins rather than jarring. As it's only about 3 years I am smoking pipe I don't have enough experience to comment on the risk but it should be very interesting to hear how often this can happen from more experienced long time smokers.
I understand tins can leak or can rust inside. The real question is not that it can happen (we know it happens) but how often this happens. It is very different if it 1% or 50% over 10 years. If it is just a small % of the tins some people might prefer to take the risk of losing few tins rather than jarring. As it's only about 3 years I am smoking pipe I don't have enough experience to comment on the risk but it should be very interesting to hear how often this can happen from more experienced long time smokers.
Only you can decide what level of risk you're willing to take. I could care less about what anyone else does with their stash, I care about my stash. And jarring isn't the only solution. You can heat seal tins in mylar until you need to open them, and that should help against the tobacco drying out.
As for the percentage of tins that are leaking very slowly, my guess is that it's high. Assuming that you have a sensitive sniffer, you can test this out for yourself. Put a bunch of Virginia flat square and rectangular tins in a closed bin, put your flat square and rectangular English/Oriental/Balkan tins in another sealed bin. Put your canisters in another sealed bin. Wait a month then open the lid and take a sniff. You're going to smelling tobacco from your "sealed" rectangular and square tins, and very likely nothing from the bin with the canisters. The English, etc scent can be quite pronounced. How long this slow leakage will go on before the pressure inside and outside equalizes and the seal fails is anyone's guess.
You can then take the test further by isolating individual tins to see how many release their scent in an enclosed space if you want and then total the percentage from you population. I have other things to do. I just jar or bag. Takes a little bit of time and not all that much money.
Alex. Over the 100 or more tins that I’ve opened over the last 9 years, I’ve had only 4 tins of Kingfisher lose there seal, which everyone acknowledges are the worst tins to cellar, and 1 100 gr. tin of Blackwoods Flake from 1995 rust from the inside out. So if you take out the Kingfisher tins, it’s only been 1 tin out of say 100. Either I’ve been really lucky or around 1% failure rate is what I’m going with. Steve Fallon aka Pipestud would be another one to ask but if you stay away from earlier mentioned tin types you should be in great shape.
Really good information here. Ever since reading up on old threads I’ve been checking all my tins close and being really careful with new vintage ones I bring in every once in a while
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