Does burley age well?
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I rarely if ever disagree with CE. Anyone who appreciates Bruce Weaver as much as I do can't be wrong... With burley I know the conventional wisdom says it does not get better but the tins of Burley Slice, ABF and the jars of Edgeworth RR Match I set back a couple years do seem to get better to my taste. The tins of Edgeworth Sliced I have where old when I got them and I never had it fresh, but the leaf in from is like nothing else I have experienced, although Burley Slice is close. So in my experience I do think Burley benefits from age.
I have an old tin of MacB Symphony (1980s?), and it tastes very similar to fresh, but with a deeper, sweeter flavor. And it just sort of tastes old. It's different after all those years, but not a great deal "better," in my opinion. I would imagine that Golden Extra would age similarly. Also, because they're highly processed and cased, I don't imagine that any of the MacB blends would change as quickly or dramatically as more natural blends like Union Square, Christmas Cheer or any of the other C&D or McClelland VAs.
Burleys don't have the sugar that Virginias have, and don't benefit from the fermentation as much from aging. Burleys will mellow from age, but won't change dramatically as Virginia blends do.
Burleys age wonderfully well. They don't change much, maybe a bit more pronounced nuttiness, but they also don't croak out like Virginias eventually will do after many decades. Burley may be forever. The changes that posters have noted are more than likely the aging of the other components than the Burley.
I put an opened tub of Carter Hall in a closet and forgot about it until 6 yrs later. When I found it I could taste a lot of difference. It was so much sweeter and was still fresh. It was in its original John Middleton tub.
C&D burley smooths out. Ive said it before, but according to Pipe Lovers magazine from the 40's the conventional wisdom was that burley benefited from aging and virginia did not. OJK improves with age.
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