Latakia "Fading" When Jarred?

Latakias get more mellow with aging, but at some point, a few decades down the road, they do fade. But then again, so does everything else. The most resistant seems to be burley. Even in vintages that are 60-80 years old, that I've smoked, the burley asserts itself.

I have about 8 blends that I've cellared deep that will go beyond 5 or 10 years before I smoke them. But I don't smoke a lot of latakia and it is the only tobacco that fades instead of "changes" or "ages". Fade would seem to imply not being as good as it was fresh, while ages means mellows, and that diminishment is viewed favorably by those who like the changes of aging. Also, when I smoke an aged tobacco with sufficient VA, I find myself to be one of those who are very impressed by its results. Thus though I may have some blends like Old Dark Fired without the VA to make the tobacco shine in the aged version, and some latakia blends that fit into this category as well, given my love of aging in general, I don't worry about deleterious changes in old jars.
What I do worry about is my gonzo supply of Dark Flake losing its potent nicotine. It's my goto nightly smoke, but I also smoke it first thing and in the afternoon. In fact, when I can't sleep I ease the rigors of that aberration with it as well. I in fact wrote the English royalty advising them of this treasure that may not yet be their steady smoke, their cosy companion, as they go about being exalted personages whose motorcades, interrupting traffic, testify to their exaltation; or as they dedicate the catfish farms sprouting everywhere in the UK turf. .

For my purposes, I think of Latakia as mellowing, unless it is really old. For Latakia-forward lovers, it is probably best to keep blends fairly fresh. With a little time, as in a year or two, I think Lat integrates better with blends and sings in better harmony. I want it to be a part of the blend, sometimes a strong part depending on the blend, but I don't want it dominating.

In my experience, Latakia takes a long while to fade appreciably... Say five or more years, and even then it tends to be a slow mellowing process rather than "fading" away. I once had the chance to try some 25-plus year old Balkan Sobranie and the Latakia was still not just noticeable but very nearly dominant! In other words, don't worry about jarring or cellaring it -- it should be fine.

With cellared Latikia it become more harmonious with the other blends it is cellar ed with over time. I do not consider that "fading".

I've sampled dozens of blends in the 35+ year old range, including Balkan Sobranie from the '60's, 70's., and 80's as well as Capstan from the late 1930's and 1940's. The BS still tasted like BS, but a miniature of what it was when new. It was all around more delicate. So, to me that's faded. The 1938 Capstan tasted like nothing so much as dirt and mushrooms, while the WW2 era Capstan tasted like a smoother and milder version of Capstan. But all of these rapidly lost flavor after the tin was opened. Exposure to air seemed to kill these ancient tobaccos. As for nicotine, the 1920's Richmond blend that I smoked knocked me on my ass, so nicotine seems to survive even when nothing else does.
The other thing to keep in mind is that there's no way to know under what conditions a tin has been stored, unless you're the original owner. The 1938 Capstan might have been sitting on a furnace while the 1940+ might have been stored under ideal conditions.
In other words, boy and girls, buying superannuated tins is a complete crap shoot.

SB, Pease also says that one should smoke aged tobacco quickly after introducing it to air. In general. air makes fermentation change from anaerobic to aerobic fermentation, but I haven't a clue what that means chemically. Does the anaerobic aging in a very old tin stop at some point? Probably not as we can taste changes across the years. I've always heard that it slows down. Perhaps very aged tobacco can retain its aged state only in an airless environment? Perhaps the extent of its aging makes it vulnerable to air in a way that would not have happened were it fresh?
What we're discussing is the amount of aging that pleases our palates, and what we like sets that bar, the tobacco not withstanding? What we like decides which tobacco ages best, and at what point it is best.

What we're discussing is the amount of aging that pleases our palates, and what we like sets that bar, the tobacco not withstanding? What we like decides which tobacco ages best, and at what point it is best.

Click to expand...

True. But there's a perception that tobaccos just get "better and better" with age, and it's just not true, any more than it is with wine. At some point everything peaks and then heads downhill. The "everything just gets better and better" is a boon to people selling old tins to a gullible new market. It's not a boon to buyers.
Pease has also written that the most dramatic part of the aging process happens in the first few years and after that it becomes more incremental. To me, that means that I can get a great smoke without having to wait eons. And frankly, a well constructed blend is worthwhile fresh.
Some get to feel superior because they only smoke well aged tobacco, 10 to 15 years for example, and they like to say how you haven't really experienced blend "x" until you've had it well aged. Maybe, but after having smoked a lot of well aged tobacco over the years I think it's mostly BS.
The tobaccos will be different, but they're going to be something subtly different, not the Second Coming. And sometimes that difference isn't really an improvement. Again, it depends on what you like. I know smokers who prefer their Escudo fresh to aged. I like it both ways. But I don't experience aged Escudo as some rapturously better blend.
So when does tobacco peak and then begin to fade? Hell if I know. But I have a personal rule which is that anything older than 25 years is a coin toss. I'm not saying that tobaccos can't live longer than that, but that the results in the tin become more variable, probably because of how its been stored. And after 30+ years, flavors are generally less robust, not more. At 40+ years it's like smoking wraiths. Or dirt. Or mushrooms. And for certain, re-exposing the ancient tobacco to oxygen sets off a rapid decline.
Which reminds me, I have a few tins heading toward that 25 year milestone. Time to pop 'em and smoke 'em.

Latakia gets toned down when aged, according to Greg Pease the Latakia starting going downhill after 10 years but will still be "good" at 15. After that, god knows !!