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jfd007 · Aug 2, 2015

Hey all,
I'm sorry if this question has been and I have no doubt asked a million times, but couldn't find anything to answer this question.
I have two 1 pint mason jars each about half filled with tobacco, which I was planning to cellar for a couple of years, only thing

is I have no idea if it's a good amount of tobacco to cellar and I've heard things about opening the jars up to let new oxygen in,

is this a necessary step?
Thanks for any help as it is much appreciated.
James

aldecaker · Aug 2, 2015

I believe that if you jar them for that long with that amount of air in them, you may well wind up with mummy dust after a couple of years. I am actually jarring one pound each of Old Dublin and Proper English right now, and am using a wooden potato masher (not the grenade!) to compact it as tightly as possible (i.e., as little oxygen as possible).

jfd007 · Aug 2, 2015

Thanks for the useful information, think I'll wait until I have more to start cellaring.

sablebrush52 · Aug 2, 2015

I have jars of various sizes so that I can portion out a blend for long term and/or short term storage. Some goes into large jars for longer stoage. Tobacco that I'm going to want to enjoy over the next couple of years goes into smaller jars. If you have a small amount of something that you want to age, use a smaller jar.
Aldecaker is spot on about a full and tightly packed jar. You can leave a little open space at the top, 1/4 inch or less, as a little oxygen in the beginning can be beneficial to the aging process. It will get used up by the little buggers in the tobacco and then the tobacco will continue to age in an anaerobic environment. Some people like to heat up the jar before filling, or sealing, to further reduce the oxygen content.

pipebuddy · Aug 2, 2015

I have no real experience with jars. I cellar tins only for the long term.
Welcome to the forum. :D

jfd007 · Aug 2, 2015

Will put all of this info to use in the future, thanks again.

aldecaker · Aug 2, 2015

@jfd007- I would like to direct your attention to the sticky "Forum Etiquette and Guidelines". One of the guidelines is "We will not tolerate discouraging any member from asking any question that pertains to the subject of the site. It doesn't matter if the question has been answered a million times before, it will still be treated as if we've never seen it". You don't need to apologize for asking any question here. If one of us is feeling like a grump-ass on a given day, there are a dozen more of us who are feeling okay, and happy to answer a question. That attitude is what turned me from a "lurker", just reading the site, into an active, participating member. I am glad I did; this site is just one more facet in what was already a challenging, but rewarding, hobby. As I should have said before, welcome aboard.

davet · Aug 2, 2015

I generally use jars that hold two ounces, almost full, packed fairly tight but with some air. When I want to open one it's a smokable amount without interrupting a larger amount from ageing. I have a few larger four and eight ounce, but they are put away for the long haul.

frozenchurchwarden · Aug 2, 2015

My understanding is that anaerobic bacteria are primarily responsible for the benefits of aging, thus less air is better than more, and opening the jar stops the process. So if you open a jar once a month it may never change.

It sounds like most blends should be matured in 2-3 years, and may begin to degrade after 10 years or so.

I've also heard of people opening tins after 30 years and finding them in good condition, so it may not hurt too much to keep things longer either.

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