Some Opinions/Help On What Else To Buy For My Cellar

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elliott

Might Stick Around
Apr 21, 2014
99
0
Hey all, as most of you know I am still pretty new to piping and the "club" we have here on PM and am finding it to be an awesome hobby and very enjoyable. I normally smoke about 2 bowls a day and have tried many different blends so far ranging from Captain Black to Nightcap, enjoying most of them except the CB. I have had the ever so popular TAD/PAD since starting on the briar. Thanks to a few of our gracious members who have gifted me and my men a variety of tobacco's and pipes to smoke and try them from, I am starting to develop more of a palate for the different tastes in blends. I am by no means an expert and quite possibly may be fooling myself in stating that, but I enjoy picking out the different flavors and hints. So far along my journey in the piping world I find that I am gravitating toward blends with virginia staples, but am a fan of most other blends that I've tried so far. In the past month or so I have ordered a few things to be delivered to the homefront including a Rick Black Poker, but mainly tobacco's to start up some kind of a cellar. What I have so far in my cellar are: 1 lb of Balkan Supreme from when P&C had their sale on it (never tried), 2X 3.5 OZ tins of McClelland XMAS Cheer (never tried), and 5X 100G tins of HH Latakia Flake (never tried), and 2X 2 OZ tins Butera Pelican (have not tried). As you have probably noticed the trend being all the things I have so far in my "cellar" I have not tried and my reasoning for that is if that tobacco is there and I am here than I cannot smoke it so why not cellar it, put some age on it, and try it later on down the road...IDK maybe it doesnt make since but its what Im doing. So as for the title of this thread I would love to start up a discussion and get some info and help from fellow cellar'ers on what I currently have and what I should order next to have sent home for safe cellaring/keeping. Here are my thoughts as of now (keep in mind I have not tried these blends): more XMAS Cheer (while P&C still has it), SPC MR Bulk, Sam Gawith FVF or Squadron Leader.....and I would love to take suggestions from the Pipe Vets on here. Hope this thread goes somewhere and doesnt die off into the depths of dead threads. Thanks up front for the discussion and all your help.
Red

 

derfargin

Lifer
Mar 3, 2014
2,028
28
Kennesaw, GA
I would suggest some SPC Plum Pudding, I actually prefer it to Mississippi River. Pick up a decent amount of the Stokkebye "Luxury Trifecta" Bullseye, Navy, and Twist Flakes. They are all good and priced well.

 

elliott

Might Stick Around
Apr 21, 2014
99
0
@derfargin - Plum Pudding does look pretty good. I have a little of each LNF, LBF, LTF, and have tried all 3 and do like them.
Thanks for not letting my thread go to the depths of Davy Jones Locker, I was beginning to worry.

 

elliott

Might Stick Around
Apr 21, 2014
99
0
Thanks Trailboss, I appreciate your advice and will keep FVF in mind as well as the ODF. I have a tin of ODF although I have not popped it yet.
Thanks guys......Keep 'em coming!!!

 

beezer

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 12, 2013
618
743
Personally, I see no issue with cellaring blends that you have never tried before. The majority of tins/jars in my collection are of that nature actually. Most of the time we're only talking about 2-3 tins, but there are some blends I have a pound or so of that I purchased based off of overwhelming positive reviews coupled with online specials, etc. I have a list of blends that I want to add to my cellar and probably will cross everything off by year's end. As many on this forum have said before, I don't see tobacco prices getting any cheaper and I love the idea of aging blends and trying them at different time intervals.
If I were you I would cellar a variety of blends from the major blend types (i.e. virginias, VAPERs, english, burley, etc) and dedicate a pipe or two for each of them. I've found having a well rounded selection of tobaccos to choose from only adds to the enjoyment of this hobby.
As for specific blends why not try some of the below:
- F&T Cut Virginia Plug

- Dunhill Flake

- Wessex Brown Virginia Flake

- Astley's no. 44 Dark Flake

- Mac Baren HH ODF
- Mac Baren London Burley Blend

- Wessex Burley Slice
- Dunhill Early Morning Pipe

- McClelland Blue Mountain

- GL Pease Gaslight
- Sam Gawith St. James Flake

- Escudo

- Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls

 

elliott

Might Stick Around
Apr 21, 2014
99
0
@rsuninv - I have a couple tins of Escudo here with me but have not yet opened one to give it a try although I hear it is all the rage as far as VaPer's go. I will keep in mind the JALF, Northwoods, and Pirate kake. I will definitely be grabbing up some more PS stuff for cellaring, it regularly stays pretty affordable as far as I have seen so I may wait to grab some of that till I get back stateside.
@beezer - Thanks for sharing your info with me. I have the same general mindset as you it seems, trying to build the cellar and I also have a laundry list of blends I want to try and buy for cellaring. I do need to grab a few more pipes so I can start dedicating them to blends, so far I have just been going all "will-Nilly like" smoking whatever in whatever looks good to me that day but I really want to start dedicating pipes as soon as I get home and have a regular schedule again. EMP is in my regular rotation and has to be one of my current favorites, it opened the door for me to explore stronger and more "diverse" english blends. As far as the rest on your list I am adding them all to my digital list so i can check them out and most likely order some of them. Thanks again.

 

cmdrmcbragg

Lifer
Jul 29, 2013
1,739
3
I'll just second the basics of everyone else's suggestions: Va and VaPers ... can't go wrong there.

 

elliott

Might Stick Around
Apr 21, 2014
99
0
@cmdrmcbragg - Thanks brother.
SIDE NOTE - I believe I've got the bug and would love to get my hands on some Stonehaven, that stuff sounds tasty.....I know its like unicorn blood.....no way in hell am I going to get my hands on any let alone see it for sale before it gone HAHAHAHA. DAMN.

 

torque

Can't Leave
May 21, 2013
444
2
For purposes of cellaring, I think Orlik Golden Sliced is a pretty solid candidate. I'm smoking a tin of it right now and quality vs price point makes me think this stuff is one of the best bargains out there in the tinned category. For my tastes, it isn't outrageously great fresh, but it's pretty darn good and quite smokable brand new. It's a predominately Virginia (I don't taste much perique) so it's going to age well and just get better and it's significantly more affordable than a lot of blends that (again my personal tastes) don't do any better in the strength/taste category than this one does while costing around 20% to 30% more. Just my 2₵.

 

hiplainsdrifter

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 8, 2012
977
14
As others mentioned, you might be better off to cellar predominately quality Virginias and VaPers, as they are usually considered to benefit the most from aging. My short list:
Gawith Full Virginia Flake

Gawith St. James Flake

Escudo

F&T Cut Virginia Plug

 

bwithers55

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 17, 2012
107
0
I concur with those voting for virginias or vapers. I'm partial to Gawith Hogarth and S. Gawith. Those scented flakes with a few years on them are the best!

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
If you are sending these to your cellar, and you like English blends, I'd recommend Nat Sherman 536 and GLP Westminster;

Va/Pers might include Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake. I also like GLP's Triple Play, which is a plug with Va/bur/Per.

 

elliott

Might Stick Around
Apr 21, 2014
99
0
Great info guys, I am building my list of tobaccos to cellar much quicker than I had originally thought. Keep 'em coming guys.

 

escioe

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 31, 2013
702
4
Best cellar experiences I've had for latakia blends: Blackpoint and Chelsea Morning.

Best cellar experiences I've had for Virginia blends: Union Square and Red Flake.

 

kcvet67

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 6, 2010
968
0
I have around 250 pounds of tobacco cellared and it's all stuff I've tried and decided that I like.

Why in the world would I want to spend money on something that I've never tried and don't know if I like?????

 

hiplainsdrifter

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 8, 2012
977
14
escioe, are you talking about McCranie's Red Flake? I have some of that cellared, but was regretting doing so as the tin I tried seemed to have a LOT of bite, even compared to Red Ribbon. How long did you cellar it?

 

escioe

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 31, 2013
702
4
Hiplainsdrifter: yeah, McCranie's Red Flake, the 1996 vintage. Tinned in 2006, smoked in 2014, so 8 years. I've had really good luck with VAs not biting me for the most part. My technique is to do several charing lights to make sure I have a good bed for burning. Then smoke slowly and don't be afraid to let it go out. I'm sure this is not news to anyone, but I had lots of success with a tobacco known to many to be bitey.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,043
402
I would suggest trying what you have to decide if you like it before you start cellaring tons of tobacco. I always get maybe 4 ounces of a blend and then if I like it buy it by the pound. If you don't like something fresh I can't see you loving it with some age. The Christmas cheer already has 5 years of age on it before it's released. I just don't see the point in cellaring a bunch of stuff without knowing if you're going to like it or not.

 

elliott

Might Stick Around
Apr 21, 2014
99
0
Well I guess if I don't like it and I have a lot of it, it will be easy to sell or trade to someone who does like it. Or when tobacco becomes impossible for people in some places to get or just to damn expensive I'll be able to share the stuff I don't like as much with them for cheap...savvy?
Thanks for your opinions though.

 
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