Sutliff Tin Question for Cellaring

Good question. I had been wondering that myself. When in doubt I put it in a jar. Better safe than sorry.

I think the foil-lined cardboard tin with the sealed foil top (covered by a snap plastic top) is good for quite

a while, I'd say at least five years. Why do I think so? I have received several Sutliff blends in pipe show

goody bags, and I feel these usually come from overstock, somewhere, not right from the blending shop.

Plus, I have kept them over months, sometimes more than a year. The do just fine, retain some moisture,

and smoke well. Second, a number of the OTC tobaccos now come in the same kind of foil can, and I

know these big 12 oz or 14 oz "cans" last a good while. I have a two-year-old partial can of Granger that's

been opened for more than a year. I always close the snap plastic top carefully. It's doing just fine. If anything,

letting some of the dressing dry out or gas off makes the tobacco better and it doesn't dry out. If you want to

age the Sutliff blends, go ahead and put them in a jar, but if you are thinking about a year or two before

opening, from experience, I'd say it is not a problem in the cardboard/foil so-called tin. Tobacco is somewhat

forgiving or the whaling crews who kept their tobacco in cloth bags aboard ship wouldn't have bothered to

keep pipes and tobacco at all.

There has been problems with these types of tins in the past. I believe I had this discussion with Roth about a month ago regarding these tins and some do prefer to put them in jars right away. These tins come out of the same warehouse as Hearth & Home. I belive Russ indicated that the previous issue have been resolved and you can cellar the tins. It's a matter of personal choice

Yep I've had a couple cans like this last several years. Usually at that point I will have smoked them so I haven't tried to store one for over 2-3 years but I'd say they would be fine for 5.

This raises a related question (I hope). I use a lot of Carter Hill, and as you may know, CH does not come in an airtight container. It doesn't last long--I probably smoke it within a month--but I wonder if I should put a moisturizer coin in the tub it comes in.

The silver bottomed tins have issues with oxidation, I believe they have since changed the type of metal/coating to a brassy looking metal. I've also heard that if you do have tins that are badly oxidized you can give Sutliff a call and they'll replace them.(I do not have any personal experience with this)

Edit: It's probably safer to just jar them.

These tins aren't for long term storage; I don't have any hard clinical data other than the personal experience of having to kiss half a dozen tins of Anni Kake goodbye, amongst others (which loss I felt less deeply). They are prone to rust on the bottom, and if you've ever walked by a table full of them at a pipe show you know they gas off perceptibly. It's true you'll be altering the atmosphere, but hey, it all ages until you smoke it anyway.

I wondered this same thing and have emailed Sutliff directly twice in the past few months and got ZERO responses. A little disheartening.

The silver cans have a problem as several of you have noted. But Sutliff addressed this a little bit ago. The gold tins they use for their blends and the H&H blends are polylined to seal the contents for long term storage. So, jar the silver tins. The gold ones should be fine according to what they told me.

thanks jiminks!!

i buy the mc clelland pop off tinned tobacco - they sit in the tin for at least a month before i open them - should i jar them immediately or are their tins ok ? not sure what category they fall under. didnt think to jar them figuring the tins ok but now want to know although i guess better jar than sorry the next time.

also i am finding the tobacco is drying in the jars even though i fill them to about 1/2 inch from top - a 50gm tin goes into 2 jars with1/2 " at top.

i tighten well but now i cover with saran wrap before i put the 2 part lid on. smoke from 1 jar at a time before i start the second.
thanks

Have to make this a quick one. Sutliff is high quality tobacco, and blends. There packaging is not however. The main reason for rolled tin packaging is money. Single press tins are the best but cost more. I've had one with a bad crimp at the bottom that leaked into the container. Outside container was fine and no evidence of abuse or marking. All rolled tin containers should be jarred for long term storage. If you're going to smoke it in the next year I wouldn't worry, if it's cellar it's worth the jar.
Craig