What Have You Cellared the Longest?

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rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,994
Its not going to get any better at this point.
I didn’t say I was continuing to keep it with that expectation in mind. But, to be fair, you cannot possibly know that, unless you’ve smoked 18-year-old Dark Star and then compared that to, say, 25-year-old DS, 30-year-old, etc.

I’ve had 30-year-old Elephant & Castle Deerstalker that was far different from the blend when I’d smoked it fresh and then again around the 12-year mark. Who can say when all of the development occurred?
 
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jpberg

Lifer
Aug 30, 2011
2,904
6,540
I only really began to cellar in earnest around 2012, but along the way picked up a number of older tins when The Cigar Warehouse changed ownership and the prior owner was getting rid of the pipe tobaccos that he still had at 1/2 off, prior to turning over the store to the present owner. So I still have tins of various Rattray's blends from the 1990's, tins of Acadian Perique and Vintage Syrian from 2012. I have various tins that were gifts that go back to the 1960's and '70's. Most of my holdings are between 2012 and 2018, when I stopped building my stock and switched over to the occasional tin to replace something of which I'd run out. Now I barely buy anything.
Hindsight is always 20 20. If I'd known then what I know now I could have been sitting on a pile of Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture, 759, Sullivan and Powell, Dunhill made Dunhill, Rattray's made Rattray's etc. etc. Oh well...
I’ve had (not my own) bits of Rattrays from Perth. That stuff is sublime.
A pal sent me some 80’s vintage Black Mallory in maybe 2015. It stands out in my memory as an absolutely sublime smoking experience.
I envy your stash.
 

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,994
A pal sent me some 80’s vintage Black Mallory in maybe 2015. It stands out in my memory as an absolutely sublime smoking experience.
Wow. I had perhaps the best smokes of my life with 80’s Black Mallory with about 25 years on it.
 
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Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,819
I didn’t say I was continuing to keep it with that expectation in mind. But, to be fair, you cannot possibly know that, unless you’ve smoked 18-year-old Dark Star and then compared that to, say, 25-year-old DS, 30-year-old, etc.

I’ve had 30-year-old Elephant & Castle Deerstalker that was far different from the blend when I’d smoked it fresh and then again around the 12-year mark. Who can say when all of the development occurred?
Obviously I dont know that, I assumed you would realize it was an opinion rather than a factual statement.

It might certainly change some more if you let it sit another 10 years but not for the better (in my opinion).

But its your tin I encourage you to do whatever you think is best.
 

greeneyes

Lifer
Jun 5, 2018
2,126
12,192
When I heard McClelland was to shutter its doors I purchased every ounce of Matured Cake I could find.
 

jpberg

Lifer
Aug 30, 2011
2,904
6,540
Wow. I had perhaps the best smokes of my life with 80’s Black Mallory with about 25 years on it.
It reminded me (favorably) of smoking local cigarettes with Brandy de Jerez and coffee in Balboa.
Just remarkable.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,623
44,833
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
It reminded me (favorably) of smoking local cigarettes with Brandy de Jerez and coffee in Balboa.
Just remarkable.
Wow. I had perhaps the best smokes of my life with 80’s Black Mallory with about 25 years on it.
That would be actual Robert McConnell production, back when there was still a real McConnell Company, actually in the UK. Much better than K&K, who took over the blends when they bought McConnell. I was just gifted with a late 80's tin of 7 Reserve, which is one of y favorite Rattray's blends. It will have to wait for a pipe show or some other event when I can share it with other pipe smokers. At this point it will probably be fine when opened, but will swoon in a day or so after. So I'd prefer to have a group to enjoy it on the quick.
 

kola

Lifer
Apr 1, 2014
1,484
2,339
Colorado Rockies, Cripple Creek region
Oldest thing I have is a tin of Bohemian Scandal that I've been too chickenshit to open. As it nears 20 years old, I'm thinking I should find a pipe club to share it with, rather than just wasting it, alone, on my leather tongue... ;)


Oh boy. I hate to break it to you but those year tins are pretty sketchy. They had/have serious rust issues inside the tins from 2000-2004. Sometimes you'll see small brown spots on the paper labeling which are in fact pinholes in the tin itself. They rust from the inside out. I'd pop that sucker and hope for the best.

That's my favorite GLP blend (maybe all-time blend) and I got burned buying a few of these tins. The tobacco was covered in rust and unsmokeable..and the outside of the tin looked perfect. I lost about 500 USD's. Good luck !
 
Aug 11, 2022
2,225
17,508
Cedar Rapids, IA
Oh boy. I hate to break it to you but those year tins are pretty sketchy. They had/have serious rust issues inside the tins from 2000-2004. Sometimes you'll see small brown spots on the paper labeling which are in fact pinholes in the tin itself. They rust from the inside out.

Yeah, I’ve heard about that. I'm somewhat afraid to know, and that's a big reason why I've held off opening it all this time. Other reasons are that I was on the fence about selling it off once BS started to get valuable, and I was never sure if my palate was developed enough to fully appreciate it if I did smoke it.

Classic eyerolling overthinking, to be sure, but I basically decided to sit on it until my next move was clear. Perhaps I'll head down to the cellar when the coast is clear and give it a little shake and a squeeze.
 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,272
4,267
I'm a relative newbie when it comes to cellaring pipe tobacco. I didn't really start until 2015. Before that I would buy mostly a couple of ounces of bulk blends, smoke it till it was gone and buy more.
My oldest tins are:

McClelland's Piper's Choice Black tie (2014)
Penzance (2015)
 
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kola

Lifer
Apr 1, 2014
1,484
2,339
Colorado Rockies, Cripple Creek region
Yeah, I’ve heard about that. I'm somewhat afraid to know, and that's a big reason why I've held off opening it all this time. Other reasons are that I was on the fence about selling it off once BS started to get valuable, and I was never sure if my palate was developed enough to fully appreciate it if I did smoke it.

Classic eyerolling overthinking, to be sure, but I basically decided to sit on it until my next move was clear. Perhaps I'll head down to the cellar when the coast is clear and give it a little shake and a squeeze.
you could just open it and put it in a mason jar or mylar bag. :)
 
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rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,994
Oldest thing I have is a tin of Bohemian Scandal that I've been too chickenshit to open. As it nears 20 years old, I'm thinking I should find a pipe club to share it with, rather than just wasting it, alone, on my leather tongue... ;)
That is, perhaps, the most amazing blend I’ve ever had the privilege to smoke. Greg made art there. (But, yes, I lost tins too due to rust.)