C&D Opening Night, To Buy or Not to Buy In Large Quantities

[Tabacco]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)

I was planning on purchasing few 8Oz tins of Opening Night for medium term storage and consumption. I have seen some posts about possible problem with mold, the most recent ones are from 2018. Has anybody experienced similar problems lately?
I would hate to find a surprise when I open them in 12 months from now.

 

[Tabacco]

EDIT: Fixed Capitalization in Title (See Rule 9)
...

Sorry about that. I'll try to remember next time.

 

[logs]

I haven't had a problem with Opening Night but I suppose mold is always a risk. You might want to jar it all in smaller containers though. That will give you the chance to check if there's any mold to begin with but also allows you to age the stuff a bit more systematically (if you care about that kind of thing). C&D tins typically ship pretty fresh if you're buying from Smoking Pipes. You not going to ruin much fermentation by opening the big tins right away.

 

[Tabacco]

….You might want to jar it all in smaller containers though. ...

I have never been very lucky with jars unless I use the classic Bormioli with the rubber gasket (I think they are called Fido). Can I ask what you use?

 

[bnichols23]

There *was* a problem a few years ago, but to my knowledge that's long since resolved. Haven't heard anybody complain about recent ( <2 yrs) batches.

 

[didimauw]

The mold problem I had was with Briar Fox. It sat unopened in it's tin for about 2 years or so. So after getting my replacement, I immediately put everything into jars. I haven't had any issues since. Its been a little over a year I believe. And yes they were working very hard to fix their mold problem.

 

[python]

When you cellar tobacco for any length of time, you will always take a risk with mold. That's just part of the game.

Jarring doesn't stop mold. I have seen pics of people who open up jars of tobacco and it has mold on/in it.

 

[didimauw]

Yes if it's going to mold, than it's going to mold. There wont be any stopping it. But putting it in smaller quantities into jars, can possibly save some or all of the remaining tobacco. You can kind of quarantine it.

 

[python]

Yes if it's going to mold, than it's going to mold. There wont be any stopping it. But putting it in smaller quantities into jars, can possibly save some or all of the remaining tobacco. You can kind of quarantine it.

^^^^This right here is the best that you can do. Prepare the best that you can, hope that it doesn't happen.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I had one can of Opening Night with mold, discovered when transferring it to jars. Email to Tobacco Pipes, instant credit without having to send the can back. I threw it away of course.

Other than that, no problems with any other C&D manufactured tins or cans and I've canned a lot of C&D 8 oz cans. I have 2 cans of Opening Night and 2 of Sunday Picnic that just came in.

Here's the bigger risk, i.e., not buying this fine blend and having it around to smoke years down the road.

 

[logs]

I have never been very lucky with jars unless I use the classic Bormioli with the rubber gasket (I think they are called Fido). Can I ask what you use?

I use wide mouth Ball jars. As others have said, it doesn't prevent mold but at least you can see if you have a problem developing, plus it avoids other types of tin failures.

For C&D stuff I just buy multiple 2oz tins rather than one large one. Jars work well but they're a hassle.

 

[mso489]

I had one mold experience with C&D Turkish condiment tobacco years ago, when they were in North Carolina, and have jarred many blends and condiments since then with no problem. It happens, but is rare. I like C&D blends so well, I'd go for it.

 

[Tabacco]

Thank you all.
The current promotion on C$D's tins makes it even better.

 

[maulragoth]

I use wide mouth Ball jars. As others have said, it doesn't prevent mold but at least you can see if you have a problem developing, plus it avoids other types of tin failures.

For C&D stuff I just buy multiple 2oz tins rather than one large one. Jars work well but they're a hassle.

What logs said........ Ball Jars. Wash hands well before jarring too. I have a tin of this sitting from probably 2018. Worried now, but not opening it. It gone bad already if it was going to go.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I use wide mouth Ball jars. As others have said, it doesn't prevent mold but at least you can see if you have a problem developing, plus it avoids other types of tin failures.

For C&D stuff I just buy multiple 2oz tins rather than one large one. Jars work well but they're a hassle.

This implies the mold problem occurs after jarring. The 8 oz tin I discovered mold in was there when I was removing the tobacco from the can and transferring it to the jar. I don't recall exactly but it was a relatively fresh can I ordered and was less than a year old from the tin date code. I probably have close to 500 mason jars of varying sizes full of tobacco. They are stored in large plastic totes. Not really feasible to monitor them. And what good would it do were I to do so? It's not like I could catch it early and reverse the process. If you're a pipe smoker that smokes much tobacco at all, you're going to experience a bad tin occasionally. I think it is a 1% or less problem even with tins over 10 years old. I have no stress living with 1% problems. I'd like to sit at a poker table every day with all my chips in the center of the table with 99% odds in my favor. In a month, I could easily afford to buy C&D.

 

[mso489]

To add a thought, buying in "large quantities," whatever that means to you, is worth pausing and gaming out how you think about and use your cellar. Sometimes a blend you smoke a lot, use continuously, only improves with age and rewards stocking up. However if you are also a variety smoker, like me, you can find the heavily stocked blends less appetizing -- not because they are, but because you tend to always be trying around in your tobacco stash. You have to sort of game your own habits, to see how much is good provisioning and how much is not. Like feeding my cats -- medium portions work; big portions make them fussy. I like to come back and see those dishes cleaned up so they can see themselves in the bottoms.

 

[logs]

This implies the mold problem occurs after jarring.

I hear what you're saying but my decision has nothing to do with avoiding mold, it's about avoiding jars. I have too many jars and I've come to hate them. Tins are pretty, jars are ugly, that's about it. All the other considerations are secondary, I just want storage to be super easy. If some tins fail or get moldy or don't age perfectly... well so be it. I can live with that.

 

[d4k23]

Opening Night is one of my favorites and I recommend getting some to stow away. If you can find any from 2010 or before it is even more divine.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I hear what you're saying but my decision has nothing to do with avoiding mold, it's about avoiding jars. I have too many jars and I've come to hate them. Tins are pretty, jars are ugly, that's about it. All the other considerations are secondary, I just want storage to be super easy. If some tins fail or get moldy or don't age perfectly... well so be it. I can live with that.

I can perfectly relate your sentiments. If I had it to do over, I think I would have bought 4 2 oz tins instead of a single 8 oz can I then transferred to jars. And just taken my chances.

 

[greeneyes]

I hear what you're saying but my decision has nothing to do with avoiding mold, it's about avoiding jars. I have too many jars and I've come to hate them. Tins are pretty, jars are ugly, that's about it. All the other considerations are secondary, I just want storage to be super easy. If some tins fail or get moldy or don't age perfectly... well so be it. I can live with that.

I agree completely. I'm smoking down what I've got left in jars and keeping new tobaccos in their original tins inside a large airtight tupperware with a few sources of humidity inside. The only jars I buy nowadays are large swivel-top jars that are large enough to lower the entire tin into, and that's only for rare or special tins. Putting tobacco into jars is a drag.