A Very Good 30th Birthday

[lightxmyfire]

Shameless brag post here, but I wanted to share that I’m having a very good 30th. Started with a wonderful breakfast with my wife and hike with our dog. Now I’ve opened and Am sitting down to enjoy a 29 year old McClelland blend on my porch. Thought it would be appropriate to burn something that was 29 years old on my 30th.



Hope you all are also having a wonderful Sunday and happy piping!

 

[acidpox]

Happy 30th. May many more follow

 

[mso489]

Hey-hey! Happy birthday to you. Mighty nice celebration, and many happy returns.

 

[scloyd]

Happy Birthday. Sounds like you're having a good one.

 

[hauntedmyst]

Happy Birthday! Awesome idea smoking something nearly as old as you are!

 

[olkofri]

HBD! Nice panel you've got there. ?

 

[yohanan]

 

[corncobguy]

We are close in age my friend. Happy Birthday.

 

[shanez]

Feliz cumpleaños!

 

[lightxmyfire]

Thank you all so much for the wishes!

@olkofri thank you! It’s a Savinelli Venezia that I absolutely love, it was the first “real pipe” I bought when I was maybe 19.

 

[hawky454]

Happy b-day. How is that 29 year old tobacco tasting? If it doesn’t blow you away right off the bat give it a few days to aerate and it should fully blossom within a few days. A lot of times I get disappointed by aged tobacco until I remember that it’s been lying dormant with no oxygen for a long time and sometimes it just needs a few days to “open up”.

 

[upnorth1]

Happy Birthday young piper! I like the idea of a smoke of the same age to celebrate, but I'm not going to find too much 70 year old tobacco.

 

[lightxmyfire]

@hawky454 Thanks for the tip! I was indeed finding it a bit spikey and a bit rough around the edges, maybe a little musty even. I can tell there was a ton of potential, there were moments of glory mixed in, and I was also feeling a little sad about not having been sent on an transcendental journey of flavor.

I was hoping a few days out of the tin would help bring it to life, so it’s good hear that this is normal! I was also briefly worried when I first opened the tin, because the inside is covered in little dots of rust, but after some searching around here, and poking around in the tobacco as I jarred it (man there was a lot of nice crystals) I stopped worrying about that. I’ll try to remember to report back when I give it another go!

@upnorth1 Thank you! I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to celebrate this way. Would two bowls of 35 year old tobacco make up for the lack of 70 year old?

 

[hawky454]

@tfdickson and I were talking about this in another forum awhile back as he too has had similar experiences with aged tobaccos. I think you will be pleasantly surprised in a couple of days when you return to it, sometimes it has taken as much as two weeks for an aged blend to fully bloom for me. Now, there are always exceptions to any rule so I can't guarantee that it will be splendid and send you down that transcendental journey that you were hoping for but I think the odds are in your favor considering that it is a McClelland VA and they are known for their amazing Virginias and how well they age.

I'm rooting for ya! I think this story will have a happy ending! puf

 

[tfdickson]

Happy birthday!

Yep, I agree with @hawky454, sometimes it takes a week or two for the tobac to "come back to life". This has happened to me with 20 year old Reiner LGF and 23 year old Christmas Cheer. Right out of the tin, and with seemingly ideal moisture levels, they were both flat and thin. After a couple of weeks in a jar, however, both ended up exactly as I had hoped for. For me this has been the exception and not the rule with old tins but this stuff always keeps me guessing.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

Seems like just yesterday I turned 30. Be careful, what Johnny Prine said is true, "the years just flow by like a broken down dam".

Anyway, I'm sure the tobacco will be singing by now. I just popped a 22 year old tin of Mature Virginia 22 and as good as it was at first, it's twice as good now.

 

[bnichols23]

Happy 3-ohth, ya bum. Hope you & the McC had a fab one!

 

[piperRowan]

Happy birthday, mate!! I really like your idea to have some 29 years old to burn. Great and unforgettable experience must be. btw, how is that taste?

 

[lightxmyfire]

Thank you all for your wishes again!

@hawky454 & @tfdickson I'm keeping my fingers crossed ya'll have given me much hope! I also found that the moisture seemed perfect, I rubbed the stuff out and just packed it, had no trouble getting it lit either! Now I just have to resist the temptation to smoke it again for another...48 hours... I'm not counting down...

@bluegrassbrian love Prine and "Angel from Montgomery" what a great song! I've also always enjoyed the Old Crow Medicine show cover of that one. That tobacco sounds wonderful too.

@piperwinston The taste was a little flat and musty but had moments that were really great! The spicy Turkish leaf contrasted perfectly by the sweet Virginia's, it was rich but in a pungent way more than a sweet way. I'm holding out that Hawky & and TFD's experience will come true and in a few days or weeks it will live up to its potential! I'll be sure to check back in and let you all know how the next bowl or two go!

 

[lightxmyfire]

Ok guys, I’m smoking another bowl of the Turkish Woods right now. For the last two weeks I’ve been opening the jar and giving it a whiff, it slowly lost that musty quality, and started smelling richer, more pungent like good oriental tobacco, finally it hit a point where I felt it was ready and let me tell you....

It is GOOD, it changed an impressive amount. It’s Smokey, tangy, super smooth and creamy, it’s got a subtle woody incense like thing that comes and goes, and is a little sweet. It has a short aftertaste in-between puffs that is slightly bitter like a dark chocolate or dark roast coffee, and then cuts away to sweet smokey Latakia. I’m very happy with this tobacco, and letting it “breath” for a few weeks helped a lot, looking forward to see if keeps improving as time goes on.

Thanks for the advice ya’ll! Happy smoking!