"Accidentally" Aged Tins - Smoke or Save?

[pipezen]

Title edited for caps. See Rule 9.

I was into pipe smoking about 10 years ago, and started building a tiny cellar / tobacco collection. But due to life and circumstances, I fell out of the hobby after a few years, and my small collection has been sitting in a drawer ever since.

But things have changed a lot, for the better, and recently I've again been bit by the pipe bug. I've slowly started smoking my pipes again - and recently took a good look at my tobacco inventory. Time flies, and I found that my tins are a fair bit older than I remembered! Now I'm not sure which ones I should open and which ones (if any) should be given even more age.

Here's my stash:

- Solani Aged Burley Flake, 3 tins, bought in 2016, probably produced in 2015? -- My favorite tobacco so far, curious to see how it is with some age. Seems hard to get these days, though...

- MacBaren HH Old Dark Fired, 1 tin, bought in 2016, produced in 2015 -- Never tried it

- Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake, 1 tin, bought in 2016, probably produced in 2015? -- Never tried it

- G. L. Pease The Virginia Cream, produced and bought in late 2015 -- Never tried it

- G. L. Pease JackKnife Plug, produced and bought in late 2015 -- Never tried it


Any thoughts? Should any of these definitely be opened now, or definitely put back in the drawer for more age? Thanks in advance for any input

Btw, the situation is further complicated by the fact that I live in a country where there's not much pipe tobacco available, and what we have is quite expensive, so it's not straight forward to just buy fresh tins... But I'm researching various online stores to see if some do "discreet" shipping, so maybe I can order stuff without being bankrupted by customs and taxes

 

[Kingsley]

Honestly, if you are jumping right back in, I’d consider opening any that you want to smoke, same as any tin one would buy. You aren’t gonna spoil anything, the stuff is meant to be enjoyed, and the considerable age on it now is probably as good as it might be a few years down the road. If you are cautious, you could even pop one here and there over time, but don’t worry about missing some mystical perfect time to crack one, just enjoy.

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

You're looking at almost 10 years of age on those tins and it's my understanding that Virginias tend to plateau after about a decade, and aging doesn't make much of a difference for Burleys and Dark Fired Kentucky past the first couple years, so I'd say go ahead and open them up to smoke and enjoy!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

In 2016, you were finding tobaccos on the shelves somewhere that had been sitting for a year? Where is this place?

 

[Pipke]

In 2016, you were finding tobaccos on the shelves somewhere that had been sitting for a year? Where is this place?

In my AO I've found tins of pipe tobacco that had been sitting on the shelf in a shop for 2-3 years already.

@pipezen Pop that tin of Virginia Cream and see what's left of the aromatic component. And since you have three of them, open a Solani and enjoy!

 

[Peter Turbo]

Smoke smoke smoke

 

[FLDRD]

In 2016, you were finding tobaccos on the shelves somewhere that had been sitting for a year? Where is this place?

I've gotten tins from online vendors & site sponsors with 1+ year on them before........

 

[Auxsender]

In 2016, you were finding tobaccos on the shelves somewhere that had been sitting for a year? Where is this place?

It happens sometimes. I’m surprised you’re surprised.
Also, if one buys a tin in March, it’s possible it could have been produced in November of the previous year.

 

[telescopes]

Tobacco isn't wine. It is meant to be smoked when sold. Aging can change the tobacco profile, but that change isn't considered an improvement by the manufacture. They have already aged the tobacco. The changes that occur with aging only provide the tobacco a different profile - and it may be that the new profile is one you prefer. This is the case with my Virginias and stronger latakia blends. I prefer a more Mello smoke. But something is lost even if something else is gained. Cellaring tobacco primarily is a hedge against not being able to purchase the same tobacco in the future. It's like ammunition. I have enough rounds to last my lifetime. The reason I own the ammunition now is it is a hedge against a time when I might not be able to acquire it in the future. The aging does nothing to improve the accuracy of the ammunition.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It happens sometimes. I’m surprised you’re surprised.

When I first started going to The Briary, they had a few that were over a year old, but not as high in demand brands and blends that you've mentioned. It's hard to imagine a SG FVF tin lasting more than a year on the shelves, much less ODF or Solanie ABF... that one doesn't make it to the shelves but maybe once a year, most of the time they go straight to the resell market.
This place must not see much business.

 

[Peter Turbo]

When I first started going to The Briary, they had a few that were over a year old, but not as high in demand brands and blends that you've mentioned. It's hard to imagine a SG FVF tin lasting more than a year on the shelves, much less ODF or Solanie ABF... that one doesn't make it to the shelves but maybe once a year, most of the time they go straight to the resell market.
This place must not see much business.

I mean, it happens. When I started pipe smoking in 2020 one of the B&Ms I go to sells a ton of cigars but he also has a very nice shelf of pipe tobacco. Most folks Ive seen go in there while I'm shopping buy cigars or cigarettes, very few and I'm talking very few would go in for tins of pipe tobacco. So when I got there in 2020 he had stuff on the shelf from 2010, I think my oldest tin from him was 2008. So I basically started out piping by smoking aged stuff from my first week, pretty amazing. And yes, I've walked in there with Esoterica, SG, hard to find Wessex blends just hanging out on the shelf. He still has those D&R tubs of stuff long out of production just sitting on a back shelf (do not msg me to go buy this stuff for you).

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I didn't say it was impossible, just very rare. And, don't worry, I will let you aromatic guys smoke all of the Esoterica stuff.
But, it is very nice of you to be looking out for this guy.

 

[prairiedruid]

Just opened a tin of Jack Knife Plug from 2014 and it is amazing.

 

[sablebrush52]

In 2016, you were finding tobaccos on the shelves somewhere that had been sitting for a year? Where is this place?

I've picked up tins from online shops that were as old as 4 years, and when I cleaned out the Cigar Warehouse I picked up tins with close to 20 years on them. It's not exactly a trick. The guys I envy are the ones that seek out closed tobacconists where the stock has been left behind. They pick up amazing collectible stuff, some of which has decades on it. I've met a few of these guys at pipe shows and they always bring and share some pretty rare stuff!

 

[kcghost]

Just smoke the tobacco you have rather than buy new stuff.

 

[sablebrush52]

Title edited for caps. See Rule 9.

I was into pipe smoking about 10 years ago, and started building a tiny cellar / tobacco collection. But due to life and circumstances, I fell out of the hobby after a few years, and my small collection has been sitting in a drawer ever since.

But things have changed a lot, for the better, and recently I've again been bit by the pipe bug. I've slowly started smoking my pipes again - and recently took a good look at my tobacco inventory. Time flies, and I found that my tins are a fair bit older than I remembered! Now I'm not sure which ones I should open and which ones (if any) should be given even more age.

Here's my stash:

- Solani Aged Burley Flake, 3 tins, bought in 2016, probably produced in 2015? -- My favorite tobacco so far, curious to see how it is with some age. Seems hard to get these days, though...

- MacBaren HH Old Dark Fired, 1 tin, bought in 2016, produced in 2015 -- Never tried it

- Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake, 1 tin, bought in 2016, probably produced in 2015? -- Never tried it

- G. L. Pease The Virginia Cream, produced and bought in late 2015 -- Never tried it

- G. L. Pease JackKnife Plug, produced and bought in late 2015 -- Never tried it


Any thoughts? Should any of these definitely be opened now, or definitely put back in the drawer for more age? Thanks in advance for any input

Btw, the situation is further complicated by the fact that I live in a country where there's not much pipe tobacco available, and what we have is quite expensive, so it's not straight forward to just buy fresh tins... But I'm researching various online stores to see if some do "discreet" shipping, so maybe I can order stuff without being bankrupted by customs and taxes

Smoke it. It's not gong to get any better.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Those blends should be good now and should also be fine or even better with a few more years. The Burley blends aren’t likely to change much and could get milder. Smoke now or save, I don’t think you can go wrong.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

If you are interested in trying one, then pop the tin and smoke it! Those tobacco's have some nice age on them and should be a nice smoke. Like Sable said, they're not going to get any better, so pop a tin and enjoy.

 

[pipezen]

Thanks a lot everyone!! I'll save 2 of the Solani Aged Burley Flake for the future, in case it proves hard to aquire more. Otherwise I'll not worry and start opening these tins

In 2016, you were finding tobaccos on the shelves somewhere that had been sitting for a year? Where is this place?

Those were ordered from 4noggins in July 2016. The production dates I listed are mostly a guess, except HH old dark fired which is stamped with APR 2015 on the label on the back side of the tin. I assume that is the production date (or date it was put into the tin) - what else could it be?

 

[pipezen]

@pipezen Pop that tin of Virginia Cream and see what's left of the aromatic component. And since you have three of them, open a Solani and enjoy!

That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking about doing, unless someone here had very convincing arguments for doing otherwise