After Aging, Smoke Within This Date

[cosmicfolklore]

You know, I totally agree about Christmas Cheer. I was surprised that it didn't have more of a significant change or deepening of flavor. I thought that it was just me that thought that, and I have never had a dud tin of Escudo, fresh or old, it has never disappointed me.
I was mostly just saying that we should be weary of blanket statements. There is always going to be an outlier in the group, and not everyone is going top agree on what is "good." What if Greg was partial to zombie sludge? It might put a whole new spin on the whole cellaring thing. ::

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

It all depends on whether or not you like how a blend changes as it ages. People like to say that blends get better with aging. I disagree with that statement. Blends change as they age. Whether that change is an improvement is dependent on the taste of the smoker.

Exactly.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Maybe this is another thread, but since it has to do with aging.
Flat friction sealed tins are always referred to as "vacuum" sealed. Can anyone verify this is actually the case. I've always sort of intuitively assumed they're just packed really tight and then sealed, no vacuum involved.
They "psst" when you open them, but so does a jar that's been closed for a while.
What's the verdict, as I've never seen one actually packed. Is there any active removal of air with these things?

 

[d4k23]

I have read the aging by GL Pease, very informative and has good points to follow. To each everyone's taste!
@Cosmic, if some one is partial to zombie sludge, it would definitely have new meaning, haha! Some people enjoy salted cod and liver, I for one pass on both.
But now I'm inclined to look into a pipe club locally, if one exists, or start my own. Easier way to sample many blends and find the ones to stock up on now.
Is it fact that the flat tins are not truly sealed? Do you age the likes of Escudo in the tin or jar? Could be good reason to open some of my tins and start sampling!

 

[cigrmaster]

I prefer the tastes of aged Va,Vaper and Vabur flakes. I am smoking through a tin of 2004 SG Full Virginia Flake that is just perfect. The flavors are smooth and rich and definitely better for me than when fresh. I have personally never had a square tin fail on me. The 2004 FVF was just as moist as when it was put in the tin. All of the 2012 and 2013 square tins I have recently opened had no loss of moisture and all the tins went woosh when I opened them.
I never move my tins around, once I get them they get put away out of any light and the temp and humidity stays in a very narrow range. I still say large temp and humidity changes are the cause of issues with any type of tin.

 

[sablebrush52]

Is it fact that the flat tins are not truly sealed? Do you age the likes of Escudo in the tin or jar? Could be good reason to open some of my tins and start sampling!

This being a tobacco related question, there will be no agreement. But I'll give you my experience. When I started buying in quantity for cellaring, I commandeered a linen closet for storage. As the tins began to stack up I noticed a scent that was permeating the closet, and permeating every thing in it. These were all freshly bought tins.
Since not everyone appreciates the scent of tobacco on their towels and sheets (for reasons that defy logic) I decided to move my growing hoard to bins, equipped with snap on lids, to be stacked in another closet. I separated the flat tins from the canisters and the English/Oriental/Latakia tins from the Virginia tins. I've packed those bins full and stacked them away.
I found that when I opened the bins containing the Latakia tins there is a strong smell of Latakia and when I open a bin filled with Virginia based blends it smells of Virginia. The bins filled with canisters have no scent.
This suggests to me that no tin can be counted upon to provide a 100% seal. Maybe it's a 99.9%, or a 98.9%. Maybe some are 100% and others are not. Who knows. But since the scent of the contents can be smelled, it's certainly not 100% across the board. It's not a seal failure in the sense that the contents dry out in short order. It's a seal that is "good enough" for a number of years. And given that square and rectangular tins can't distribute the seal pressure as evenly as a round tin, it wouldn't surprise me if the worst culprits were those tins.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Is it fact that the flat tins are not truly sealed?

I find that tins are actually sealed. Certainly well enough that there is no moisture exchange unless the seal fails (which I've never had happen.)
Are aroma molecules smaller than water and allow smells though but not moisture or air? Certainly that can't be the case.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

At least I don't think I've had it happen.
It's certainly possible - and maybe probable that a seal fails in such a way there's no way to actually detect it. Like Jesse says - maybe the seal is "good enough" that it last "long enough" to not notice an appreciable change in the tobacco by the time it's opened in earnest.

 

[d4k23]

Thank you all for the input. I agree that if you can smell the tobacco in a container, then there is some kind of seepage. Otherwise every time you pass the pickle aisle at the grocery store, you would get a big whiff. But like everyone else, hoping it is minimal to none.
I did go ahead this evening and pick up a few tins, 2 of each, one for opening and one for storing. Some haddos, Stonehenge, Kadath, Jackknife Plug and Low Country (based on suggestions from thesmokingdragon). Will let the trials begin!