Ageing Tobacco - Recommended Blends?

[Mtlpiper]

I'm curious as to what blends (if any) forum members buy to age (and resist smoking fresh). I have one blend that I never smoke fresh and that's based off a chance experience.

When I was first getting into smoking a pipe (back in say 2007-2008) I was recommended a tin of J.F. Germain's 'Brown Flake'. The tin I got contained a very sad dry stack of tightly packed flakes (it had probably been sitting on the B&M's shelf for years).

I have distinct memories of finding it very overpowering (I probably wouldn't think that now). I recall walking back into the room and being astounded by the heavy stink of settled smoke. Based on that experience I threw it in a jar with the intent to rehydrate it and forgot about it for a very long time.

I revisited it a year or so ago and it had completely transformed into a solid almost black flake. The jar note was now of sweet sticky prunes (rather than dry grass/hay it had originally). The taste was remarkable (it's a solid favourite now). There was no crystallisation or 'bloom' but the flakes were very moist. It lights and burns like a dream and has that a complex, deep and nutty sweet taste.

That made me place an immediate order for several large packs and I won't be smoking it fresh at all. They are now sitting in a dark cupboard until the time is right. I'm probably going to try ageing a few choice (mainly Virginia) favourites as well.

TLDR:
I'm curious about whether others here have had similar experiences or order stuff specifically to age it. If so, what blends?

 

[gervais]

I am mainly cellaring Va's.
Ps LNF
FVF
HH pure va
Just to name a couple. My cellar is not substantial really. I build it up as funds allow, and hopefully I'll have a nice stash for when/if it becomes hard to get for me. Not sure at what point I'll ever be satisfied with the amount I have, but I know it's not anywhere close to that point. I'd be content at 50 pounds. That's my goal, and it's a long ways away! Lol. It's fun and satisfying adding to it though.

Aged Virginia blends definately sound delicious though, so I'm banking on those!

 

[mikestanley]

There isn't much that I smoke fresh these days. My Virginias and VaPers can be anywhere between 10 and 25 years old before I get to them now. I made an effort to be in a position to not to have to buy much of anything pipewise after I retired. One thing good about this is I am pretty well set as far as McClelland blends go.
If I were starting now, I would put away a lot of GLP Union Square. I bought a bunch in 2009 and 10 years later, it is exceptional IMHO. For VaPers. I would focus on Telegraph Hill because it suits my personal taste but there are a number of VaPers you might prefer.

Mike S.

 

[badbriar]

I am enjoying 5 different English / Oriental blends and one HH ODF. ODF has mellowed substantially. All of the Lat blends are amazing with 5-10 years age. Have to say that the 965 and Nightcap are the best of the lot.

 

[judcole]

If I smoke a Virginia blend fresh,it is because it is new to me, and I am checking it out.

 

[mtwaller]

I’ve heard most straight Va’s are highly cellarable. I have a lot of Sam Gawith / Gawith Hoggarth blends cellaring away for a rainy day. Best Brown, Full Virginia, 1792, Dark Flake, Dark Plug, etc. I try to buy half pounds when I can and just forget about them and smoke available blends that I love while I wait for the others to age.

 

[sablebrush52]

There's very little that I buy to age. It just happens that by the time I get around to the tins I've stocked up they have 5 to 10 years on them. But not always. It depends on who's making the blend. Germain's ages their blends before release, McClelland did the same.
HU blends are smokable when released, but I like how 5th Anniversary blend changes with a few years on it.
Probably the only blend I buy that I won't smoke fresh is PS LBF. Fresh I think it smokes like cardboard. With a minimum of 4 years, it ripens into a very enjoyable smoke.
I also think that it's a mistake to say that blends improve with age. Blends change with age. Whether or not that change is an improvement is up to the individual smoker to decide.

 

[Mtlpiper]

I realised after posting this that this was really a cellaring question and most likely I should have been searching for that.

I'd always heard about Va's getting sweeter or deepening from a good bit of age. One day I hope to have enough baccy backed up so that I won't be smoking much that's new anyway. I'd also read that latakia heavy blends tend to tone-down, but none of my cellared English blends have significant age yet.

@mikestanley - Thanks for the tip on GLP Union Square. I'll add it onto my list.

There's very little that I buy to age. It just happens that by the time I get around to the tins I've stocked up they have 5 to 10 years on them. But not always. It depends on who's making the blend. Germain's ages their blends before release, McClelland did the same.
HU blends are smokable when released, but I like how 5th Anniversary blend changes with a few years on it.
Probably the only blend I buy that I won't smoke fresh is PS LBF. Fresh I think it smokes like cardboard. With a minimum of 4 years, it ripens into a very enjoyable smoke.
I also think that it's a mistake to say that blends improve with age. Blends change with age. Whether or not that change is an improvement is up to the individual smoker to decide.

From the Germain tins that I've had - I'm sure you're right.

'Change' is definitely a more appropriate term than 'improve' as that's definitely subjective. I find some to be more to my taste after they have either mellowed or sweetened with a bit of time to pickle. I suspected that some came with age anyway.

I also cellar by accident (bad case of tobacco acquisition syndrome) but after some discoveries with certain blends, I've started buying stuff I absolutely won't smoke fresh. I can also see why people order big slabs of various plugs or cakes.

 

[cigrmaster]

My cellar contains 40 Va, Vaper, Vabur flakes, plugs and rope. I also have 2 aromatics. I prefer the flavors of aged tobacco so that is what I smoke 99% of the time.
I have 4 blends that only have a couple of years on them so I haven't been smoking them. I have enough aged(6 plus years) to smoke so I don't miss those 4.

 

[logs]

I'd always heard about Va's getting sweeter or deepening from a good bit of age. .

Well maybe. Not every virginia blend becomes richer and more flavorful with age. Sometimes they just get a lot smoother smoking.

In any event, if you want to find out for yourself without waiting five years just buy a vintage tin from Pipestud's website and then buy a fresh tin of the same blend from somewhere else and then compare.

 

[mikestanley]

I opened a tin of McClelland #27 tinned in 2005 to end 2019 and begin 2020. It was a really,really good choice on my part. Perfect moisture, sweeter than you can imagine and smooth as a baby's rear end.

Mike S.

 

[anotherbob]

Not sure I can only do it with blends I am not that thrilled about in the first place. Honestly jarring is mostly just for two types. The must haves which I smoke slower and the not really intos. And I notice more change on the not intos then the others. O.k. I notice a change but I just never care with the stuff I already have (Kind of like when my girlfriend dresses up I still think she's cute and it's a nice change but not an improvement), now enjoying something I didn't previously feels more noteable.

 

[boston]

Aged Dorisco is marvelous, as is Haddos.

 

[troutface]

While my cellar is knee deep in Virginias, I also prefer some age on my Latakia. Three to five years smooths it out nicely. I've had twenty year old Latakia blends that were wonderful, but that's probably an exception.

 

[sablebrush52]

Aged Dorisco is marvelous, as is Haddos.

Haddos is another one that I prefer aged. When I smoke it fresh it's a little harsh on my throat. Aged, that goes away.
The other thing to keep in mind with aging is that blends may lose some nuance, Fresh, the various component tobaccos can be tasted and the blend may subtly change in balance during a bowl. Sometimes this is a very pleasurable experience. With years of aging, the components meld together, offering a solid flavor profile, Virginias tend to gain in sweetness, though not always, Latakias fade soften. Toppings often fade. The little variations disappear. So it's always kind of a trade off, sometimes for the good, other times not so much.

 

[briarbuda48]

GL Pease’s Abingdon was the biggest shock I can recall. Fresh, I didn’t care for it at all so I jarred it and forgot about it for several years. Once found, I gave it another smoke. As a result, I now have several more tins.

 

[subsalac]

This one's a no brainer, but sometimes we forget about the obvious:


Escudo. Open between the 5 and 10 year mark for best results, imo. As someone who isn't the biggest C&D fan and have a few gripes with their tobaccos, I will say their blends age very, very well. If the tin is swollen, that especially tells me the thing has been fermenting under pressure and is going to be a flavor bomb.