Aging bargain brands?

[tpicking]

Along with a fairly nice collection of premium tobaccos, I also have a number of bargain brands; I figure I'll never know whether I like one unless I try it. Some of the bargain brands are OK (eg., I really enjoy Sparrow), but some just don't make the grade.
Rather than just toss the inferior ones, I decided that I'm going to hold onto them for a few years to see if they improve with age. (Besides, if the world falls apart on December 21st, I figure that a lot of folks will be eager to get their hands on ANY tobacco. )

 

[papipeguy]

I'm not familiar with Sparrow but I doubt any cellaring of inexpensive blends will improve them greatly. I found a bunch of old pouches a few months ago. They were probably 10+ years old. I rehydrated them as best I could but they were not appreciably better than when new. Keeping them as a rainy day stock is probably a good idea though.

 

[tpicking]

With most bargain brands, if they were the only thing available, I'd probably quit smoking, but I'd be fairly content if Sparrow would be the only smoke available (though I'd dearly miss all of my other assorted premium tobaccos). In fact, I sometimes make Sparrow my all-day smoke, with an ocassional bowl of one of my premium aromatics or Virginias to add a little variety to the day.
The aroma from the bag is as delightful as some premium tobaccos - lightly fruity with clean, crisp tobacco fragrance. The flavor has the same crisp, lightly fruity character, with a noticeable addition of Cavendish. It's much better than most drug store brands (IMO), and the price is only a fraction of the drug store brands.
I think the best price on Sparrow is probably through Thompson Cigar. They're not my favorite shop to buy from, but at least they sometimes have free shipping on orders over $25 - and cheap Sparrow.

 

[judcole]

If these blends are aros,they won't improve with age, from everything I have read. And for any blends to improve significantly with age, they need good quality Virginias as their base.

 

[papipeguy]

I went to the Thompson site and looked up Sparrow. It appears to me to be a RYO tobacco.

 

[winton]

If they are primarily burley blends, then age will not help much.

 

[judcole]

I went to the Thompson site and looked up Sparrow. It appears to me to be a RYO tobacco.

Yeah, looks like it. And let's face it, at $20 for a pound, we are not talking top notch 'baccy here.

 

[rigmedic1]

I have gotten some samples from Altadis that were their cheap line products. No amount of aging is gonna help, lol. Best to just smoke it right there, or save it for emergency use only.

 

[nsfisher]

@tpicking
If you like the Sparrow mate, that is all that matters. Doesn't matter if it is an RYO or a Premium baccy. All that matters is that you enjoy it. Glad you found something you like. Keep on puffing.

 

[igloo]

I found a tin of Zig-Zag Classic American Blend in the back of filing cabinet . The can is dated 2008 if I remember right it did not make cigarettes for a tinkers damn . So the there is still about 4oz left .It is turned into a pretty darn good old codger smoke . My quess is it is half V and half B judging by the label . Half and Half is another blend that ages well . Another example would be Thompsons cigars by the pound my boss and I said what the hey and and got a box seven years ago and split it up . They have mellowed out and turned into a decent cigar . The thing you have to be careful of is many RYO tobacco blends are made from sheet tobacco . Price does not always dictate quality .

 

[kelp]

Could someone fill me in on what is going to happen December 21st?

 

[igloo]

The end of the world again , polor shift Mayan apocalypse . :crazy:

 

[kelp]

Oh THAT. Haha. I keep reading/hearing people alluding to the fact that soon tobacco will be outlawed in the U.S.? How can this be true? Is it just online sales? What is making people think/say this?

 

[oldredbeard]

@herbinedave, thanks for posting that link, very informative.

 

[cigrmaster]

kelp, there are many states here that are taxing tobacco at such a high rate that most brick and mortar stores only carry a few blends at ridiculous prices. Here in Florida the tax is 85 percent on the wholesale price. Soon every state will be doing this and then on line will be the only source. Eventually they will get to the online sellers and prices will go through the roof on them as well. Tobacco will not be outlawed, but it will be priced so high, many will not be able to afford it. If you live in the states, you need to stock up within the next couple of years for the rest of your life, or you will pay double and triple of prices now. I have been stocking up and will continue to do so.