Aging OTC or Codger Blends. Could You? Should You?

[carolinachurchwarden]

Alright, so I know we always talk about aging certain blends and certain blends develop over time into sublime tobaccos after aging for even a few years to even better the longer you let it age.
I've found that I am really liking some Burley blends and would like to buy some bulk up for my future smoking pleasure. As I've said before, I've never really been about storing for the purpose of aging tobacco, but more out of wanting to have it around to smoke in the future should they disappear next year or whenever.
I want to buy some Boswell's Premium Burley and stockpile it. It's fantastic stuff. Burns cool, tastes great and it is a very nice, even smoke that I could see myself smoking for a long time, but I also have a taste for Carter Hall, which made me wonder if it or other readily available OTC blends could be aged. I love it right out of the tub/pouch, but can it age well? Does it age well?
I usually only see people referencing Virginias as the best agers and CH does have some Virginia in it. I'm curious to know if any of these good, old codger blends would age well. If so, I might like to try running my own experiment. Stockpiling some of these blends just to see what happens, but if anyone else has tried it and finds it to be a waste of time, then that's some good information I'd like to have before I spend money on the tobacco.
So, what say you? Codger/OTC blends worth trying to age or would they just taste the same or mellow to a point of being a worthless endeavor?

 

[crashthegrey]

I am curious what people think about this as well. I have some blends in storage but have wondered myself what these codger blends do with some time.

 

[ashdigger]

I have two pound tins of Half and Half from the 60's. I'm slowly smoking through one.....it is really good. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
For a full review....... It's really good. Super mellow. Nothing harsh.

 

[crashthegrey]

Do you think the aging had much impact or is it a result of the difference in the blend between the years?

 

[ashdigger]

Crash, I do know that since the 60's Half and Half has been produced by different blenders and houses, so that is the outlier. I can tell that the modern version of Half and Half is harsh and cigarette like to me. The aged is like a really good VaBur.

 

[crashthegrey]

I had a feeling that would be the answer. There is really no way to be certain. Thank you for the input, though!

 

[mikestanley]

I don’t think they improve but they remain stable for a long time. I’m smoking some pretty old John Rolfe from a 14 oz. tub. It remains “peachy” and quite smokable despite being 10-15 years old. Same experience with SWR aromatic and Brindley.

Mike S.

 

[crashthegrey]

Great info. Thanks Mike. Does burley in general just stabilize over time?

 

[haparnold]

My first pound of pipe tobacco (After I graduated from straight dark fired we had in our barn) was a big tub of Sir Walter Raleigh that had to have been about 20 years old by the time I got it. Unfortunately, I didn't have any sort of palate at that time, so I can't give any feedback on how aging treated it.

 

[mso489]

Whatever is added to some of the pouch and tub tobaccos to preserve it also probably inhibits much improvement over time. However, I think some of the codger blends get type cast as poor quality when they are pretty fair to superior quality, and some of those may age as well as some of the beloved premium blends. Since all of this relates to how delighted we are with the taste of the blends when smoked, it ends up being subjective. What I think is a transcendental experience may strike someone else as pretty cruddy. Try and see. I have high hopes for SWR Aromatic, Edward G. Robinson, and Iwan Ries Three Star Blue, but choose your own poison.

 

[crashthegrey]

I'm looking to buy a pouch of each of the Hearth and Home tub tobaccos to see which ones I want a tub of, and I am definitely thinking of buying a few tubs to age, since they cut a lot of the extras out of the traditional codger blends.

 

[mso489]

I think those Hearth and Home MIdland blends might age well. They're not loaded with preservatives and they begin with good tobacco. Chestnut is non-aromatic and would be my first choice for aging possibilities.

 

[ray47]

A few years ago I found an opened tub of Carter Hall with about 10 oz still in the tub, in the back of my closet. The tub had been there at least 5 yrs. It was still kind of moist so I thought what the heck lets try it. It was the best 10 oz of tobacco I had ever smoked. The John Middleton tubs which CH and PA come in are great for storage.

 

[3rdguy]

I have a few tubs as well but it is more of a "OK I have 3 tubs of this now", time to focus on my main blends thing.

 

[saltedplug]

OTCs are made on the cheap for those who want cheaper tobacco. God knows what crap they're casing it with. Burley doesn't age with a hoot. Why bother? When I aged I bought good quality tobacco. Again, why bother with lesser tobacco when I'm going to have to jar it or set the canister aside and then wait years for a result that may be significantly to substantially impeded by additives or the quality of the tobacco itself?

 

[mcitinner1]

I have two 14 oz. tubs of Granger that is 17 years old. It is available. 8)

 

[drwatson]

I would say if you like them, store them. I was up at Paul's Pipe Shop over the summer, and bought a bunch of very old OTC blends. I'm talking metal cans with metal pop tops. CBW,CH,Edgeworth, and Sugar Barrel. They all have tasted fine. I think that it is more the way you store them vs anything else.

 

[drwatson]

Heck I probably have 50 tubs of CBR stored, so it better be good.

 

[sablebrush52]

I see no reason why an OTC shouldn't be good for many years. Burley is very stable. It doesn't present the dramatic change that Virginias can undergo. Depending on the blend and who made it, toppings may fade a bit over the long haul.

 

[Chasing Embers]

The only reason any of my tobacco has any age on it is because I haven't gotten around to it yet. The OTCs in my closet with over five years on them smoke great.