Am I Missing Something? (Aged Virginia Question)

[birddogpiper]

New to the forum here. This is the question that made me decide to quit lurking on this website and finally join.

I've been smoking pipes for almost a year and a half and have tried just about every category of blend. Virginias have been my favorite by far. I got some luxury bullseye flake right when I started smoking and liked it, but not as much as other blends so I jarred it and put it in my closet. Just last week I came back to it and WOW what a change. Upon opening the jar I got an overwhelming scent of red wine and molasses. The coins were noticeably darker and I was excited to try my first "aged" Virginia.

To put it bluntly, I was disappointed. It seemed the tobacco lost all of its high notes and became something much deeper and richer. More earthy flavor and the sweetness shifted from citrusy to molasses-like (I'm not much of a tobacco reviewer...yet). With that said...I'm not as much a fan of the aged version as I am of the fresh stuff. I also recently bought some capstan yellow at a local B&M that says it was packaged in 2013. Having had "fresh" capstan yellow and its aged counterpart, again, I like the fresh stuff better.

Has anyone else had an experience like this? Will I come to appreciate the aged Virginias more with time? Or is this just going to be my preference? With all the things I hear people say about aged Virginias I'm disappointed that I don't seem to get the same level of enjoyment.

 

[seanv]

Probably just your preference but tastes do change.
Welcome to the forum

 

[BROBS]

Some like it fresh and grassy, some like it stewed and fruity.

 

[BROBS]

I guess you would be best off just buying new stuff as you go rather than cellaring. Because there’s no way not to inadvertently age your tobacco as you get around to smoking it.

although leaving a tinned tobacco sealed will make less of a change over time than jarring it IMO.

 

[birddogpiper]

Some like it fresh and grassy, some like it stewed and fruity.

I guess I'm just a fresh and grassy kinda guy...can't be too disappointed. Now I know I don't have to let a blend sit around for years to get maximum enjoyment out of it...

 

[sablebrush52]

With all the things I hear people say about aged Virginias I'm disappointed that I don't seem to get the same level of enjoyment

You’re not missing anything. You don’t like the way this blend changed.
Aging doesn’t improve blends, blends CHANGE with age. Whether that change is perceived as beneficial is up to the individual smoker to decide.
There are blends I prefer aged and others I prefer fresh.
One size fits all thinking is the province of the ignorant.

 

[cigrmaster]

You inability to appreciate the changes in your LBF means you are best suited for Captain Black Grape. You are not worthy of LBF and we will send someone to pick up the last you own.

Seriously my aged virginia's get more rounded, sweeter, more complex. Granted I don't smoke LBF as t my tastes it sucks. I hope I have been helpful and any more questions you want to ask, only ten bucks a shot.

 

[birddogpiper]

You’re not missing anything. You don’t like the way this blend changed.
Aging doesn’t improve blends, blends CHANGE with age. Whether that change is perceived as beneficial is up to the individual smoker to decide.
There are blends I prefer aged and others I prefer fresh.
One size fits all thinking is the province of the ignorant.

I fell into the trap of thinking my tastes would be the same as those who wax poetic about how much better their favorite Virginias get with age...this isn't the first time I've done something like this. I've got about half a pound of various tobaccos that I read reviews on and assumed I would like. Some of them will probably sit around for years.

I've gotta remember that most of the people reviewing a given blend are reviewing it because they love it so much. Lane 1q and Nightcap didn't live up to the extremely high expectations I had placed on them after reading such gushing reviews.

 

[birddogpiper]

You inability to appreciate the changes in your LBF means you are best suited for Captain Black Grape. You are not worthy of LBF and we will send someone to pick up the last you own.

Seriously my aged virginia's get more rounded, sweeter, more complex. Granted I don't smoke LBF as t my tastes it sucks. I hope I have been helpful and any more questions you want to ask, only ten bucks a shot.

Lol...I'll have to go pick up some super value cherry to smoke while I sit thinking about how unrefined my palate is

 

[cigrmaster]

birdog, if you want the best Virginis's, Vaper and Vaburs all you need to do is ask me. I am the foremost authority on these blends in flake form and even jiminks will ask my opinions.

 

[birddogpiper]

birdog, if you want the best Virginis's, Vaper and Vaburs all you need to do is ask me. I am the foremost authority on these blends in flake form and even jiminks will ask my opinions.

Alright I'll take you up on that. Big fan of Orlik Golden Sliced and haven't found anything better yet. Capstan Gold is great to me, as is Dunhill Flake. Fresh LBF was decent but not amazing. I have some PS Luxury Twist Flake and Comoy's No. 4 on the way. What else would you suggest for a fairly inexperienced guy like me?

 

[alaskanpiper]

Alright I'll take you up on that. Big fan of Orlik Golden Sliced and haven't found anything better yet. Capstan Gold is great to me, as is Dunhill Flake. Fresh LBF was decent but not amazing. I have some PS Luxury Twist Flake and Comoy's No. 4 on the way. What else would you suggest for a fairly inexperienced guy like me?

And whatever Harris says.

 

[birddogpiper]

View attachment 27010
And whatever Harris says.

Thank you so much! You're the man. I'll pick some of these up soon and let you know what I think.

 

[jaytex1969]

Welcome to the forum.

One size fits all thinking is the province of the ignorant.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Sable is correct, it changes. Whether that is an improvement or not is up to the individual. I personally prefer the changes on most blends, especially Virginia blends. I recently smoked a tin of Orlik Golden Slices from 2006. It was so good I almost cried when it was finished. On the other hand, some 5 plus year old GLP Union Square wasn't quite as good. Smoking through a tin of 8 year old Astley's 44, gifted to me by Harris, at the moment. I like new quite a lot but this aged tin is awesome. Really lets the sweetness and spicy flavors shine through.

The OP may prefer the sharp edges and there's nothing wrong with that despite Harris's ball busting. The real point is, aging changes the blends but I doubt anyone prefers the aged version versus the newer version on EVERY blend. By the same token, the OP may find they do like aged blends, at least some, when they expand their experiences.

 

[cigrmaster]

Alright I'll take you up on that. Big fan of Orlik Golden Sliced and haven't found anything better yet. Capstan Gold is great to me, as is Dunhill Flake. Fresh LBF was decent but not amazing. I have some PS Luxury Twist Flake and Comoy's No. 4 on the way. What else would you suggest for a fairly inexperienced guy like me?

Here ya go. The TR next to a name means tin ready and no drying needed.
Fribourg&Treyer Cut Virginia Plug TR

Fribourg and Treyer VintageTR

Fribourg & Treyer Special Brown FlakeTR

Wessex Campaign Brigade Dark Flake

Wessex Brown Virginia Flake TR

Wessex Gold Virginia Flake TR

Wessex Gold Brick TR

Wessex Gold Slice TR

Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake

Samuel Gawith full Virginia Flake

Samuel Gawith Kendal Plug

Dan Tobacco Hamborger Veermaster TR

Dan Tobacco Patriot Flake TR

Dunhill Flake TR= discontinued TR

Astley’s no. 44 Dark Flake -TR

Astleys 109

John Aylesbury Luxury Flake now called Classic Flake TR

Rotary Navy Cut TR- discontinued

Capstan Blue Flake TR

Capstan Gold RR

Brigham Klondike Gold TR-discontinued

Butera Royal Vintage: Dark Stoved- discontinued



Virginia/Perique Flakes-9

EscudoTR

Solani 633 TR

Samuel Gawith St James Flake

Dunhill Deluxe Navy RollsTR

Peter Heinrichs Curly Block

Dan Tobacco Salty Dogs

Savinelli Doblone d’Oro TR

Cabbies Mixture

Dunhill Dark Flake TR





Virginia/Burley/Kentucky Flakes-10

Solani Silver Flake TR

Peterson Perfect Plug

GL Pease NavigatorTR

Petersons Irish Flake

Peterson University Flake



Esoterica Stonehaven

Mac Baren HH Old Dark Fired

Mac Baren Modern Virginia Flake TR
Wallace Flake TR
Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky

 

[Casual]

You just found out you enjoy an $8 bottle of wine more than a $60 bottle of wine. The correct response to such a fortunate lesson is to rejoice.

 

[renfield]

As has been said above, age doesn’t automatically mean better, just different. Better or not is in the opinion of the beholder.

I recently cracked a 10 year old tin of Union Square and found it to be nice, but boring. Others find the same blend to be wonderful at 10 years. Everybody is correct in their own opinion.

Age can make a Virginia really sing, or just become more mild. You never know in advance with any certainty.

 

[lochinvar]

You like what you like, you can't be wrong. I prefer darker, molasses sweet Virginias, but I also like fresh citrusy ones too. With that said, continue to try different tobaccos or ages, your tastes can change. I used to find Virginia flakes boring because there was no Latakia. Then the Great Latakia Burnout of 2011 happened, and now I mostly only smoke Latakia blends like Presbyterian (very light Latakia) with about 5-10 years of age on it, where the Latakia is almost a memory.
You also have the added benefit of not being one of us damn nuts with 500 mason jars of FVF and the like cluttering our homes

 

[rushx9]

I find age usually tames the sharpness and brings out fermented fruit and/or caramel/molasses. Some folks dig that sharpness. Fresh tobacco was appreciated and sought after long before aging tobacco became an intentional practice. As far as I know, it's only hit the hobby level in the last 15-20 years.