Cellaring- How Long is too Long?

[coys]

I have read extensively on this topic, and my conclusion is that it’s hard to come up with any definitive conclusions.

The most common opinion seems to be that ‘too long’ is so far down the road that it’s much more likely the tobacco being bad will be down to the failure of the container than to pure age.

Most seem to think that the majority of beneficial aging happens in the first few years but that blends can benefit to 10 years and beyond depending on composition.

Personally I am 2 years into the hobby and have enough tobacco to smoke for at least ten years at my current rate. My goal is to build a store so that I am always smoking tobacco that’s at least 5 years old but not worry beyond that.

 

[litup]

Personally I am 2 years into the hobby and have enough tobacco to smoke for at least ten years at my current rate. My goal is to build a store so that I am always smoking tobacco that’s at least 5 years old but not worry beyond that.

That was my thinking early on too. I think it's a good strategy. I've had a lot of blends age well past that while I was smoking other tins too. Eventually that 5+ year mark will be 7, 8, 9 years, etc. just by inertia.

 

[KingcobraJFS]

Well, you have a problem being 29 and all. Everything you get now will be flavorless by the time you get old. Rule of thumb says English's get to their max flavor point in seven years and Va's about twelve years. they will continue to lose flavor for about twenty years and then will be basically just bland at that point.

Not true if stored properly. I've had some super old stuff that retained a ton of flavor.

 

[VDL_Piper]

Well its pretty simple really, nothing will be to old when you can't access tobacco at a retail level, won't be long here in Australia. Based on this, what you have in your cellar is all you will ever have! Now tell me 10/15 years is to old

 

[KingcobraJFS]

Well its pretty simple really, nothing will be to old when you can't access tobacco at a retail level, won't be long here in Australia. Based on this, what you have in your cellar is all you will ever have! Now tell me 10/15 years is to old

Assuming people are storing their stuff well, it should be fine. We gotta remember ODF has tobacco from the '70s in it, and the Syrian Lat last used to blend was from the '80s or something. I have a bit of Syrian that's 20+ years old and still has plenty of smoke.

 

[kcghost]

You very proud of your OPINIONS, however wrong they may be.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

In my cellar I leave my tins alone, and any bulk tobacco I store in mason jars. Sor far I've not had any issues with my tins and jars from what I can tell minus one tin. I had a paint can style tin that ended up with holes in the bottom, and the tobacco had dried out some, but nothing that couldn't be re-hydrated. There were no signs of rust, so not sure if it rusted out or if it was a defect in the metal.

In my 12 years of smoking a pipe; I've found that aromatics are only good up to 4-5 years, at least from the blends I've smoked. As for English blends I've found that 8-10 years of age makes them really enjoyable. As for Virginia's I've found that 6-8 years makes for a really enjoyable smoke. That doesn't mean they're not still good with longer aging, but of the blends I've smoke in those age ranges I've found them to be at their best.

I recently acquired a tin of Dunhill - Durbar from 2001, and upon opening it, it smelled great but when smoking it, it lost most of its flavor and wasn't that enjoyable. So keep in mind that like most things there is a limit on their aging and beyond that the tobacco may loose it's character and flavor. I would also recommend trying a tobacco first before going out and stocking up on it. Even if it's a similiar blend to one you already enjoy; you may not enjoy the other blend as much and it may not be worth cellaring.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I still wonder if there isn't something to be said for freezing tobacco.
Freezer burn is also an issue, but I'd bet Latakia would stay pungent for a lot longer if you put up a good fight against entropy.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Well its pretty simple really, nothing will be to old when you can't access tobacco at a retail level, won't be long here in Australia. Based on this, what you have in your cellar is all you will ever have! Now tell me 10/15 years is to old

This is sadly the most likely reality for almost all of us.

 

[grimpuffer]

I still wonder if there isn't something to be said for freezing tobacco.
Freezer burn is also an issue, but I'd bet Latakia would stay pungent for a lot longer if you put up a good fight against entropy.

Thats a good question.

I know for any type of moist tobacco, like snus or other types of chewing tobacco, it recommends this for long storage, but I have heard others state that freezing tobacco causes the cellular structure to rupture from the expanding moisture and can cause the flavors to be off when it is thawed. I would imagine this does not matter for tobacco that is going to be smoked.

I have not experimented with this as any snus I have bought goes in the fridge and not the freezer, and I obviously just keep Pipe tobacco in their containers or jar it after opening, but others could probably chime in better than me regarding freezing tobacco.

 

[sablebrush52]

You’re young. Get what you want now, and buy up our cellars as we old folks die.

That's coming over the next couple of decades. Assuming the wife and kiddies just don't dump Dad's stinky stuff down the trash chute, third parties stand to make a killing in the aftermarket, provided they act like DeBeers and control supply to keep prices up, and don't get shut down by various and sundry legalities outlawing the selling "estate" tobaccos.

 

[sablebrush52]

I think this is way overexaggerated. I stock up heavily on my favorite blends and have a ton of jarred blends. I open them to have bowls now and then and they've done well for years now. They only start to deteriorate when they are mostly empty.

As a matter of curiosity, how many tins of really old, by that I mean 30 to 100 year old, tobacco have you opened and smoked over a period of time, or at all?
Mind you, I haven't been enjoying pipes and tobaccos all that long either, but started at least 20 years before you were a zygote.
My experience with superannuated blends is that they are best enjoyed shortly after opening or the fresh oxygen will cause them to swoon.
I admire the confidence of youth. It never occurs to them that she, he, or it, depending on your preference, is usually faking that orgasm.

 

[KingcobraJFS]

As a matter of curiosity, how many tins of really old, by that I mean 30 to 100 year old, tobacco have you opened and smoked over a period of time, or at all?
Mind you, I haven't been enjoying pipes and tobaccos all that long either, but started at least 20 years before you were a zygote.
My experience with superannuated blends is that they are best enjoyed shortly after opening or the fresh oxygen will cause them to swoon.
I admire the confidence of youth. It never occurs to them that she, he, or it, depending on your preference, is usually faking that orgasm.

I've tried several McClelland and Mac Baren blends that were 20-30+ years old and they were still full of flavor, for the most part. I still have some super old 5100 in a jar that I sample from time to time, and it's still going strong. I haven't tried any 100+ year old blends, but that seems like a complete waste of time to compare given the human life span.

Seeing that picture of yours, I ain't surprised she was fakin'.

 

[sablebrush52]

I've tried several McClelland and Mac Baren blends that were 20-30+ years old and they were still full of flavor, for the most part. I still have some super old 5100 in a jar that I sample from time to time, and it's still going strong. I haven't tried any 100+ year old blends, but that seems like a complete waste of time to compare given the human life span.

Seeing that picture of yours, I ain't surprised she was fakin'.

So you basically smoke fairly new stuff and have little to no experience with vintage tobaccos. Vintage tobaccos can have wonderful flavors, but it becomes increasingly hit or miss as the years roll past.

Keep that in mind when you decide to lose your virginity.

 

[KingcobraJFS]

So you basically smoke fairly new stuff and have little to no experience with vintage tobaccos. Vintage tobaccos can have wonderful flavors, but it becomes increasingly hit or miss as the years roll past.

Keep that in mind when you decide to lose your virginity.

Maybe you missed what I said, but 30+ years old is pretty aged for a tobacco, and well past the point where most smokers consider things go be going down hill or whatever. If that's not old enough for you, you're out of touch, but that should already be pretty obvious.

The leaf in many blends can also be 20+ years old before it's even blended, like Syrian and stuff like ODF, Cringle, etc.

You still hoping I'd let you be my first? Sorry to disappoint.

 

[sablebrush52]

Maybe you missed what I said, but 30+ years old is pretty aged for a tobacco, and well past the point where most smokers consider things go be going down hill or whatever. If that's not old enough for you, you're out of touch, but that should already be pretty obvious.

The leaf in many blends can also be 20+ years old before it's even blended, like Syrian and stuff like ODF, Cringle, etc.

You still hoping I'd let you be my first? Sorry to disappoint.

Actually, I didn't miss anything you wrote, but you apparently did miss what I wrote. You wrote that you have sampled some 20 to 30 year old tobacco, so little experience. Reading comprehension is so much less with you younguns.

Heavens to Betsy, were you suggesting that I would consider you as in any way desirable for a conjugal visit? How long have you suffered from these hallucinations?

Have you established a "go fund me" to end your sexual isolation since your party doll imploded?

 

[KingcobraJFS]

Actually, I didn't miss anything you wrote, but you apparently did miss what I wrote. You wrote that you have sampled some 20 to 30 year old tobacco, so little experience. Reading comprehension is so much less with you younguns.

Heavens to Betsy, were you suggesting that I would consider you as in any way desirable for a conjugal visit? How long have you suffered from these hallucinations?

Have you established a "go fund me" to end your sexual isolation since your party doll imploded?

Christ, you really are out of touch then. Just about no one is smoking 50-100 year old leaf on the reg. I actually do agree with one of your earlier comments in the thread about that, but leaf older than 60 years old is probably nothing anyone here will have to worry about their stash aging to, so I'm not really considering stuff older than that in my premise.

I understand that things are a little hard to get going down there when you get to your age, I heard blue chew helps. If you wanna live vicariously through me we can discuss my youthful and fully functional exploits in a pm perhaps. A "party doll" might actually help in your situation, since they'll wait as long as it takes for ya.

 

[David D. Davidson]

I was going to weigh in with my experiences but I’d rather enjoy this ringside seating

 

[dsturg369]

Wow... Just... Wow.

 

[Akousticplyr]