Cellaring - Where to begin

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nwohioan

Might Stick Around
Jul 4, 2018
97
826
NW Ohio
Friends,
What are some general rules of thumb when choosing tobacco to cellar? Would it be safe to say aromatics do not cellar well?
Also, what tobacco would be solid to cellar with the intention of enjoying years and years from now? It is obvious I will set aside some of my favorites, but are there any blends that are notably great down the road?
If you could go back to your 23 year old self and set aside your favorite tobacco, what would it be?
Cheers!

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
736
Of course Virginias are going to age well. Aromatics aren't going to benefit from age, but won't necessarily by hurt by it either. English blends, the Virginia in them may improve but the latakia will likely mellow out. So cellar what you like to smoke so you'll always have some on hand. That's my way of thinking at least.

 

morgansteele

Can't Leave
Mar 23, 2018
313
427
If you could go back to your 23 year old self and set aside your favorite tobacco, what would it be?
I would lay down some Dunhill blends, Balkan Sobranie, or McCllelland Virginias in that order.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,669
48,780
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Don't pick small topics, do you?
Okay, general rules of thumb:
Whether an aromatic will cellar well depends on the type of aromatic. For the most part, the toppings can fade over time.
Virginias can age for decades before heading south. Depending on the leaf, they may become sweeter, more complex and deeper in flavor. Generally, the most pronounced portion of the aging process takes place during the first 5 years. The rest is incremental. That's according to Greg Pease and I have no reason to doubt him. I've smoked some 40+ year old leaf that was spectacular, and much more that wasn't.
Burleys are the aging king. I've sampled very old blends where the only clear component left that hadn't turned into zombie vomit was the burley. Some write that burleys don't actually age at all and don't change over time, but I don't believe that. The change is subtler, but I detect a greater nuttiness to the flavor.
Latakia fades over time. There is a difference of opinion regarding how long it remains pungent. My experience is that Lat holds most of its strength for the first 10-15 years and starts to fade, a term which some like to replace with the term "soften", such that it is pretty much gone after 25 to 30 years. A lot of people like the flavor of "softened" latakia over fresh. There are always exceptions, but this is kind of a generalized timeline.
Oriental leaf tends to have a long life, much like Virginia. You may find in older tins that the Latakia has given way to the Oriental tobaccos.
Many believe that tobacco is best aged in it's original tin. Others believe that the only way to store for long term aging - 10 years and up - is to seal in mason jars. What my experience tells me is that most tins are fine for several years - maybe as long as 10, and some survive for decades, but most are leaking from the moment they leave the factory. In particular, the flat square and rectangular tins are most prone to failing. If you fill a plastic tub with tins and seal it, then open the tin a few weeks later, you will smell tobacco from the "sealed" tins. Put your English/Balkan/Oriental tins in a sealed tub for several weeks and you will smell the Latakia and Orientals when you pop the top of that tub. Fill a tub with Virginia, VaPer blends and seal it, give it a few weeks and open it and you will smell Virginia and/or Perique. Over time that very slow leak will fill the vacuum in the tin, causing the pressure to equalize, the seal to fail, and the contents to dry out. The percentages for failure get higher and higher as the years pass. Many either jar the contents of the tins, or seal the tins in heavy gauge food grade Mylar that has been heat sealed. Keep in mind that these tins were never designed to survive for year after year before being opened. It's irrational to believe otherwise.
Even if you choose to jar everything, you may need to check that lid every 5 years of so. They're not guaranteed to last more than 18 months.
What would I choose to cellar? Whatever I enjoy smoking. I'm aging FVF, SJF, 2015, 2010, 5100, Haddo's Delight and a bunch of other blends. Virginias, VaPers, VaperBurs, etc should be good for years. I wish I'd cellared the VaPer version of Bells Three Nuns. BS-LBF really improves with a minimum of 4 years on it. English blends will change over time as the Latakia fades and the Orientals become more prominent in the blend.
I'm in the middle of jarring up my old GL Pease blends because the C&D tinned canisters are failing. Just found a tin of GL Pease Renaissance that's dry as dust and am rehydrating it. My newer tins from other makers are being sealed in Mylar for now. It's a process.
But here's something to consider, the idea that aging "improves" the flavors of tobacco. Aging certainly changes the flavors of a blend as the components alter over time and as they meld so that one experiences a more unified flavor and less variation from the individual component leaf. Whether that change is an improvement is up to the taste of the individual smoker.

 

alan73

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 26, 2017
667
657
Wisconsin
^sable .. That's worth saving, cut and paste .
Start your cellar with easy cheap and readily available stuff.
a similar thread comes up often, Last time had me buying 3 pounds of sutliff 507c Virginia slices .. I think that was woods .... I tried some aged 2 years , it was very good. $30 or so a lb

 
Jul 15, 2011
2,363
31
Cellaring - Where to begin
For most of us, it begins with logging on to smokingpipes.com or pipesandcigars.com, looking at the selection, and realizing that the term "cellaring" is shorthand for "I'm about to develop a serious tobacco buying problem".

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,366
9,831
North Central Florida
I wouldn't suggest buying large quantities to store until you really feel confident in your palate.

It usually takes someone awhile to develop and adjust to the process and it involves change over time.

What appeals to you now, may not later, and vice/versa.

 

mikethompson

Comissar of Christmas
Jun 26, 2016
11,716
24,865
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Jesse, you shot shot this thread through the heart. Nothing to add here.
But motomiller, one piece of advice is that your tastes will change over time, so what you like now you may really dislike later. So If you load up on something you like now, you may be stuck with it down the road.
Don't let that stop your hoarding cellaring though!

 
Something that is essential but is mentioned very little, is that once you commit something to the cellar, leave the jar, tin, or whatever you store it in shut. Don't be dipping into the cellar jars for a single smoke here and there. Aging and your rotation are not the same thing. You want the flora of microbes to remain undisturbed until you are ready to take the jar or tin out of the cellar category and put it into the rotation category. That goes for transferring a tin to a jar. I will transfer one of the inferior type tins to a jar, as in a paper Sutliff tin, but if the tin already has age on it when you transfer it, the process that was going on when you popped the tin to put it in a jar will change, with the sudden influx of oxygen. If a tin already has ten years on it, transferring it to a jar doesn't necessarily make it 20 years aged if left in the jar for an additional ten years. Just like opening a wine bottle to put the wine in another bottle will disrupt the process, you can't be 100% sure of what will happen to your tobacco when doing this.
Sure, sure, it might be just fine to transfer it, but the "authenticity" of the aging process has changed. But, of course it is your leaf, and you may do what you like. But, it doesn't give you the same results as leaf that has had an authentic aging. But, if someone has neophyte tastebuds, it won't matter anyway, but it warrants mentioning anyways. :puffy:

 

prairiedruid

Lifer
Jun 30, 2015
2,033
1,266
Even if you choose to jar everything, you may need to check that lid every 5 years of so. They're not guaranteed to last more than 18 months.
This is actually if you process and "can" jars like pickles and jam. For tobacco storage a lid with a tight ring on it will last far far longer.

 
Jan 28, 2018
13,891
155,056
67
Sarasota, FL
Best way to start cellaring is to order tobacco. Develop a severe case of TAD. I've been away in Raleigh all week, this and a bit more was waiting for me when I arrived home:
img_0404-600x450.jpg


 

nwohioan

Might Stick Around
Jul 4, 2018
97
826
NW Ohio
Cheers for the responses. I'm still developing my own taste, but am certainly keeping my eyes peeled for particular tobacco's that strike my interest and may want to cherish over the long run.
Ill also be delving into some different Virginia blends over the coming months.

 

fishingandpipes

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 24, 2013
663
186
Just don't.
As someone who has a lot of tobacco it's a weird thing. And if you cellar when you're 23 it'll likely be sour crap by the time you're 70 anyways, even if you only cellar amazing Virginias.

 
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