Cellars & Cellaring? ☕️

[ThermionicScott]

I maintain my cellar at the current level, by buying 2-3 times a year. In fact in 2023 I bought twice : In February and In November.

...my cellar should last 10 years at its current size, or till infinity since I maintain the size.

That's where I am, too. At my smoking rate of about one bowl a day, it didn't take very many $FREE_SHIPPING orders to accumulate several years' worth. My cellar has a lot of single tins of untried blends, so my goal for 2024 is to crack more of them open to see if that changes any of my favorites, and then focus future purchases on maintaining enough of those favorites. Thankfully, I don't seem to have much of a FOMO gene, so if limited-edition stuff disappears before I can place an order, so be it.

 

[KruegerFlap]

I have a large enough cellar of blends I know I like and a few odds and ends of blends of interest to try when I have time, but I too, have cut way back on buying more tobacco. I am mainly just buying my staples to replace what I smoke. It's a nice place to be in when you can focus on stuff you like and forget about the unicorn blends and the never ending limited editions of whatever. I would like to see companies refocus on making always available good blends, rather than bombard us with so many here today gone tomorrow marketing gimmicks.

 

[BorealPiper]

I have a modest cellar, around 100#, that given my age and low rate of consumption will likely last the rest of my life. I did not start cellaring intentionally. In the late 90s-early 2000s my income was very seasonal, so when I was flush with cash I'd buy a lot to see me through lean times, mostly SG and GH in bulk and tins. These were much easier to obtain back then (and cheaper), so I'm glad i stocked up. Now i only buy to replenish, or if i want to try something new.

 

[Sobrbiker]

I’ll be happy when I find a handful of blends that I like over the course of even a few months to go deep on.
Having just finished my first year at this, I’ve got 30-36 blends that I dip into, and probably a half dozen that I’ve gone more than a quarter pound on. My tastes are still evolving, but there have been quite a few that made the “that’s solidly not for me list”, but those have gone to a friend of a friend behind enemy lines in the Pacific Northwest.

My current issue is an estate pipe problem (I got my father’s collection of a dozen pipes in Nov ‘22 and now I have 36+). I’m coming to realize that I should stop looking at and grabbing pipes and start splitting that money between tobaccos I know are repeatable and trying new blends.
I can always get more/better pipes later once I’m more dialed in on what I need to fuel them with.

I’m a long range shooter, and inevitably get the “what rifle should I get, what caliber, which scope, what this, what that questions”, and I’ve always said “get a quality .308, a good repeatable scope, and a thousand rounds of good ammo. Go shoot through that and by the time you’re done you will have answered the vast majority of the questions currently in your head”.
Maybe I should apply my own advice here.

….but it’s all so fun!

 

[Servant King]

I feel like I've told this story too many times, and even if I'm wrong, it's probably not interesting enough for how many times I've told it. So one more time certainly won't make matters any worse. If I'm wrong about that too, please go easy on the death threats/hate mail. I'm forwarding all my mail through April to my in-laws, after all.

When I first started smoking a pipe five or so years ago, I had no intention whatsoever of cellaring. I would buy a tin, jar it, and not purchase another tin until I was nearing the end of the jar. In the summer of 2020, with big spiky red ball hysteria at its peak and uncertainty pervading every area of societal thought, I happened to stumble upon an ad on Craigslist of an "insta-cellar" for sale (for lack of a better term). Probably a 70/30 split of aromatics to non-aromatics, but pretty inclusive of all blend types, and in my opinion, both a good value and a good place to start. It just seemed to be the right thing to do, and I figured it'd give me an opportunity to try a bunch of new things. So I bought a bunch of 16 oz. and 8 oz. Ball jars (mostly 16s), and spent the next 2+ years sussing out what I loved, what I liked, what I was so-so on, and what I could not stand. I've since traded away many of those blends, but I'm grateful for the purchase--it was an excellent springboard for my future cellaring, and I have since expanded it to roughly 15 lbs.

I'm cellared wider than I am deep, but I'm working on that part. I have probably five dozen different blends in there, all told, and quite a few of them are single tins. I did go deep on a handful of blends, however, and I'm glad I did.

 

[renfield]

I’ve got a wide cellar deep on many favorites. More than enough to last me. I rarely buy more these last few years but only a few tins when I do.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

I have a large enough cellar of blends I know I like and a few odds and ends of blends of interest to try when I have time, but I too, have cut way back on buying more tobacco. I am mainly just buying my staples to replace what I smoke. It's a nice place to be in when you can focus on stuff you like and forget about the unicorn blends and the never ending limited editions of whatever. I would like to see companies refocus on making always available good blends, rather than bombard us with so many here today gone tomorrow marketing gimmicks.

I agree with your take on the gimmicky nature of production. I’m not going down that path again. The stuff I cellar is readily available and delicious…the way it should be. ️

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

I have a large enough cellar of blends I know I like and a few odds and ends of blends of interest to try when I have time, but I too, have cut way back on buying more tobacco. I am mainly just buying my staples to replace what I smoke. It's a nice place to be in when you can focus on stuff you like and forget about the unicorn blends and the never ending limited editions of whatever. I would like to see companies refocus on making always available good blends, rather than bombard us with so many here today gone tomorrow marketing gimmicks.

I agree with your take on the gimmicky nature of production. I’m not going down that path again. The stuff I cellar is readily available and delicious…the way it should be.

I have a modest cellar, around 100#, that given my age and low rate of consumption will likely last the rest of my life. I did not start cellaring intentionally. In the late 90s-early 2000s my income was very seasonal, so when I was flush with cash I'd buy a lot to see me through lean times, mostly SG and GH in bulk and tins. These were much easier to obtain back then (and cheaper), so I'm glad i stocked up. Now i only buy to replenish, or if i want to try something new.

Well, if your cellar is predominantly GH & SG blends…it’s likely to have some very tasty vintages. Enjoy! ️

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

I feel like I've told this story too many times, and even if I'm wrong, it's probably not interesting enough for how many times I've told it. So one more time certainly won't make matters any worse. If I'm wrong about that too, please go easy on the death threats/hate mail. I'm forwarding all my mail through April to my in-laws, after all.

When I first started smoking a pipe five or so years ago, I had no intention whatsoever of cellaring. I would buy a tin, jar it, and not purchase another tin until I was nearing the end of the jar. In the summer of 2020, with big spiky red ball hysteria at its peak and uncertainty pervading every area of societal thought, I happened to stumble upon an ad on Craigslist of an "insta-cellar" for sale (for lack of a better term). Probably a 70/30 split of aromatics to non-aromatics, but pretty inclusive of all blend types, and in my opinion, both a good value and a good place to start. It just seemed to be the right thing to do, and I figured it'd give me an opportunity to try a bunch of new things. So I bought a bunch of 16 oz. and 8 oz. Ball jars (mostly 16s), and spent the next 2+ years sussing out what I loved, what I liked, what I was so-so on, and what I could not stand. I've since traded away many of those blends, but I'm grateful for the purchase--it was an excellent springboard for my future cellaring, and I have since expanded it to roughly 15 lbs.

I'm cellared wider than I am deep, but I'm working on that part. I have probably five dozen different blends in there, all told, and quite a few of them are single tins. I did go deep on a handful of blends, however, and I'm glad I did.

It’s rather typical to cellar “wide” when we start out. It’s kinda the going rate otherwise how do we know what we like…especially when “we” have ADHD. …kid in a candy store type thing. Now with wisdom, self-control, and a more zeroed in approach; cellaring “deep” becomes the natural progression once you know what you . ️

 

[ThermionicScott]

…and I have since expanded it to roughly 15 lbs.

Funny — from your colorful descriptions, I assumed your cellar was much larger and unwieldy than that.

 

[Servant King]

Funny — from your colorful descriptions, I assumed your cellar was much larger and unwieldy than that.

Me too.

Many of the blends in the original purchase were the equivalent of a tin or slightly less, so while they were technically ample in number, they didn't actually add up to a lot. The 15 lb. estimate is a conservative one, though--it could be 20 for all I know. Hell, it might even be a little over 20. Weighing everything out is too daunting a prospect, a fact which in itself makes me feel pretty good about where my cellar is at.

 

[brandaves]

I feel like I've told this story too many times, and even if I'm wrong, it's probably not interesting enough for how many times I've told it. So one more time certainly won't make matters any worse. If I'm wrong about that too, please go easy on the death threats/hate mail. I'm forwarding all my mail through April to my in-laws, after all.

When I first started smoking a pipe five or so years ago, I had no intention whatsoever of cellaring. I would buy a tin, jar it, and not purchase another tin until I was nearing the end of the jar. In the summer of 2020, with big spiky red ball hysteria at its peak and uncertainty pervading every area of societal thought, I happened to stumble upon an ad on Craigslist of an "insta-cellar" for sale (for lack of a better term). Probably a 70/30 split of aromatics to non-aromatics, but pretty inclusive of all blend types, and in my opinion, both a good value and a good place to start. It just seemed to be the right thing to do, and I figured it'd give me an opportunity to try a bunch of new things. So I bought a bunch of 16 oz. and 8 oz. Ball jars (mostly 16s), and spent the next 2+ years sussing out what I loved, what I liked, what I was so-so on, and what I could not stand. I've since traded away many of those blends, but I'm grateful for the purchase--it was an excellent springboard for my future cellaring, and I have since expanded it to roughly 15 lbs.

I'm cellared wider than I am deep, but I'm working on that part. I have probably five dozen different blends in there, all told, and quite a few of them are single tins. I did go deep on a handful of blends, however, and I'm glad I did.

I did something similar. Bought a Craigslist cellar at $150 which included 3 pipes that were worth more than the total price tag. Probably came with in the neighborhood of 3 pounds of jarred tobacco. A great find that Kickstarted my cellar and my pipe smoking journey. It included a variety of cuts, families, and blends. A very good investment indeed. Just smoked the Savinelli Poker I got in that deal last week.