Well I've cellared quite a bit of tobacco, now it's time for me to take up pipe smoking eventually.
Do you Cellar or just Smoke?
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Well I've cellared quite a bit of tobacco, now it's time for me to take up pipe smoking eventually.
Knowing that I was going to retire soon, I picked out the staples and began cellaring for real. My hope was to have enough to last my lifetime (I'm in my 70's). I've got about 60 pounds spread out over 35 blends...aros, VaPers, Lats, and Lakelands...I've got them all for every occasion.
I've only recently begun cellaring, as I'm new enough to pipe smoking that I'm still learning what I like well enough to smoke a lot of over a long period of time. So far, Sugar Barrel (or the H&H Match/Sweet Cask) and Prince Albert have made the cut, along with Escudo and Luxury Bullseye Flake. I'll be laying in some Black House at some point, and another Latakia blend or two once I settle on the ones I like best. Lane's 1-Q is an early favorite to become a cellared aromatic, along with Molto Dolce and possibly Vermont Meat Candy. Haven't yet taken up Virginia-based flakes, though given how much I like Va/Pers, I'll probably find a couple of straight Virginias to stock up on.
I smoke it; after all… that’s what you’re supposed to do with tobacco. As for cellaring, and the so called attributed benefits of ‘aging’ that is something I haven’t the least concern about. About the only aging I’m concerned about at my stage of life is... my aging. After all, why on earth would I wish to purchase more tobacco that I know damn well I’ll never be able to smoke? That, and aside from the fact that I have much higher priorities in my life what with being retired and paying for the upkeep of my home, food, clothing, etc. and pipe tobacco is the least of them. Yes, I know that pipe tobacco might very well go up in price, but with the meager few pounds or so that I now have, and considering that I only smoke about two bowls a day I think I’ll survive quite nicely and I’ll save my concern for higher priorities and deal with possible higher prices of tobacco as they come. Bottom line, it’s a very minor issue in the whole grand scheme of things in my life. :wink:
I'm on the same page as Cosmic. I'm a converted cigar smoker who spent about $500 a month on cigars. So adding $500 - $1,000 a year of tobaccos I enjoy so they can get even better with age is a no-brainer. I generally order ten of anything, jar one tin for smoking and save the rest. I've got dozens of favorites in mason jars. Each night I open the cabinet and decide which jar to dip into for the night. I love it all.
When I weaned off the cigs, I was always running out of pipe tobacco, doing the whole one pouch one tin one baggie of 2 oz at a time. I made a pipe and baccy budget and stuck to it when it was feasible. I acquired a nice collection in the 4+ years, and a decent stash ( over a year's worth at current consumption ) of tinned baccy. Having extra baccy on hand surely helped when I had to navigate through some not so pleasant events and the PAD / TAD had to take a back seat to more pressing life necessities.
At the present time, I still try to maintain a decent stock on hand, "just in case", and make a few large ( 20 tins ) purchases throughout the year, as finances allow. Even though buying baccy is as simple as filling up the online cart on the SPC website, walking over to the CS area, paying for the stuff, and then walking over to the shipping department and grabbing the tins, I find it somewhat of a hassle to do one tin at a time.
As for the whole TEOTWAWKI scenarios with having to use pipe tobacco as currency......it's definitely NOT something I am even remotely looking forward to. I remember food shortages and general unrest as a teenager in late 80s - early 90s in Eastern Europe. It was not good fun.
At the present time, I still try to maintain a decent stock on hand, "just in case", and make a few large ( 20 tins ) purchases throughout the year, as finances allow. Even though buying baccy is as simple as filling up the online cart on the SPC website, walking over to the CS area, paying for the stuff, and then walking over to the shipping department and grabbing the tins, I find it somewhat of a hassle to do one tin at a time.
As for the whole TEOTWAWKI scenarios with having to use pipe tobacco as currency......it's definitely NOT something I am even remotely looking forward to. I remember food shortages and general unrest as a teenager in late 80s - early 90s in Eastern Europe. It was not good fun.
Smoke, with accidental cellaring of favorites. Nothing compared to the gents and ladies on here who do it seriously. Not even the same league.
I've been cellaring for over 10 years. When I say "cellaring", I do not mean building up a stash because I am afraid of shortages; I mean buying tobacco with the intent of not smoking it for a number of years simply to get the benefits of aging. I've been reaping the benefits; there are a couple of my favorites that I now only smoke aged versions of.
I'm a greedy bottom feeder. I have accumulated enough pipe tobacco to last many years at my current smoking rate. If my wife were to die, and I CERTAINLY DO NOT WANT THAT, DEAR, I would probably smoke more but I might also have more disposable income (at least the part that I dispose of).
Just to clarify, I don't believe that a tobaccolypse is coming, nor do I want one. My motivation is just in aging blends for future enjoyment. But, if there was to be a shortage or jump in price... Boy Scouts motto applicable...
I started off this hobby with only a couple tins on hand at any time; however, over the last two years I have been cellaring deep and wide at a rate that far exceeds what I can actually smoke in a month's time. For every month's worth of tobacco I purchase I'm easily putting away a year's worth to age at the same time. My guiding philosophy has been that pipe tobacco is cheaper today than it will be tomorrow, so if I have the means to I better stock up now.
Take MacBaren as an example. Last fall I added a ton of HH Vintage Syrian, HH Acadian Perique, HH Latakia, HH Mature Virginia, Navy Flake, Dark Twist, and a sprinkling of other blends to my cellar while it was on sale. If I were to buy the same amount today I would literally spend close to $500 more less than a year later for the same amount. While the MacBaren price increase was rather steep and thankfully among the major blenders done in isolation and not followed by the rest, I imagine a time in the not so distant future when most other blends that I enjoy will rise in price as well.
Take MacBaren as an example. Last fall I added a ton of HH Vintage Syrian, HH Acadian Perique, HH Latakia, HH Mature Virginia, Navy Flake, Dark Twist, and a sprinkling of other blends to my cellar while it was on sale. If I were to buy the same amount today I would literally spend close to $500 more less than a year later for the same amount. While the MacBaren price increase was rather steep and thankfully among the major blenders done in isolation and not followed by the rest, I imagine a time in the not so distant future when most other blends that I enjoy will rise in price as well.
Considering I smoke at a rate of 1 tin per 2-3 months, the 20-something tins I have should count as cellaring.
People need to remember that people don't just cellar for hoarding reasons or greedy stingy reasons... I like to "cellar" things just in case, some would call that being a "Prepper" too, I suppose.
Ive had serious economic issues these last few years... I MAYBE buy a tin or two (if I'm lucky) every month, in fact Ive bought 1 tin in the last 2 months... guess what? Ive lived off of my cellar that I accumulated over the previous well off years. Im a huge proponent of being prepared, I have food and water and many other things that I like to have "just in case" ... just in case of life, which most of us know can be a real bitch at times. Someone could lose a job, someone could get ill, earthquake or other natural disaster and f you want you could even throw in zombies, if your into that sort of thing... bottom line "Always Be Prepared" :
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Ive had serious economic issues these last few years... I MAYBE buy a tin or two (if I'm lucky) every month, in fact Ive bought 1 tin in the last 2 months... guess what? Ive lived off of my cellar that I accumulated over the previous well off years. Im a huge proponent of being prepared, I have food and water and many other things that I like to have "just in case" ... just in case of life, which most of us know can be a real bitch at times. Someone could lose a job, someone could get ill, earthquake or other natural disaster and f you want you could even throw in zombies, if your into that sort of thing... bottom line "Always Be Prepared" :
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