Tobacco for sure. Pipes will be there later
Does Cellaring Make Sense if You are Still Finding your Palate?
- Thread starter mikethompson
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That is precisely my philosophy.
That is for you to answer.
For me, my TAD (Tobacco Acquisition Disorder) is much stronger than my PAD so I have spent way more on baccy than pipes.
What interests you more?
What are you most curious about?
I bought a few cobs and then when ape shit on tobacco. I’m just not as “into” pipes as I am tobacco.
Eventually I also bought some briar. My collection is now roughly 50/50.
What is your bag, man?
Good question, as a relative five-year newbie, I'm still wondering. There are some blends I am glad to have cellared, such as FVF, Germain's Brown Flake, Solani ABF, HU Dockworker, and Peterson Flake. I have about ten each of those. Yet I have another 50 tins of singles/doubles/trebles, that I really have no reason to have in my possesion. Lakeland blends that I loved at first, but now feel like throwing up when I smoke them. Black cavendish aromatics that are now far too sweet and sickly. And CD blends I purchased, that I have yet to try, but can't really be bothered with, because if I do like them I can't get them anymore anyway. For all that, I haven't learned my lesson, if I taste a new bacci and really like it, my immediate instinct is to rush off and order a haul of it. Scottish Flake the most recent, I smoked a tin, liked it, ordered another four, smoked one more, and have another six on order to take me over the ten tin threshold of tins I love (or tins I love now).
I’m pretty sure I’ve only “cellared or stocked up multiple tins, bags, etc.” if only I actually really enjoyed the blend. It just doesn’t make a whole lotta sense to do it any other way. 
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I don’t think you should be heavily cellaring as you’re picking your pipe smoking journey back up. I would go ocean wide and puddle deep for a year or so.
If you see yourself smoking a pipe 20 years from now, it’s absurd not to cellar some blends. You could cellar 50 lbs for $4,000. It makes sense as long as you’re cellaring main stream blends. That way, if your palate changes, you can trade or sell what you cellared. Likely, at a decent profit. Where’s the downside?
Whenever I have some extra cash I’ll buy 4 or 8 oz of something and divvy it up and cellar it. Usually it is something that gets good reviews. Yes in
know reviews are related to personal tastes, but like many have said it will never be as available or cheap as it is now
know reviews are related to personal tastes, but like many have said it will never be as available or cheap as it is now
I’ll just offer that I am glad that I didn’t cellar too deep too quickly as my tastes changed. When I first started pipe smoking, I really enjoyed English blends like Nightcap, 965, and Chelsea Morning. However, something happened and now I just cannot stomach Latakia (to the point that it makes me sick to my stomach). I went wide and not deep. Now 2+ years in, I have made it a goal to stop acquiring new blends and cellar blends I know I enjoy. Mostly Virginias, VaPers, and VaBurs.
Tobacco. Sourcing is getting more complicated and difficult, and I don't see why that will change.
On the the other hand, shake a bush and a dozen pipe carvers will fall out of it.
Here's a question for you. How sure are you that you're going to stay interested in pipe smoking? Are you still at the "trying it out" stage. If you are, allow yourself some time before you begin amassing a cellar.
This is a good topic. Personally, I think it's a mistake. And I made that mistake.
While finding what I like dislike, I'd have a smoke that was awesome and say "ooh I need to load up on that". Well, fast forward a year or two or more (once my taste really developed) and I realized I had all the tins I didn't actually care for. Luckily I was able to sell off or trade almost all of it for what I do like. But I think cellaring in the first year or so can backfire pretty easily.
While finding what I like dislike, I'd have a smoke that was awesome and say "ooh I need to load up on that". Well, fast forward a year or two or more (once my taste really developed) and I realized I had all the tins I didn't actually care for. Luckily I was able to sell off or trade almost all of it for what I do like. But I think cellaring in the first year or so can backfire pretty easily.
I'd be careful stocking up on any latakia-heavy blends. That's the one type of leaf it seems that newer smokers love and eventually tend to burn out on. I'm very happy that I decided against buying that 1 lb brick of Pirate Kake...
In a sense, there's no such thing as finding your taste, as it's a perpetually moving target. You can fall in or out of love with a blend at any moment, and that's okay. Tastes keep on changing long after you'd think they should've remained static.
When you want to try something, buy 2 if you can. One for now, one for later. And if you love something, stock up. The great thing about this forum is that if your tastes go crazy later on, you can list those tins to sell or trade, so you're unlikely to just be stuck with it.
When you want to try something, buy 2 if you can. One for now, one for later. And if you love something, stock up. The great thing about this forum is that if your tastes go crazy later on, you can list those tins to sell or trade, so you're unlikely to just be stuck with it.
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Cellaring has the problem of what do you do if/when your tastes change. I only cellar 3 blends that I have more than three deep. I have a few that I have three deep. Good for me that I am now in the consumption phase of cellaring.
I have a bunch of non aromatic blends sitting in boxes that I’ve yet to try. I’ll buy blends that get consistent favorable reviews as well as blends that are assumed to age well.
When I place an order it’s usually some balance of tobacco I favor and something I want to try or a new release. I’ve definitely been buying far more than I can consume for awhile now. My wife lovingly looks past this.
When I place an order it’s usually some balance of tobacco I favor and something I want to try or a new release. I’ve definitely been buying far more than I can consume for awhile now. My wife lovingly looks past this.
I think you can play it by ear. If you're not certain I'd say you're not ready to cellar. If you know you want certain blends then cellar some of that. If you feel uncertain then you might just not be ready to cellar. It's not a necessity but it's a solid option (when I started smoking a pipe, I would have thought a ten year old tin of my favorite VA would be degraded.
At this point I like my cellar a lot. If I started it ten years ago there would be some trades that needed to be made.
At this point I like my cellar a lot. If I started it ten years ago there would be some trades that needed to be made.
As already has been mentioned, our palette is a bit of moving target, but it's worth pointing out that where many of us end up is in Virginia/VaPer spectrum. How many ads have you seen in the buy and sell of guys needing to offload their 20 lb of 10 y o McClelland Virginia's or whatever so they can go deep on Sutliff Creme Brule? Even if that did happen you'd be able to do that, lots of guys would buy your aged Virginia's, maybe not so much the other way around.
Unless you have some kind of allergic reaction to Virginia's and really can't smoke them, I really see no downside whatsoever to stacking good quality bulk or tinned Virginia's or VaPers DEEEeeep. They will only get better with age.
Latakia blends are a bit different. I myself found I got burned out from them. I cellared a fair amount of Balkan blends that I kind of wish I didn't. But that said, I still like Balkans once in awhile so I probably have enough to last me a long time. I will eventually smoke them up.
Even the random aromatics that i thought I'd like more than I did... hey whatever. I'd still rather smoke them than have nothing at all to smoke!
Unless you have some kind of allergic reaction to Virginia's and really can't smoke them, I really see no downside whatsoever to stacking good quality bulk or tinned Virginia's or VaPers DEEEeeep. They will only get better with age.
Latakia blends are a bit different. I myself found I got burned out from them. I cellared a fair amount of Balkan blends that I kind of wish I didn't. But that said, I still like Balkans once in awhile so I probably have enough to last me a long time. I will eventually smoke them up.
Even the random aromatics that i thought I'd like more than I did... hey whatever. I'd still rather smoke them than have nothing at all to smoke!
Not much to add here since I’m in the same boat as Mike but I appreciate the insight guys have had. I’m also starting to get Latakia overload after trying Pirate Kake 
Good point, I have heard this since I started a few years ago.
I have no idea what I will be interested in in 20 years, but can see my future self kicking my past self for not stocking up on some good blends.
Agreed, an aged Virginia wouldd always be good to have.
Definitely a great part of this forum!
I usually just buy one tin (of a particular blend) at a time to try said blend, and if I really enjoy it, I buy more. That's what I suggest you do. No need to buy multiple tins ahead of time if you're never tried said blend, and you're still finding your way with different blends. I buy a few different blends and try them, and if I find a winner than I'll buy more. If I don't like a particular blend then I only have to deal with one tin instead of multiple.
There was only one blend that I bought multiple tins of before sampling it, and that was Mac Baren HH Latakia Flake upon its initial release. As a fan of latakia, and reading some reviews from the Chicago Pipe Show where it was initially introduced, I knew I would like it. I wasn't wrong, as its one of my favorite blends.
There was only one blend that I bought multiple tins of before sampling it, and that was Mac Baren HH Latakia Flake upon its initial release. As a fan of latakia, and reading some reviews from the Chicago Pipe Show where it was initially introduced, I knew I would like it. I wasn't wrong, as its one of my favorite blends.