I am me, and have been reading a lot of comments on everyone's tobacco cellar. Not to sound dumb, but is that just aging or is there more to it
Help with Starting a Cellar
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Taking advantage of sales has greatly increased my cellar and aging is a bonus. With all the concerns with the FDA, Dunhill going away, other blends availability issues, internet tax issues, ducks, etc. tobacco isn't going to get any cheaper.
Aging, plus ensuring availability, due to both normal market changes and also the upcoming FDA "deeming" rule changes.
It's never going to be less expensive nor more available than it is now.
It's never going to be less expensive nor more available than it is now.
You're cellar is basically all the tobacco you have on hand, whether it be 10 tins, or 1000 tins. Some of course have much more than that, believe it or not 8O . Anyway, to explain the short version... Some have a cellar of their favorite blends, that has just accumulated over time as they try more blends. Some cellar for the main purpose of aging their blends, especially the Virginia smokers, and some cellar like a mad man to hopefully beat the terrible oncoming doom of the Tobaccopalypse, the Armageddon of blends, the Ragnarok of the pipe blenders, the Mayan calendar of tobacco blends manufactured after a certain date....... or a combination of everything I said above :mrgreen:
You will need a place to keep your tobacco that is out of the light and in a temperature that is fairly constant. You don't want it at 45 degrees in the winter and then 80 in the summer. Some tobacco ages better than others. Things like Va, Vaper and Vabur flakes age really well for decades. Other blends don't age as well. Lastly you need money and lots of it. If you want to get your cellar built before the shit hits the fan, buy as much as you can now as prices will never be lower and blends are going to start disappearing at a high rate.
All good advice. Tobacco will only get more expensive and blends will become more difficult to find. I have a number of blends in my pile that are no longer available, such as Motzek Strang and Bringham Klondike Gold, that I really like and that weren't on the endangered list. You rarely get any warning that a blend is going to disappear, it just does. Add to that the benefit of aging and there's little real downside to cellaring as long as you provide a good storage space.
I think I read another recent thread where you are currently working to determine what your tastes are.
I've been smoking pipe now only seven months, so I'm no expert.
I grabbed a bit from each "category" early on (English, VaPer, VA, Burly, etc) and then began just following the sales of the ones I like.
If I get tins, it's one for now and one or two for the cellar. If I get bulks, I jar 3/4 and smoke up the rest.
It has bitten into my budget a bit, but I feel better now facing the FDA crap, having at least a few Easter eggs in my basket.
Anything brought to market after a date in 2007 is at risk of disappearing from the market soon. The best case scenario is that you find things you like that have been around longer than that. If you find you really like some newer stuff, try to cellar some.
I am a strategic tightwad. For instance, I've found that I really like Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake and also MacBaren's HH Old Dark Fired.
Since PS LBF has been around before the cutoff date and ODF has not, I'm cellaring ODF and not as worried about future availability of the LBF. (although I'm still cellaring some LBF for the other reason--everyone assures me that it is much tastier when aged)
Without a crystal ball, we are all just speculating. But, like a gun or a fire extinguisher, it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it....
I've been smoking pipe now only seven months, so I'm no expert.
I grabbed a bit from each "category" early on (English, VaPer, VA, Burly, etc) and then began just following the sales of the ones I like.
If I get tins, it's one for now and one or two for the cellar. If I get bulks, I jar 3/4 and smoke up the rest.
It has bitten into my budget a bit, but I feel better now facing the FDA crap, having at least a few Easter eggs in my basket.
Anything brought to market after a date in 2007 is at risk of disappearing from the market soon. The best case scenario is that you find things you like that have been around longer than that. If you find you really like some newer stuff, try to cellar some.
I am a strategic tightwad. For instance, I've found that I really like Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake and also MacBaren's HH Old Dark Fired.
Since PS LBF has been around before the cutoff date and ODF has not, I'm cellaring ODF and not as worried about future availability of the LBF. (although I'm still cellaring some LBF for the other reason--everyone assures me that it is much tastier when aged)
Without a crystal ball, we are all just speculating. But, like a gun or a fire extinguisher, it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it....
Jesse, I got lucky with the Klondike Gold in that once Peck told me about it, I went balls deep cellaring that one as I knew I was competing against him. I was ordering 25 tins at a time from SP and PC and got plenty before the axe fell. My other favorite that disappeared(Rotary Navy Cut) I knew was going to disappear as it was the only blend that Rotary sent to this country and I knew it was not long for the world. I have others that I believe will be disappearing sooner rather than later but those are gut feelings, much like the Rotary.
Thanks Jaytex 969 for the good advice . I am going to try some different things this weekend and see what i like so i can stock up before the impending doom.
Seeing what fits your budget and cellaring that amount every month is a great idea and a good plan. When I built mine I tried to cellar what I most liked and what was representative of what I'd always smoked. Good luck!
Yes, I work tobacco into my budget, like utilities and insurance. I am allotted $300 a month, sometimes I spend more, sometimes when things are tight, I spend less. This has given me the ability to push up to almost 500 lbs of tobacco in storage. I have just now started to taper off my buying as some of it reaches 5 years in age.
Unfortunately, you are coming to this as companies are starting to dissolve and men are taking the heard mentality into buying up all that remains of disappearing companies. Moooo! Prices are rising (but still the cheapest form of tobacco usage) and lawmakers are penning ways to stop the industry as a whole as we speak.
I have had a room built with my last additions to the house, and I keep all of my tobacco at a constant 65F year round. But, Pipestud posted once that he has a client that swears by storing his in the sun. Some swear by colder temps. I don't think there has been any real scientific studies to show what significantly shows improvement, nor do we all agree what the word "improvement" means, as some guys don't even like the effects of aging. So... you'll just have to find what suits you and your situation and hope for the best.
However, if you are curious about what the effects of aging does on certain blend types, you can purchase aged tins from Pipestud (Steve Fallon) and try for yourself. You do pay for the age, but to me it's worth it to try things you will never be able to try otherwise. YMMV
Unfortunately, you are coming to this as companies are starting to dissolve and men are taking the heard mentality into buying up all that remains of disappearing companies. Moooo! Prices are rising (but still the cheapest form of tobacco usage) and lawmakers are penning ways to stop the industry as a whole as we speak.
I have had a room built with my last additions to the house, and I keep all of my tobacco at a constant 65F year round. But, Pipestud posted once that he has a client that swears by storing his in the sun. Some swear by colder temps. I don't think there has been any real scientific studies to show what significantly shows improvement, nor do we all agree what the word "improvement" means, as some guys don't even like the effects of aging. So... you'll just have to find what suits you and your situation and hope for the best.
However, if you are curious about what the effects of aging does on certain blend types, you can purchase aged tins from Pipestud (Steve Fallon) and try for yourself. You do pay for the age, but to me it's worth it to try things you will never be able to try otherwise. YMMV
That's commitment to build a room just to cellar your tobacco!
Save what you can afford and what you like in the space you can.
Save what you can afford and what you like in the space you can.
I went about starting my cellar relatively late in my pipe smoking adventure. I had tried various blends, but in a haphazard way, without documenting them with my notes on those I like and the ones I didn't.
I went to SP and had a look at their best selling bulk and tin blends and ordered 10 from each category based on what I remembered I like about certain tobaccos I had tried before. From there I started taking notes diligently and found that I was veering towards a particular tobacco, namely, Orientals, Virginias and Scottish/Balkan mixtures.
With the rumors about Dunhill, I bought up 10+ tins of the blends I liked by them, particularly Aperitif, EMP, Royal Yacht and Dark Flake. From there, I continue to use the method of buying 2 at a time for new blends I came across, one for now and one for later, as described above by others. For bulk stuff, I kept my orders small, until I found one I liked. Then, I got a pound of whatever that blend was and promptly stored it in mason jars.
Since there are a multitude of blends to be sampled out there, I am continually finding new ones that I like. What is important to keep in mind are the FDA regulations that are looming. If the blend you are looking to cellar is on the chopping block, then you would obviously want to buy as much as you can. One easy way I've found of verifying this is to look on tobaccoreviews.com for a review prior to 2007. If there are no reviews that far back, start buying that blend now before it's gone.
Here in NYC, space is at a premium, so I do not have the luxury of a smoking room/office or even a front/back porch or garage. I have a modest pipe cabinet where I keep my pipes and jars/tins, with some other hidden spaces throughout the apartment to house the overflow. As long as it's dark and the temp is consistent throughout the year, you should be fine with storing.
Good luck. If there's one hard fact I've learned this year with my cellar, it's that TAD is just as addictive as PAD!
I went to SP and had a look at their best selling bulk and tin blends and ordered 10 from each category based on what I remembered I like about certain tobaccos I had tried before. From there I started taking notes diligently and found that I was veering towards a particular tobacco, namely, Orientals, Virginias and Scottish/Balkan mixtures.
With the rumors about Dunhill, I bought up 10+ tins of the blends I liked by them, particularly Aperitif, EMP, Royal Yacht and Dark Flake. From there, I continue to use the method of buying 2 at a time for new blends I came across, one for now and one for later, as described above by others. For bulk stuff, I kept my orders small, until I found one I liked. Then, I got a pound of whatever that blend was and promptly stored it in mason jars.
Since there are a multitude of blends to be sampled out there, I am continually finding new ones that I like. What is important to keep in mind are the FDA regulations that are looming. If the blend you are looking to cellar is on the chopping block, then you would obviously want to buy as much as you can. One easy way I've found of verifying this is to look on tobaccoreviews.com for a review prior to 2007. If there are no reviews that far back, start buying that blend now before it's gone.
Here in NYC, space is at a premium, so I do not have the luxury of a smoking room/office or even a front/back porch or garage. I have a modest pipe cabinet where I keep my pipes and jars/tins, with some other hidden spaces throughout the apartment to house the overflow. As long as it's dark and the temp is consistent throughout the year, you should be fine with storing.
Good luck. If there's one hard fact I've learned this year with my cellar, it's that TAD is just as addictive as PAD!
and pipes and all of the other tobacciana stuff. I have been wanting my own wooden indian for a loooong time. But, we took in a foster child last weekend, and all of the stuff in our extra room has been piled into my pipe room to make a new bedroom. So now it's also full of boxes of tax records and old guitars and photography equipment. Oh well...
Boy, I feel like a piker compared to the mass hoarders posting here. I'm not buying for investment, just to have what I enjoy smoking available to me when I want it, so the 120 or so pounds, based on my level of consumption, should be more than ample for 20 years.
Harris, congrats on all of that Klondike Gold. I have a small stash, but twill do. The point is, I have it to smoke when I want it while it's no longer available in the US.
Having what I want when I want it is my main reason for cellaring.
Some are investing in tobaccos for future very profitable sales to smokers who didn't cellar. It's probably not a bad move, but time will tell.
Harris, congrats on all of that Klondike Gold. I have a small stash, but twill do. The point is, I have it to smoke when I want it while it's no longer available in the US.
Having what I want when I want it is my main reason for cellaring.
Some are investing in tobaccos for future very profitable sales to smokers who didn't cellar. It's probably not a bad move, but time will tell.
I just buy under the assumption that pretty soon, we won't be able to any more. Judging by the stars, the way the chicken bones lay, and the writing on the wall, I'd say that betting against that, is a sucker's bet. YMMV
Damn cos 500 pounds, how old are you? I have almost exactly half of what you do and I smoke around 11-12 pounds a year. I am 60 so if I live long enough to smoke all of mine I would be amazed. What I don't smoke my kids can sell at a really nice profit.
Jesse, I actually don't know how many tins I have of the Klondike Gold. I know I have 92 tins I bought from SP as I can see my order history. I have no idea how many I bought from PC because they lost my order history when CI bought them out. I am happy to know I have the 92 and whatever I have over that is just a bonus. One of the reasons I went after it so much was the fact it was aged 2-3 years before it was sold. It smoked so great ( fresh) I was smoking a bunch of it. It was a great seller for Brigham, no idea why they pulled it.
Jesse, I actually don't know how many tins I have of the Klondike Gold. I know I have 92 tins I bought from SP as I can see my order history. I have no idea how many I bought from PC because they lost my order history when CI bought them out. I am happy to know I have the 92 and whatever I have over that is just a bonus. One of the reasons I went after it so much was the fact it was aged 2-3 years before it was sold. It smoked so great ( fresh) I was smoking a bunch of it. It was a great seller for Brigham, no idea why they pulled it.
When my pipe tool app stopped working, I had just tipped passed 300 lbs, and I wasn't counting any of the pipe tobacco that I had grown myself. Then I binged bought for the last four months. I don't have an exact number, but estimating 4 oz per jar and 10 tins to a pound, I am pretty close to 500 lbs, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit to be past it. But, I have had a steady budget of $300 a month to play with. I am not rich, by any means. I just know how to make a budget and stick to it.
Whenever I get some free time, Ha ha, I will make up a spreadsheet, but at this point, it would be like taking inventory of a whole store by myself. Not something I would look forward to doing.
Whenever I get some free time, Ha ha, I will make up a spreadsheet, but at this point, it would be like taking inventory of a whole store by myself. Not something I would look forward to doing.
Buy blends to smoke or because you love collecting and want a stash. Don't buy it for investment purposes - there are far easier and more efficient ways to make a healthy profit than buying pipe tobacco.
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