How Long Do Aros Keep Their Taste?

[wernerat]

So after my pipe journey over like 6 months I learned here a lot and over YouTube.

I now drift as many towards natural or light aros. I guess it's just the natural way :D natural or light casked tobacco or english offer more nuances.
But some strong aros I enjoy a lot like the 66 kohlhase and kopp. I m thinking getting more of it as I fear if they discontinue it I won't get the creme de casis taste anymore. Probably it will be continued but who knows.

My question: Does cellaring strong aros make sense for let s day 3-5 years or will the taste completely fade?
Any experience with long cellared strong aros?

 

[Davy]

I opened, last year, a tin of MB Black Ambrosia dated from 2012. The tin note was very subdued, not the in- your- face aroma it would be if it had been fresh. It was pretty good, though. Very smooth.
So, yes, they lose their aroma over time.

 

[peteguy]

Much smoother but the strong aromatic taste does fade. It can be a completely different animal in the end. Sometimes it can even be better.

 

[milk]

I have a similar question. I actually DON’T smoke aros much but I jarred a couple before discovering that I couldn’t quite handle them. If you jar an aro, doesn’t it last pretty much? I’m really wanting an answer. Some day I want to get back to these.

 

[AroEnglish]

I have a similar question. I actually DON’T smoke aros much but I jarred a couple before discovering that I couldn’t quite handle them. If you jar an aro, doesn’t it last pretty much? I’m really wanting an answer. Some day I want to get back to these.

I think it depends on if there was air or not. I've read that the less air there is, the less aging happens/

 

[Wet Dottle]

I have a very, very limited experience. Actually, probably I shouldn't even be typing this, but here it goes. With the only two tinned blends I have stored, they have not lost their flavor. What I have are Gold Block from the 90s (the older Ogden version, not Mac Baren's) and Edgeworth Ready Rubbed (large cans). However, I have bought unpackaged, loose leaf aromatic blends by the ounce that did loose their flavor with age. But my experience is so limited that I cannot make generalized speculations from it.

 

[kcghost]

About 1-2 years is the limit on aros.

 

[fireground_piper]

So after my pipe journey over like 6 months I learned here a lot and over YouTube.

I now drift as many towards natural or light aros. I guess it's just the natural way :D natural or light casked tobacco or english offer more nuances.
But some strong aros I enjoy a lot like the 66 kohlhase and kopp. I m thinking getting more of it as I fear if they discontinue it I won't get the creme de casis taste anymore. Probably it will be continued but who knows.

My question: Does cellaring strong aros make sense for let s day 3-5 years or will the taste completely fade?
Any experience with long cellared strong aros?

3-5 years? No problem. Keep them in a closed jar and they will keep fine.

 

[lordnantwich]

Great question OP, I was wondering similar as I have a few blends I like but mostly smoke english/oriental blends.

 

[Navy Chief]

Has anybody done any experimenting with vacuum sealing them with oxygen absorbers? In theory it should greatly slow down the changes over time.

 

[pappymac]

I have found that unopened tins of aromatic pipe tobacco won't change much. For aromatics stored in Ball or Mason jars they will start to loose some of the flavor after two or three years but if its something I jarred immediately after purchase and I don't open the jar, the flavor and moisture level won't change that much.

 

[JimPM]

Personally, I purchased aromatics in small quantities just so they won't lose their flavoring. I do not and would not cellar them, but that is me.

 

[FurCoat]

I have a very, very limited experience. Actually, probably I shouldn't even be typing this, but here it goes. With the only two tinned blends I have stored, they have not lost their flavor. What I have are Gold Block from the 90s (the older Ogden version, not Mac Baren's) and Edgeworth Ready Rubbed (large cans). However, I have bought unpackaged, loose leaf aromatic blends by the ounce that did loose their flavor with age. But my experience is so limited that I cannot make generalized speculations from it.

Those are some kick ass tinned blends you have cellared.

 

[mwsmoker]

Those are some kick ass tinned blends you have cellared.

I’m not sure I’d consider ERR an aro, but either way, I’ve had the same experience. I have some of the large cans that are about 10 years old. The open one is pretty dry, but I’ve been smoking it, and it’s 90% the way I remember it fresh.

I used to smoke some 1Q, then I kept it for adding a pleasant room note to other tobaccos (MM965, Prince Albert, etc). I’ve smoked 5-10yo 1Q and it was subdued, but the same.

I’ve heard others say aros soured. I believe them, but I haven’t experienced that.

 

[mso489]

Non-tobacco aromatic flavoring definitely fades after three or four years, and more so after that. If the base tobacco is good, Virginia often ages nicely, and burley keeps well, and if there is a shadow of the aromatic flavoring that can be good too, and make the blend more tobacco forward, which is good to me.

So I wouldn't shy away from older tins of aromatic. Often they are quite pleasant, in some ways better than the fresh product.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I have an acquired some aged aros, in particular I have an affinity for the Nording Hunter blends. I opened a tin that was moist and juicy and darn old that has a hazelnut flavoring side by side with a fresh St. Patrick’s Day blend which also is a little heavy on the hazelnut. I can’t say the older tin had lost flavor because I didn’t smoke a pipe when it came out, BUT it was every bit as “fresh” tasting. In general, I don’t get any other aros that are “aged” anymore - some definitely were a little less punchy, but still good. I’ll spend money on “pre-aged” Virginias now from time to time. Also doing less of that because (1) I have plenty of those now, and (2) I’m finding current Virginia blends I like just fine and more focused on those now.

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

I find that is dependant on the individual blends, not necessarily different manufacturers. For example: I bought some Ennerdale at roughly the same time as I bought some Grasmere Flake. I had a bowl of the Grasmere earlier and it has maintained its flavour very well when compared with the Ennerdale.
Now, the Ennerdale could have been knocking around on the tobacconist’s shelf for longer than the Grasmere, we’ll never know, and it is a possibility, so that could account for the change?

I also bought some Sunday’s Fantasy and that has held it’s aromatic scent better than the Peterson’s Deluxe Mixture (they are similar, but not exact - SF has a raspberry note DM doesn’t have I find).

Then something like the modern Erinmore doesn’t start as scented as it once was, and then falls off a cliff, scent wise, very quickly.

Someone donated me a well aged pouch of Clan (10+ years at a guess) and that had lost all of it’s scent entirely, so maybe find one you like and ask anyone if they have any experience cellaring that particular blend? See if that helps your decision making?