My 3rd aged aromatic

[ranger]

I just had to pop open this jar of RLP-6 to see how well it is aging, and I am not disappointed at all.

I liked it before, and IMO, it has only improved with a two year age.
So this makes the third aromatic I've popped open to test, and so far all of the aromatics are aging wonderfully.

I have a few more to test, and I really don't want to pop them open yet, however, the temptation seems to be too great to ignore.
My intention was to only open up one of the several I have aging, I only wanted to pop open the Capt. Black and let the rest continue on, however, it appears that is not going to happen.
Of the three I've tested so far, the winner is the RLP-6, but the one that has impressed me the most in change is the Capt. Black, it must have something to do with all those nice chemicals in Capt. Black that are missing in the 1Q, and the RLP-6.
But I'm having fun anyway, and that is the name of this game....enjoyment.

 

[hilojohnny]

This is an interesting thread, Ranger....I appreciate you sharing your experiences since I have numerous mason jars of aromatic tobacco "aging" .... :clap:

 

[nathaniel]

It actually seems that the general consensus among folks who cellar their blends is that while aros can be preserved well, they cannot in actuality "age" lie wine or lat, perique, and virginia blends. Just what I've heard pretty consistently.

 

[unclearthur]

The only time I age aromatics is when I jar them up and they get moved to the back of the cabinet and forgotten . Never noticed any real difference when I rediscovered them.

 

[ranger]

Well perhaps 'age' isn't the correct word...let me say improved.
Will the aromatics 'age' like a fine wine, or a C.H.,....perhaps not, so let me clarify the terminology for all that read this post....I notice what to me is an improvement in the tobacco.
Perhaps it has something to do with the way I 'aged' them? .... or perhaps it is (as suggested) simply in my mind?

Who knows?.....

All I do know is that the difference in the smoke is to me much improved with the couple of years in which I had them stored.

 

[ranger]

Just to be sure, I just ordered some more RLP-6, and it should be here next week....so I will do a side by side comparison using the same pipe....so if anyone is interested, I'll post the 'HONEST' results.
I suppose I could go out and get some Capt. Blk. tomorrow, but I'm not that crazy about Capt. Blk. to do so, besides, I'm retired and live on a small fixed income, so I bought what I know I like, which is the RLP-6....I can wait a week for the results.
Let me say this one thing I know for sure:

a couple of years ago I couldn't stand the Capt. Blk., in fact I remember hating it and wanting to throw it away, at least that is how I remember it......the other day when I popped open the two year old C.B., I loved it!

 

[nemrod]

While the casing/chemicals probably won't change much shouldn't the underlying tobacco still be able to age, depending on what chemicals have been added? If it is so, while it might not change as much as, say, a VaPer, it could still change the character of the blend some, for example mellowing it. What do you think, Nathaniel, UA?
ranger: Remember that a person's tastes can change quite a bit over time. If a conclusion is reached that aromatics can't age then a very viable alternative explanation to the perceived change of the blends is a change in your tastes, the chemical balance in your body and other factors. I guess we will find out with your comparison experiment. :puffpipe:

 

[ranger]

"Remember that a person's tastes can change quite a bit over time".
Nemrod, what you say is true, and I have thought about that as being the reason, thus the comparison, and although I can see my tastes changing with one blend, the odds greatly increase now that the same results have happened with three different tobaccos.
Also, even though an aromatic may not enter a complete metamorphosis, a change must take place, there is no choice in the matter.
I think that people will often tend to lean on the words of others way too much, and I just had to find out for myself without relying on the thoughts, and the assumptions of others.
I also just didn't simply stick a package/tin of tobacco in the back of the cupboard and forget about it....I placed the loose tobacco into mason jars, then into a case with tight closures on it, then the case went into an igloo cooler, and finally placed on the floor of my closet, where the conditions seem to be perfect.

 

[cortezattic]

I will frequently shelve an unpalatable tobacco only to be surprised how good it is (was?) when I revisit it.

So you're new impression of old Capt. Black shouldn't surprise me. I think it is difficult to draw conclusions

without a blind taste test.
The reason I think that fermentation isn't playing a role is that the alcohol, sorbitol, glycerine, and propylene

glycol, et al., in drugstore aromatics are all either inimical to bacteria, the agents of change, or act to

preserve the original environment.
I have been aging several non-aromatic tobaccos for quite some time, and I have noticed improvement in only two

blends: Iwan Ries' plain Virginia flake; and, to a lesser extent, McClelland 5100 (Va red cake). What changes I

do notice are subtle, and I don't think I, for one, could discern them in a White Burley sauced with artificial flavorings.
But it is good that you enjoy Capt. Black -- whatever the reason. Now you've got another "go to" blend in the rotation;

and putting up jars of the stuff for later use keeps you involved in our hobby.

 

[kcvet67]

The main purpose of aging, for most people, is to allow the sugar in the leaf to ferment. Virginia leaf has the highest natural sugar content and will generallly show the most difference. Orientals are also high in sugar and show substantial difference. Burley, which is generally the major component in aromatics has a much lower sugar content and shows much less fermentation.
The second factor involved in aging is the melding of the flavors of the individual components of a blend. The extra time allows those flavors to better blend with each other and to mellow. This is just as likely to occur with an aromatic as with any other blend.
There are other factors at work in the aging process and not all of them are understood, sometimes things just "happen". Remember too that not every batch of a particular blend is exactly like every other batch. Differences in weather conditions can cause the tobacco harvested from a single field to vary from year to year. Supply and demand may make some components scarce or unavailable and a blender may be forced to make substitutions.