Opened My Tins - Now What?

[techie]

I just started smoking the pipe last week. Bought a new Vauen pipe, 4 tins, and a 2oz bag of Gawith Hogart Scotch Mixture, which is the one I've been smoking all week. The problem is, excited to smell the differences, I opened the 4 tins before realizing I should have left them sealed until ready to smoke (guessing this is a common newbie mistake). I'm sure there's no way I can smoke these all up anytime soon. Should I not worry about it, or is there something I can do to keep the tobacco in good condition?
I did read somewhere that putting the tins in ziploc bags is helpful, so I did do that. What do you think?
I'm liking the Scotch Mixture. The 4 tins I purchased are:
Hearth & Home WhiteKnight

Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader

Dunhill London Mixture

Mac Barren Original Choice (purchased by mistake - I didn't want an aromatic)
The Mac Barren aromatic smells sickeningly sweet to me. Not sure what to do with it now that it's open. I don't plan on smoking it. Oh well, my mistake.
Thank you for any help or suggestions!

 

[scloyd]

Welcome Techie, put your tobacco in Mason jars. Everytime I open a new tin it goes right into a jar.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

+1 Jarring them is the way to go. Just go ahead and buy yourself a case of jars, because if you get really into sampling things, they'll come in handy. Just jar it all lump and label appropriately.

 

[seanv]

Yep. Go buy a flat of jars

 

[techie]

Thank you for the replies!
Since these are only 1.75oz tins should I get small mason jars? I'm not sure how small they make them. I have about 4 of them here but they're the standard size (16oz I guess).
Which leads to another question: I did write that I don't expect to smoke them any time soon, but I didn't mean years from now, but certainly within the next, say, 6 months or so. Do the jars really matter in this case? I'm not really understanding the difference between the tobacco being in the opened tin and a mason jar for short term storage.
I appreciate the help.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I bought some 4 oz jars the other day and they each perfectly hold 1 oz. It's the whole volume to weight thing. So I'd use that as a go by. Although all the loose I had was ribbon cut. Not sure if all yours are cut the same or not. If you have flakes, you might want jars tall enough so you don't have to break/fold them to get them in the jar.

 

[onestrangeone]

The jars will seal automatically when you put the band on the opened tins won't. An open round metal tin is okay for short term, maybe a week or two, the tins with the plastic tops maybe a bit longer, the square/rectangle tins maybe a week at best.

 

[sablebrush52]

Jarring will keep your tobacco from drying out until you smoke it.
If I'm going to be smoking a tin right away, an 8oz jar works great for most 50 gram tins of either flake or ribbon. A looser pack is fine for short term storage.
If I'm jarring for longer term storage, such as aging, I pack much more tightly 1:2 ratio - 2oz tobacco into a 4 oz jar. This works for ribbon. Flakes you just pack in as tightly as is practicable. Shag, same thing. Pack tight and leave just a 1/4 inch airspace in the jar for long term.

 

[uncleblackie]

As long as you don’t live in the Sahara, I don’t think jars are an immediate concern. You’ve got a good 3-4 months minimum before that Samuel Gawith tin dries out. I’d leave them be and jar when they seem like they’re getting dry. With the possible exception of White Knight, each of those tins while fresh are more moist than necessary for a good smoke, in my opinion of course, and the slow, gradual drying that will take place while sitting in the unsealed tin, with the lid on mind you, will only do them good.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

At a bowl per day, you have around 3 months worth there. I think tins need to be open a week or two before touching it anyway. If you're worried, put the tins in a zip lock. That will keep them plenty moist for the time frame you're dealing with. Smoke, don't stress.

 

[uncleblackie]

Complete agreement with hoosierpipeguy in regards to waiting a week or two after opening.
I can dry out and smoke a bowl’s worth of tobacco from a freshly opened tin, and it will not match the flavor of a bowl from the same tin after having been open for a week or so. Not sure of the mechanism responsible for this, but it’s almost always the case for me, most notably with certain McClelland blends and Samuel Gawith.

 

[jaytex1969]

I don't mean to be the voice of dissent, just sharing my experience.
You can jar them up, by all means. They will be protected from drying.
However, I have more open tins than that on my desk right now. My smoking room stays between 75-80 degrees and about 45-55% humidity.
If you are careful to tighten the lids each time and make sure they are on straight, the drying will be a slow and controlled process for most tins.
I've found that the last third of the tin begins an accelerated drying process. I dip one or both ends of a q-tip into water and lay that on top of the paper in the tin before replacing the lid, if it shows signs of drying too much.
Several of these tins have been open for months and then reused. Once I empty a tin, I often refill it with a bulk acquisition of similar character and slap a piece of blue masking tape on top for a new label.
That said, I've gone through numerous flats of canning jars, also.
That Scotch Mixture is a favorite of mine. Nice balance of components.

 

[olkofri]

I always open my tins, especially if it's a new blend, because I want to sniff the aroma. The contents all go presently into mason jars, whether I smoke them right away or not.
You can send that Original Choice to me, I prefer aros over English. **wink, wink**

 

[jpmcwjr]

Well, two distinct schools! Compromise! Jar a couple and leave the others in the tin. Above all, don't stress about it. Either method should be fine.

 

[techie]

I picked up some 8oz Ball jars at Walmart this afternoon. The new tins coming next week I'll keep sealed until ready to smoke. Since I'll most likely have a growing collection over the coming weeks/months, I think the jar solution may be a good idea for those I'm not as keen on smoking regularly, and those I really like I may just leave in the tins and smoke them.
With a second pipe on the way I might have a nice mid-morning smoke, and one in the evenings along with my usual dram or three.
jaytex969, the Scotch Mixture is certainly the nicest aroma (unsmoked) of the five. I guess that's called the "tin note"?
Thanks to all!

 

[olkofri]

Techie, the 'tin note' is not the aroma of the toby in the tin, but the scent it gives off as it's being smoked. It's mostly noticed by the company, rather than by the smoker himself. Also, the aroma of the fresh tobacco in the tin, is, many times, not the same as the taste you'll get; although, seasoned smokers can eventually get to taste the 'smell'.
EDIT: Never mind, you're right that'd be called the 'tin note', for a moment there I confused it with the 'room note'.
So far, I (a noob to piping still) have only been able to get a taste similar to the scent with only one blend: Vauen Auenland The Shire Mixture.
As always, YMMV.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I've also felt that the more obnoxious the tin note, the better the smoke, and its corollary.

 

[techie]

Until yesterday I had only smoked the Scotch Mixture. The aroma of this tobacco is really very nice and the smoke aroma is pleasant. The Squadron Leader aroma (the tobacco) isn't as nice, but yes, the smell of the smoke was decent enough.
Seems pipe tobacco is similar to Scotch, where the nose doesn't necessarily match the the taste. More so with tobacco.

 

[jaytex1969]

jpmcwjr, that's how I judge Chinese restaurants. The worse the music, the better the food!
Jay

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Living in Las Vegas I have no idea what this "humidity" you all speak of is.
Personally I only smoke the tin that I just opened until it's gone. It takes roughly a week for me to get through a 50gram tin at 2-3 bowls per day. After the tin I'll usually go back into my bulk regulars for a week or two and then open a new tin after that.
As I said I live in Las Vegas, so things dry out VERY quickly here. If I left a tin open for 3 weeks it'd be pretty close to bone dry by that time. Mason jars are absolutely a MUST in the desert.