Nobody's tins are 100% leak proof. Years ago I did a little test. I took the rectangular and square tins of Virginias and put them in a tupperware container, sealed it, and let it sit for a couple of weeks. Did the same with the Latakia blends.
When I popped the lids on each container a couple of weeks later I could clearly smell the Virginias in that container and I could clearly smell the Latakia in the Latakia container.
So much for 100% sealed.
Eventually the pressure will equalize, the seal will weaken and the contents will dry out. Thinking that these tins are intended to be some sort of archival vault that will survive for decades is absurd. They were intended to keep the contents safe for "long enough" which in a "normal" world would translate from "as soon as it arrives" to a couple of years.
People didn't think in terms of aging tobaccos like aging wines, and aging is a mixed bag anyway. Tobaccos don't continue to "improve" with age, they just change with age and whether that change is an improvement is up to the individual smoker to decide. Sure, once in a while there's an exception and a tin is just as tight as ever after decades,, but it's an exception. So I jar or Mylar bag the stuff when I buy it and voila, no problems.
Round tins do better and canisters do better, but not always, as I learned with my canister tins of Renaissance, Haddo's, and Bohemian Scandal. What a mess. Unless it's a sealed cutter top fuggetaboutit.
For most of my smoking "career" I didn't cellar, I just bought what I wanted every month or so. But with tobacconists closing shop and blends disappearing with no warning I started putting aside blends I wanted to be able to continue to smoke. Deliberate aging hasn't been a goal. I just hope that when I open a tin, jar, or bag of "whatsis" down the road I'm not disappointed by the change, but that's the chance I'm willing to take.
When I popped the lids on each container a couple of weeks later I could clearly smell the Virginias in that container and I could clearly smell the Latakia in the Latakia container.
So much for 100% sealed.
Eventually the pressure will equalize, the seal will weaken and the contents will dry out. Thinking that these tins are intended to be some sort of archival vault that will survive for decades is absurd. They were intended to keep the contents safe for "long enough" which in a "normal" world would translate from "as soon as it arrives" to a couple of years.
People didn't think in terms of aging tobaccos like aging wines, and aging is a mixed bag anyway. Tobaccos don't continue to "improve" with age, they just change with age and whether that change is an improvement is up to the individual smoker to decide. Sure, once in a while there's an exception and a tin is just as tight as ever after decades,, but it's an exception. So I jar or Mylar bag the stuff when I buy it and voila, no problems.
Round tins do better and canisters do better, but not always, as I learned with my canister tins of Renaissance, Haddo's, and Bohemian Scandal. What a mess. Unless it's a sealed cutter top fuggetaboutit.
For most of my smoking "career" I didn't cellar, I just bought what I wanted every month or so. But with tobacconists closing shop and blends disappearing with no warning I started putting aside blends I wanted to be able to continue to smoke. Deliberate aging hasn't been a goal. I just hope that when I open a tin, jar, or bag of "whatsis" down the road I'm not disappointed by the change, but that's the chance I'm willing to take.
