I hadn’t smoked GL Pease’s Montgomery for a while so I thought I would open an aged tin. Wow, I forgot how good this blend was. Isn’t it fun to revisit an old favorite?
Revisiting An Old Favorite
- Thread starter RonB
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I haven't had it in quite a while as well. So about 2 or so months ago I cracked a tin and put it in a small storage container for more frequent occasional smokes.
I think it's great.
I think it's great.
The opposite can happen too. I remember really loving Bijou, I opened a tin recently and it’s not doing anything for me now. Tastes really bland. Maybe an off tin or maybe I just don’t particularly like how it aged? It’s a 2016 tin, I opened it expecting to see mold, was happy when I discovered the tobacco didn’t have fur growing all over it. It’s only 7 years old so a long way away from their estimated peak of 10 - 15 years. Who knows, maybe in another year or two I’ll end up loving it again.
I just recently tried some, and I really like it fresh, so I can imagine it will be great with some age.
Never tried Montgomery myself, but I've had this very thing happen with Peterson Sherlock Holmes. In hindsight, it's just one of those blends that seems easy to fall between the cracks when you have three dozen jarred blends. Standard, run of the mill, un-topped loose cut straight VA. What Granger is to burley, SH is to Virginias. A couple months ago I was heading to the barn to visit our horse w/wifey, doing my usual languid, indecisive pondering whilst looking over my Brobdingnagian assortment of Ball jars. I spied SH, and made the split-second decision to stuff a bowlful in my MM Country Gent workhorse. Sparked it up in the tack room...man, what a flavor! Sweet, creamy, no bite, and a fantastic room note. Way better than I even remembered it. That was one of my better smoking experiences overall.
Of course, as @hawky454 astutely points out, the reverse can also happen, which it did, with another Peterson blend, Irish Oak (now Irish Cask). An unorthodox, aromatic VaPer that I remembered liking well enough early on. Tried it again not long after the aforementioned SH bowl. Holy ash, Batman! Tasted dry, nasty, and devoid of any noticeable tobacco flavor. It almost tasted like I was lighting my own cob on fire and smoking the burning cob. I'm not lenient once a blend disappoints, so I put the remaining ounce and a half or so of it into mylar, and sold it with some others that didn't make the cut. 35 jarred blends now. C'est la vie.
There are excellent smokes, lousy smokes, and everything it between. It's all part of the journey, and you can't have one without the other.
Of course, as @hawky454 astutely points out, the reverse can also happen, which it did, with another Peterson blend, Irish Oak (now Irish Cask). An unorthodox, aromatic VaPer that I remembered liking well enough early on. Tried it again not long after the aforementioned SH bowl. Holy ash, Batman! Tasted dry, nasty, and devoid of any noticeable tobacco flavor. It almost tasted like I was lighting my own cob on fire and smoking the burning cob. I'm not lenient once a blend disappoints, so I put the remaining ounce and a half or so of it into mylar, and sold it with some others that didn't make the cut. 35 jarred blends now. C'est la vie.
There are excellent smokes, lousy smokes, and everything it between. It's all part of the journey, and you can't have one without the other.
I had a similar experience, but with a blend that never really wowed me. Last week I had a bowl of Balkan Sasieni. Balkans are my mainstay of what I smoke. the BS was purchased in Jan. 2013, and I have sampled over the years and it never really did anything for me. Until last week. The Lat had softened and the Virginias had sweetened up a bit, which allowed the Orientals to shine. I read on TR that some people believe that the blend has changed. Can anyone confirm or deny this?