Storing Bulk Aromatics - How Long Can They Last?

[supdog]

The thing to do is to get one of those "food saver vacuum sealer" thingies and vacu-seal in some oxygen barrier plastic bags. The tobacco should stay fresh for years. Take out the air and there will be no aging or evaporation.

 

[J. Mayo]

I have a Mac Baren Vanilla Cream that I despised fresh out of the tin. After about a year in a mason jar (never opened) it mellowed a little and provided a very enjoyable smoke upon revisiting. It's very possible that my taste changed a little over the year but I like to think that the year of storage helped this blend IMO. Either way I store a lot of tobaccos (primarily aros) long term in mason jars. Other than my favorites that I open constantly to refill my pouch, I never notice much drying in the blends that remain untouched when I do finally get around to opening them. Just my 2 cents...

 

[sparroa]

"Smokeable" and "worth smoking" are two entirely different concepts...
To me, an aromatic that has sat around for a decade may still be smokeable, but it may not be worth smoking.
In a best case scenario, all of the humectants and a lot of the added flavours have evaporated, leaving you with neutral tasting tobacco with a hint of aroma and a normal moisture level.
Worst case scenario, the humectants/flavours have destabilized and negatively affected the flavour. The tobacco has dried over time and it tastes like shredded newspaper or worse again!
It is certainly a philosophical thing. Do you subscribe to "waste not, want not" or do you believe that you should seek for the best flavour possible with every single pipeful?
If you subscribe to the former, then smoke away. If you subscribe to the latter, then you will probably be better served with another supply of tobacco...
Some of us are really sensitive tasters and others have leather tongues. Some of us live for OTCs and others are highly discriminating. Only you can tell what will suit your tastes.
In my own personal experience, I have never ever been satisfied with an aged aromatic. (Or an aged light English for that matter!) The flavour becomes far too subdued and you miss out on the intended aromas - therefore there is no point of smoking the blend except for pastime and nicotine consumption...

 

[doctorthoss]

My experience, for what it's worth, is that it depends entirely on the individual blend we're talking about. We can't just say "aromatics in general" do or don't age well/retain their flavor because the category of "aromatic tobacco" is HUGE. There is simply no reason to expect Captain Black or 1Q to age the same as Autumn Evening or something from MacBaren. Each company uses their own processing methods and their own supplies of leaf, which will lead to tremendous variations. Some will age well, some won't, and some will just stay the same for years.

My only advice is to do what I do --- experiment and see what works for you, on a blend to blend basis.

 

[mthanded]

I hear a lot about evaporation but in a hermetically sealed jar, would that be the case? If there is no air, where does the evaporation go but back into the tobacco? Think canning, the product should be the same as when you put it in except the flavoring would have "married" back into and made a much better tobacco with even distribution. With all this said, I haven't stored any aros yet.

 

[captainbob]

All tobacco blends that are aromatic or non-aromatic are manufactured to enjoy immediately. One can argue the benefits of aging long term of non-aromatics. It all depends on the method and the blend. If preservation is the ultimate goal, just store it in a mason jar, press the air out of it and all will be fine. Air is essential to aging tobacco. At the same time, air is the enemy of tobacco. Therefore, fill the jar with a gentle pressing of getting the air out of it. Do not vacuum seal for aging. Aging requires a little air. That is why the C&D tins are not vacuum sealed.

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[trucha]

I've noticed several people say they've opened up their mason jars to smell them. I've had several stored away and have been afraid to open them up and see how they were coming along. Will opening them affect the aging in any way.

 

[captainbob]

Personally, I have no problem with opening and re-opening to sample the process. The biggest mistake I made was to age a wonderful Virginia non-aromatic blend for twenty-years and then smoke it to find it was not pleasing me. So, it is my opinion that over-aging is a possibility. Remember, all pipe tobacco is manufactured for your immediate satisfaction, not for aging as a predominant purpose. Stashing and storing is not a bad motive. However, keep in mind that the maufacturer is preparing a blend for your immediate enjoyment. Personally, I do not age tobacco for aging purposes! I age tobacco only to get a hedge on the inevitable tax and price increases. However, I no longer age tobacco for more than a year under any circumstances. That being said, does not mean that you cannot enjoy aged tobacco. But, don't be mislead that aging is necessarily better than enjoying the fresh finished product. This whole aging thing is over-done. That is just my personal opinion and is not meant to discourage you from doing what you desire to do with your pipe tobacco. I am not looking for argument. It is just my personal experience after smoking pipe tobacco for 50 years. I am age 63.

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[nsfisher]

Good varying opinions guys. I can't chime in as my baccy doesn't age longer than a yr or so.

 

[numbersix]

I have mixed five-pounds and stored it in quart mason jars simply sealed with a twist of the cap and opened them three years later with absolutely no change in smoking pleasure at all. I could not tell the difference between freshly tinned and the stored tobacco in mason jars. Simply, gently hand press the air out of the jar as you pack it and all should be just fine!

Thanks CaptainBob - very good to know.

 

[murf]

Glad I found this thread. But, I have a question. So, roth, you said:

Every time the canning jar is opened, the aging process stops.

So, would this mean, that if I don't want to "age" my aromatics, should I pop the tin every once in awhile? Or would I just be better off leaving it alone, as aromatics use mainly toppings for flavor? And we're talking about the aging of the TOBACCO itself, and not the blend as a whole? Would popping the tin release the flavor into the atmosphere, resulting in it being lost forever?
Again, roth, in another thread, you mentioned that you don't smoke aromatics much, but that you enjoy H&H Manor Heights. And I'm pretty sure you said you cellared it. And that you transfer it to jars upon receipt, since you don't trust the tins. So, have you tasted any "old" Manor Heights?

 

[murf]

Thanks for the insight. It seems that my TAD got away from me too early on in my exploration of my new hobby. I don't even know how much stuff I've ordered that I haven't even tried yet. I'm trying to work on smoking certain blends up, so I don't have 2 dozen half-filled mason jars.
On the flip side, I have a decent sized, and well varied cellar. So, when taxes do hit, I'll be laughing :rofl:
However, if I fall in love with a blend, I'll be sure to stock up on it 8)

 

[mephistopheles]

Gentlemen,
This topic has been very useful to me. ::
I'm wondering if a year later any opinions have changed or if any further insight has been gained?

 

[danielplainview]

Good topic. I'd like to stock up on my aro stash before the tax-a-thon is too much to handle.
What about unopened tins of aro? Would this be any different than jarred bulk aro?
I have 12 tins of Moontrance unopened !
Should I leave them be, or get to smoking ?

 

[skapunk1]

Sealed tins will slow the deterioration of flavour compared to jarring.
My first tin of Sunset Breeze was old... i would guess 5+ years due to the print on the covering paper, and how it was soaked through with oils. It took me 3 months to work my way through the tin as it sat in a jar.... my last 10 bowls were the best...
Now i buy it new, jar it right away, let it sit for 6 months, and the result in my opinion is amazing.

 

[saltedplug]

If the tobacco is tinned, I store it as such. If bulk, I jar it upon receipt in pint jars that I wash beforehand. When I open a tin I jar it immediately in an 8 oz jar. I've been doing this for years and it has worked very well. There is no need to heat seal. Just tighten the ring down hard and it will develop its own seal. Even so jars can lose their seal over time, so I feel it's best to check them periodically. I've gotten used to hearing periodic popping as the jars do what they do through time.

 

[eppewolfis]

So, a local B and M has been selling sutliff bulk for $1/oz. Not being crazy about aros, but being open minded and ready for a good deal, I bought a few pounds. I have been packing 4 oz in a pint jar, or 2 oz in a half pint jar, literally jamming the baccy and pressing it in with my fingers, and putting it away in a drawer. I use mason jars with new lids. I am pretty hopeful I'll have plenty of smokeable stuff over the next ten years with this method, but it's only been a couple of months, so I haven't tested any yet.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I think you'll be just fine with that.

And welcome to the posting part of the forum! Or were you here under a different handle?

 

[perdurabo]

Aged Aromatics are better in my opinion. Maybe not aged for 10 years, but 2 or 3 years they seem to mellow out. Just my 2 cents

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ha ha, necro-bump