Tell Me How You Cellar

[woodsroad]

I'm a long-time cigar smoker. Well, at least back to the early 90's. I have cigar aging down pat. A 72 qt Igloordoor is one of the prominent furnishings of my office. In fact, my cigar smoking goes back to the time when the term "igloordoor" was coined on CompuServe.
But what about aging pipe tobacco? I am ignorant. Without knowledge.
Anyone care to enlighten me on the subject?
I assume that the tobacco will age in a similar manner, but what about casings and toppings? My guess is that they are more volatile and will degrade over time. Same with the smoked flavor of Latakia?
How about humidity? 70/70, same as cigars?
TIA!

 

[pylorns]

Nope.
Here is a primer:

http://pipesmagazine.com/python/pipe-tobacco/pipe-tobacco-storage/
Aging:

http://www.puff.com/Content/Pipes/pipe-tobacco-to-age-or-not-to-age.html

 

[woodsroad]

Thanks, pylorns.
That's in keeping with my experience. I have cigars in storage that date back to the early 90's, and I can tell you that they just keep evolving, almost exclusively in a positive direction.
I wonder if anyone has actually cultured tobacco to see what is living in it?
WR

 

[pylorns]

I want to say that I remeber a couple posts from people who have discovered mold. Very nasty results.

 

[woodsroad]

Mold spores are everywhere, and will reproduce under the right conditions. Unless, of course, there's enough fungicide on the tobacco to stop it.
I keep my humidor at about 67%, mostly because that's where it is anyway. I wonder if I haven't had any real mold problems because there are enough mold inhibitors on commercial tobacco to keep reproduction at bay. Or does the water content need to be higher?
I don't know.
Anyway, what I do know is that the larger the humidor, the easier it is to maintain a set temp and humidity (provided the area is well insulated and sealed). So I've always been tempted to build a walk-in. Of course, the tobacco expands to meet the space. And that's not a bad thing, is it? Perhaps. I still have unopened boxes of some very good cigars that are 15 years old. Maybe my future son-in-law will inherit something very nice.
Question: Can pipe tobacco be stored with cigars? Aromatics might be troublesome, but what about English and Balkan mixes?

 

[andrew]

Question: Can pipe tobacco be stored with cigars? Aromatics might be troublesome, but what about English and Balkan mixes?

Right from the link-Do Not Store Pipe Tobacco and Cigars Together

If you also smoke cigars do not store your pipe tobacco and cigars together. Cigars are like little sponges and they will eventually absorb any moisture, aromas, and flavors that are in their vicinity. So if you store the two together, you will eventually infuse your cigars with the aroma and taste of your pipe tobacco. The last thing that I want is to grab a nice cigar and when I light it, it tastes like Dunhill Nightcap or some other pipe blend. I want my pipe blends and cigars to taste the way they are supposed to taste.

•Do Not Store Pipe Tobacco in a Humidor

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that storing pipe tobacco in a cigar humidor is a good thing as it keeps the moisture in the tobacco. This is false. If you store your pipe tobacco in a humidor a lot of negative things can and will happen. The cedar in humidors actually absorbs moisture and it will suck all of the moisture from your tobacco. It will also absorb the aroma of the tobacco blend and you will not be able to use that same humidor for cigars for a very long time. The cedar could also impart a cedar aroma and flavor to your pipe tobacco. If you do try to store your pipe tobacco in a humidor the same way as cigars, by introducing humidity by using a humidity device, it will make the tobacco too moist to smoke. Remember 10-14% RH. Leave humidors for their intended purpose, storing cigars.

 

[woodsroad]

Gotcha. Two different worlds, cigar and pipe tobacco. Keep them that way. Thanks.
On humidors: What I meant to convey was that it is easier (for me) to maintain a "desired" RH and temp in a larger area. There's more mass, so change is slower.
My igloordoor is rock steady now, because I haven't changed anything in it in a long time. It's full, and I pull a cigar out every few days.
Keeping pipe tobacco at the "correct" RH seems more subjective...dependent on the blend, pipe and personal preferences. No?

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I keep my cigars at 66-68 percent humidity, and between 67-70 degrees temp. I don't smoke infused cigars, but if you have infused cigars then those should be kept in a separate humidor. My cigars are stored in my bedroom where I can control the humidity and temp more easily.
As for my pipe tobacco I store it in mason jars or in the sealed tins and store it in a cabinet in my shop. The temp in there fluctuates between seasons. Its heated but no air conditioning, so in the summer it does get warm and in the winter it stays rather cool unless I'm out there. So far I haven't had any issues with my tobacco drying out or any other issues.

 

[pipebow88]

You've already gotten some great storage tips for your pipe tobacco, so listen to what you've already been told.
Now cigars on the other hand......
I started with cigars, and then switched to pipes. I still smoke cigars on occasion, but don't keep a large humidor as I used to. Everyone is different on cigars, but here is my view. Roth, you are correct on proper cigar RH, and woodsroad you are also correct on proper cigar RH. I'm a combination of the two of you. My preference for smoking was always 64-65% RH. I felt that was the perfect RH for smoking, but felt that my cigars aged better at 68-70% RH. So I kept 2 humidors. A larger unit for aging, and a smaller for what was up to smoke next. Personal preference varies dramatically, but that's my take on it.

B

 

[timely]

I always pack my tobacco in mason jars, as I buy a fair amount of bulk blends.

 

[cigrmaster]

When I had a large cigar collection I kept my cigars at 65 degrees and at 62-65 percent humidity and found they aged great and smoked great at those levels.
When we get pipe tobacco I believe it comes at around 18% humidity so it should not go anywhere near a cigar humidor. I store all of my metal tins in their original containers and the plastic top tins I will re jar within 5 years( I only have 35 of those) and in a dark place. I keep my house at a constant 75 degrees with minimal humidity. I have a dehumidifying unit that works in conjuncture with my hvac, so I have no seasonal changes. I store all my bulks in jars and those also do not see the light of day, they are all kept in a closet or my living room built in that has doors to keep the light out.
Storing pipe tobacco is far easier than maintaining a humidor. I used to go through a gallon and a half of distilled water per week maintaining my humidor. It was a freaking pig, granted it was 81" high by 51" wide by 29" deep and had a capacity for 6000 cigars.

 

[woodsroad]

Damn.

That's a large humidor.

Why didn't you just humidify your bedroom, and sleep in the garage? If I had an extra room in the house, that's what I would do, turn it into a humidor, even if I had to sleep in the garage. In fact, I slept in the garage for about a month when we first bought this house and I was renovating. It wasn't so bad. I could smoke, tools were always handy, and I could spit on the floor. None of which is true about the house itself.

Anyway, thank you for the 18% number. I can't believe it's so low (considering that a lot of pipe tobacco arrives too wet), but there you have it.

Contradictions: A lot of folks will tell you that if you want to cellar, don't open the vacuum-packed tins. Yet, they will also say, in nearly the same breath, to never vacuum seal bulk tobacco for cellaring because it need "to breath" or something like that. There seems to be some old wives tales that just get repeated, without any real thought or research.

 

[flyguy]

@ Roth: how do you tell if the seals are broken without opening the tin?

 

[woodsroad]

Gotcha. That all makes sense to me.

A good experiment would be to cellar a tinned blend, one can sealed, the other opened every now and then and fluffed/aerated.