Tobacco Aging Question

[newfie]

I've read many posts and articles and posts on aging but still have a question.
Let's say you get a lb of tobacco, is it better to store it in several smaller jars, or would the aging effect be different if it was put into a large bail-top jar (as example)

 

[papipeguy]

Good question. I think it wouldn't matter other than in one jar you'll get the effect of homogeneous aging.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I would pack it in as tight as you can regardless of size of container. Air (oxygen specifically) impedes anaerobic aging.

 

[mso489]

You'll get the most benefit from aging with Virginias, as I understand. Other tobaccos, the benefits are less obvious. Or so I've heard.

 

[iamn8]

If the lb of tobacco comes in a sealed box/bag I'd leave it there. If it came loose jar it up. Personally, I'm a proponent of sealing it. There's always much discussion on this issue and, as strange at seems, there's no right/wrong answer, but I prefer to seal it tight. A fellow member here sent me a jar of LBF sealed air tight. It had aged more than a few years and it was awesome, aged perfectly. That was enough to convince me.

 

[prairiedruid]

Pack it tight in several small jars; that way after some months/years you can open one to enjoy and check aging progress and the others stay sealed and continue aging undisturbed.

 

[davidintexas]

+1 prairiedruid. It really depends on how much you have and how often you plan on smoking it. With my roughly two bowls a week, I would have one or two small jars packed with what you can fit in there, and then sock the rest away in a big jar so it can remain undisturbed for a long time, especially if it's a pure Virginia blend or a blend that has a fair amount of Virginia in it, as the benefits of aging are primarily in proportion to the amount of Virginia in the blend

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm a small jar guy. I don't like opening a large jar and commit to smoking a pound of anything without a break with other blends thrown in. So a pound jar of anything just looks like one long boring marathon to me. No matter how good it is. Three ounces in a jar though, looks like a good size to open and enjoy before I get bored with it, IMO. Besides, by the time you smoked half way through a pound jar, the positive effects of aging would give way to staleness. Once aged and once opened, it really should be smoked fairly quickly. Like opening an aged bottle of wine. Just letting it set on the counter will turn it from ambrosia to blech in a time. YMMV.

 

[cortezattic]

+1 prairiedruid & Cosmic
Small jars for versatility.

 

[hooboy]

Well This topic has never been convincing either way for yours truly!....

It is obvious that the blenders have aged their product to their satisfaction!!!!
Any thing else is debatable to say the least. I know that Burley does not in my opinion

gain anything in aging.

Aging is to say the most subjective in my opinion of all things Tobak!!

I have tobacco in my cellar that are at least 5 years of age and I have sampled some and continue to be

not convinced that it is worth the effort.
therefore my findings are still not convincing enough to say it is a good thing in fact I find myself leaning towards the opposite thoughts!

as usual as my signature says "I feel strongly Both ways" and as usual your Milage may vary!

BUT this discussion is very interesting in listing the various opnions and experiences!

hoo

 

[cortezattic]

I always try to keep in mind what Pease and others have noted, that the single greatest change occurs at about the 6 month mark. Everything after that is more subtle and may well seem not worth the effort. Personally, I like what Pease called the "exuberance" of young blends; and was it Rattray who said something like "Buy it and smoke it!"? What I take away from these aging discussions is a feeling of security in knowing that I can stock up against increasing prices and scarcity without worrying about spoilage. So, if anything, it's going to get better.

 

[newfie]

Thank you folks for your responses.
Looks like the consensus is small jars but the jury may still be out on that point and the oxygen effects on aging.
I may be looking to stock up on squat pint Mason jars (my favourite type).

 

[jpmcwjr]

The jury is out on effects of oxygen on aging? In what way(s)?

 

[woodsroad]

I pack tobacco for long-term storage into mason jars using a large caulking gun. Packs it solid. There's a whole thread on it here somewhere.
Anaerobic fermentation, IMHO, seems to have the most beneficial effect on pipe tobacco, as jpMcW has pointed out. But, then again, 99% of that notion is based on anecdote and conjecture. If anyone has done extensive controlled studies on the matter, I'd like to know about it.

 

[jkrug]

+1 prairiedruid & Cosmic
Small jars for versatility.

This is my thoughts as well. It also lets the unopened jars keep aging when you open just one. ::

 

[pipestud]

Pack it tight in several small jars; that way after some months/years you can open one to enjoy and check aging progress and the others stay sealed and continue aging undisturbed. - Prairiedruid

Right on!

 

[jpmcwjr]

Anaerobic fermentation, IMHO, seems to have the most beneficial effect on pipe tobacco, as jpMcW has pointed out. But, then again, 99% of that notion is based on anecdote and conjecture. If anyone has done extensive controlled studies on the matter, I'd like to know about it.

Great idea! I wonder if any of our august blenders here have done so or know of a study that was, uh, actually controlled.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The cigarette industry has a bunch of stuff posted in scientific gobbledy-gook language that I can't understand. But, Greg Pease has done about the most published in "layman's terms" work on the subject. However, I don't think it benefits anyone to overthink this. We're talking about a process that was started by accidental preferences for tobacco that was shipped overseas, and the merchants start preferring aged over fresh. This was stacks loaded into a murky cargo hold on a leaky ship. Or, Native Americans who found last year's stash that the hid under a rock. As I've always said, do what you want. It's your money. But, I will gladly explain what I do and why, and what I do seems to work for me.

 

[sablebrush52]

The aging process is broken every time the seal is broken. So if you want your lb of blend "Whatsis Imperial" to age while still being able to enjoy some along the way, breaking the lb into smaller amounts and then jarring them allows you to do that without disturbing the aging process on all of it.
Jarring for long term aging requires a reliable airtight seal, and that means a mason jar. Pack each jar as tight as you can, compressing the tobacco as solidly as you can, and leave about 1/4" of air at the top. Some people like to warm the jars just before sealing to lessen the air pressure in the jar. A little air is needed to allow the bacteria to start their beneficial work before they absorb all of the oxygen and croak out. This leaves the anaerobic fermentation environment suitable for long term aging.
To age or not to age, that is the question.
Aromatics do not benefit from long term aging. So if you like aros, buy 'em and enjoy 'em.
Latakia peaks and fades. It's probably as it's strongest for the first 15-20 years, then it begins to "soften". By 30 years it has WAY softened, and by 35 years it might as well be dead. But many smokers actually prefer the flavor qualities of softened Latakia. I just figure you can do as well by buying a gentler Latakia blend in the first place and save the $$$ on buying faded "classics".
Virginias also eventually fade, though their lifespan is considerably longer than Latakia. Of the 40 - 100 year old blends that I've smoked, Virginias do seem to croak out after 60+ years, and go positively strange in flavor. The only exception to that was a sample of Capstan from 1941. That still tasted like Capstan - in a miniaturized way like all really old blends - but it didn't stay that way for long. Exposure to fresh oxygen caused it to quickly deteriorate. Really old tobacco seems to be pretty unstable, so if you open a tin smoke it up quickly or reseal it quickly and pray. That $150 that you spent could be sludge the next time you go for a smoke.
Burley seems to be the aging champ. In the 100 year old blend that I sampled, it was the only clear note that arose out of the sludge.
Are blends ready to smoke when released? With the possible exception of some of the new blends that claim to be "designed" for aging - a marketing gimmick if ever there was one - blends are ready to smoke when released. But I find that they do benefit from some extra time on the shelf. A couple of years allows blends to ripen a bit. It might be that nothing more than that a little homogenization of the components has taken place, but I like the effect.
One of my favorite blends is Escudo. Its flavor does change with aging. The Perique goes from peppery to fruity giving the blend a flavor that is less bright yet has greater fullness and depth. It still tastes like Escudo. Aging isn't going to change the basic flavor profile into something completely different. The differences are subtle. Fortunately, I like Escudo fresh and aged, so I can enjoy it now while some sits on the shelf aging in a wonderful way.

 

[hawke]

Thanks SableMan for sharing your experience. I'm currently involved in an aging school of my own. Only thing I have found so far is that for best results, or my preference maybe, tightly packed is the way to get the aged flavor in the shortest time. Even 1 month can result in a substantial difference. In doing some trading I have been able to smoke some blends aged as far back as 14 years. In smoking this compared to freshly purchased I was not near as impressed as I thought I would be. Others around 2 years aged were still not worth the patience to me. Right now I think that 3 months is about as big a change as I need to be well pleased with the change verses my ability in patience and finances to wait. 3 months is a good balance.
Some of the most interesting aged blends or mixtures have been from unknown contents. A pound of unknown and twice purchased Best of the Rest from P&C. The recipe of course cannot be replicated. My latest BOTR purchase was far down on the scale which I would call "tolerable" and two months later its "not bad at all". This from a jar which has periodically be opened along the way. I still have one jar that's never been opened since its purchase.