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Jul 17, 2017
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pencilandpipe.home.blog
I have a jar of Kajun Kake from 2008. When I first cracked the tin in 2018 it was incredible. Dark stewed fruits, rich sweetness and covered in plume. All of the amazing fermented goodness you'd expect from a 10yo Kajun Kake. I jarred it up immediately after opening, and it became a special occasion smoke for me. I'd only smoke it once or twice a year, but each time was equally satisfying. Last month I brought it with me on a trip to see family across country so I could share with some friends. Everyone, myself included described it as harsh, spicy, and ashy tasting.
I'm not throwing the blend away and plan to try it again and see if it was the climate or something like that. (I seriously doubt it was)
Has anyone else had a similar experience with a beautifully aged tobacco suddenly going off?
 
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Jul 17, 2017
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pencilandpipe.home.blog
Was it overly dry?
I don't believe so. I always use the pinch test to check for dryness and it was still pliable and had tangible moisture. Not out of the question that I may have dried it out more than it wanted to be. I do tend to like my tobacco on the drier side. I'll give it a shot straight out of the jar with no dry time and see what happens. Thank you for the insight!
 
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Jan 28, 2018
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Sarasota, FL
Perhaps the story that a very agreed blend needs to be smoked reasonably soon after opening, or it turns into shitdust, is true. I never bought into that because I've seen otherwise. Who knows?
 
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64alex

Part of the Furniture Now
May 10, 2016
566
339
[ Yeah, once you open something with some decent age on it, prepare to smoke it soon after as it will deteriorate quickly when exposed to fresh air.]

Do you think this apply only to ribbon cut or also to plugs and twists?
 

greeneyes

Lifer
Jun 5, 2018
2,126
12,193
There are three parts to this equation: you, the tobacco and the pipe.

Odds are it's you, and not some radical sudden chemical change with the tobacco. Bad pipe days happen. I have many many stellar tobaccos here and the combination of the pipe I use and my disposition at the time ensure that the experience isn't always consistently .... stellar.
 

ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
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Where NY, CT & MA meet
There are three parts to this equation: you, the tobacco and the pipe.

Odds are it's you, and not some radical sudden chemical change with the tobacco. Bad pipe days happen. I have many many stellar tobaccos here and the combination of the pipe I use and my disposition at the time ensure that the experience isn't always consistently .... stellar.

Agreed. Other factors play a role too. OP mentioned climate, and that can make a difference, especially when you consider all the factors that go into that. Temp, humidity, air quality, altitude, wind, indoor or outdoor, etc. Possible also what was eaten or drunk right before.

Regarding chasing the stellar smoke...I’m cracking up remembering one of Chuck Station’s editorials from P&T where he talks about trying to recreate this one stellar smoke and no matter how hard he tried to do everything exactly the same, he could catch it again.
 

greeneyes

Lifer
Jun 5, 2018
2,126
12,193
Regarding chasing the stellar smoke...I’m cracking up remembering one of Chuck Station’s editorials from P&T where he talks about trying to recreate this one stellar smoke and no matter how hard he tried to do everything exactly the same, he could catch it again.
I had two stellar tobaccos in two stellar pipes this morning. Not a stellar experience. I blame myself. ;)
 

ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
2,769
9,044
50
Where NY, CT & MA meet
I had two stellar tobaccos in two stellar pipes this morning. Not a stellar experience. I blame myself. ;)
The guilt burden is heavy. It’s ok. Be kind and forgive yourself. :ROFLMAO:puffy:poop:

For me there is too much pressure because I can have at most one bowl a day usually and I have to make them count because I don’t smoke in the winter. This better be good! Too much pressure.
 
Jul 17, 2017
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6,284
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pencilandpipe.home.blog
Yeah, once you open something with some decent age on it, prepare to smoke it soon after as it will deteriorate quickly when exposed to fresh air.
This is what I think may have happened. Jeremy Reeves mentioned only aging in small batches because you need to work through it quickly or it loses it's magic.
 
Last edited:
Jul 17, 2017
1,692
6,284
NV
pencilandpipe.home.blog
Agreed. Other factors play a role too. OP mentioned climate, and that can make a difference, especially when you consider all the factors that go into that. Temp, humidity, air quality, altitude, wind, indoor or outdoor, etc. Possible also what was eaten or drunk right before.
Regarding chasing the stellar smoke...I’m cracking up remembering one of Chuck Station’s editorials from P&T where he talks about trying to recreate this one stellar smoke and no matter how hard he tried to do everything exactly the same, he could catch it again.
I am leaning away from conditions etc because 3 people all had the same experience at the same time. Although we were all in the same conditions ?

Love Chuck, he's my favorite contributor on the SP daily reader. I'm not chasing a stellar smoke in this particular case. This blend has delivered a consistent flavor profile across several bowls and has seemed to do a complete 180.

I plan to have another bowl today without drying it out and see what happens. It could've been a fluke. But, if I have the same experience again I'm going to have to believe that an aged tobacco needs to be smoked fairly quickly (within a year in this case.)
 

ofafeather

Lifer
Apr 26, 2020
2,769
9,044
50
Where NY, CT & MA meet
I am leaning away from conditions etc because 3 people all had the same experience at the same time. Although we were all in the same conditions ?

Love Chuck, he's my favorite contributor on the SP daily reader. I'm not chasing a stellar smoke in this particular case. This blend has delivered a consistent flavor profile across several bowls and has seemed to do a complete 180.

I plan to have another bowl today without drying it out and see what happens. It could've been a fluke. But, if I have the same experience again I'm going to have to believe that an aged tobacco needs to be smoked fairly quickly (within a year in this case.)
Keep us posted.
 
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Jul 17, 2017
1,692
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pencilandpipe.home.blog
So I just packed a bowl, straight from the jar, in a cob and walked around the yard.
No drying time has definitely improved the tobacco from my previous experience. I am definitely missing the sweet/sour and fermented flavors from earlier smokes. I've come to the conclusion that the blend is not dead, but all of the magical flavors that were imparted by the aging process are fading. Keep in mind, I jarred this blend in 2018 and enjoyed great smokes as late as December 2019. So I think with Kajun Kake particularly, you'd have a window of about a year before you lose that aging magic.

I have a jar of Dan Tobacco Limerick from 1999 that i opened around the same time and it has stayed consistently delicious and the fermented flavor and rich sweetness come through every time. It does make me wonder if the day is coming where this is no longer true. It also makes me want to take a "smoke em if you got em" approach to anything with substantial age I've jarred from a tin.
 
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lawdawg

Lifer
Aug 25, 2016
1,792
3,801
Makes you wonder if all this frantic "cellaring" is going to let us down in 15 - 20 years

It's not uncommon at all in the pipe world for people to smoke very old tins of tobacco. I've read about people smoking the old Balkan Sobranie tins from the 70's and loving it. Of course a certain portion of experiences with old tobacco will not be so good. In any case, I've got quite a few pounds stashed away, spending maybe a few hundred bucks per year building my cellar over about the past five years. In the long run, a few hundred bucks a year isn't that much to lose, even if the whole thing goes to shit, which it probably won't.