What Have You Cellared the Longest?

[rmbittner]

I’m not picking up truly collectible tins or anything, so the tins I’ve cellared the longest are only from 2004, when my cellaring began. (Although I’ve been smoking a pipe since 1980, “cellaring“ wasn’t a thing back then. Unfortunately.)

My 2004 tins are from McClelland: Dark Star and Frog Morton Across the Pond.

I’m especially interested in seeing how Dark Star ages, since it was such a heavily stoved Virginia to start out with. But, damn, it’s hard for me to come to grips with opening one of my few McClellands when I know there will never be any more…

 

[jpberg]

I’m not picking up truly collectible tins or anything, so the tins I’ve cellared the longest are only from 2004, when my cellaring began. (Although I’ve been smoking a pipe since 1980, “cellaring“ wasn’t a thing back then. Unfortunately.)

My 2004 tins are from McClelland: Dark Star and Frog Morton Across the Pond.

I’m especially interested in seeing how Dark Star ages, since it was such a heavily stoved Virginia to start out with. But, damn, it’s hard for me to come to grips with opening one of my few McClellands when I know there will never be any more…

I opened some early 00 Dark Star with some friends a couple years ago. I dumped it in a bowl and gave it a few turns by hand, the appearance was rich lovely mulch.
You’ll like it.

 

[rmbittner]

You’ll like it.

You’re just going to leave it at that, huh? No description of the smoking experience? C’mon…

 

[anotherbob]

Yorktown basically it's where the cellar started. And as far as age. It does change it but I honestly don't find it an improvement just slightly sweeter and less rough. But I really like having that one around. I am not saying it's the best tobacco ever. In fact there are ones I enjoy more when I smoke them. But for me it's the blend that gives me the most consistent above average semi transcendent smokes. And on it's worst day I find it always beyond enjoyable. It is a blend I could enjoy smoking straight through out the day into the weeks months and probably years.

 

[logs]

I’m especially interested in seeing how Dark Star ages, since it was such a heavily stoved Virginia to start out with. But, damn, it’s hard for me to come to grips with opening one of my few McClellands when I know there will never be any more…

I've had 20 year old Dark Star and feel it loses a lot of it's personality. It gets extremely smooth but the characteristic tang and complexity is missing. It's not bad a bad smoke but it sure doesn't taste like Dark Star. If it were me, i'd sell the old tin and buy one with less age from pipestud or tinbids.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

It's 18 years old, it's not going to get any better. Tomorrow is not a given, smoke it whenever you feel the urge. Store it in a mason jar and space out enjoying the tin.

 

[Grangerous]

I still have a collection of small jars from 2010. Quite a collection of unobtainables. Original Edgeworth RR, some older Burley London Blend, HH Acadian Perique, Scottish Mixture, Golden Extra, Symphony, Sugarbarrel, Norwood, Half n Half, Barking Dog, Bourbon Street, Picayune, Model, Field n Stream.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Though I've been cellaring longer, the oldest remaining are Black Frigate from the late '90s and Mephisto from the early 2000s.

 

[Jwebb90]

The oldest tin I have is Three Nuns from 95. I had two but smoked one a few years ago. It was sublime.

 

[Worknman]

Im with Hoosier, I would go ahead and smoke the dark star now. Its not going to get any better at this point.

 

[jpberg]

You’re just going to leave it at that, huh? No description of the smoking experience? C’mon…

I’m no wordsmith. It still had some a fair piece of that Dark Star wang and punch - we definitely knew what we were smoking - and the sharpness, of which I’m not a fan, was long gone.

 

[jpberg]

Im with Hoosier, I would go ahead and smoke the dark star now. Its not going to get any better at this point.

I’m in the other boat. I enjoy it more now than I ever did “fresh”.
We’ll be opening another this summer - I suspect I’ll still be a fan.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The absolute oldest tins that I have in my cellar are Astleys 109, 2010. I have some older tins that I picked up already with age on them, but Astleys are the ones I bought fresh and held onto for the longest.
Second longest are Hearth and Home Annie Cake, and then quite a few different McClelland blends.

 

[jaytex1969]

"What Have You Cellared the Longest?"​

880 round cases of Russian 7.62x54r.


Oh, for tobacco....

It's some Peter Stokebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake I jarred in 2017.

I've bought stuff much older, but the LBF is the oldest I've personally put up.

 

[mso489]

Nothing ancient, but I have some Dunhill brand blends, I think maybe Nightcap, Royal Yacht, and maybe one or two others. They had been around for a few years before Dunhill blends became Peterson. No Russian ammunition.

 

[Sinzalot]

My oldest cellared acquisitions are 10 tins of HH Vintage Syrian from 2014, probably past it's best by now and sadly not in my rotation anymore as I've grown out of latakia.
My second are three 500g bags of RDF from 2015, I look forward to opening those in the not too distant future.

 

[sablebrush52]

I only really began to cellar in earnest around 2012, but along the way picked up a number of older tins when The Cigar Warehouse changed ownership and the prior owner was getting rid of the pipe tobaccos that he still had at 1/2 off, prior to turning over the store to the present owner. So I still have tins of various Rattray's blends from the 1990's, tins of Acadian Perique and Vintage Syrian from 2012. I have various tins that were gifts that go back to the 1960's and '70's. Most of my holdings are between 2012 and 2018, when I stopped building my stock and switched over to the occasional tin to replace something of which I'd run out. Now I barely buy anything.
Hindsight is always 20 20. If I'd known then what I know now I could have been sitting on a pile of Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture, 759, Sullivan and Powell, Dunhill made Dunhill, Rattray's made Rattray's etc. etc. Oh well...

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Of that I've cellared myself, I have some Mason jars date 2021! That's the earliest I could start!

Some Wilke No. 515, Vermont Maple Cavendish, Rum and Maple and some other blends. More to have them around in smaller jars and save a little by buying in bulk. Been putting aways some Virginias now, which should actually benefit from aging.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Hindsight is always 20 20. If I'd known then what I know now I could have bbeen sitting on a pile of Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture, 759, Sullivan and Powell, Dunhill maade Dunhill, Rattray's made Rattray's etc. etc. Oh well...

I'd have a ton of Murray's Elizabethan and Three Year Matured Virginia.

 

[kola]

I have way too many tobacco blends way beyond 15 years old (many from the 1990's when it seemed that "cellaring" and "ageing" started to take off). I gotta' clean house some day and dump them off. So I guess I have some that are 30 years old or so. Time flies.

IMO, at 15 years (if stored "properly") the tobacco begins to degrade. I could be wrong though - as my opinion is just from my own personal experiences of smoking many blends over 50+ years.

Recently someone here had a tin of ERR from the 50s or 60s and when they popped it open it was pure, fresh and an orgasmic experience to smoke. So go figger'

At 65 I'm too old to be hanging onto stuff. I smoke it. And if I was younger I'd smoke anything 10 years or older. OTOH we now have people paying bigass bucks for rusted tins with powder in it. It's one big crapshoot.