What is the Difference between Aged Tobacco and New Tobacco?
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I'll make a comparison with wine. Some wines are meant to be drunk young, and some will not improve with aging anyway. Then again there are wines that will benefit from years in the bottle.
Similarly, there are pipe tobaccos that will not benefit from and may even deteriorate with age.
Then there are those tobaccos, especially Virginias or blends having a considerable Virginia component, which may become smoother, or sweeter or generally richer as they mature.
I find that my favorites are generally best when aged from 3 to 7 years in the tin.
Similarly, there are pipe tobaccos that will not benefit from and may even deteriorate with age.
Then there are those tobaccos, especially Virginias or blends having a considerable Virginia component, which may become smoother, or sweeter or generally richer as they mature.
I find that my favorites are generally best when aged from 3 to 7 years in the tin.
To continue with the wine comparison:
Wine does not continue to improve with prolonged aging. They improve, reach a peak, then decline.
Some wine continue to improve for decades. Others will be past their best after one decade.
Aging tobacco has its parallel.
People will say tastes meld better, rough edges are smoothened, Perique going from spicy to fruity, Latakia toning down, and yes Virginia blends becoming sweeter.
The bottom line is that there are some changes for the better or worse according to tastes. For sure no aging will make shit tobacco taste wonderful!
Oh and final point, green tobaccos can taste pretty bad, especially when still off gassing ammonia.
The bottom line is that there are some changes for the better or worse according to tastes. For sure no aging will make shit tobacco taste wonderful!
Oh and final point, green tobaccos can taste pretty bad, especially when still off gassing ammonia.
Ageing changes tobacco, Virginias especially but whether that change is for the better or not often boils down to personal taste.
For example; Aj's Vaper fresh, I did not like.
It was jarred and put in the back of my cupboard and forgotten.
My intention was to use it as a mixer when my supplies ran low.
3-4 years later I tried a small bowl and it was simply superb.
PS Luxury Navy Flake also a VaPer [Virginia + Perique]
Fresh it's a rather nice smoke.
At 3-4 years of age it's jar note is simply divine [dried fruit and plum] but, although it's still an enjoyable smoke I prefer the blend when it's fresh.
While on the subject I'll mention that one should not ever throw out tobacco.
Not only does tobacco often change with age but also, you'll find that your tastes will change over time.
For example I went through periods when I didn't care for aromatics.
Then I found that I actually mostly liked semi-aros [If a blend is too sweet and moist I blend in straight Virginia, Burley or a combination of the two and adjust to suit my tastes].
Now I like a variation of genres through the day.
For example; Aj's Vaper fresh, I did not like.
It was jarred and put in the back of my cupboard and forgotten.
My intention was to use it as a mixer when my supplies ran low.
3-4 years later I tried a small bowl and it was simply superb.
PS Luxury Navy Flake also a VaPer [Virginia + Perique]
Fresh it's a rather nice smoke.
At 3-4 years of age it's jar note is simply divine [dried fruit and plum] but, although it's still an enjoyable smoke I prefer the blend when it's fresh.
While on the subject I'll mention that one should not ever throw out tobacco.
Not only does tobacco often change with age but also, you'll find that your tastes will change over time.
For example I went through periods when I didn't care for aromatics.
Then I found that I actually mostly liked semi-aros [If a blend is too sweet and moist I blend in straight Virginia, Burley or a combination of the two and adjust to suit my tastes].
Now I like a variation of genres through the day.
This. I've yet to smoke anything with some age that I didn't prefer to fresh. Latakia fanatics may disagree. I prefer Virginia forward blends which tend to lose sharp edges and become sweeter.
The short answer is that new tobacco is new, and aged tobacco is aged. Different blends age differently and some notes increase while others diminish. As has been said, tobaccos change with age and whether that change is an improvement is up to the individual smoker to decide.
When I smoked the A&C Petersen version of Escudo I liked it both fresh and aged. Fresh, the Perique had a white pepper flavor while aged the Perique became fruity. By way of contrast, the STG version of Escudo doesn't appreciably develop.
I prefer 2015 fresh, but since it's out of production I'll continue to enjoy it aged, just not quite as much. St James flake can develop an almost caramel like sweetness with age. Some with some McClelland blends and also Full Virginia Flake. But that doesn't always happen. PS-LBF tastes like cardboard to me when fresh. I believe the tobacco is released to early. Give it 4 years and it really develops rich flavors.
The whole business is a bit of a crapshoot. I didn't cellar to age, I cellared so that I would have my favorite blends to smoke if and when they disappeared from the marketplace. Aging is a byproduct for me.
When I smoked the A&C Petersen version of Escudo I liked it both fresh and aged. Fresh, the Perique had a white pepper flavor while aged the Perique became fruity. By way of contrast, the STG version of Escudo doesn't appreciably develop.
I prefer 2015 fresh, but since it's out of production I'll continue to enjoy it aged, just not quite as much. St James flake can develop an almost caramel like sweetness with age. Some with some McClelland blends and also Full Virginia Flake. But that doesn't always happen. PS-LBF tastes like cardboard to me when fresh. I believe the tobacco is released to early. Give it 4 years and it really develops rich flavors.
The whole business is a bit of a crapshoot. I didn't cellar to age, I cellared so that I would have my favorite blends to smoke if and when they disappeared from the marketplace. Aging is a byproduct for me.
I heard about aged blends. But there really isn't exact way to find this out until I try it myself. Just started opening 3 year old tins. Little smoother, and red Va isn't as robust. Maybe little mellower. Will revisit in next 2 years. Hopefully, the bowl at my death bed would be magical.
Everything stated above is ?. I’ve only been cellaring for about 3 years, so my experience is limited. Concerning English blends specifically: you may find that Latakia becomes noticeably more mellow after only a few years. I smoke primarily English blends and I’ve found that they pretty much universally lose their “punch” or “zing” fairly quickly, which is somewhat of a drawback. Unfortunately, if you’re trying to stock up on your favorite blends, this is an unavoidable byproduct of cellaring deep. If you crave the intense punch of a strong Latakia/Oriental combo, you might have to buy a fresh tin now and again to chase that particular high. Just my opinion.
One is old and costs a lot the other isn't and cost less!
All tobacco is aged after curing for a few years, before it is used for manufacturing. Then, after pressing/blending, it might get a bit of resting time before tinning.
After that, it can age in the tin for as long as the customer wants. I found that a couple of years always improved the tobacco. Any longer and the tobacco may get worse.
After that, it can age in the tin for as long as the customer wants. I found that a couple of years always improved the tobacco. Any longer and the tobacco may get worse.
For me, the primary answer is "security". With pipe tobacco aging in my cellar, I know that I will never run out of a wide assortment of blends that I enjoy. The secondary answer is that most tobaccos will improve with age. But, as noted above, the curve of improvement and decline is unknown. Still, I've yet to have a vintage tin or jar go bad. Sure, there is the occasional mold infestation, but that's pretty rare. The tertiary answer would be that it gives us all something to jaw about, ad infinitum!
my experience says tobacco mellows with age. Which again like has been said can improve or ruin a blend. Personally aside from a few blends I don't find any real magic in it.
People talk about aging Virginias, but as a burley smoker I find a little age almost always improves the so-called “power burleys.” “Big n burley” for instance can have a very strong barnyard smell. Jarring it and letting it age only a few months can dramatically improve it. Even something like Five brothers, a shag burley that according to much conventional wisdom has zero aging potential will be much improved by allowing it to mellow a while in a jar
I've come across a few tins that clearly had a few years on them, and there was a difference - things seemed a bit smoother and fruitier, and similar with some I've had in a jar for a few months. But to be frank, just as with wine, ageing probably won't make a lot of difference to most of the stuff out there. Only particularly well looked after grapes make for good wine ageing, and I assume it is similar with tobacco, the difference being, there are no tobacco appelations, or vineyards or whatever. At this point, we kind of have to accept what we're given.
Aged tobacco? As someone mentioned. $$$$
And some get better, some stay the same and some get worse.
And some get better, some stay the same and some get worse.
Would I pay extra money for an aged tobacco? Personally.... No. But I find that cellaring some tobaccos like African Malawi and Zimbabwean does take off the rough edges and age it very nicely, 6 months at least. Same with Virginia. I put a 58 percent Boveda humidifier pack in the jar and it keeps it perfect for my taste. Probably one of the best kept "secrets" for cellaring as far as I'm concerned. Boveda packs
