Who Buys Tins to Age Ten Years or More?

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cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
I don't do Latakia anymore. I mostly smoke Va based blends and while I know there have been others, I specifically recall being a little disappointed with some 2008 Luxury Navy Flake. The flavors had mellowed and gotten smoother, sure, but it had also lost that bit of tang which is sometimes what I'm in the mood for with LNF.
Interesting about the Dunhill. All mine is from 2012 and I love how it smokes. I have smoked quite a few 2008 Escudo's and loved them all.
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,621
44,831
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I don't do Latakia anymore. I mostly smoke Va based blends and while I know there have been others, I specifically recall being a little disappointed with some 2008 Luxury Navy Flake. The flavors had mellowed and gotten smoother, sure, but it had also lost that bit of tang which is sometimes what I'm in the mood for with LNF.
Like I am wont to say, "Blends don't improve with age, they change with age. Whether that change constitutes an improvement is up to the individual smoker to decide."
 

DanWil84

Lifer
Mar 8, 2021
1,688
12,572
39
The Netherlands (Europe)
I have 2 blends I stocked up on (at least for my smoking habits) that could possibly reach those 10 years, but they are not bought with that goal in mind. Point is only by that time I will know it was worth it to stock it that long. I don't think I would buy anything to age it deliberately 10 years, but again not excluding that it might happen some day. I don't have experience with 10+ year tobacco yet, my not so secret santa @cosmicfolklore was very nice to gift me 2 aged tins so I might change my stance on it. But then again, what would I have to look for when aging tins that long? I have no clue.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Purposely is the key word. My oldest tins are about ten, maybe a little older, but have just accumulated over time. I don't buy much tobacco at a time, but I definitely buy more than I smoke, so some unopened tins go way back. Aging definitely smooths out blends and makes the condiment tobaccos meld more with the base.

Latakia can fade quite a bit or completely. Aromatics often lose much of the added flavor, but often that's a good thing. Usually the older tins are more satisfying than the newer ones, depending on the blends.
 
Purposely is the key word. My oldest tins are about ten, maybe a little older, but have just accumulated over time. I don't buy much tobacco at a time, but I definitely buy more than I smoke, so some unopened tins go way back. Aging definitely smooths out blends and makes the condiment tobaccos meld more with the base.

Latakia can fade quite a bit or completely. Aromatics often lose much of the added flavor, but often that's a good thing. Usually the older tins are more satisfying than the newer ones, depending on the blends.
BTW, Tom, do you still have the tin of Royal Yacht that you have mentioned many times over the last 9 years? puffy
 
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cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
Before I decided to cellar a blend deep that would easily last 10 plus years, I did a test tin to make sure I really liked the blend and was confident it would only get better with age.
Some blends I only needed a few bowls to know it was a keeper. For example when I tested Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake I knew I was going deep on it.

The first time I smoked Capstan Blue Flake I knew it was a keeper.

I ran into a number of blends that I wanted to go deep on
so I did. If I wasn't sure I kept smoking through the tin until I was sure it would or would not make the cut.
Smoking only flakes and plugs that had little to no red virginia's made my choices easier. When Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky came back on the US market in 2016, I got my test tin, smoked a couple of bowls and then ordered 100 tins. They were the 50 gram tins and they only cost 701.00 for the entire hundred. It was one of my best deals. Not long after that purchase Orlik took the DSK off the US market again. I don't know if is are available in Europe or else where but I took no chances and now I never have to worry about buying it again.

There is nothing worse than finding a blend you love and then watch as it disappears from the market. It happened to me in 2000 with Three Nuns and I swore I wouldn't let it happen again. I almost let it happen with the DSK but luckily it came back. I had a decent stash of 100 gram tins of DSK dated from1997-2005 but it was not near enough for my needs.
 

Zeno Marx

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 10, 2022
238
1,264
Nope, I bought up all of mine to keep ahead of rising cost. Any aging that has happened has been due to not getting around to smoking them.
This is my modus operandi as well. I've found my two favorite VaPers lose almost everything I love about them when they age, so I prefer them new. One is OOP, so I'm stuck with the aging versions. The other went up in price around 30% this past year, so it is unlikely I will be grabbing more anytime soon. If I were to buy more, I'd experiment with vacuum sealing and trying to prevent aging while retaining freshness. I'm actually looking for a replacement tobacco or two with aging in mind, which is not how I've done things in the past.

I started smoking in a time when nobody aged tobacco. Some people had aged tins by coincidence, not by design. Years into the new millennium, and I'm still wrapping my head around it. I will though, but only because it will likely be necessary.
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,337
I started smoking in a time when nobody aged tobacco. Some people had aged tins by coincidence, not by design.
Same. When I started in '91 I knew nothing of cellaring but I had witnessed several rises in cost of tobacco growing up so I started putting back more and more as I could.
 
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renfield

Lifer
Oct 16, 2011
4,231
31,380
Kansas
Only a few times have I purchased with the intent of extended aging.

My cellar accumulates age mostly because it takes that long for me to get around to a tin. Some blends I prefer fresh so the old tins get older as I smoke the “fresh” stuff.