Will Your Cellar be Viable For The Long Haul?

[gervais]

This is something that has been posted before, probably many times. I think it's important to bring it back up every once in a while for discussion.

A good number of us have spent countless dollars on building a supply of tobacco that we hope will last us until we are shown the door. I know I have. Now this might not concern some of our elder brethren here, but how about those of us in our 20's 30's, even 40's and 50's? Will our stash be anything smokable after the 30 year mark? Is it all just a crap shot in the dark? All we can do is wait and see I guess.

Id like to know from the more knowledgeable smokers here who have had alot of aged tobaccos. What leaf type has held up the best for you? What specific blends have aged the best for you, and remained something good and smokable?

Do you think your tobacco will be good to go 30 - 40 years from now? Do you even care? Lol. With the tens of thousands I've invested, I know I do.

Let's talk about it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yep

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I think my tobacco will be in better shape than me 30 to 40 years from now. Valid question. As a backup, I'm replacing about 1/2 to 3/4 of what I smoke every year with my absolute favorite. Who knows how long I'll be able to do that but it's better than no plan. Means I'll probably due with several hundred pounds of tobacco. Won't bother me, I'll be dead.

 

[gervais]

I think my tobacco will be in better shape than me 30 to 40 years from now. Valid question. As a backup, I'm replacing about 1/2 to 3/4 of what I smoke every year with my absolute favorite. Who knows how long I'll be able to do that but it's better than no plan. Means I'll probably due with several hundred pounds of tobacco. Won't bother me, I'll be dead.

That's a good plan. I'm going to try and refresh a little with new stock every year as well, it's just hard to do that sometimes knowing what I already have accumulated. I probably wouldn't be as concerned about the whole thing if I didn't live in an anti-tobacco country. I'd love to hope that you fellas southside won't ever have the issues Canada and many other countries are facing. Either way, I'm cheering for you guys to keep the freedom

 

[didimauw]

My tobacco will hold up fine, if not smoked. The thing I'm most worried about is having enough. I'm so far behind on my buying. I only have 20 lbs stored. And that's tobaccos that aren't necessarily my favorite...

 

[sablebrush52]

As someone who’s smoked a fair amount of tobacco that’s older than you, I’d say the definitive answer is “maybe”.
Like everything else made up of matter, tobaccos peak and decline, and some can get downright nasty.
The absolute longevity king appears to be burley. Long after the Virginias have descended into zombie vomit, the burley in that tin of vintage wretched slime you dropped $500 on will still resemble burley.
Some tins will be amazing in a good way. Most will be acceptable, if a little faded. A few will leave you hating life.
But, you will still have tobacco to smoke, and hopefully enjoy.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Surprisingly, "yes" but still some things to work on --- no 40 year horizon to worry about, lol, but if I'm alive and healthy and alert I won't care if I've run out.

 

[grimpuffer]

That is a good point. Right now, I am not smoking as much as I normally would in warmer months. I just havent gotten around to finding a resolution that works for me to allow me to enjoy a pipe outside when its freezing cold. I just dont find that relaxing.

As far as tobacco, I havent had any bad aged tobacco, but I have found that some of the English blends I like have faded more than anything with age on them. Not that they are bad, Gaslight being a good example, but it definitely has a more nuanced flavor and doesnt hit you on the nose like a fresh tin.

As my tastes have changed, I have built up more and more of a Burley and Virginia cellar with some good VaPers too. They dont have enough age on them for me to say one way or another except for some older HH ODF which tastes the same as a newer tin.

I do worry that some I have had in tins for a while may fail so most of what I buy now gets opened and put into jars for long storage. Already had about a pound and a half of 10yr+ tins burst or crack the tin and thats with them being in a climate controlled environment.

I just keep buying though because you never know when the Feds will say weed is ok and tobacco is now illegal and I have close to 25 pounds. Granted, I do not buy like I use to, but I do stock up on blends I like and new ones I want to keep for trying down the road every so often.

 

[TheWhale13]

I don't know how my smoking future will look. I want to keep smoking, but as a very young guy, I don't know how the commercial market for pipe tobacco will look in fifty years or so. I guess that I can stock up about ten years of use, but can not buy more than that considering my financial situation, so home grown is probably going to be my go to. Or just give it up. That might be hard, and boring, but it is after all the healthiest choice. I guess we'll see.

 

[orlandofurioso]

I'm only 65 and I have T-shirts that are older than you ( most of my pipes too ) .
Joking aside; I just opened a Dunhill Tall Boy tin from the very early eighties, so last of Dunhill's indoor production.
It's Standard Mixture Medium and it is manna from heaven now
Ten more to go ; Dunhill tins are made to store for decades
Today's is my stupid emoji's day.

 

[Singularis]

After 2021's supposedly imminent tobaccolypse (which is, I confess, ALWAYS imminent), what with the potential massive increase in pipe tobacco tax in the US House, I really ramped up my cellaring. Now I'm sitting on 6 years of tobacco which is small for many around these parts. I doubt my consumption will go up, but even if it does, I plan to keep a steady purchase of just enough, or slightly less, for replacement (say, about 30 oz per year). That means I'll always have 5-6 year old tobacco available as I work through old stock at my typical consumption.

Honestly, at this point, I've decided there may not be some huge benefit to aging tobacco much longer than 5-6 years, and who knows what kind of mold/bloom/plume/crystalization may happen that may or may not be harmful (even if tasty).

I was glad to have stored up what I did when I did, but I think I've reached a good cadence now.

Though I suppose if another impending pipe tobacco tax increase is on the horizon, I might go back to aggressive cellaring. Who knows.

Life is short and you can't take it with you, that much is certain.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Luckily for me, I have tastes for a variety of tobaccos, and my cellar reflects that. My Virginias will outlive me, and my burleys will smooth out somewhat. My latakias will meld, and my aromatics will just remain in stasis.

I am smoking more burleys these days, and since I grew and set back a variety of homegrown that I enjoy, I know that I am set for life without ever having to drop another seed.

I do wish that I had grown more Japan8, but I will just treasure the Japan8/virginia twists that I have.

I do still buy stuff that I don’t have or that is new released, but that just means that I will have some left when I leave this mortal coil.

 

[DanWil84]

I'm under 40, so I'll play. If I'll complete in buying about 12 kg per year the next 3 to 4 years that would be a "lifetime" stash at my present smoking rate which I don't see speeding up anything significant, I smoke about a kilo a year. I could stop buying after that, probably replenish 1/3 I smoke a year.

A kilo costs from 150 to 250 euros now, depending on bulk or tinned and which brand. DTM 250 gram bags are the cheapest at 150 to 180 a kilo, where a brand like SG or Mac Baren is about 250 to 280 a kilo in tins now, or even around 320 a kilo for Peterson DLNR. So at those prices smokeability is a factor in the long run.

Before I was aiming for a lifelong cellar of 10 blends, about 4 to 5 kilos a blend, but the aim is now a wider and less deep cellar per blend. My tobacco preference generally leans to a more "ageable" type now, Im not gravitating to latakia heavy blends while sometimes enjoying them, but those can also be smoked with 5 years on them.

So to answer your question, I don't know if my to be cellar will be smokeable in 30 to 40 years. It's a wild guess. I do know that some here have smoked 30 to 40 years old tobacco, but can't remember someone having a cellar of 30 to 40 year old tobacco.

 

[seanv]

My only fear on this topic is that when I get around to smoking some of these blends they will turn to dust before I finish the tin or jar. I think I bought too much too soon. I will likely sell some off in the coming years and then replenish to the same volume. I think of it as rotating the stock. I don't want everything to be 25 years old (for example) all at the same time.

 

[ThermionicScott]

Based on my family history, I might have another 50 years left in the tank. At my current rate of smoking, that implies about 80-100 lbs of tobacco. The cost would be within my means, but the activity itself might not go over well with my wife, who already raises an eyebrow about the expansion of my once-occasional hobby. Now that I have a good stash of favorites, classics, and a few oddballs I've yet to try, my plan is just to smoke the oldest tins and replenish my store as I go, probably maxing at about 10 lbs. We'll see...

Back to the OP's question, I do think people who strongly prefer certain blends "fresh" will need an attitude adjustment at some point. I hope I'm wrong about that!

 

[geoffs]

The idea of cellaring is relatively new so I doubt there are people out there with a sizeable stash of 30-40 year old tobaccos.
@seanv 's comment above makes sense - buying now but turning over tobaccos in 5-10 years if circumstances permit. I know my tastes will change. Hoarding now is more of a reaction to the likelihood of further future tax increases and border restrictions than it is about wanting to smoke aged tobaccos in the future. Having this place as a resource to connect with other smokers and arrange for trades and such is tremendously valuable.

 

[Peterson314]

I have a lot cellared, but mostly it’s a lot of tins that I have yet to try. I don’t have pounds of any one variety.

 

[bullet08]

Smokable? If that other dude can smoke dung, I can definitely smoke 30 year old tobacco.

 

[krizzose]

It is a worthy question. I have an enough to last what will hopefully be the rest of my life. However, I think I could use a bit more of a hedge against spoilage, so I’ll buy a bit more. I usually buy 2 or 3 tins of special releases that intrigue me. If I can still buy decent tobacco online in 10 or 15 years, then I’m sure I’ll buy a fair bit at that time in case any of my 20 or 25 y/o stuff turns out to have passed its prime.

 

[fireground_piper]

The idea of cellaring is relatively new so I doubt there are people out there with a sizeable stash of 30-40 year old tobaccos.
@seanv 's comment above makes sense - buying now but turning over tobaccos in 5-10 years if circumstances permit. I know my tastes will change. Hoarding now is more of a reaction to the likelihood of further future tax increases and border restrictions than it is about wanting to smoke aged tobaccos in the future. Having this place as a resource to connect with other smokers and arrange for trades and such is tremendously valuable.

I don't think it's all that new, maybe just more prevalent. 30-40 years is only taking you back to the 80s-90s and there's definitely a fair share of 90's produced tobaccos up for sale on any given week. You can buy tobacco from the 90's every Saturday from many different manufactures over at Pipestuds.

I figure if I don't cellar, I'm guaranteed to have no smokeable tobacco in my direct possession in 30 years. If I do cellar, I at least have a chance even in the worst storage conditions.