I'm only 40 but it should be okay. Theres been tobacco found that was thousands of years old but well reserved and still smokeable. One I know is some cigars they found. I'm guessing it wont be as strong though.
Will Your Cellar be Viable For The Long Haul?
- Thread starter gervais
- Start date
I’m 33. I’ve used an average of 1kg a year as my consumption rate, currently it’s actually less than that, but it makes the math easy, allows a margin of error and accounts for my smoking rates to increase.
I have cellared just over “20 years worth” then. I can’t afford to buy anymore at local prices so the only way I can add to my stash is through homegrown, which I’ve found I rather enjoy anyways.
Originally my plan was to make my commercial stretch the next 50 years by smoking them only in the weekend or evenings and use homegrown for the working day. I’ve since changed my plan. I’m cellaring most of my homegrown to let it get a couple of decades first and smoking through my current cellar as each blend reaches a decade (unless I want to smoke a blend fresh).
I think I will have better success this way, and by that I mean more enjoyable smokes.
It also means that by the time I’m 50 I will be smoking homegrown exclusively, this excites me. And should my children or grandchildren want to carry on the tradition, it will be the only way they can go about it.
Btw, the majority of what i grow is either burley or dark air cured Virginia. Stuff that will last the distance. And if it doesn’t, well I’ll just have to grow some more.
Edit: I feel I should add that pretty much everything has been vacuumed sealed - fully or partially - in multi channel bags.
I have cellared just over “20 years worth” then. I can’t afford to buy anymore at local prices so the only way I can add to my stash is through homegrown, which I’ve found I rather enjoy anyways.
Originally my plan was to make my commercial stretch the next 50 years by smoking them only in the weekend or evenings and use homegrown for the working day. I’ve since changed my plan. I’m cellaring most of my homegrown to let it get a couple of decades first and smoking through my current cellar as each blend reaches a decade (unless I want to smoke a blend fresh).
I think I will have better success this way, and by that I mean more enjoyable smokes.
It also means that by the time I’m 50 I will be smoking homegrown exclusively, this excites me. And should my children or grandchildren want to carry on the tradition, it will be the only way they can go about it.
Btw, the majority of what i grow is either burley or dark air cured Virginia. Stuff that will last the distance. And if it doesn’t, well I’ll just have to grow some more.
Edit: I feel I should add that pretty much everything has been vacuumed sealed - fully or partially - in multi channel bags.
33 hobbit years bro. Not sure how that works in Americans
I thought he was Charles Bronson for a while, myselfWow, you were two years old when I started smoking pipes.
I expect my current cellar is sufficient to take me to the end. That assessment is based on several assumptions including:
- I don't live beyond the average age for males in the US
- My daily consumption rate remains constant
- My taste in tobaccos doesn't change, therefore the composition of blends in my cellar is good to go
None of those assumptions is a law of nature, thus there's some risk that my current cellar may be insufficient or it may be overkill. Yogi Berra said it best: “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
- I don't live beyond the average age for males in the US
- My daily consumption rate remains constant
- My taste in tobaccos doesn't change, therefore the composition of blends in my cellar is good to go
None of those assumptions is a law of nature, thus there's some risk that my current cellar may be insufficient or it may be overkill. Yogi Berra said it best: “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
I've had the good fortune to befriend many of the members of my pipe club who have long existing cellars, they have shared with me tobaccos that are already aged 20-30years. They are still viable and delicious. At our annual pipe show we often open tins of cigarettes and/or pipe tobacco that are sometimes close to 100 years old, yes you read that right 100 years old. Thats stuff that was tinned in the 20's.. It's usually pretty magical. I have tins from the 50's and 60's that are still sealed, they are fine if you keep them rust free.
I think this might be more of a "how" than a "how much". If I understood the OP's question - what blends might store 30+ years without mellowing to the point of becoming uninteresting or turning to dust.
Buy 8 tins (1pound) of something you like, break it all out and re-seal it in heavy mylar with a vacuum sealer. Drawing the air out will do a lot to slow down the aging process, and make more likely to last multiple decades closer to the blender's intention. Easier to store, too!
Buy 8 tins (1pound) of something you like, break it all out and re-seal it in heavy mylar with a vacuum sealer. Drawing the air out will do a lot to slow down the aging process, and make more likely to last multiple decades closer to the blender's intention. Easier to store, too!
I darn well hope so!
I'm in my mid 50's, with a rather small cellar, compared to our more established brothers. But saying that, even if didn't buy anymore tobacco now, I think I'd be ok for the long run. At least I think.
I darn well hope so!
I'm in my mid 50's, with a rather small cellar, compared to our more established brothers. But saying that, even if didn't buy anymore tobacco now, I think I'd be ok for the long run. At least I think.
I darn well hope so!
I haven't smoked a lot of 30 year plus old tobacco but what I have smoked has been what good. I've smoked lots of 10 year old plus tobacco and is all been fabulous. I don't share the room and gloom turn into shit dust fatalism some throw out there. I think the packaging is better now than it was 30 yards ago. The way I'm storing now is better than most would have stored. And from a science point of view, if the tobacco package retains its seal, there's no reason to expect a negative outcome.
What are the alternatives? Not cellar? That seems absurd. I have adopted the strategy of having enough now to last me through the end along with replacing some to all of what smoke each year as I go along. Not sure what more I can do. So knows, when my tobacco reaches ten years and older, perhaps I'll sell done excess off at the then market price, or better, and replace all that with new. Regardless, I'm allowing myself as many options as possible. That seems preferable to sitting on my hands and hoping.
What are the alternatives? Not cellar? That seems absurd. I have adopted the strategy of having enough now to last me through the end along with replacing some to all of what smoke each year as I go along. Not sure what more I can do. So knows, when my tobacco reaches ten years and older, perhaps I'll sell done excess off at the then market price, or better, and replace all that with new. Regardless, I'm allowing myself as many options as possible. That seems preferable to sitting on my hands and hoping.
But didn’t you start smoking at like 5 or something?Wow, you were two years old when I started smoking pipes.
We should note as you build your cellar you should start smoking the old as it reaches 20 years of age and but new stuff to age. So, you will always be smoking stuff that is 20 years old.
If my smoking habits remain as they are I have enough at home to last me roughly 4-5 years. I’ll surely accumulate more, but I don’t really have any intent to accumulate significantly more than that. I may change my mind, but since I’m stockpiling as a hedge against online purchasing restrictions one day becoming a thing I’ve realized what I hope to be a sound strategy. I’ll keep several pounds of a few favorites plus a few changes of pace at the house. Then if the ill fated day ever arrives I plan to make regular re-stocking sorties to the B&M. The Country Squire is only a 2 hour drive for me, easily done once every couple of months.