Wax Dipping Mason Jars

xDutchx

A few years ago, I was gifted a couple small mason jars, with tobacco that had over a decade of age on them. The jars had been sealed with paraffin wax, and that was the first time I had seen the technique used on a mason jar, in order to maintain a long term seal for cellaring. The idea was a good one, but I was less than impressed, when I opened one of the jars, and the paraffin wax not only crumbled on the outside, but a portion of it ended up in some aged Virginias. It took quite a while to pick out the wax shards with a magnifying glass, and a pair of needle nose tweezers.

I had remembered reading a blog by G.L. Pease, where he recommended sealing with wax, instead of the traditional method of drawing in the button using heat. The reason being that drawing in the button using heat, also pulls out the oxygen needed for fermentation and in turn aging. This is especially important when attempting to ferment and age Virginias and Virginia/Perique blends.

So during my 2 weeks of vacation, I happened to stumble across an instructional video on wax dipping wine bottles. The wax used for wine bottles is higher grade, but is also higher in price, at around $25 to $30 a pound. However, I figure that if the higher grade wax is less messy when removed, and intended for long term storage of wine bottles, it should be just the ticket for dipping and sealing mason jars.

I wish I had discovered the wax made for wine bottles earlier, and I would have ordered some and experimented with it during my 2 weeks off. Now I will probably have to wait for the Christmas holiday to roll around, before I can test out the higher grade wax on some mason jars I have cellared.

Here is a link I found on Amazon where the wax can be purchased by the pound, as well as an instructional video on wax dipping wine bottles. If anyone has the desire to try this method before I get the chance, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts and feedback.

Bottle dipping wax- https://www.amazon.com/bottle-dipping-wax/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abottle%20dipping%20wax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9uZqDqSoMw

rustedrailpipes

Looks like a great idea.