Cellaring paint can style tinned tobacco.

Mikesilk72

hi all, new member with possibly an old question or two. Has anyone here had problems cellaring paint can style tins (HU, COMOYS, PETER HEINRICHS) for long term storage. As with all my metal tins I use aluminum foil tape meant for airducting, HVAC purposes around the lid seam. I used to smell the aromas emitting from the tins in my cellar but since this application no more smell so I assume no air exchange from the tin. However on the paint can tins it is more difficult to achieve this with a nice smooth tape seal and I have some concerns as to the longevity of the seal on the paint cans. Any experience with long term storage of these type of tins is greatly appreciated.

motie2

Mikesilk72 !!!  Good to have you with us. I'm sure one of our members will help you out.....

Londy3

@Mikesilk72 Interesting, never saw this. I have posted on one of the boards here how I use the mason jars and make labels for the lids, works great.  Welcome aboard! 

Woodsman

I once got an unopened 14 oz. tin of Prince Albert that was 26 yr.s old. I opened it and smoked some and found it to be OK. the Burley had a cigar like taste but I could still tell it was Prince Albert. The tin's inner seal was intact.

PappyJoe

You can either dip the top of the tin in melted beeswax or transfer the contents to mason jars. I've had two tins of Comoy's and found that once they were opened they didn't work well for storage. I use on of the tins as a coin bank on my desk now.

@Mikesilk72 - Welcome to the party.

PhilosoPiper

@Mikesilk72 welcome!

I am going to second PappyJoe, one of my favorite tobaccos is Peter Heinrich's: Curly Special, and it definitely needs to be transferred to a mason jar after opening. You should be safe keeping it in the tin for a maximum of 2 weeks after opening, but the seal is not going to be air tight.

It honestly wouldn't hurt to just put it in a mason jar as soon as you purchase the tobacco, that way you know for certain that you aren't going to have any of it drying out on you.

PappyJoe

Slightly off topic. I use the paint can style tins and the 100 gram rectangle tins - like from Rattray's and Peterson - as coin banks. I empty my pocket into one of them every night. Once a year I sort the coins and deposit them in the bank. The money used to go to the younger grandkids so they can buy Christmas presents. With 9 of them now I don't save enough for that so I use the money to buy pipe tobacco.

Woodsman

Surprisingly the Tubs that Carter Hall comes in seem to be very airtight to me. Has anyone else found this to be so?

Charles

@Woodsman - I agree.  Both Carter Hall and Prince Albert are air tight and I have not experienced any dry-out problems but these are plastic tubs. Also, I have a small stock of vintage Prince Albert from around the late 1940s which came in those metal tins that had the spoon opener on top as well as other OTCs like Union Leader, Brindleys, Old Briar and Briggs and I have not noticed any drying out of these tobaccos.  They seem to smoke and taste almost as good as they did when they were first packaged.

Depending on the container, once I open a tin and depending on it's size, I will either transfer the contents to a Mason Jar or just leave it in the original tin if I will smoke it in a reasonable amount of time.  I found that most older metal tins maintained their seal unless of course the tin was bent in some way as to cause a sealing issue.  In all fairness, I have a metal tin of 1950s Kentucky Club that has a cap similar to the old Borkum Riff tins. I found that when I opened it, the tobacco had dried but did not loose it's flavor and smokes pretty well.  Some tobaccos seem to smoke better dry then moist and for me, Kentucky Club is one of those blends.

My newer stock of Carter Hall and Prince Albert are not only in their original plastic tubs, but they came wrapped in additional plastic shrink wrap so the tobacco will not only remain moist but once those tubs are empty, they can also be reused.  Although I am a big fan of using glass as opposed to plastic, I have not noticed any change in or alteration of the tobacco contained in these tubs but it is just my opinion.