What is the pouch-life of tobacco?

Bloodhound61

Every so often, mainly when STG Lane has been nice enough to send a coupon or two, I’ll pick up a pouch of tobacco at the grocery or drugstore. I do this thinking that under some imaginary circumstance, I’ll want to be able to grab a pouch and go on a moment’s notice, and also to encourage, in my small way, the retailer to keep stocking the stuff. 

My question to the experts is this: How well/long does tobacco keep in the unopened pouch versus jarring it?  I know back in my chewing days, I’d occasionally get an old pouch of chew that had definitely suffered. And I’d rather not be unpleasantly surprised 2 years from now when I open a pouch. 

Londy3

Of it we're me, I'd put it in a mason jar. It's a sure bet to keep over a longer term than a pouch. my two cents. 

Charles

It really depends on the conditions you store the tobacco.  As you know, a cool,  dark, and dry environment works best.  I would check to ensure the pouch is sealed as opposed to just being folded over and taped on the outside.  Personally, I have pouches of John Bull and Half & Half that are eight years old and still smoke well and still have moisture in them.  That's my opinion based on my personal experience.           

AnantaAndroscoggin

I've tended to put any pouch-tobacco into an old ammo-can until I need a new one to take with me. Dunno if it changes things much re storage, but I figure that at least it traps in whatever moisture the pouches had when I brought them home.

ghostsofpompeii

I agree with @Londy3 and highly suggest you crack open that pouch and immediately pour it into a Mason jar ... especially if you don't plan on smoking it in the near future. It's the only sure-fire way to insure that pouch of OTC tobacco won't turn to dust when you finally get around to smoking it. And before you panic about your tobacco drying out and becoming unsmokable -  remember you can re-hydrate your dried out tobacco and bring it back to life with little if any change in the flavor.

Bloodhound61

Thanks for the feedback, gentlemen. Based on your input, I think I'll jar what pouches I have, leaving one for the convenience factor, then jar that one as I acquire another pouch. Seems like a reasonable compromise.

@ghostsofpompeii, you are surely correct about re-hydrating. I was thinking more on the lines of grabbing a long-stored convenience pouch and hitting the road only to find it had dried out and leaving me without a means of getting the water back into it until I got home.