Cellering For the Future
PipeProfessor
Apprentice
in Tobacco Talk
Does anyone cellar any blends that they know they don't like right now, in hopes that they will sometime down the road?
Comments
Now, if I am trying a new Virginia, I might buy two tins, and plan to cellar one, but that's a different kettle of fish.
2. Some people cellar because they see a story about the FDA and decide to buy before it disappears.
3. Some people cellar because they just keep buying pipe tobacco they want to try and stash it until they remember they have bought it.
I have been told the last two are example of hoarding.
Very strange.
This is, of course, a general rule; there will be exceptions. YMMV.
The blends that I am deliberately aging are all high-quality Virginia blends that I like a lot.
If you spend anytime on YouTube you already know THE END IS NEAR. So no need thinking about long term cellaring. I had to take a break from YouTube because every time I logged on I was informed of a killer asteroid, Planet X, the eruption of the volcano in Yellowstone, the massive earthquake on the west coast, or the actual weather phenomena happening all over the planet which is signaling the end of the world as we know it. I had to get away from all the gloom and doom and watch the Jimmy Stewart movie "HARVEY" - about the invisible rabbit - not the hurricane.
https://www.terapeak.com/worth/dunhill-trial-size-elizabethan-mixture-old-uk-pipe-tobacco-advertising-tin-can/172509516933/
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-dunhill-tobacco-tin-trial-149815276
I also found two variant tins (not trial size)
I currently have almost 30 pounds of bulk blends cellared in quart Mason Jars, and over 30 pounds of various blends in 65 pint Mason Jars and tins from which I smoke regularly. I have literally ran out of storage space and keep rearranging everything I own to make better use of my office storage space. I could put the long term storage in my basement, but no, that would be silly.....I couldn't look at them on a daily basis.
So I do know that much of this 'collection" will certainly survive my mortality. My wife, kids, nor my grand kids have any desire for my pipe tobacco or my cigars. But for some reason I cannot stop researching tobacco blends on various sites, recording ratings, comparing prices, etc. Who does not relish the arrival of a shipment of whatever tobacco, cutting the tape at the flap joints, the smelling and looking at those bags, cans, and tins of tobacco much like we did as kids on Christmas morning?
I have the "monkey on my back" (or more accurately the TAD)......
I might suggest that we as a group contact a Psychologist to provide some guidance and help here on this forum for those of us brave enough to admit our weaknesses. I in secret do not necessarily want to be cured, I just want it to look like I do so I am not looked at as crazy.
DO NOT vacuum seal! Bad idea all around. You need some oxygen to maintain the aging process so stick with any air-tight jar and you will be good to go.
Also I prefer to store bulk tobacco in smaller jars of 8oz mainly because you are gonna want to test them over time and if you put all your tobacco in one large jar once you open it you are stuck smoking the entire bulk you stored for aging even if you think its not quite ready yet. Whereas if you spread it over several 8oz jars you can smoke up on 8oz jar and leave the other jars for another date should you need to.
i was just reading your post with my wife beside me. I started to laugh and after she asked me what was so funny, a quick nervous sweat trickled my brow. Not five minutes ago we got into a discussion of how I needed more drawer space (my big mouth sputtered)... she started pointing at drawers saying “what’s in that one,” “what about those,” and so on. Embarrassed to say I started making stuff up... because she has no idea how MUCH tobacco I actually possess and most of the space in those drawers are occupied by this brotherhoods common interest. Luckily she didn’t open them or MUCH longer conversation would have unfolded. Needless to say - I share in your compulsion. That damn shipping break gets me every time... even when I only went on to buy some pipe cleaners and A tin. Out loud I will tell myself (to which I have even stated while staring at myself in the mirror), “ you have GOT to stop buying tobacco.”
Do any of y'all have any info on this?
Here are some tips on aging/cellaring your tobacco.
#1: When you find a blend you like it is always good to pick up 1 can to smoke now and 3 or more cans to cellar; one can to smoke 6 months later, one can to smoke 1 year later, and 1 or more cans to smoke 5-15 years later. Most major changes occur after the six month mark then the changes are more subtle and take longer to occur. There are general stages: 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years - all of which will show distinct changes but after five years the process will slow significantly.
#2: All tobacco does not age the same or does not deliver the same bang for your buck in terms of aging. Virginias and Perique blends will age most wonderfully. Beyond that you have Turkish and quality Orientals that will do alright, and possible Latakia though not great. Aromatics may or may not age it all depends on the casing which is responsible for killing the early aging process. Just not a good candidate.
#3 Tin vs. Bulk Storage and Aging. The best way to age tobacco is to buy it in a sealed tin and keep it sealed. Bulk tobacco simply doesn't offer the same results. Once you expose them to air the aging process is cut but not all is lost. If you find a tobacco you like you may buy in bulk and if its still fresh you can break up the tobacco and transfer it to air-tight jars like Mason or Ball jars. Make sure your tins are stored in a cool and dry place...you don't want rusting...nothing worse than aging a tin for 10 years only to pop it open to see it ruined by a hole due to rust. No need to refrigerate the tobacco either which may cause damage to the cell structure of the tobacco anyway.
DO NOT vacuum seal! Bad idea all around. You need some oxygen to maintain the aging process so stick with any air-tight jar and you will be good to go.
Also I prefer to store bulk tobacco in smaller jars of 8oz mainly because you are gonna want to test them over time and if you put all your tobacco in one large jar once you open it you are stuck smoking the entire bulk you stored for aging even if you think its not quite ready yet. Whereas if you spread it over several 8oz jars you can smoke up on 8oz jar and leave the other jars for another date should you need to.
#4 Ok you have finally aged a tin of tobacco for six months and you are ready to sit down to smoke it. Before you do though you should go out and purchase a fresh can of the same tobacco so you can notice the changes, especially if this is your first time or you are not yet familiar with the subtleties of the tobacco you are smoking.
#5 Need a way of tracking what tobacco is in your cellar? There is a free online tool that allows you to enter all the data about your tobacco and begins to track the age for you. Plus this will allow you and your friends to see what you have in your collection and aging. Everyone I know uses this online software at tobaccocellar.org
Here are some tips on aging/cellaring your tobacco.
#1: When you find a blend you like it is always good to pick up 1 can to smoke now and 3 or more cans to cellar; one can to smoke 6 months later, one can to smoke 1 year later, and 1 or more cans to smoke 5-15 years later. Most major changes occur after the six month mark then the changes are more subtle and take longer to occur. There are general stages: 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years - all of which will show distinct changes but after five years the process will slow significantly.
#2: All tobacco does not age the same or does not deliver the same bang for your buck in terms of aging. Virginias and Perique blends will age most wonderfully. Beyond that you have Turkish and quality Orientals that will do alright, and possible Latakia though not great. Aromatics may or may not age it all depends on the casing which is responsible for killing the early aging process. Just not a good candidate.
DO NOT vacuum seal! Bad idea all around. You need some oxygen to maintain the aging process so stick with any air-tight jar and you will be good to go.
Also I prefer to store bulk tobacco in smaller jars of 8oz mainly because you are gonna want to test them over time and if you put all your tobacco in one large jar once you open it you are stuck smoking the entire bulk you stored for aging even if you think its not quite ready yet. Whereas if you spread it over several 8oz jars you can smoke up on 8oz jar and leave the other jars for another date should you need to.
#4 Ok you have finally aged a tin of tobacco for six months and you are ready to sit down to smoke it. Before you do though you should go out and purchase a fresh can of the same tobacco so you can notice the changes, especially if this is your first time or you are not yet familiar with the subtleties of the tobacco you are smoking. #5 Need a way of tracking what tobacco is in your cellar? There is a free online tool that allows you to enter all the data about your tobacco and begins to track the age for you. Plus this will allow you and your friends to see what you have in your collection and aging. Everyone I know uses this online software at http://www.tobaccocellar.org