More Questions :) What is Cellaring

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Rule of thumb about aging sealed tobaccos -

1. english blends tend not to show great improvement over time
2. most burley blends aren't known for their development over time
3. virginia tobaccos tend to improve over time

This is most certainly true, but I'd add a little something

Virginias and Va/Pers age very well, and may even change drastically.

That means also that any blends containing a good amount of virginia have a good possibility of aging well - including English and/or Oriental blends.

If you want to cellar for aging purposes, whatever you sit aside - whether sealed tins or bulk in mason jars - leave alone and do not open.

If you are cellaring just to keep a little tobacco on hand (what I do) and buying by the pound (it is cheaper that way), get some smaller mason jars. I like 1/2 pint jars, and a pound will usually garner four 1/2 pint jars. Unintentional aging.

The nice thing about using mason jars, you can open them occasionally to draw tobacco out and it will remain fresh. The seal on the lids is usually very good.

[Bruce]

I would have to disagree about English blends not ageing well.
I have tins of John Cotton's, Sullivan's, Dunhill's, and Sobranie that are simply marvelous after 20/30/40 years in the tin.
As a matter of fact, I will only smoke tobaccos that have been aged for at least 5 to 10 years.

[Curly Cut]

Originally Posted by Bruce

I would have to disagree about English blends not ageing well.
I have tins of John Cotton's, Sullivan's, Dunhill's, and Sobranie that are simply marvelous after 20/30/40 years in the tin.

i have to agree with bruce and have sampled some of the tobacco from his cellar he mentions.

it's not that latakia based blends don't age well, it's just that the amount of time needed for them to improve is so much longer than it is for a VA - most don't want to wait that long or don't want to pay the premium for vintage sealed tins.

in my own experiences, the aged latakia blends are far, far, far superior to their fresher/younger versions. so much so that you would think you're not even smoking the same blend. i've had some that i doubted had a lick of latakia in them, that's how much they aged/improved. to me, it's a large improvement if i can't tell it has latakia, cuz i have found out i really don't like latakia.

so, it's not that they don't age/improve, it's just that to taste it, you have to age them for a while longer than a VA or VA/Per. where a VA can improve/mellow out/smooth the edges after 5 yrs or so, i haven't been able to tell a difference in 5 yr old heavy English or Oriental blends.

at least, that's what i've personally experienced.

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

Wal-Mart or Target sells a glass jar with a rubber seal at the top. I find these are nice for keeping tobacco. They also look nice. I usually open a tin and store it in a jar. These are kept on my desk. rX has a ton of them, check some of his pictures of his stash.

Originally Posted by RX2010

Ema (Emma?) Jars. Very nice for tobacco you are going to be smoking regularly, pretty cheap too

So these jars can be opened from time to time and still age? Kinda like opening a humi from time to time?

[DrDubzz]

Originally Posted by andysutherland

So these jars can be opened from time to time and still age? Kinda like opening a humi from time to time?

well... no not really, as far as the aging is concerned

The point was more that, for smaller amounts, these are easy access, and maintain a good seal.

but when you introduce new air, and release the previously sealed, fermenting air (for lack of a better term as the air itself is not actually fermenting), you are essentially starting over.

Although, if you have really stuffed the jar tight, then perhaps the tobaccos towards the bottom won't be so much affected.

I'm not entirely sure, but it was more of an access thing and convenience, than aging apparatus

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by RX2010

well... no not really, as far as the aging is concerned

The point was more that, for smaller amounts, these are easy access, and maintain a good seal.

but when you introduce new air, and release the previously sealed, fermenting air (for lack of a better term as the air itself is not actually fermenting), you are essentially starting over.

Although, if you have really stuffed the jar tight, then perhaps the tobaccos towards the bottom won't be so much affected.

I'm not entirely sure, but it was more of an access thing and convenience, than aging apparatus

Gotcha. Not good for cellaring, but good for keeping from drying out.

[DrDubzz]

Originally Posted by andysutherland

Gotcha. Not good for cellaring, but good for keeping from drying out.

yes

now, you can long term store if you don't open them, but some seal better than others

[BigFrank]

Originally Posted by RX2010

well... no not really, as far as the aging is concerned

The point was more that, for smaller amounts, these are easy access, and maintain a good seal.

but when you introduce new air, and release the previously sealed, fermenting air (for lack of a better term as the air itself is not actually fermenting), you are essentially starting over.

Although, if you have really stuffed the jar tight, then perhaps the tobaccos towards the bottom won't be so much affected.

I'm not entirely sure, but it was more of an access thing and convenience, than aging apparatus

I dont think I would use them for aging. They do keep the moisture over a long period of time compared to just leaving it in the tin. For someone like myself who takes a decent amount of time to finish a tin, they are very nice. Also, I keep a few of them on my desk with tobacco in them. they look decent enough to leave laying around, and for the price (2-3$) they are well worth it. When I finish a tin, I just wash them out with some soapy water let them dry out, then crack open a new tin and put the contents into the glass jar.

[Paulmac]

If yer interested in aging pipe tobacco, this outta keep ya busy for an hour or ten

http://nocturne.org/aging/

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Bruce

I would have to disagree about English blends not ageing well.
I have tins of John Cotton's, Sullivan's, Dunhill's, and Sobranie that are simply marvelous after 20/30/40 years in the tin.
As a matter of fact, I will only smoke tobaccos that have been aged for at least 5 to 10 years.

I cannot disagree with your disagreement but I did say english blends "tend" not to show great improvement, not that they do never improve. (I've enjoyed Sobranie and some Barry Levin stuff that was spectacular after 10-20 years in the can I've seem more latakia appear to hold, or lose, ground in my short viewing span of five-eight years.) This would be something interesting to discuss in depth in a new thread, if you would. -moo