Latakia Blends - Do They Age Well?

Mister Moo · 01-20-2010, 02:05 PM

I don't know. Many english blends I've sat on for five or more years seem to be flatter or unimproved after a rest. Penzance seems to taste pale after several years in the tin; 965 seems the same; don't know what Sobranie tasted like new but 20-years later it kills!

Conventional wisdom says VA has improvement worth waiting for but latakia is a bad long term bet.

Expertise sought. What's your spin?

Curly Cut · 01-20-2010, 07:14 PM

i'm not a connoisseur of fine vintage leaf, although i've had a few here and there.

what i've found with my own taster buds is this:
Latakia flavors totally change with a LOT of age, i'm talking 20+ years. there have been a couple blends i've tried that i didn't know they had latakia in them at all. a totally new beasty, for sure.

i've since come to own up to the fact that i simply don't prefer Latakia blends anymore. the new stuff, the 10 yr old stuff, whatever, it all tastes the same to me, and that's just "latakia". i can't get past it, they all seem to lack any complexity as my taste buds are under assault from the latakia foulness.

does it age well? depending on if you like your latakia under aged, "barely legal", or from the retirement home.

i'm not a collector, i don't have the coinage used to acquire the already vintage sealed tins, and i'm not going to buy something and wait 20 years before i can enjoy it.

VAs, on the other hand, they improve after less than a year (as most of us have experienced with McClellands Xmas cheers of various years). they continually improve, even the 40 year old Dunny Matured VA was outstanding.

RevSmoke · 01-20-2010, 08:15 PM

I know there are people who say that they change a lot after 15-20+ years. Personally, I am not sure. I do know this however, the blends people are smoking with that much age, and comparing to the 2009 versions of the same blends are smoking two different tobaccos.

What I mean is, the tobacco crops weren't the same, and there is good possibility that the constituent tobaccos making up each blend are different. If the latter is true, they'd be very different at the same age, side by side. If the former is true, they'd be slightly different at the same age.

Mister Moo · 01-21-2010, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RevSmoke

...What I mean is, the tobacco crops weren't the same, and there is good possibility that the constituent tobaccos making up each blend are different. If the latter is true, they'd be very different at the same age, side by side. If the former is true, they'd be slightly different at the same age.

That's what I'm wondering about. I'll never know what 1989 Balkan Sobranie tasted like in 1989 so, knowing what it tasted like in 2009 doesn't tell me anything about how it aged. We need some pipe-fossils to comment here.

01-20-2010, 02:05 PM	#1
Mister Moo I barely grok the obvious Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Dan Location: Lizard Lick, NC Posts: 1,417 Trading: (3)	Latakia Blends - Do They Age Well? I don't know. Many english blends I've sat on for five or more years seem to be flatter or unimproved after a rest. Penzance seems to taste pale after several years in the tin; 965 seems the same; don't know what Sobranie tasted like new but 20-years later it kills! Conventional wisdom says VA has improvement worth waiting for but latakia is a bad long term bet. Expertise sought. What's your spin? __________________ "I hope you had the time of your life."

01-20-2010, 07:14 PM	#2
Curly Cut Not Scary Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 669 Trading: (9)	Re: Latakia Blends - Do They Age Well? i'm not a connoisseur of fine vintage leaf, although i've had a few here and there. what i've found with my own taster buds is this: Latakia flavors totally change with a LOT of age, i'm talking 20+ years. there have been a couple blends i've tried that i didn't know they had latakia in them at all. a totally new beasty, for sure. i've since come to own up to the fact that i simply don't prefer Latakia blends anymore. the new stuff, the 10 yr old stuff, whatever, it all tastes the same to me, and that's just "latakia". i can't get past it, they all seem to lack any complexity as my taste buds are under assault from the latakia foulness. does it age well? depending on if you like your latakia under aged, "barely legal", or from the retirement home. i'm not a collector, i don't have the coinage used to acquire the already vintage sealed tins, and i'm not going to buy something and wait 20 years before i can enjoy it. VAs, on the other hand, they improve after less than a year (as most of us have experienced with McClellands Xmas cheers of various years). they continually improve, even the 40 year old Dunny Matured VA was outstanding. __________________ *To be 2nd guessed, You have to be the 1st guesser.*

01-20-2010, 08:15 PM	#3
RevSmoke Ain't Never Gonna Leave Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Todd Location: Northcentral woods of Wisconsin Posts: 6,807 Trading: (51)	Re: Latakia Blends - Do They Age Well? I know there are people who say that they change a lot after 15-20+ years. Personally, I am not sure. I do know this however, the blends people are smoking with that much age, and comparing to the 2009 versions of the same blends are smoking two different tobaccos. What I mean is, the tobacco crops weren't the same, and there is good possibility that the constituent tobaccos making up each blend are different. If the latter is true, they'd be very different at the same age, side by side. If the former is true, they'd be slightly different at the same age. __________________ Todd__ "Smoke what you like, and enjoy it!"