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Post by mwps70 on Jul 18, 2018 12:47:38 GMT -5
I have been slowly building my cellar with my favorite tobaccos and with many blends that I have yet to try because I want to age them in hopes to get the best possible flavor and enjoyment out of them when I do decide to pop a tin. With that being said, what blends have you guys found to be in top form without aging? And what blends have you found, if any, that are better fresh than aged, if possible. I am not an aromatic smoker so I am talking English here as far as my cellaring goes.
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Post by pepesdad1 on Jul 18, 2018 12:52:46 GMT -5
Lats have a tendency to mellow with age...some like it fresh, some do not....also true with aros.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 13:08:58 GMT -5
Most Lat blends are good fresh, if overly moist just let air dry for 30 to 60 minutes in a tobacco tray. In 3 to 5 years the Lat blends you cellared will be more mellow and an excellent smooth creamy smoke. I’ve had some lat blends lose a lot of its characteristics with over 10 years of aging. Black Frigate is great when smoked fresh, smokes a bit better with just 2 years of aging. I have a tin opened that’s from 2007 and it’s nowhere near as sweet and enjoyable. For me personally, I don’t care to smoke Lat blends that are very old, as some do. There’s a big difference between mellow and flat....JMHO
John Patton Storm Front is one of my favorite tobacco’s ( sold only @ 4Noggins ) it’s an excellent smoke fresh or with 12 plus years of aging. Only issue with Storm Front fresh is.....it’s much better if you air dry for an hour before enjoying a bowl full👌👍
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Post by monbla256 on Jul 18, 2018 13:24:12 GMT -5
I've found most Latakia blends smoke better "fresh" with them changing "focus" as they age. Since I smoke one Va blend almost exclusively, Royal Yacht, I like it "fresh" since it's made up of aged Va's already !  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 14:12:40 GMT -5
Most of the blends which smoke best fresh IMHO are unobtainium now. Carter Hall would be my choice in this category by default. Boswell aros would be second.
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Post by mwps70 on Jul 18, 2018 14:48:36 GMT -5
I've found most Latakia blends smoke better "fresh" with them changing "focus" as they age. Since I smoke one Va blend almost exclusively, Royal Yacht, I like it "fresh" since it's made up of aged Va's already ! Thank you for this information. I will be popping my tin of Royal Yacht soon. I have never tried it and have had it less than a year. If I like it I will need to stock up on it soon anyhoo. |
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Post by mwps70 on Jul 18, 2018 14:52:42 GMT -5
Most Lat blends are good fresh, if overly moist just let air dry for 30 to 60 minutes in a tobacco tray. In 3 to 5 years the Lat blends you cellared will be more mellow and an excellent smooth creamy smoke. I’ve had some lat blends lose a lot of its characteristics with over 10 years of aging. Black Frigate is great when smoked fresh, smokes a bit better with just 2 years of aging. I have a tin opened that’s from 2007 and it’s nowhere near as sweet and enjoyable. For me personally, I don’t care to smoke Lat blends that are very old, as some do. There’s a big difference between mellow and flat....JMHO John Patton Storm Front is one of my favorite tobacco’s ( sold only @ 4Noggins ) it’s an excellent smoke fresh or with 12 plus years of aging. Only issue with Storm Front fresh is.....it’s much better if you air dry for an hour before enjoying a bowl full👌👍 Storm Front Sounds interesting. Always looking for a blend with cigar leaf that I can enjoy. I love burley for sure. Thanks for the input. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 15:19:55 GMT -5
Most Lat blends are good fresh, if overly moist just let air dry for 30 to 60 minutes in a tobacco tray. In 3 to 5 years the Lat blends you cellared will be more mellow and an excellent smooth creamy smoke. I’ve had some lat blends lose a lot of its characteristics with over 10 years of aging. Black Frigate is great when smoked fresh, smokes a bit better with just 2 years of aging. I have a tin opened that’s from 2007 and it’s nowhere near as sweet and enjoyable. For me personally, I don’t care to smoke Lat blends that are very old, as some do. There’s a big difference between mellow and flat....JMHO John Patton Storm Front is one of my favorite tobacco’s ( sold only @ 4Noggins ) it’s an excellent smoke fresh or with 12 plus years of aging. Only issue with Storm Front fresh is.....it’s much better if you air dry for an hour before enjoying a bowl full👌👍 Storm Front Sounds interesting. Always looking for a blend with cigar leaf that I can enjoy. I love burley for sure. Thanks for the input. If you buy Storm Front and don’t enjoy the blend I will either buy it or trade with you👍 But I’m confident it’s a blend you’ll enjoy. If I had access to a vehicle I would send you a sample immediately. So order 2 to 4 .oz from 4Noggins, if you like the blend stock up shortly, John Patton blends are disappearing fast, good luck👍👍 |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 15:34:35 GMT -5
John Patton blends are disappearing fast ... I hope the John Patton blends haven't been discontinued too! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2018 16:08:47 GMT -5
John Patton blends are disappearing fast ... I hope the John Patton blends haven't been discontinued too! As of last month no more Crossroads, sorry to say. |
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Post by johnlawitzke on Jul 19, 2018 13:18:00 GMT -5
For English blends, I find that I prefer a minimum of 6 to 12 months of age in order for the flavors to meld and for some of the edge to come off. I can't think of any in production English blend that I smoke for which that isn't true. However, it doesn't take that long to hit the 6 month mark.
For Virginia blends, again, I prefer a minimum of 24 months of age. However, I have found that stoved Virginia blends can smoke good young. Among in production Virginia blends, the one that stands out in my mind as smoking good even factory fresh is C&D Yorktown.
In the VaPerOri family, I have found that SPC Deception Pass smokes good fresh. I remember smoking through a couple of tins when it was first released. When fresh, I could easily pick out the individual varieties of leaf. After only 6 months of aging, the flavors meld and it's a bit different taste than fresh, but I've found the blend to be good both fresh and aged.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 13:20:53 GMT -5
For a fresh pouch of Carter Hall, I find a wait of 6 to 7 seconds after opening works for me.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 13:41:21 GMT -5
A Lat blend is only as good as its other components. So if it has some young, harsh VAs it's not going to smoke well fresh (here's looking at you, C&D!). Aging would help the VAs, but might mute the Latakia - which would be idea for someone who likes muted Lat, but not for someone who likes the full-on Lat powerhouse.
Personally, I love Latakia but mainly in condimental amounts in Oriental-forward blends. So I haven't felt like I'm missing anything with aged Lat blends.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2018 13:49:00 GMT -5
For a fresh pouch of Carter Hall, I find a wait of 6 to 7 seconds after opening works for me. Four years ago when I first moved to NC a local supermarket, Food Lion had quite a number of OTC blends sold in pouches or the larger canisters. I told the young lady behind the counter “ I’ll have 2 boxes ( pouches inside as y’all know ) thank you “. She went to the register and came back and said “ $5.70 please “, that’s $2.79 per pouch....” I couldn’t beat that with a wooden stick “! So I purchased the last 3 boxes and asked if she can please order more for stock, so she did just that. Every other week I purchased a sealed sleeve. Nope, don’t need anymore Carter Hall, with what I had prior well aged and with the 26 sleeves I purchased 3 plus years ago and jarred, I’m set for life with this any time of day tasty Burley blend, has not changed much over the years either....JMHO👌👍 PS I know this supermarket still sell the Carter Hall for $3.29 per box!!! YES, it does smoke great fresh as well. |
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