This whole "aging" thing

good questions Jeff & hope others can help way better than I can.

Oh....OT here but plz be kind & gentle when using that word "aging" within my eyesite!

Ed "long well aged" Duncan, Batavia, NY
pipe/cigar since '62

Good question. I never thought about there being a ceiling to aging. Anyone???

I'll try to answer some of your questions, though briefly, without explanation. Perhaps others will expound on my comments.

Do all tobaccos and blends taste better after aging? What blends age best?
Not all taste better. Virginias and English in particular, usually age better. 

Is it really true that if you love it now, you will love it even more later? Really, in all cases?  
Not always. It all depends upon what you're aging. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Is there a peak age, beyond which there is no improvement, or worse, beyond which the taste deteriorates?
Yes.
Some will age for years without deteriorating, others will continue to improve with age. Can't tell you which is which, but perhaps some other members could.

Is this peak different for different tobaccos or blends? Definitely Yes.

Is it true that a blend you might not care for should be cellared and tried again later? That you you may not like it now but you may in the future? Most definitely!

Are there tobaccos and blends that do not benefit from aging, in which case cellaring has only one purpose: to assure future availability? Absolutely true that some don't benefit from aging, but that being said, cellaring would not be feasible. In a case like that, I would vacuum seal them for the future.

Again, Yes.

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've had some of your same questions over the years, and offer my (FWTW) findings to you on the subject(s) presented.

Thanks Paddy! Hopefully, others will be able to contribute more than what I have.

This makes sense. And I wonder is the notice of better quality coincidental. And as a result people want to age tobacco.

The link is full of information, but Trailboss is full of..... (Fill in the Blank)  !

Hey... I resemble that remark!

Aging tobacco doesn't improve it.  Tobaccos change with aging.  Whether that change represents an improvement is up to the individual smoker.  Part of the change is that the individual components in a blend meld together.  So when you smoke a very aged blend you're not likely to taste the individual components as much as a unified flavor profile.


Whether a particular tobacco tastes better aged is, again, up to the taste of the individual smoker.
Generally, Virginias become sweeter and fuller flavored over time.  While most of changes happen in the first 5 years, incremental change can continue for decades.  Burley also hold up well, perhaps longer than Virginias.  The change in flavor is less pronounced than in Virginia blends, but there can be a subtle increase in the nutty flavor of the burley.


No, of course not.  You might not like the changes that the blend has undergone.  The variety of blend that you like may change as well.  I used to love Latakia, then I got burned out on it.  Now I'm enjoying English blends in moderation once more.


Of course there is.  Everything in nature grows, peaks, fades, and dies.  Tobacco is no exception.  Burley is probably the longest lived.  I've smoked 100 year old blends where the only surviving clear flavor in the zombie sludge was the note from the burley. 

Virginias will often hold up for 40 to 60 years, but much depends on the conditions under which they have been cellared.  I think they peak at about 30 years then begin to slide a little bit.  They begin to deteriorate and become zombie sludge, and smoking 40 to 50 year old blends is pretty much a coin flip.  I've enjoyed some amazing 50 year old Virginias, but more that were wraiths.

Orientals hold up for decades and their flavors develop. 

Latakia fades softens and eventually fades away much sooner than other components.  They seem to be fairly stable for the first 10 years, with very little fading.  Then the rate of fading slowly accelerates such that they are maybe at 50% strength by 20 years, and pretty much gone by 30 - 35 years.  There are always exceptions.  Some Latakias in old cutter top tins have maintained a higher percentage of their strength even after 35 years, but they represent a tiny percentage over all.


I wouldn't put it in terms of truth.  Most of us experience shifts in what we enjoy smoking.  You might like something later that you didn't like now.  Or, you may not.  There's no "correct" answer to this.


Most aros don't benefit from long term aging as the toppings fade over time.  Other than that, the question of whether a particular blend has "improved" is for the individual smoker to decide.


Latakia has a shorter lifespan, but a lot of smokers prefer the flavor of softer Latakia to fresh.  Aros will be good for several years at a minimum.  Nothing is going to disintigrate quickly.


Tobaccos age best when left undisturbed in a dark, cool and dry environment.  The problem with some tins, like many of the rectangular and square ones, is that the seal isn't 100% solid.  They're ever so slowly leaking from the moment the lid goes on.   It may take years before the pressure equalizes, the seal fails, and the contents dry out.  The other problem is that some tins rot from the inside out.  I think that these tins become dodgy after 7 - 10 years.  I've encased my tins in 7mil food grade Mylar bags that have been heat sealed.  At least the contents won't dry out in their tins. 

Earlier this year I found that a number of my older GL Pease tins had corroded from the inside out and the contents had been ruined. I have since decanted all of my other GL Pease tins into Mason jars.  This has nothing to do with Pease, C&D did the tinning.  Frankly, I don't think the quality of their tins are anything to brag about.  McClelland used food grade tins and their tins are largely holding up, though I've been getting reports of corrosion and failure of McClelland tins over 20 years old.

Blends preserved with acid may cause tins to corrode.


Not to my knowledge.  I jar tobaccos in differently sized jars so that I can leave some to rest for a long time while enjoying some along the way.

The chief reason to cellar is to have blends available that you like to smoke, when you like to smoke them.  I have several favorites that are no longer made.  I can still enjoy them because I put some extra away.  The other reason to cellar is as a hedge against inflation.  Tobacco will not be getting any cheaper.

Great post, Jesse!

What vaccum sealing machine do you use for rectangular and square tins?

When I open the armoire drawers containing said tin’s, I get great, wonderful smells emanating, that tells me that although the tin lids are still concave, they are under presssure but the great smells are coming from somewhere ....most tins are at the most, 5 years old, and they are in a cool, dark environment so I think I am good... for now.

I personally find that aging is a good thing on many of the blends I smoke. It smoothes them out, deepens and sweetens. Usually I smoke mostly VA/VApers and English though, so they tend to have the most effect/benefit.

I've also found that there are some aging "break points" where you can actually taste a difference. For instance, Anni Kake develops some chocolate tones at about 3 months in the jar. 6 months is another point, then one and two years, respectively.

I don't have much experience beyond those date ranges though. Previous, and extremely helpful, posts in this thread give a lot of the solid information re: aging.

In the end though, it's all personal preference and experimentation.

I can say this, as a new pipe smoker: I bought a tin of C&D Sunday Picnic a couple months ago. Fresh, it was bitey, and unpleasant. I really wanted to like it, but it was almost astringent. Then, a couple weeks ago, Wolfman sent me a sample of 2007 Sunday Picnic. WOW. What an incredible difference the time made. Smooth, sweet, slightly dried fruity, as opposed to the freshly dried hay bale that it is fresh. So, from that experience, and can confirm that, at least with that particular Virginia blend, aging can do wonders for tobacco.

I'm definitely figuring that out. Buy C&D for next year, or the year after (maybe the year after that). I bought a tin of the White Lightening at the same time as the Sunday Picnic. That stuff was even sharper! I have it in a jar now, and won't touch it til at least next spring.

C&d all of it needs a good 6 months minimum, a year makes it what it should be; gentler and tasty.