How Deep Should A Cellar Be?

Latakia blends are good for about 10 years, others can age longer. 

Also depends on how much age you have on yourself! Tobacco is never going to be cheaper than it is now... we say that a lot around here.

In my case, I doubt I'll be purchasing any more.

From what I can tell so far, from what's been posted, a 20 year old tin of tobacco is better than no tobacco at all.

I would not place a hard date of 10 years on Latakia blends. Acknowledging Dramatwist's statement as one held by others ,there are factors to consider before placing an "expiration date" like how the blend is kept and stored (Vacuum sealed, Mason jars etc.), the nature of the blend, the smoker's palate etc..

I smoked 14 yr old EMP (Mason Jar) and 20 yr old Rattray Account Mixture (Sealed tin) amongst other Latakia blends in my cellar. They were excellent. In both cases the components melded to form a richer blend with the Latakia flavor still being forward and present. I also have enjoyed Latakia bombs,full blast. To get that hit of flavor, I smoke Lat. bombs sooner than later. The points being age can be your friend and what kind of experience are you after?

In summary, while it is true that Latakia ,like other tobacco condiments, will lose strength over time,there is more to the story. Personally I think it is wiser to acknowledge what you want out of a Latakia blend and then watch and monitor the tobacco,taking a bowl here and there or opening a new tin now and then to see how things are progressing.

“ How deep should a cellar be “

How many bowls a day do you smoke now? How many bowls a day will you smoke in the future when you retire, most likely much more. Since 2011 and suffering from lack of sleep I now smoke much more, 14 to 22 bowls a day. Some 1/2 bowls, others 3/4 bowls, I don’t overstuff any pipe due to rim charing .....there’s that anal-retentive coming out again....lol. Right now I figure I smoke just over 1.5.oz of tobacco a day, now start your multiplication.....day, week, month and then year. You should get an idea by charting your smoking habits, you’ll get a rough idea how many POUNDS of tobacco you’ll need for the “ rest of your life “.....factor in any illness if deemed necessary. Unforeseeable passing, one has no control over, that’s when you Pray you out live Steve Fallon aka Pipestud and your beneficiary has all the proper information, which my daughter does. Your tinned tobacco’s can be sold easily, your jarred not so much, unless it’s sold or gifted to someone your beneficiary is made aware of, I try to have all bases covered......damn anal-retentiveness kicking in again!!

Most Latakia blends definitely mellow more with 4 to 5 years of aging. Some “ might “ lose some flavor with LONG term aging, so far I’ve had no issues. Virginia’s for me are best with a minimum of 4 years of aging, over 20 years if stored properly your good to go! Burley tobacco’s will become more complex with 8 plus years of aging. I have a few with 30 plus years which smoke superbly 👍👍👍👍👍

Now, also depends how/where you store your tobacco’s. Are any tinned tobacco seals compromised, are your jars still sealed well? Store in dark area if possible, definitely out of direct sunlight through a window!! Maintain a constant temperature, as close as possible. Down the road when you open a well aged tin or jar, will you find mold??? By now after reading this you most likely have stomach cramps, or some type of stress or anxiety issues.....lol.

I smoke 15 plus pounds of pipe tobacco a year, I have at least a 25 year supply, yet at times I still purchase “ some “ new releases, but I definitely don’t need to cellar any more tobacco! I have WAY more tobacco than I need, but when I’m gifted tobacco’s I’m still thrilled and usually smoke them in my current rotation.

When I pop a new tin it’s like a child getting a new toy. I don’t need anymore pipes, yet I “ want “ more.....which usually gets me overly excited, similar to those days when I had sex often......finally.....the end.

I was wondering the same thing, as usual got some good opinions on this subject. I don't have a lot of any blend but a lot of tins of different blends and 1 to 2 oz samples of a lot of bulk blends. Since i'm still trying to figure out what I like everything that comes in gets opened and tried and then jarred. I give the ones I like a checkmark and the ones I'm not sure about are put away to try another day. I am curious to see how they change in a few years so I keep notes on them so I can compare down the road.

I will share a story of Briar Fox. Once upon a time I grabbed one of the big brick bags and upon its arrival was less than impressed. So I threw the whole mess in a used Archer Farms plastic jar and spun the lid shut. This giant jar of crumble cake sits in the corner of my office gathering dust. My friend Allen drops by and fills his pipe then asks for a sample to take with him. No problem have a big ol chunk. A few weeks later he shows up again and goes directly to the jar fills his pipe and declares hey can I have some of this stuff. This scenario goes on until there are maybe three ounces of the blend left. So on a whim I load up a pipeful finding the blend had greatly improved and was now very tasty. The moral is never give up on a blend until you let it mature. Sometimes fresh is good and sometimes aged is better or it can be the other way around.

That looks delightful, John.

Great post !!

+1

PhantomWolf Thank you for posting this excellent thread. The patchers have shared some great advice. I can’t really add much. One thing not mentioned is be aware of the FDA ‘deeming’ date. Unless things have changed, blends not in production prior to February, 2007 will likely cease to exist (at least in the United States). If you love Hearth and Home’s BlackHouse or Viprati, now is a good time to ‘cellar up’.

So much great insight here! I think I have a good idea of where I'm taking this thing moving forward.

Lat bombs will probably only be a few tins deep each. To be redily enjoyed. I trust Martin's opinion as he was an admitted penzaholic at one time.

I think Lat blends with great VAs and especially Oriental forward blends, I will try and age. I think White Knight and Black House for example, could become something special after a decade or so.

Virngias and non-aro Burley, I will continue to hoard buy the ton!

And I cant be the only one who is going to grab a roll of McB's Mixture Scottish later today. Hahaha


For the record, I was using Mason and Kerr jars to age. I like Kerr more as they have a wide mouth with no bevel- Easier to stuff; Easier to stack. I have knoticed some if that tobacco being dryer than I'd like, so I am recently switching how I do things. I bought a vacuum bag type setup on Amazon and not only do I bag up bulk and mylar bags, but I put tins I am deep-aging in vacuum bags as well.

I think from now on, it's going to be 4oz jars to hold rotation smoke and everything else gets the bag.

I'm just rambling at this point. Hahaha Sorry.


Thank you all so much for the advice. It's really been on my mind as my investment in the hobby continues to grow. I feel pretty confident with the new plan.


Justin




Sorry for the typos. When it comes to typing on my phone, I'm all thumbs.

I have been keeping my cellared tins in the mylar bags since I picked up the pipe again.

Though we have some conflicting opinions, we're simply relating our experience. Your plan going forward seems a sound one to me, Justin.

Clarification on Latakia blends:

While perhaps pleasant to smoke, subtle qualities of Latakia are lost after approximately 10 years. Justin is correct, the bulk of my experience is with Penzance, but I've smoked and cellared other Latakia blends with similar results.

It's difficult to define exactly what those differences are, but something that attracts me to Latakia after 10 or so years is missing.

Some remarks from Greg Pease:

"Within one to five years, the tobacco will really begin to shine. Beyond this time frame, the changes are much more gradual. While the blend may continue to improve for years, even decades, the changes will not be as dramatic as they are in the first few years. Some people enjoy the exuberance of young blends, while others prefer the mature complexity of tobaccos that have been aged for long periods. I recommend experimenting to see what suits you best!"

" A full Virginia will continue to improve, though at an increasingly slow rate, over many decades. Most English style tobaccos can go 20-30 years before they begin to go "over the hill." Balkan styles have a shorter life expectancy. Of course, storage conditions will play a part. If the tobacco is cellared at a constant, cool temperature, it will last longer than if it's stored in higher temperatures, or with lots of temperature variations."