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Much has been said about the benefits of aging pipe tobacco. If you've ever had the opportunity to sample a well-aged Virginia blend, then chances are you are already a believer. The comparison of pipe tobacco to wine may be cliche, but it is certainly accurate. While the vibrancy of youth can be desirable, in most cases, age will only improve a fine tobacco blend.
Recently a dear friend of ours stopped by Smokingpipes HQ for a visit and a tour. A few of us got together for lunch and after a most satisfying meal, our guest generously popped open and passed around a tin of a coin-style Virginia blend that was, by Sykes' estimation, approximately 30 years old. The smell of salted plums and candied figs from the tin was so delectable that I actually lost track of how many times the tin made its way around the room, each of us basking in the aroma, before anyone got the nerve to actually pack a bowl. As far as the flavor, it truly defies accurate description: deep, round, salty, a bit briny, and complex.
This experience prompted me to consider my own tobacco cellar. I have been laying down tins and jars of my favorite blends for some time now and have amassed enough to be able to smoke from a stash that ranges from five to ten years-old, while replacing what I smoke with fresh tobacco. I follow a simple rule: for every tin or jar that I smoke, I must replace it with two of the same blend, at the very least. I make sure to put away more than I smoke to ensure that at my normal pace, I won't be dipping into tobacco that is less than five to ten years-old. Of course, I do plan to let some of my cellar continue to age well past the ten year mark.
There is no need to over-complicate the practice. Tins that are factory sealed only need to be stored in a cool, dry place and out of direct light. I date the bottom label of my tins and put them into plastic storage containers to keep them organized and safe. As far as bulk tobacco or tobacco that does not come in a sealed tin, Mason jars are the preferred method of storage. A package of Mason jars comes from the factory ready to use right out of the box. There's no need to scrub or attempt to sterilize brand-new jars. It has also been suggested that jars should be "vacuum sealed" by heating the jars in hot water just before filling and placing the lid on. This is another unnecessary step, as is dipping the tops of the sealed jars in paraffin wax. Simply fill the jars loosely with your tobacco (leaving some room at the top), make sure there is no debris on the rim of the jar as even a small bit can compromise the seal, and apply the lids and tighten the seal. Store the filled jars in the same manner as you would tinned tobacco.
We here at Smokingpipes.com have found that aging the same blend under different conditions (i.e. in a vacuum sealed tin verses a jar that has air in it) will produce slightly different results, both of which are pleasant. Personally, I tend to prefer jarred tobacco that is not vacuum sealed and perhaps this quote from an old Charles Rattray's of Perth catalogue explains why: "Contrary to popular belief, the air-tight container is not the best method of packing [...] Tobacco is a vegetable that lives and breathes; it does not improve by being imprisoned in an air-tight compartment. Further evidence of this is the fact that the choicest cigars are always packed in a plain cedar wood box from which the air has not been excluded." It does, however, come down to personal preference, and you can expect a fine tobacco to mature under either condition.
There are many blends that age beautifully, with Virginia blends such as Escudo and Orlik Golden Sliced seeming to benefit the most from long-term storage. Oriental-heavy blends will mellow over long periods, although many smokers feel that too much age on such a blend (in excess of five years) may lead to a less than optimum experience. As always, experimentation is a must. The latest release of Cornell & Diehl's Cellar Series marks the most recent line of tobacco blends formulated for long-term storage — despite also being quite tasty when fresh. It is apparent that the trend of aging quality pipe tobacco is here to stay.
Comments
Finally, a simple and easy approach to aging tobacco... any other specific brands and types of tobacco that you can give us specific recommendations; I realize that we all have different tastes, however your advice is well served and a great starting point for all. Best, Tom
Tom, aging tobacco is easy and all too often the process is made out to be tedious and complicated. As far as specific recommendations, keep an eye on the blog in the coming weeks as I will be expanding on the points outlined in this introduction. I will say that for the last week or so I have been enjoying some 10 year-old Solani Virginia flake with Perique blend 633 and the taste is like toasted raisin bread and plum wine, with a bit of a smoked gouda or blue cheese. Age has been very, very kind to this already delectable tobacco. Cheers!
What I dislike most about canning tobacco is trying to label the jars. My handwriting can be somewhat unsightly, especially when wielding a Sharpie and targeting the lid of a jar. Ideally, I will carefully peal the sticker off a bag of tobacco and stick it to the jar, but the sticker often rips during this process, and if I'm breaking up a pound of tobacco into several jars, then only one jar gets a sticker. I think it would be a brilliant idea for retailers selling bulk tobaccos to include extra un-pealed stickers for the cellaring folks! Maybe, say, one sticker per each two ounces? What a fine little extra perk that would make!
Walt, I use the peel away address labels for letters that come on a sheet. I find it much easier to write legibly then I can just peel them off and apply to the side of the jar(s). This is also ideal if you re-use jars as you can peel the old labels off or simply cover them with new labels. It was great seeing you in Chicago!
"A package of Mason jars comes from the factory ready to use right out of the box. There's no need to scrub or attempt to sterilize brand-new jars." That is great news. I'm new to pipe smoking and when I finally settle on some favorites, I plan on buying in bulk and jarring them up. However, everything I've read so far on cellaring tobacco indicates that the jars must be at least washed to clear off any factory residue, or at most sterilized to prepare a clean environment (free of mold spores, etc) for the tobacco to reside for the next 5-30 years. I would love to be able to skip this step; so, I'm wondering if the "no wash" method has been tested...
Keith, it has been tested, both literally (by a pipe smoker who also happens to test food-safe containers professionally, using a very expensive apparatus) and in practice by all of us here at the office. I have dozens of jars that range in age from about ten years, to days ago, and everything in between. The only time I have washed jars was to re-use them with brand-new lids and seals and I am more worried about those jars than anything straight out of the package from the store (I try to re-use jars for tobacco that I am going to smoke, not for long-term aging). By washing brand new jars you are more likely to introduce mold spores, bacteria etc. I hope this helps!
Shane, thanks for the response. That puts me at ease. However, I do wonder why everybody -- from Ball to the USDA -- instructs canners to wash all jars before use. But if none of the folks at SmokingPipes.com wash new jars, then I don't suppose I should be worrying about it!
Keith, they are not talking about use with tobacco, but rather with food! I will say that I do not recommend using loose or individually sold jars or pieces of jars without washing them. Factory-sealed packages of a dozen are preferable (I always make sure I grab packages that have not been opened by someone else). Food-borne bacteria is what the canning methods are intended to eliminate. You can certainly take the same steps with tobacco, but is it not necessary.
How to keep tobacco fresh in a jar.? Thank you for your answer.
Do English and Balkan blends lend themselves to the aging process as well as the blends heavy in Virginia?
I use the address labels and usually using my computer and printer import a picture of the tin from the internet and print out what and when I put it in the jar. No need to worry about hand writing at all!
You can carefully heat the tin with a hair blower and remove the label in one piece easily, then stick it on your jars.
@Helmuth That's an awesome tip, thank you!
I always hear "store tobacco in a dark place" but no explanation of why. Is it the UV rays or just all light in general? I ask because I have jars stored in my closet that get some light from the bedroom light fixture, however they are LED lights which create virtually no UV rays unlike other light sources.
@Eric G I think you'll be fine. The main point of "no direct light" is temperature control. If you've got sun shining on glass jars they'll heat pretty quickly, and when that sun disappears, cool just as quickly again, especially in air conditioning.
Thanks Adam!
I use zip lock bags to age my tobacco. It's easy to get the air out of them. Just roll the bag up after putting the tobacco in it and zip the bag closed. The bag can then be unrolled flat to be put away. The bags take up a great deal less space than jars. Leaving you more room for more tobacco's.
Scott you WILL find that baggies WILL allow tobacco to dry in time. Plastic is porous believe it or not. I've used baggies for some things and found that when I locate a sample which I've forgotten about it was nice and dry, which is NOT aging.
For labeling, I highly recommend owning a decent labeling machine. I use a Brother that accepts 1" labels, and as I jar my tobacco I type and print 2 labels, one for the lid and one for the side.. I have to cut the label to fit on the lid, but it really helps identify them when they are in a tray.
@Marc M.Thanks for the tip Marc!
Great article. Thank you for the tips! I will be putting them into use when my next order arrives.
Great article! I will be putting this into practice as soon as my next order arrives! Thank you!
@PREACHER Our pleasure mate, make sure to check back in and let us know how it went!
Labeling, whether it's cellar or everyday use I take an old (but still very sharp) set of shears and cut the label right out of the tobacco tin cap. Then adhere my small cutout to the pop part of the mason lid and write the month number and year over the lid. This way with a quick glance I still get the shelf retail label "feel" of all my mason jars....not my garbage penmanship.
You guys have some good advice.I'm just now starting a cellar I have 2 cans lol but it's a start my question is about kayaks ,orientals,black Cavendish,and perished do they age well
Sorry about that stupid autocorrect my question wasn't about kayaks it was latakia also not perished but perique lol thanks guys
I'm only 10 months into my "serious" pipe smoking, and have just begun cellaring some tobaccos. I was wondering about how to label everything in a clean manner...I bought some black chalkboard paint and a chalk marker. I coated the flat lids from my jars, and can write the particulars about the tobacco (brand, type, purchase and/ or store date) on the lid. It looks super clean on my rack, with all the tobacco prominently displayed but all the writing neatly up top. The black chalkboard paint is permanent, but the chalk marker wipes right off with a damp cloth, allowing me to relabel a jar at will. Thanks for all the great info here, I'm learning a lot!
Just smoked some Dunhill Nightcap that is 5 years and 6 months old, the Latakia is somewhat subdued, but the Virginias have aged well. I take the insert and place it inside the jar and write the date on it, and fill the jar with a tin and a half of tobacco. It was well worth the wait and noticeably different from leaving in the tin.
If I'M cellaring in mason jars, not vacuum sealed, if i open them for any reason in the aging process, is it game over? Or will the tobacco continue to age if opened here and there during the process?
I go by Tom. I want to Thank You for this article it helped me a lot as I have never cellared tobacco, as in mason jars. I also just smoked as I bought it.
Thanks for the help
I know is thread is old but I can’t seem to find a answer for this, if I crack my tin for whatever the reason. Then store in mason jar, is the aging done? Or will it regain the process of left unopened after a period of time. I guess the real thing is, if my tin was compromised and I move it to jars. Should I just smoke it up or will it fall into a aging state again thanks for any help
@Mike Great question, you can absolutely continue to age it in a mason jar! As long as it's got an air tight seal, it will continue to age.
For Mike and John. You can and should sample your cellar’d tobaccos from time to time to see how they are doing. I recommend keeping notes on each one taped to the jar, so you can remember how it tasted last time you smoked/tested it. So yes, feel free to open a jar, pack a bowl, and reseal it and return it to the “cellar” (which in my case is just jars inside some cardboard boxes stored in my downstairs closet). If you open a tin to check it out, don’t return it to the opened tin, put the remaining tobacco in a jar and pop a lid on it and it will continue to age just fine (unless you want to smoke all of it, which is just as acceptable). For aged wine, once you open it, you finish the entire bottle, for tobacco, opening the lid once in a while is perfectly fine, you can return it to the cellar and it will continue to age.
I’m so glad to hear this. I’ve been doing in unintentionally as I have a tendency to smoke for a while then go on a long hiatus. I do have my tobacco packed in mason jars I’m always afraid it will have gone bad, as it seems so many other articles suggest pipe tobacco is only good for a few months.