What tobaccos are you aging?

I recently read through a pipe smoker's handbook that covered aging tobaccos in quite a bit of detail. I'm going to start jarring and aging certain tobacco blends as I receive them, and I was curious if any B&B smokers were currently aging any of their tobaccos.

So, what's in your cellar and how old is it?

I think quite a few do. I don't have many aging, but I have a couple of tins of FVF and a few others set aside with intent of giving a couple of things to a friend as a gift this Christmas.

The oldest I have is some FVF from '07 and '09. Last year I started acquiring tins to age, and bulk to age in jars, mostly flakes.

Blends with a lot of Virgina tobaccos will benefit the most from again. English blends tend to loose some of their edge, and become more muted. Aromatics start to get dull after a while as well.

I've have pounds of FVF HOTW, and 1792 that I bought and jarred specifically for not touching, I have a couple pounds of Chocolate Flake that I didn't intend to age, I just stocked up while I could, and a bunch of other random stuff that I've never bothered to open.

I read about aging in this great Pipeman's Handbook. It's a good, long resource for anyone who wants to learn a little bit more about their tobacco. They also suggested, like Derrick did, that aging VAs works the best, though some really like aging English blends as well.

Depends on the blend and the individual pallet, I think. I have some VA from 2002 Christmas Cheer and Old Growery that are nearing ready to smoke and starting at around 2004 I began putting up squadron leader, BCF, Dark birdseye, and both sweet rum twist/ sweet coconut twist.

My first attempt at aging began today with 16 oz. of Hal o' the Wynd.

I have a bunch of tobacco aging. Significant stuff?

McClelland Christmas Cheer - '00, '01, '02, '03
Escudo from 2001
G&H Louisiana Flake 2002
SG FVF 2003
Astley's 109 '01, '02
St. James Perique 1994 (straight Perique)

Mr. Scruffy said:

My first attempt at aging began today with 16 oz. of Hal o' the Wynd.

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Nice, did you decant into smaller jars or do it in a larger lot.

jwhite said:

Nice, did you decant into smaller jars or do it in a larger lot.

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I used 3 mason jars filling each each about 3/4 full. I then set them for 15 minutes in a pot of hot tap water even with the level of tobacco in the jars. Put the lids on the jars and set them in the cabinet under the bar. I figured this way I could open them a different intervals to get a better idea of how aging affects tobacco.

I have jarred up almost everything I've bought and I also set aside a sealed tin of FVF, which I will try not to touch. I plan to work my way through my Mac B Golden Extra and then maybe some Virginia No. 1 to get more of a feel for the straight tobaccos, then try some of the blends. I will be cellaring actively and laying tins aside for longer-term aging, as well.

Sounds like a plan

Today I bottled a few up:


We have some straight VA with straight perique from my local shop, Half & Half per the recommendation of a fellow B&Ber, Nightcap, an English blend from the local store, Frog Morton, Sutliff Charlemange (I didn't like it, so hopefully aging will help? We'll see), Hearth & Home Black House, and some Borkum Riff (same story as the Sutliff).

Now to stash these somewhere I'll completely forget about them....

My youngest pipe tobacco was packaged in 2007. I have tins that are 2/3 and 3/4 full back from 2003.

I have a pound of Stokkebye VA -- at $19 it was too good to pass up. I found it too bland to smoke fresh. I'm hoping a few years jarred will give it some flavor.

Pescara said:

I have a pound of Stokkebye VA -- at $19 it was too good to pass up. I found it too bland to smoke fresh. I'm hoping a few years jarred will give it some flavor.

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I do that with blends I don't care for as well. Throw it in a jar and hope in a few years it'll be a treasure.

I currently have about 55g of SG 1792. I can't handle the nicotine of this stuff right now, so since there's not tobacco trade thread I'm probably stuck with it for a bit. I may separate out just enough to try again here & there, then hide the rest in the back of the closet. Do I need to actually "can" the jar or is the just tightening the mason jar it's in by hand really well sufficient for aging maybe 3-6 months?

nrdoty said:

I currently have about 55g of SG 1792. I can't handle the nicotine of this stuff right now, so since there's not tobacco trade thread I'm probably stuck with it for a bit. I may separate out just enough to try again here & there, then hide the rest in the back of the closet. Do I need to actually "can" the jar or is the just tightening the mason jar it's in by hand really well sufficient for aging maybe 3-6 months?

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I recently purchased my first tin of 1792. I haven't been able to try it yet, but the smell out of the tin just about knocked me out of my chair!

conroygc said:

I recently purchased my first tin of 1792. I haven't been able to try it yet, but the smell out of the tin just about knocked me out of my chair!

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It is strong stuff. I really like the smell & flavor I just can't currently handle the megaton of nicotine hides in the oily flakes.

You never have to seal the jar the way you would if you were preserving fruit. Just tightening the O ring around the lid will be sufficient. After a while the anaerobic microbes will cause a slight vacuum in the jar, and the lid with seal it's self.