While I've gotten more skilled at picking out flavors from blends, Most VA and VApers tend to taste pretty similar to each other, so while I could say "OK, this one is a VAPer", I couldn't really nail down which exact blend it is. I've been stocking away various blends I like fresh, but the real question is will they still mostly taste similar when aged? While I have a lot of say Bayou Morning sealed in the cellar, will I regret not also packing away like Escudo?
Aged tobacco
- Thread starter Shave_Rat
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VA and VaPers will taste sweeter as they age.
I hate fresh perique. It's weird, because I like spicy in my cigars, but fresh perique just tastes bad to me. But as perique ages, it loses the bite and really accentuates the sweetness of VAs.
I hate fresh perique. It's weird, because I like spicy in my cigars, but fresh perique just tastes bad to me. But as perique ages, it loses the bite and really accentuates the sweetness of VAs.
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I find that a lot of VAPers do taste awfully similar when fresh, but age does tend to bring out the subtleties and nuances. That's just my opinion, but regardless...you will one day regret not having a stockpile of Escudo.
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- #4
I find that a lot of VAPers do taste awfully similar when fresh, but age does tend to bring out the subtleties and nuances. That's just my opinion, but regardless...you will one day regret not having a stockpile of Escudo.
Get ready to be shocked, but.. I've never had Escudo, fresh or aged. I just started to appreciate VAPers in the last 8-10 months or so, and started stocking up. There were so many of them out there, I'd gotten a couple samples of a few, liked them, and stocked up on those so far. lol
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- #5
OK, so far in the cellar I have:
Back Down South - 1lb 2oz
Bayou Morning - 1lb 4oz
Elizabethan Mixture - 10.8 oz
Orlik Golden Sliced - 10.8 oz
Hal'O the Wynd - 1lb 8.5 oz
Now, that is just the VAPer selection cellared, there's a lot of other stuff stashed as well to hold me over if/when prices get ridiculous.
Back Down South - 1lb 2oz
Bayou Morning - 1lb 4oz
Elizabethan Mixture - 10.8 oz
Orlik Golden Sliced - 10.8 oz
Hal'O the Wynd - 1lb 8.5 oz
Now, that is just the VAPer selection cellared, there's a lot of other stuff stashed as well to hold me over if/when prices get ridiculous.
Solid lineup. If you get the itch to add:
Marlin Flake
Solani 633
St James Flake
All excellent VAPers.
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- #7
I have some St James Woods. Is that different from the flake?
St. James Woods is McClelland, St. James Flake is Samuel Gawith. Afraid I've never smoked St. James Woods, so I can't give you a comparo, but the Gawith is pretty darned awesome. They are both straight up VA/Per flakes...hopefully someone with experience with both can chime in with the details.
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- #9
Oh, yeah.. derp. I should have known that without thinking about it. One thing I do know is that the St James Woods has that trademark McClelland vinegar/ketchup like tin note that all their blends with VA's seem to have. I'd guess that the SG blends won't have that. It's one thing that sets the McClelland blends apart from others.
Hirsute
Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
Exactly these.
Hirsute
Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
Jeez Dustin, I almost feel bad about this, but I have some 2004 Escudo open and I could send you enough for a bowl so you can taste the magic. But really, it's almost like sending you crack in the mail so I don't know if I should do that to you. Drop me a PM if you want to live dangerously...
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- #12
I do plan to drop an order to P&C before that discount ends on the 31st. Maybe I'll toss some new things to try into the cart on top of stocking up on already knowns... lol
If you have access to canning jars, I would also humbly submit McClelland 2015 as a bulk option. The Marlin Flake can also be found in bulk.
Is there a point in the aging process where tobacco will start to deteriorate in flavor? I know some wines hit a peak and then start to go downhill.
Maybe this question is unanswerable because our supplies never last long enough to find out.
Maybe this question is unanswerable because our supplies never last long enough to find out.
Hirsute
Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
The answer is yes, but as far as when that is varies quite a bit. Here's a general rule I've heard from someone who knows: 40 years is about the end of the aging window where tobaccos will continue to develop with age. Tobaccos will remain smokeable after that if they're stored properly, but they're not doing much at that point, and they will start to lose flavor.
But here's the thing that's a bit tricky: different blend components age differently.
- Virginias develop a winey raisiny quality;
- the sharper peppery notes of perique generally mellow out but the savory/meaty quality tends to strengthen;
- latakia mellows out and can really recede into the background (I had a bowl of 40-yr old Savory's (Dunhill) Baby Bottom and really couldn't taste the latakia at all; but it was still excellent!);
- orientals do funny things with age as some become more pronounced and others mellow and recede; and
- burley smooths out a bit and develops a richer character, but it changes the least of the other components.
When I'm aging virginias and VaPers, I'm aiming for 10 years but know they'll be amazing after 20.
For Englishes/Balkans, 10-15 is what I'm shooting for. They'll be good after that, but they'll be different. With 10-15 years (and even 20 really) you'll still taste the latakia just fine and the virginias will be pumped up a bit and the whole thing will be smooth, smooth, smooth.
And that's part of the reason it's hard to say when the tobacco starts to "turn" or diminish: I may like Nightcap with 10 years; you may like the latakia mellowed out a bit more and prefer it at 20 years. Neither is right, and both of us are happy because we're smoking aged Nightcap.
Goodness. I should've started cellaring pipe tobacco at age 10. Why wasn't I forward thinking back then??? 
Hirsute
Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
Goodness. I should've started cellaring pipe tobacco at age 10. Why wasn't I forward thinking back then???
It's like saving for retirement--always goes easier if you start when you can't afford it.
But seriously, there is a fair amount of aged tobacco out there on the market, and much of it can be had for not much of a premium if you look around.
The answer is yes, but as far as when that is varies quite a bit. Here's a general rule I've heard from someone who knows: 40 years is about the end of the aging window where tobaccos will continue to develop with age. Tobaccos will remain smokeable after that if they're stored properly, but they're not doing much at that point, and they will start to lose flavor.
But here's the thing that's a bit tricky: different blend components age differently.
- Virginias develop a winey raisiny quality;
- the sharper peppery notes of perique generally mellow out but the savory/meaty quality tends to strengthen;
- latakia mellows out and can really recede into the background (I had a bowl of 40-yr old Savory's (Dunhill) Baby Bottom and really couldn't taste the latakia at all; but it was still excellent!);
- orientals do funny things with age as some become more pronounced and others mellow and recede; and
- burley smooths out a bit and develops a richer character, but it changes the least of the other components.
When I'm aging virginias and VaPers, I'm aiming for 10 years but know they'll be amazing after 20.
For Englishes/Balkans, 10-15 is what I'm shooting for. They'll be good after that, but they'll be different. With 10-15 years (and even 20 really) you'll still taste the latakia just fine and the virginias will be pumped up a bit and the whole thing will be smooth, smooth, smooth.
And that's part of the reason it's hard to say when the tobacco starts to "turn" or diminish: I may like Nightcap with 10 years; you may like the latakia mellowed out a bit more and prefer it at 20 years. Neither is right, and both of us are happy because we're smoking aged Nightcap.
Excellent info. Thanks buddy!
Same with me. I normally don't have a problem with a sour flavor when it's supposed to be there.
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