Looking to put together a baccy cellar...need input

[BamBam]

I have recently been smoking pipes more and more.

I would like to start aging some tobacco, but I am essentially a newb to quality pipe tobaccos. So I would like to hear some essential blends that every cellar should have.

My current favorites are SG Squadron Leader and Butternut Burley, if that helps.

Help me wise pipers....

[DaBear]

Never really gotten in to the whole vintage thing, but I have a tin of Tinderbox Reserve 1928 from 2009 thats smokin real well right now. Great english that has a lot of sweetness bordering an aromatic. Might actually pick up the last two tins of it we have at work its smokin so good.

[Zanaspus]

All non-aromatics benefit from aging. Your Butternut Burley is best smoked fresh as if you put it away for a long period of time, the "Butternut" would fade.

Squadron Leader should age fine as should any other English. The tobacco that gains the most from a rest is any Virginia/Virginia and Perique. A few classic and easy to find Virginias off the top of my head: Escudo, Hal O' the Wynd, Blackwoods Flake, Opening Night, Christmas Cheer and oh so many more.

A bit of warning if you haven't smoke straight Virginias before. SMOKE SLOWLY! If you think you're going slow, cut that by half. You get the best flavors from these tobaccos when they are literally on the verge of going out.

It sounds as though you may be early in your pipe adventures. Don't worry, in time you'll have a cellar and wonder how you got it. One method folks use is to buy two tins of what they plan to smoke each purchase. They smoke one and cellar the other.

[chaase321]

Great question for a thread (as I am also looking to start cellaring some) and great answer Tony!

[BamBam]

I am adding Escudo to my list, as I have read and heard good things previously.

I see two "Escudo's" though, Is it this one?
http://www.eacarey.com/escudo-pipe-t...AdID=687--7937

1)Escudo

[Commander Quan]

Hal O' The Wynd. I smoke more of this than anything else. Like Tony said, Va & VaPers will benefit the most from aging.

[darkleeroy]

BamBam, the Escudo you posted is the one I usually buy.

McClellands Christmas Cheer is my favorite straight VA to age. One, cause it's a great tobacco; and two, cause nothing brings Christmas cheer like Chrustmas Cheer (meaning come December it's my go-to smoke) I've got a tin from '99 that I'm hoping will last 20 years till I open it.

Here's a link from GL Pease on aging tobaccos. He explains it better than I ever could.

http://glpease.com/BriarAndLeaf/?p=25

Latakia's tend to mellow out as they age, but still taste like campfire bacon. Think of it as black beans served with bacon vs black beans cooked with bacon.

As a side note, I just opened a tin of six year old McClellands Classic Samsun, truly awesome the way the orientals blended with the VA's.

[BamBam]

Couple more poosibles added to the list, any other blends other than these that would age well? Maybe some other Englishes, or orientals, latakias, ones I don't even know about?

Also, are the 3 below Va's, or Va/per's, or a mix?

List of Possible Aging Baccy's
1)Escudo
2)Hal o the Wynd
3)Christmas Cheer
4)Squadron Leader

I'm eventually gonna choose form the above list, and make a nice size purchase and start my cellar.

[RevSmoke]

Samuel Gawith Full VA Flake, Esoterica Stonehaven & Dorchester

[darkleeroy]

Originally Posted by BamBam

Couple more poosibles added to the list, any other blends other than these that would age well? Maybe some other Englishes, or orientals, latakias, ones I don't even know about?

Also, are the 3 below Va's, or Va/per's, or a mix?

List of Possible Aging Baccy's
1)Escudo
2)Hal o the Wynd
3)Christmas Cheer
4)Squadron Leader

I'm eventually gonna choose form the above list, and make a nice size purchase and start my cellar.

1. Escudo - VA/Per
2. Hal o the Wynd - VA/Per
3. Christmas Cheer - Straight VA
4. Squadron Leader - English

My favorite Oriental blend and overall blend is hands down Classic Samsun. I've heard Drama Reserve is pretty good, but haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Latakia blends I like:
Dunhill's (Mixture 969 & Nightcap)
GL Pease's Westminster & Maltese Falcon
Esoterica Penzance (if you can find it, not a lot of nicotine though)

Virginia's I like:
Full Virginia Flake
Dominican Glory Maduro (It's a cigar blend, but don't expect a Liga No. 9)

[BamBam]

Thanks Josh for the input.

Here's where my list is currently at:

List of Possible Aging Baccy's
1)Escudo (VaPer)
2)Hal o the Wynd (VaPer)
3)Christmas Cheer (Virginia)
4)Squadron Leader (English)
5)Esoterica Penzance (English)
6)Classic Samsun (Oriental)


Things may be dropped, but it's where I'm at right now.
I hope to build some shelving for a designated cellar area this week.

[Mister Moo]

Not sure that aging english blends is worth the bother. While it all depends on the blend and your taste, I find most stay the same or, more often, lose some of the condiment edge that keeps them interesting. Aged Penzance is an example of an english blend that I think degrades over time.

In general, virginia tobaccos show improvement with age; condiments fall off and burley is regarded as a poor leaf to age. But Stonehaven, a burley blend, is a stunner after 5-8years. Go figure. Gotta be the virginia in the blend?

Age something everyone else likes. That way if your tastes change over time you still have good swapping kit. Escudo is always a winner.

[BamBam]

Alright, I have the shelves in pace, and the ball jars sterilized.....

and I just placed an order for the following...

Escudo
Peter Stokkebye Balkan Supreme
McClelland Grand Orientals: Classic Samsun
Rattrays- Hal O' Wynd
McClelland- Christmas Cheer 2011

I'm excited to try some of these, and put the rest down for a nap.

Thanks all for your input, I am always open to more suggestions also.

[Emjaysmash]

Can I just +1 to everything that was previoiusly said?

Building a tobacco cellar is quite exciting! I have a good number of tins cellared away.

[RevSmoke]

What I have found to be true in which tobaccos age best, is based upon sugar content in tobacco. Or, maybe there is something else going on there and it just appears this is true. Whatever, here are some rules of thumb.

Burleys show little to no improvement with age, for there isn't much sugar in them.
Orientals are much the same.
Virginias have exhibited stellar results in aging, for they have a very high sugar content.
English blends, depending on the amount of Virginia in the blend, will age well accordingly.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[BamBam]

I thought I would share what I built last week out of some wood I had laying around in the workshop. It is a modest tobacco cellar, but it is located in the inner most part of my workshop, where it is dark, and the temperature stays fairly consistent because only about 4 feet of one of its walls is an exterior wall.

So it should serve its purpose quite well. I'm hoping my first tobaccos arrive today also. The ball jars in the photo are 8oz, so they hold a tin of tobacco each.



Thanks again to all who have commented with advice

[Emjaysmash]

Originally Posted by BamBam

I thought I would share what I built last week out of some wood I had laying around in the workshop. It is a modest tobacco cellar, but it is located in the inner most part of my workshop, where it is dark, and the temperature stays fairly consistent because only about 4 feet of one of its walls is an exterior wall.

So it should serve its purpose quite well. I'm hoping my first tobaccos arrive today also. The ball jars in the photo are 8oz, so they hold a tin of tobacco each.



Thanks again to all who have commented with advice

That is awesome!

[darkleeroy]

Looks great Bam! 8oz should be more than enough for a tin.

[Trumpet]

Here's a good start...buy mine

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=54340

[TheTraveler]

I was pleasantly surprised to find just how nicely a well-tightened Mason jar will preserve pipe tobacco. I have 9 or 10 jars of various tobacco in Mason jars and they somehow got pushed to the back of the shelf and hidden by books. I was digging around the other day and found them; the stickers on the front said they'd all been closed up in early to mid 2009 and they'd been untouched since then. I opened the jar of Dunhill Light Flake and heard that nice rush of air. The tobacco was in perfect condition, it lit easily, burned perfectly and tasted great! The work involved in keeping cigars in perfect condition for three years would be a little more involved than closing a Mason jar then forgetting about it.

The moral of the story? Buy some 8oz Mason or Ball jars to keep the tobacco from your opened tins in, get some labels (or just use a sharpie on the lid), and label the jars (include the date the tin was opened).