A New Strategy

[pipetongue1]

I'm going to change around what i smoke of a certain blends, I'll smoke the "newest" first thus saving my "older" Stock, Ken :tongue:

 

[Frost]

Makes sense to me. Some stuff tastes better when young anyway I think. There can be such a thing as too smooth and mellow.

 

[LAEarl]

I do just that. Well maybe too because I don't have any put back with any age on it so I do not have any choice. :lol:

 

[Slow Puffs]

An interesting strategy. This is something GLPease suggests... when he offers a new blend he suggests smoking it at various stages, following how the blend develops and changes as it ages. Seems like a wise strategy Ken

 

[Anonymous]

Ken, interesting that you put up this thread!
Natch bombed me with some 11yr old baccy, mostly VA this week, man, it has changed my outlook quite a bit. I found that 3 to 5 year stuff was good. the same thing 11yrs later was even better. I tend to agree with you Sir!

I have smoked some 2yr old Old Gowrie for instance and it was brilliant, the 11yr old version from Natch was a totally different animal, it was just FANTASTIC!!!!

 

[Hunter5117]

Ken, I follow a somewhat similar plan. When I find a new blend that I want to cellar, I put down a few pounds, then continue to buy and smoke the fresh stuff until the cellared tobacco gets at least 2-3 years on it. Then, assuming I have been adding to the store over those 2 years, I have that tobacco in a progression that will let me dip into it at various stages. If it still has not developed where I expect it, I let it keep aging and smoke something else. I may slow down or stop adding fresh stock of that blend if the 1st few years have not improved as I hoped.

If everything works as planned, I eventually get an "assembly line" with new tobacco going in the front end, and well aged 'baccy coming out the back end. Depending on how much I seeded the system with, I usually can not smoke it fast enough to hold it at any one point in time, the original keeps aging more and more as I smoke it up. Some blends like McC Christmas Cheer, I normally add 5-6 tins each year, but I normally only open 1 or max 2 around the holiday season, so I am building a big store of that one for my later years.

 

[bruins]

so for those of us (i mean me) who have just bought their first set of mason jars, when you want to go back and smoke some vintage stuff, do you just crack the lid, take what you want, and reseal it? is it that simple? (please say yes. i like simple.)

 

[Natch]

That's been my method for quite some time now. Recently, however, I looked at my tobacco larder, roughly figured out what I have and how much I smoke per month, and came to the lovely realization that:

A. I have enough tobacco at present to last me the rest of my life, and then some;

B. If, on the outside chance I do live to be 137 (my estimation of how long I'd have to live to smoke it all up), and if I continue to buy a pound or so every few months, then;

C. Excluding new blends coming on the market or a radical shift in my preferences, I don't have to smoke anything younger than five years and most will have ten years or more of age!

Not that I won't smoke younger tobaccos (I know some blends don't improve with age) but I don't have to if I don't want to. It was the strategy you described and a bit of discipline over the past 20 years that got me to this point.

And so, I'd like to take this moment to say to my esteemed Brothers and Sisters of the pipe,

Nanner Nanner Boo Boo!!!!! :twisted:

Natch

 

[bruins]

what happens to a tobacco over time? the VaPers i've smoke are all young and a bit harsh, to my taste. does it mellow out? and yeah, pretty envious of your collection. i was going to buy some of alfredo_buscatti aged wares to see the difference, but it looks as though someone is going to buy the whole batch. bastard!

 

[Maiser]

I heard that bruins! If I were rich I'd buy it and split it with you!

Anyways, a tobacco will become better with age given some factors...

1) It was a good tobacco to start with (you can't magic a bad tobacco).

2) It is properly stored and sealed. (mason jars, unopened tins, etc). It is important that no new air gets to the tobacco, otherwise the fermentation process is ruined.

3) It has at least a little virginia in it. Virginia's improve the most with age, in my experience, becoming mellower and rounding out the taste. But other types will still age and improve, i believe.

That last one may come with some controversy, but that is how it is in my experience.

 

[Anonymous]

what happens to a tobacco over time? the VaPers i've smoke are all young and a bit harsh, to my taste. does it mellow out? and yeah, pretty envious of your collection. i was going to buy some of alfredo_buscatti aged wares to see the difference, but it looks as though someone is going to buy the whole batch. bastard!

Bruins F**# David Copperfield, it's pure well rounded magic man!!!!
Bummer, you will need to wait a couple of years tho, or............. start sucking up to Natch!!!! LOL

All the sharp edges come off, there is zero bite and the smoke is smooth as silk!!! especially VA's and VAPER's!!!!

 

[Wet Dottle]

I'll smoke the "newest" first thus saving my "older" Stock, Ken :tongue:

I do the opposite, smoke the older stuff first and save the new. This way I smoke 10 to 15 yo tobacco most of the time (the exceptions are newly released stuff that I try to see if it's worth going into the cellar). I'm with Natch, I have enough to last me quite a while. By my calculations, what I put in the cellar today will be smoked 20 years from now (or longer, as I keep adding to the cellar).

 

[bruins]

well, it's like planting asparagus. the sooner you get started, the sooner you get to reap the rewards. i'm off to seal up some jars! thanks for all the advice.

 

[Anonymous]

well, it's like planting asparagus. the sooner you get started, the sooner you get to reap the rewards. i'm off to seal up some jars! thanks for all the advice.

So what's asparagus smoke like.....
HMMMMM C&D Asparagus morning............. is it tasty bro???
In all seriousness, a good cellar is better than a good pipe collection!!!!!

 

[bruins]

So what's asparagus smoke like.....
HMMMMM C&D Asparagus morning............. is it tasty bro???
In all seriousness, a good cellar is better than a good pipe collection!!!!!

yeah, it's great. but it makes your pee smell funny...

 

[Anonymous]

So what's asparagus smoke like.....
HMMMMM C&D Asparagus morning............. is it tasty bro???
In all seriousness, a good cellar is better than a good pipe collection!!!!!

yeah, it's great. but it makes your pee smell funny...

You're A LEGEND Bruins!!!!! :lol!: :lol!: :lol!: