Old tobacco in sealed tin

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plumbernater

plumbernater

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I would like to know if a sealed tin of tobacco from 99 would still be good. Its some virginia McClellands 27. Ive always heard that virginia tobacco gets better with age. just need to know if this has set to long.
 
I've bought tins from the early 1970's on many occasions and they smoked beautifully. If you look on eBay you will see many 20 and 30 year old tins and they command big bucks. As long as the tin has never been opened (and I assume it is sealed), you should have no problems.
 
Aging is a selective process. Old garbage is just old garbage. Old good stuff is really good. Old really good stuff is off the chart.

Virginias need at least six months (tin or sealed, undisturbed jar time) to start getting smokeable ; @ 2 years, they're pretty good ; @ 5 really good ; @ 10 sublime.

Mixtures (English/Scottish/Balkan) max out (IMHO) around five or six years -- as in, they're going to continue to change after that, but the constituents are going to be fading and shifting, playing "survivor."

Reccomendation : instead of making some greedy speculator rich, get you some Union Square and trade for some FVF (or BBF if your taste runs to lighter fare). And some Brown Clunee while you're at it. Then put it away, marked "Do Not Disturb Until 2017."

Do the same with a few tins of Blackpoint, or whatever mixture(s) appeal to you. On the (not unreasonable) assumption you're going to live long enough to enjoy it, you'll be way ahead. It runs against the grain of the Immediate Gratification programming we're swamped with, but that can't be helped.

Get to the point where what you're smoking is decently aged and smoking starts seeming analogous to eating cooked food vs. the raw stuff you were used to.

:face:
 
I just opened a 1999 tin of Christmas Cheer. Was still so moist that Ihad to dry it for quite some time, looks like it could have easily gone another dozen years. I've had several old McClelland tins and only those that had latakia seemed to fade beyond the ten year mark.
 
Got to try some Revelation that was found locally with a sealed stamp dated 1938.....simply outstanding and nothing like the same Revelation I had from the early '90's
 
PS : Burley pretty much doesn't "age" at all, even with the sugar they put in it to improve the taste.

:face:
 
As long as the seal is intact, it should be fine. Strong Virginias seem to age best, probably because they have the most room for improvement. All tobacco ages, ie deteriorates, and becomes milder and more mellow. I prefer a strong, edgy tobacco, so am not a fan of aging, but it happens just because of my hoarding tendencies.
 
Straight up tobaccos I don't think you can have TOO much age.

As mentioned anything with the latakia will tapper off. Aros don't bother.
 
Yak":yplyyp4q said:
Aging is a selective process. Old garbage is just old garbage. Old good stuff is really good. Old really good stuff is off the chart.

Virginias need at least six months (tin or sealed, undisturbed jar time) to start getting smokeable ; @ 2 years, they're pretty good ; @ 5 really good ; @ 10 sublime.

Mixtures (English/Scottish/Balkan) max out (IMHO) around five or six years -- as in, they're going to continue to change after that, but the constituents are going to be fading and shifting, playing "survivor."

Reccomendation : instead of making some greedy speculator rich, get you some Union Square and trade for some FVF (or BBF if your taste runs to lighter fare). And some Brown Clunee while you're at it. Then put it away, marked "Do Not Disturb Until 2017."

Do the same with a few tins of Blackpoint, or whatever mixture(s) appeal to you. On the (not unreasonable) assumption you're going to live long enough to enjoy it, you'll be way ahead. It runs against the grain of the Immediate Gratification programming we're swamped with, but that can't be helped.

Get to the point where what you're smoking is decently aged and smoking starts seeming analogous to eating cooked food vs. the raw stuff you were used to.

:face:
Click to expand...
Great post, Yak. Brown Clunee is amazing, I had the pleasure of it a few weeks ago on a suggestion, wish my Tinder Box had it in stock. I would really like to let some Union Square mellow out for a year or two, it seems a bit "bright" in the can when it is first opened.
 
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