Tobacco Aging

[clueless]

I have just been back to the pipe for a couple of years. Have not put any tobacco back for aging but have read on here and other sites about the benefits of aging some tobaccos. My question is whether all tobaccos benefit from this or is it mostly certain types or blends? I was recently gifted - Secret Santa - a large bag of what appears to be the 'house English' from Santas local B & M. It has a date showing a year and a half of aging and it is the best 'house english' I've yet had. My experience has been that most 'house english' blends are pretty much the same and I suspect that most come from the same one or two sources. This stuff has a better taste, aroma, and smoking quality -to me - than even the accompanying Squadron Leader and it rivals my fav - Commonwealth. Is this likely to be due to the, admittedly modest, aging or did I just luck out and get gifted an exceptional 'house english'? Are my local B & M 'bulk 'house english' purchases likely to also benefit significantly if put away for a while?

Thanks for any insight.

 

[tiltjlp]

First off, not all house blends are equal, and not all are simply relabeled Lane or Altadis blends. As for aging, yes, all tobacco ages, but some will change more, and in better ways, than others. Mostly, Virginia ages the best, Latakia and all Orientals tend to soften with age, and aromatics, which usually contain lots of Cavendished tobacco, will lose some of it's aromatic/flavor over time.


Burley, which some say doesn't age, does age, just differently than Virginia does. Burley tend to mellow and lose much of its sharp edge over time. While aging is spoken of as a positive, not all change is for the better, and each smoker has to decide yea or nay for him/herself.

 

[old_salt]

general info on ageing

http://web.archive.org/web/20090415170940/http://agingfaq.nocturne.org/aging.php