Ageing without hoarding

[AimlessWanderer]

My takeaway was it's easy to overthink things. And I know that a good hand tight seal on a standard mason jar, kept in close enough to optimal environmental conditions, will keep food safe for years. Certainly your 5 year hoar- I mean stash.

I want to stress close enough to optimal environmental conditions. Get it within range and do your best not to mess with it. If it says between 20 and 30 degrees, and you're at 32, the worst thing you can do is go chasing those 2 degrees. That creates inconsistencies. If you're supposed to keep it out of sunlight but the how you store it gets 3 hours a day (it's an imperfect world we live in), it'll still be fine. Biggest hurt you can do is to have an inconsistent environment.

I think that's right anyways. I've found it to be true in most other areas of life.

I have a dehydrator and dry my own foods. I also DO have a (somewhat ridiculous) hoard of nasal snuff. I'd agree totally with what you've said. Apply common sense, strive to avoid the worst, and hope for the best

My pipe tobaccos are stored in a drawer. For now, the jars are clear, but may be upgraded to amber later. They are in the drawer too, but see light every time the drawer gets opened. The small ones are screw top, and the reject blend is in a 1 litre bail top jar. The samples are all in their little bags and pouches, which are in turn stored within larger ziploc bags. It's only a modest stash anyway. Pipe tobaccos are too expensive here for anything more. Even if I bought all my tobacco in advance, and stashed for a full five years, that's the equivalent of 30 tins - and I'm nowhere near that now (I have 2021 covered, and 2/3 of 2025's rations).

 

[brandaves]

Well, just to leave this thread with a summary of where I'm at now...

I've tried or ditched 25 of the samples so far. Of those I've tried, or have smoked before, this is the "would definitely buy again" list

Charatan: Rolls
Condor: Long Cut
Gawith Hoggarth: Coniston Cut Plug Unscented, Exclusiv DB, (plus several shag tobaccos)
Germains: Brown Flake, Rich Dark Flake, Eighteen Twenty
MacBaren: Cube
Peterson: Balkan Mixture, Sherlock Holmes, Irish Cask
Sam Gawith: Squadron Leader, Skiff Mixture, Palace Gate

Quite a diverse mix, I think!

Samples (or full tins/pouches) that are here, but have still to try

Charatan: Black Flake
Comoys: English Mixture
Gawith Hoggarth: Reunion Flake, Kendal Cream
Germains: King Charles Mixture, Medium Flake, Cavendish and Virginia, Jersey Perique, Uncle Toms
Ogden: Original (Walnut) Flake
MacBaren: Navy Flake, HH Latakia Flake, Old Dark Fired
Peterson’s: 3 P's Plug, Irish Flake
Planta: Presbyterian Mixture
Rattray's: Hal O'the Wynd
Sam Gawith: Balkan Flake, Bothy Flake
Solani: 660 Silver Flake

That'll keep me busy!!!

The "maybe" list is even bigger! These are ones I've tried that I wasn't impressed with, but might like once aged, or ones I've seen but haven't tried yet, which look like I should like them...

Ashton: Artisans Blend, Consumate Gentleman
Charatan: Three Year Matured Virginia, Royal Escape
Chieftain: Blacksmith's Blend, Robert's Mixture, Stormy Skye
Comoys: Scottish Mixture
Erinmore: Erinmore Flake
Gawith Hoggarth: Best Brown #2, Louisiana Flake, Mahogany
Peterson’s: University Flake, Signature Flake
Rattray's: Macbeth, Marlin Flake, 7 Reserve, Wallace Flake
Robert Lewis: Tree Mixture, Wingfield
Sam Gawith: Best Brown Flake, Full Virginia Flake, Perfection, Cabbies Mixture

This journey has a loooong way to go

The variety in tastes is astounding to me at times. We are right in line on a few and way apart on others...I guess that's why we have such a variety of blends to chose from!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

The variety in tastes is astounding to me at times. We are right in line on a few and way apart on others...I guess that's why we have such a variety of blends to chose from!

Indeed! Where do we align, and where do we differ?

 

[brandaves]

Indeed! Where do we align, and where do we differ?

I noticed Rattray's Marlin Flake in your maybe list and Squadron Leader in your yes list. Those are swapped for me...actually though to be fair I haven't actually tried many of those blends.

I really want to like Squadron Leader and the flavor is great, I just absolutely cannot get it to smoke well. I have a good supply of it and have smoked it a fair amount but I have never enjoyed my smoke with it. Every one has been a battle.

Marlin Flake on the other hand is a favorite, one I have well over a pound cellared and happier for it! I haven't yet tried it aged, but if it gets any better at all then I'm going to love it.

That is part of why I enjoy your little project. It appeals to my curiosity to see where you land on blends I know well...and those I don't.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I noticed Rattray's Marlin Flake in your maybe list and Squadron Leader in your yes list. Those are swapped for me...actually though to be fair I haven't actually tried many of those blends.

I really want to like Squadron Leader and the flavor is great, I just absolutely cannot get it to smoke well. I have a good supply of it and have smoked it a fair amount but I have never enjoyed my smoke with it. Every one has been a battle.

Marlin Flake on the other hand is a favorite, one I have well over a pound cellared and happier for it! I haven't yet tried it aged, but if it gets any better at all then I'm going to love it.

That is part of why I enjoy your little project. It appeals to my curiosity to see where you land on blends I know well...and those I don't.

Marlin Flake is only on the maybe list because I haven't tried it yet, but the profile looks like it should be a good one for me. I haven't had a sample in any of the packs, and samples can't be bought separately here. Putting it on the maybe list is a prompt for me to get a tin at some point.

Interesting to hear your struggles on Squadron Leader. It was the tobacco I first "cracked" pipe smoking with, after the usual noob battles with overpacking, relights and tongue bite. It's been an "old friend" ever since. It might need a little air time if fresh, but I always get a consistent burn from it. I don't pack tightly if that helps. I also don't do the three stage load.

I put a dollop of tobacco in my palm, invert the pipe (20mm wide x 40mm deep) over it, and lightly rub the pipe in a circle, till it's swallowed it all up. A bit of a light tamp/prod, and it's ready to rock and roll. There's probably a buzzword name for that type of loading, but I don't know it

 

[brandaves]

Marlin Flake is only on the maybe list because I haven't tried it yet, but the profile looks like it should be a good one for me. I haven't had a sample in any of the packs, and samples can't be bought separately here. Putting it on the maybe list is a prompt for me to get a tin at some point.

Interesting to hear your struggles on Squadron Leader. It was the tobacco I first "cracked" pipe smoking with, after the usual noob battles with overpacking, relights and tongue bite. It's been an "old friend" ever since. It might need a little air time if fresh, but I always get a consistent burn from it. I don't pack tightly if that helps. I also don't do the three stage load.

I put a dollop of tobacco in my palm, invert the pipe (20mm wide x 40mm deep) over it, and lightly rub the pipe in a circle, till it's swallowed it all up. A bit of a light tamp/prod, and it's ready to rock and roll. There's probably a buzzword name for that type of loading, but I don't know it

I'll have to try that load method with it. I've never heard anyone do anything but sing it's praise so really have no clue why I struggle with it. I actually pulled the jar out of my rotation because I was so fed up with it. I actually have several jars of it in my cellar at the moment. I'm hoping to revisit it after awhile, hopefully with better results.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I'll have to try that load method with it. I've never heard anyone do anything but sing it's praise so really have no clue why I struggle with it. I actually pulled the jar out of my rotation because I was so fed up with it. I actually have several jars of it in my cellar at the moment. I'm hoping to revisit it after awhile, hopefully with better results.

I think in a way, it's like shaving. You set your technique based on what you learn with, and when you try and use something else (soap, razor, tobacco, pipe) you don't adapt to it as quick as someone else might. As I learnt with Squadron Leader, it might be that I'm not getting the best of some other tobaccos, because I'm treating it like I do Squadron Leader, instead of whatever subtleties that blend needs instead.

Likewise with flake, Coniston Cut Plug was my "Eureka" tobacco, and sometimes I don't get a different flake burning at its best. I had a bowl of Coniston yesterday (?), and it fired up perfectly. When I open the pouch of Condor Long Cut, I'll probably have a couple of crappy bowls before I find its sweet spot again. I usually get that with Condor until I've sussed out its packing needs for a particular pipe.

I had another flake of something else recently, I forget which one it was, but it put up quite a struggle on burning. I didn't add that to the notes though, as I knew it was me not having identified what it needs, rather than any failing of the blend.

 

[steveclarkus]

I think in a way, it's like shaving. You set your technique based on what you learn with, and when you try and use something else (soap, razor, tobacco, pipe) you don't adapt to it as quick as someone else might. As I learnt with Squadron Leader, it might be that I'm not getting the best of some other tobaccos, because I'm treating it like I do Squadron Leader, instead of whatever subtleties that blend needs instead.

Likewise with flake, Coniston Cut Plug was my "Eureka" tobacco, and sometimes I don't get a different flake burning at its best. I had a bowl of Coniston yesterday (?), and it fired up perfectly. When I open the pouch of Condor Long Cut, I'll probably have a couple of crappy bowls before I find its sweet spot again. I usually get that with Condor until I've sussed out its packing needs for a particular pipe.

I had another flake of something else recently, I forget which one it was, but it put up quite a struggle on burning. I didn't add that to the notes though, as I knew it was me not having identified what it needs, rather than any failing of the blend.

I couldn’t agree more. Different tobaccos need to be smoked differently in many cases. I wish I had understood that years ago.

 

[brandaves]

I still have my difficulties getting the best of particular blends. Might be my packing method, cadence or an number of other variables. There is no end to the learning and growing in this hobby. That's really the fun of it.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I still have my difficulties getting the best of particular blends. Might be my packing method, cadence or an number of other variables. There is no end to the learning and growing in this hobby. That's really the fun of it.

On the issue of cadence, occasionally I will light a pipe, and only then discover I'm not in the mood for it. The mind lacks focus, and I seem to be smoking clumsily if that makes sense. The smart thing for me to do, is put it down, and return to it later. It only happens with a newly packed pipe, and never a bowl I am returning to.

 

[brandaves]

On the issue of cadence, occasionally I will light a pipe, and only then discover I'm not in the mood for it. The mind lacks focus, and I seem to be smoking clumsily if that makes sense. The smart thing for me to do, is put it down, and return to it later. It only happens with a newly packed pipe, and never a bowl I am returning to.

I have done this on occasion. It does tend to serve as a realignment.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

My shonky old phone appears to have had a bit of a falling out with my memory card. They're not talking to each other at the moment. Not that it matters much, as I've gone back to dumb phones anyway, and only use it as a mini tablet device.

However, until I can get it all transferred to my laptop, my spreadsheet with my notes on is off limits. Not much in the way of updates to make though. Since the last update here, I've been polishing off the Exclusiv DB sample, and the sample of Squadron Leader. Just two updates to make...

Hal O'the Wynd - Good, but not great. Might get better with age. I had one bowl on its own, and a second bowl mixed in with a bit of Coniston Cut Plug, as I'd put a bit too much of that out to air, but not enough for a bowl. That worked well!

... and then the pipe that's currently in my pie hole...

I'd been looking through my samples, trying to avoid ones with significant Virginia content, to let those get a bit of drawer time to improve. However, they're nearly all heavy on Virginia, so I decided to take a gamble on Germain's Royal Jersey Cavendish & Virginia. I figured if that was the last pack and they'd reduced it to clear, it had probably been sat there a while.

Smart move as it happens. It had started drying out a bit. Not quite a Weetabix or Shredded Wheat, but certainly not needing drying time. As for the taste, it's an interesting one. It's like an old aromatic that's lost all it's topping - but in a good way! Very slow burning. Almost too slow, but not quite. You can certainly taste the Cavendish, but as tobacco, not as just a carrier for some kind of syrup. Currently smoking it in a Group 4 Poker, but I think it would work well in a smaller pipe too. Maybe better actually.

It's simple, but not completely monotone. The flavour does fluctuate depending on cadence and coal size. Not engrossing enough for staring into the flames of a fire for an hour, but certainly a decent daytime smoke. I might just add a pinch of fruity snuff to my next bowl though. I have a few tins from Toque fairly accessible.

I need to dig my hydrostone out too...

 

[eaglesgift]

Well, just to leave this thread with a summary of where I'm at now...

I've tried or ditched 25 of the samples so far. Of those I've tried, or have smoked before, this is the "would definitely buy again" list

Charatan: Rolls
Condor: Long Cut
Gawith Hoggarth: Coniston Cut Plug Unscented, Exclusiv DB, (plus several shag tobaccos)
Germains: Brown Flake, Rich Dark Flake, Eighteen Twenty
MacBaren: Cube
Peterson: Balkan Mixture, Sherlock Holmes, Irish Cask
Sam Gawith: Squadron Leader, Skiff Mixture, Palace Gate

Quite a diverse mix, I think!

Samples (or full tins/pouches) that are here, but have still to try

Charatan: Black Flake
Comoys: English Mixture
Gawith Hoggarth: Reunion Flake, Kendal Cream
Germains: King Charles Mixture, Medium Flake, Cavendish and Virginia, Jersey Perique, Uncle Toms
Ogden: Original (Walnut) Flake
MacBaren: Navy Flake, HH Latakia Flake, Old Dark Fired
Peterson’s: 3 P's Plug, Irish Flake
Planta: Presbyterian Mixture
Rattray's: Hal O'the Wynd
Sam Gawith: Balkan Flake, Bothy Flake
Solani: 660 Silver Flake

That'll keep me busy!!!

The "maybe" list is even bigger! These are ones I've tried that I wasn't impressed with, but might like once aged, or ones I've seen but haven't tried yet, which look like I should like them...

Ashton: Artisans Blend, Consumate Gentleman
Charatan: Three Year Matured Virginia, Royal Escape
Chieftain: Blacksmith's Blend, Robert's Mixture, Stormy Skye
Comoys: Scottish Mixture
Erinmore: Erinmore Flake
Gawith Hoggarth: Best Brown #2, Louisiana Flake, Mahogany
Peterson’s: University Flake, Signature Flake
Rattray's: Macbeth, Marlin Flake, 7 Reserve, Wallace Flake
Robert Lewis: Tree Mixture, Wingfield
Sam Gawith: Best Brown Flake, Full Virginia Flake, Perfection, Cabbies Mixture

This journey has a loooong way to go

I’ve really enjoyed reading your thread. There are so many different blends around at the moment - I’ve tried around 25 or so I think, but not a lot of crossover with your list. Of the ones you bought but haven’t tried yet, I like HH Old Dark Fired and I thought Presbyterian tasted like musty old books.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I’ve really enjoyed reading your thread. There are so many different blends around at the moment - I’ve tried around 25 or so I think, but not a lot of crossover with your list. Of the ones you bought but haven’t tried yet, I like HH Old Dark Fired and I thought Presbyterian tasted like musty old books.

Thank you! I still haven't tried either of those yet. I've settled in quite happily with the Royal Jersey Cavendish and Virginia. I've moved on to smoking it just in a Mizzou cob for the smaller bowl, and I'm happier with it in that. I'm tempted to rehydrate half of it in one of my remaining small jars (I think I've got one left), or it will have all turned to dust before I finish it.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

One thing I've noticed with the Cavendish and Virginia, is that it's not as clean a smoke as some tobaccos. Despite being well dried, and being ridiculously easy to light, the filters and pipe cleaners come out quite gruesome.

 

[RookieGuy]

I found that too. Cav will gunk up a pipe cleaner quickly.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I've left the Cavendish and Virginia alone for a bit, and gone back to the samples. The samples do seem to be drying quick, despite being double bagged. I had a couple of bowls of Bothy Flake, which wasn't so much rubbed out as crumbled. Nice smoke, but not necessarily a must have. Another one (I forget which) seemed noticeably drier than my first smoke of it too. Nothing has been too dry yet though.

I've stopped taking notes now though. I've easily got enough tobaccos on the list (some sampled, some not) to be trying a different tin every time, until it's time to crack open the first five year aged one. Barring a few exceptions, they're all something I'd smoke a full puch/tin of.

There seems to be a lot of perfectly acceptable tobaccos, which aren't necessarily must haves. That's fine though, as it keeps me wanting larger quantities of any particular one. I can pretty much just move to cracking open a tin and smoking it, replacing it with another one if I like it, or find something else to replace it with if I don't. I think I burnt out (pardon the pun) a bit with the samples, and have now drifted more towards a simpler mentality.

Ageing does seem to be worth me doing, but analysing each blend does not. So long as I keep buying a while ahead of when I plan to smoke it, and avoid the heavier smokes and extremes of any blend type, I'll probably enjoy it. No need to "cellar deep" on anything, just keep variety in the ones that I've got steeping. Gradually build up to the 20(?) tin level over a few years, and periodically top back up when it drops down to 15-ish, so i've always got some cooking.

The garden is gradually improving, so I'll steadily have a better setting to sit out in. I've put in 20 mixed perennials, and have a couple more deliveries I'm waiting on to get planted out. One for shade groundcover, and one for fuchsia bushes. I want to keep that as uncomplicated as my smoking

 

[brandaves]

I've left the Cavendish and Virginia alone for a bit, and gone back to the samples. The samples do seem to be drying quick, despite being double bagged. I had a couple of bowls of Bothy Flake, which wasn't so much rubbed out as crumbled. Nice smoke, but not necessarily a must have. Another one (I forget which) seemed noticeably drier than my first smoke of it too. Nothing has been too dry yet though.

I've stopped taking notes now though. I've easily got enough tobaccos on the list (some sampled, some not) to be trying a different tin every time, until it's time to crack open the first five year aged one. Barring a few exceptions, they're all something I'd smoke a full puch/tin of.

There seems to be a lot of perfectly acceptable tobaccos, which aren't necessarily must haves. That's fine though, as it keeps me wanting larger quantities of any particular one. I can pretty much just move to cracking open a tin and smoking it, replacing it with another one if I like it, or find something else to replace it with if I don't. I think I burnt out (pardon the pun) a bit with the samples, and have now drifted more towards a simpler mentality.

Ageing does seem to be worth me doing, but analysing each blend does not. So long as I keep buying a while ahead of when I plan to smoke it, and avoid the heavier smokes and extremes of any blend type, I'll probably enjoy it. No need to "cellar deep" on anything, just keep variety in the ones that I've got steeping. Gradually build up to the 20(?) tin level over a few years, and periodically top back up when it drops down to 15-ish, so i've always got some cooking.

The garden is gradually improving, so I'll steadily have a better setting to sit out in. I've put in 20 mixed perennials, and have a couple more deliveries I'm waiting on to get planted out. One for shade groundcover, and one for fuchsia bushes. I want to keep that as uncomplicated as my smoking

My wife is a huge fan of Monty Don. She watches his shows daily on our Brit box subscription. Our yard is becoming more beautiful by the day and a more pleasant place to have a bowl. Gardening is good for the soul.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

My wife is a huge fan of Monty Don. She watches his shows daily on our Brit box subscription. Our yard is becoming more beautiful by the day and a more pleasant place to have a bowl. Gardening is good for the soul.

I haven't had a television since 2008, but I do remember Monty Don as being a good gardener and presenter.

Good for the soul is right! Assuming you don't create something that's too much effort to maintain. My garden (yard to you), is still a bit of a shambles right now, but gradually heading in the right direction. Hoping to get it something like how I want it in 6 weeks or so, much of that just being the establishment of the new plants. I'm hoping most of them will survive over winter, and give me a much better setting and show next year.

 

[steveclarkus]

I haven't had a television since 2008, but I do remember Monty Don as being a good gardener and presenter.

Good for the soul is right! Assuming you don't create something that's too much effort to maintain. My garden (yard to you), is still a bit of a shambles right now, but gradually heading in the right direction. Hoping to get it something like how I want it in 6 weeks or so, much of that just being the establishment of the new plants. I'm hoping most of them will survive over winter, and give me a much better setting and show next year.

After 23 years, I’ve got two excellent shade trees to sit and smoke under. One is on the east side of the yard and the other on the west so I have good shade to smoke under except for midday. Since it is in the 90’s here now midday is strictly inside time. Of course, now that all is mature, we’re moving. Always seems to work out that way. I’m going to look for a house with a good porch and trees because it is unlikely I’ll have another 20 years left.