Ageing without hoarding

[brandaves]

I googled 401T, and the top results were a tenor recorder, and a deep fat fryer

Health issues stop me planning longer, to be honest. One side of the family all checked out early, and the other side were all long lived. Either set of genes could be dominant in me, but I'm certainly going to be directing my funds towards shorter term returns. I've never been one for the long term. Never bought a house, nor had a pension plan. I only ever look as far as the horizon. If something's not in view, I'll not worry about it until it is. Who knows which way the wind will blow tomorrow?

I thought aromatics were generally unwise for long term storage? I think cased/topped Virginias should be fine, but I wasn't planning on keeping anything with Cavendish for longer than two to three years

My understanding with aromatic blends is that they generally aren't going to get worse, but they won't improve with age. Flavors will meld and if there is a dominant flavor in an aro it may take over the entire blend. The aros I have are Lane BCA and 1Q which probably won't be hurt too badly by sitting for a while.

Sorry to hear about your health concerns, but it sounds like you are keeping the right mindset about all of it. None of us knows what our future holds or how long that future will be, we have to enjoy the time we have. Memento Mori.

 

[RookieGuy]

AimlessWanderer, look at those tobaccos in your aging cellar drawer as an investment. Like a 6 month and 1 year CD (if British banks have certificates of deposit).

 

[AimlessWanderer]

AimlessWanderer, look at those tobaccos in your aging cellar drawer as an investment. Like a 6 month and 1 year CD (if British banks have certificates of deposit).

Yup, that's what I'm trying to do If I can write off this outlay in my mind, then do the like-for-like, new in old out, like I mentioned earlier, I'll start to get my "return". Till then, I still have a bucket load of samples, half a tin of Squadron Leader, half a pouch of Cavendish and Virginia, the reject blend...

No immediate need to open anything new anytime soon, just getting over the very alien (to me) nature of that initial outlay.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

My understanding with aromatic blends is that they generally aren't going to get worse, but they won't improve with age. Flavors will meld and if there is a dominant flavor in an aro it may take over the entire blend. The aros I have are Lane BCA and 1Q which probably won't be hurt too badly by sitting for a while.

Sorry to hear about your health concerns, but it sounds like you are keeping the right mindset about all of it. None of us knows what our future holds or how long that future will be, we have to enjoy the time we have. Memento Mori.

I don't think I'm in any immediate risk of clocking out, but I think my neuro issues will be time shortening. You can only play the cards you're dealt though. I'll keep focussing on today, rather than tomorrow.

You might want to get a second opinion on this, but I'd read the Cavendish heavy blends can turn to mush after a few years. A quick online search of ingredients makes me think you're probably right about the 1Q, as that's Virginia heavy, but might want to smoke the BCA over the next couple of years.

 

[brandaves]

I don't think I'm in any immediate risk of clocking out, but I think my neuro issues will be time shortening. You can only play the cards you're dealt though. I'll keep focussing on today, rather than tomorrow.

You might want to get a second opinion on this, but I'd read the Cavendish heavy blends can turn to mush after a few years. A quick online search of ingredients makes me think you're probably right about the 1Q, as that's Virginia heavy, but might want to smoke the BCA over the next couple of years.

Thanks for that, I wasn't really worried about it going off until now. I'll be smoking some and PIFing some probably. I certainly don't want it to go to waste.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Aromatics are something I'll be buying as I go, and probably some other tobaccos too. The ones in the drawer, are mainly those which I think will change due to their Virginia content, although there are a several English blends in there, which might change a little.

I don't see the point of taking up drawer space here, with too many tobaccos that smoke well when fresh. That includes shag tobaccos, some Lakelands (though I do want to try ageing some), and other low Virginia tobacco like Coniston Cut Plug. Because I'm only trying to age, and not prepare for a tobaccolypse, or bankrupt myself now to avoid prices rises later, I don't mind continuing to dip in and out of fresh stuff as and when the whim strikes.

Talking of Coniston Cut Plug, it's 75% dark fired, and I really like it. Yesterday's bowl of HH Old Dark Fired is 100% dark fired, and started tasting similar whenever I lit it, but quickly overwhelmed my tongue after a few minutes, and the sample has been ditched into the reject blend. That 25% of lighter tobacco really does make a difference. I think I'll find this a lot, where some blends really work for me, but others don't, despite their similarities.

Reject blends are great for making the unsmokeable smokeable though. Several times I've bought myself a pouch of Pensioner's Mixture, which is Gawith's own reject blend pipe tobacco, and I have a ~500g jar of nasal snuff which is full to the brim with stuff I didn't like, but has come together really well. I dare say I might need a bigger dumping jar when I start working through my tins, but it all gets smoked one way or another.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I decided to rearrange the storage today. I'd got too many things in different places, pipes in boxes on the bookcase, some samples in one drawer, more in with the long term storage, filters somewhere else entirely... not good.

Much simpler now though. Long term storage all fits in one drawer, and there's plenty of room left (only maybe 2/3 full), should I need to shuffle stuff around for different tin sizes. It also gives me some juggling room for more jars, should I choose to age some loose stuff instead of tinned. I've seen some amber glass jars that would work quite well. The reject blend is in there too, and I'll just transfer a bit to a smaller jar as needed.

All the "in use" stuff fits in another. At the moment that's all the pipes (two cobs are out airing, because they've recently been used), some filters, all the samples, and the 10 small jars I'll be managing opened tins with.

This way, I'm only opening one drawer when I fancy a smoke, and all the long term stuff is out of sight, and out of mind. I'll be able to get some more accessories in there too once the samples have gone.

Much better!

 

[RookieGuy]

You're all set! Glad to hear you're separating your "hoards". That'll go a very long way to keeping your aging stock aging.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

You're all set! Glad to hear you're separating your "hoards". That'll go a very long way to keeping your aging stock aging.

Cheers. I also wanted to reduce the amount of light getting at the jars when opening the drawers (which is why I'm thinking of upgrading to amber glass jars).

Oh, and I've been naughty...

When I was labelling up all the tins with their purchase dates and ingredients, I realised how many English blends were in there, and how few plain Virginias. Plenty of Virginia+ (perique, or burley, or casing, or...) but not the tobacco that most needs cellaring to establish just how worthwhile this buying in advance malarky really is

So now I've got three tins of Dunhill Ye Olde Signe coming in, so I can try the same tobacco at three different points in time.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Well the final tobacco purchase of the year just landed...

... but those Dunhill tins are twice the depth of all the other round tins, for the same quantity of tobacco. Why? They've just snaffled up almost all the remaining storage space I had for juggling stuff around to make room for jars. Not to worry though, there's still space for the one outstanding tin from the previous order, and I need to get some smoking done to get the overall quantity DOWN to my maximum

The earlier counting error, plus these latest additions, puts me six 50g tins over my maximum. That pretty much means I shouldn't need to order any tobacco next year either. Any further purchases before the end of next year, will therefore be tobaccos which don't want storing, specifically aromatics. I do think buying three tins of the same blend so I can assess changes over time on sealed tins at least once, was the right move.

That's it! Done! Full!

Painful expenditure, but I'll now have five years of aged tobacco to enjoy. More, if I pad it out with aromatics and other "ready to smoke" tobaccos along the way. As I shouldn't need to crack open any of these till next year (I think ), every single tin should have at least some benefit from the advance purchase. Not that I'll be able to perceive that on anything but the Ye Olde Signe though

Mission accomplished.

I'll probably keep this thread a live as a tobacco journal of sorts though.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I'll also add, that three or four years ago, when I was still hand rolling, the total amount of tobacco I currently have, wouldn't have lasted me more than six months! That includes all the samples I still have left to work through, the partial tins and pouches that I've still got in the jars, and the reject blend.

What I'm doing now with the briar, cob and meer "everlasting rizlas" is cheaper, lasts longer, is more enjoyable, and is less harmful.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

The bowl of HH Old Dark Fired that I didn't get on with the other day, led me to have another bowl of my Coniston Cut Plug sample today, to try and get my head round why I like one dark fired blend and not the other.

The Old Dark Fired on lighting, and for the first couple of minutes, does taste smoother than the Coniston, which can come across as a little brash in comparison. The Cut Plug I have and like is the unscented version, and is 75% dark fired, with 12.5% burley, and 12.5% Virginia, as opposed to the 100% in Old Dark. The dominant dark fired is very similar between the two blends, but while slightly coarser edged, the Coniston also seems cleaner.

The issue with the MacB Dark Fired, is not the burn, nor the taste of the smoke. Each session starts well. It's the almost waxy coating that builds up on the tongue which is the spanner in the works. The Gawith offering doesn't seem to do that. It is a potent blend, and I will often smoke it in installments if I've loaded a Group 4 sized pipe, but my tongue doesn't feel clarted up with tobacco derivatives or overwhelmed at any point. It's not as bad as a splash of tobacco juice from a wet smoke that I get from the HH, but it's kind of early on that same taste spectrum.

It wasn't humidity either. No problems staying lit, nor any soggy dottle on either bowl. Maybe the Virginia ups the burn temperature a little to stop it happening, or mayber the dark fired leaf or processing is different. Maybe it's just a body chemistry thing. I'm not trying to "fix" anything here, just better understand the blends and my preferences. Either way, one will certainly be a repeat visitor at Chateau le Wanderer, and the other will not.

 

[Columbo]

I decided to rearrange the storage today. I'd got too many things in different places, pipes in boxes on the bookcase, some samples in one drawer, more in with the long term storage, filters somewhere else entirely... not good.

Much simpler now though. Long term storage all fits in one drawer, and there's plenty of room left (only maybe 2/3 full), should I need to shuffle stuff around for different tin sizes. It also gives me some juggling room for more jars, should I choose to age some loose stuff instead of tinned. I've seen some amber glass jars that would work quite well. The reject blend is in there too, and I'll just transfer a bit to a smaller jar as needed.

View attachment 1130900

All the "in use" stuff fits in another. At the moment that's all the pipes (two cobs are out airing, because they've recently been used), some filters, all the samples, and the 10 small jars I'll be managing opened tins with.

View attachment 1130901

This way, I'm only opening one drawer when I fancy a smoke, and all the long term stuff is out of sight, and out of mind. I'll be able to get some more accessories in there too once the samples have gone.

Much better!

That's a lovely stash. Many happy puffs to you.

Those labels ... they are not subtle about it!

 

[AimlessWanderer]

That's a lovely stash. Many happy puffs to you.

Those labels ... they are not subtle about it!

Thanks. Those labels are the subtle ones!

A roll of self adhesive address labels to stick over the graphic imagery is now an essential part of the pipe smoking kit for me, as illustrated on the tin of GH Red in that pic.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Remember these four packs of samples I got two months ago?

I have been steadily working through these over the last 9 weeks, albeit at a greater frequency than my usual consumption rate. There were 32 (8 in each pack) samples of 5g each. Some have been finished, some abandoned and ditched in the reject blend, some started but not finished yet, and earlier today there was just four bags that haven't been touched so far.

Peterson’s Irish Flake was one, and I smoked 1/3 of that sample earlier today. It just over half filled my Parker, and I thought that would be enough, as I'd heard it's a potent one. I smoked the bowl this afternoon, and sailed through it in one sitting. Nice smoke, and in no way as overwhelming as I'd expected it to be. I had been smoking Coniston Cut Plug the day before though. I think I might prefer University Flake, but the Irish is still a very pleasant blend, and I'd definitely smoke it again.

One down three to go.

Gawith Hoggarth Sweet Rum Twist. Just as wet as I expected it to be. I decided to chop the whole lot up as best I can, and rather than leave some to dry, because I wasn't sure how much a bowl would be in the chunks it hacked up into, I decided to pack a bowl, and leave it alone.

That'll sit out two days or more, and I'll occasionally draw air through it, just to help the moisture go. The last time I did this with twist, I didn't smoke it for about a week, and it was still a bit gloopy. The problem is the PG they hydrate it with. It doesn't like letting the moistue content go. I'll have some plain shag tobacco to hand though, should it need some kindling partway through to get it back cooking again.

Ogdens Original a.k.a. Walnut Flake. Again, a little too wet to smoke straight away, so I've partially rubbed out half the sample, and it kinda looks like a pile of spent matches at the moment.

That's either going to be smoked tomorrow, or in the early hours of the morning, if insomnia hits hard. I'm looking forward to that one, and it looks and smells really nice.

That just leaves HH Latakia Flake, which I'm led to believe isn't quite the Lat Bomb that the name might imply. Once I've had my first bowl of that, everything in there will have been sampled at least once (aside from the ones I already knew I hated, and dumped in the reject blend).

There's still a fair few smokes left though, maybe 40g or so, but I'm glad to be working my way through it all. One thing I haven't enjoyed, is being faced with so many options every time I fancy a smoke. I simplified that by choosing the pipe I wanted to smoke first, and then picking from the type that I smoke in that pipe. With every sample I complete though, that gets a little easier. I've really enjoyed having the samples, but will also be happy going back to spending more time with one blend. Even smoking a couple of the 10g samples I got separately were nice to be able to get four or five smokes of the same blend. That said, I think I learned more in the last two months than I would have done if I'd had been working through whole tins over a year, so hooray for samples!

 

[brandaves]

Remember these four packs of samples I got two months ago?

View attachment 1132326

I have been steadily working through these over the last 9 weeks, albeit at a greater frequency than my usual consumption rate. There were 32 (8 in each pack) samples of 5g each. Some have been finished, some abandoned and ditched in the reject blend, some started but not finished yet, and earlier today there was just four bags that haven't been touched so far.

Peterson’s Irish Flake was one, and I smoked 1/3 of that sample earlier today. It just over half filled my Parker, and I thought that would be enough, as I'd heard it's a potent one. I smoked the bowl this afternoon, and sailed through it in one sitting. Nice smoke, and in no way as overwhelming as I'd expected it to be. I had been smoking Coniston Cut Plug the day before though. I think I might prefer University Flake, but the Irish is still a very pleasant blend, and I'd definitely smoke it again.

One down three to go.

Gawith Hoggarth Sweet Rum Twist. Just as wet as I expected it to be. I decided to chop the whole lot up as best I can, and rather than leave some to dry, because I wasn't sure how much a bowl would be in the chunks it hacked up into, I decided to pack a bowl, and leave it alone.

View attachment 1132347

That'll sit out two days or more, and I'll occasionally draw air through it, just to help the moisture go. The last time I did this with twist, I didn't smoke it for about a week, and it was still a bit gloopy. The problem is the PG they hydrate it with. It doesn't like letting the moistue content go. I'll have some plain shag tobacco to hand though, should it need some kindling partway through to get it back cooking again.

Ogdens Original a.k.a. Walnut Flake. Again, a little too wet to smoke straight away, so I've partially rubbed out half the sample, and it kinda looks like a pile of spent matches at the moment.

View attachment 1132348

That's either going to be smoked tomorrow, or in the early hours of the morning, if insomnia hits hard. I'm looking forward to that one, and it looks and smells really nice.

That just leaves HH Latakia Flake, which I'm led to believe isn't quite the Lat Bomb that the name might imply. Once I've had my first bowl of that, everything in there will have been sampled at least once (aside from the ones I already knew I hated, and dumped in the reject blend).

There's still a fair few smokes left though, maybe 40g or so, but I'm glad to be working my way through it all. One thing I haven't enjoyed, is being faced with so many options every time I fancy a smoke. I simplified that by choosing the pipe I wanted to smoke first, and then picking from the type that I smoke in that pipe. With every sample I complete though, that gets a little easier. I've really enjoyed having the samples, but will also be happy going back to spending more time with one blend. Even smoking a couple of the 10g samples I got separately were nice to be able to get four or five smokes of the same blend. That said, I think I learned more in the last two months than I would have done if I'd had been working through whole tins over a year, so hooray for samples!

I love having a variety of blends open and on hand. Sometimes I'll pack a bowl of something I haven't tried in a while and it's like visiting an old friend.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I love having a variety of blends open and on hand. Sometimes I'll pack a bowl of something I haven't tried in a while and it's like visiting an old friend.

I can certainly appreciate that. I've yet to find my own balance point as to how much variety is enough, and how much is too much. All told, I've had approaching 50 different tobaccos in play, and for me that's disorienting.

I think three or four open blends will probably be about right for me, so long as they're suitably different from each other. Something along the lines of one Virginia or VaPer, one English, something with some casing or topping, maybe a VaBur. I don't think I need two or three English open, or two or three VaPers, or if I do feel the need to do that, the first one obviously isn't holding my attention, and shouldn't be bought again.

That's just me and my streamlined thinking again though. Bear in mind I have two primary shaving soaps, and if I do happen to open a sample for a bit of variety, I'll stick with it for the full 20 or so shaves (for the most part) until it's finished. I'll then go back to my primaries a while, before opening another. Depending on the tobaccos in play, I might find myself pretty much sticking to one or two, or it might creep up to five or six.

When I've cleared the samples, and moved onto the aged tins, as soon as I open a tin, I plan on cramming half of it into one of the small jars, to keep that half fresh while I finish the rest. Only having 10 of those jars will keep me limited to below that, but some of the blends might lend themselves to more occasional use, and take longer to use up. So I might have a few regular smokers and a couple of occasionals.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I love having a variety of blends open and on hand. Sometimes I'll pack a bowl of something I haven't tried in a while and it's like visiting an old friend.

Thinking about this further...

Robust smokes such as Coniston Cut Plug, Irish Flake, etc, are not smokes I'd smoke as regularly as lighter Virginia led tobaccos, or topped VaBur blends. Same with the heavier cased Lakelands, which might also be a bowl or two a week. Something like Sherlock Holmes, Victorian Mixture, Squadron Leader, RED, I could smoke bowl after bowl. I don't mean cheain smoking, but being able to return to that same blend at the next smoke, with a lesser need to break from it.

Looking down the list of what I've bought for ageing, while I haven't tried them all yet, there only looks like there might be three or four blends which I'd need to be in the mood for. I think the vast majority of the others would be "easy smoking" enough for having several consecutive bowls of. Maybe not something I was consciously aware of before. Likewise, skimming through the revised wishlist (roughly 40 different blends which seem to suit my tastes), the vast majority (80%ish) would appear to be blends I could smoke anytime, and regularly.

With well over 60 blends so far on the incomplete "would buy" list, over three times what I intend to keep in, there's zero need for "depth" of cellaring here. In other words, no need for keeping more than one tin of anything (other than the experiment of smoking three tins of Ye Olde Sign after different periods of time). This gives me consistency of smoking through tins without it just being a bowl or two a month, but the variety of the next tin I do that with, being different to the last one.

 

[steveclarkus]

I keep four tubs of OTC burley blends open and that is about all I smoke any more. The only thing I intentionally cellar is Victoria but keep a bit in a pouch to dry and smoke occasionally. My days of experimentation are pretty much over. I don’t like anything bold any longer. I have four or five tinned tobaccos in jars but don’t smoke them. Interesting tobaccos don’t seem to interest me now. I get more smoking pleasure from simple time tested OTC’s it seems. Perhaps it isn’t so much what you smoke as it is how you smoke it My eating has taken the same course as well. You mentioned shave soap and I’m the same. I have two simple creams, Palmolive and Kapo. When I finish one, I go to the other. Retirement and simplicity go hand in hand.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Perhaps it isn’t so much what you smoke as it is how you smoke it

^^^ This!

I need a tobacco to hand for each of the types of smoke, daytime, night time, and dipping in and out of, rather than a full bowl in one sitting. I don't need multiple daytime or evening tobaccos open at the same time, but nor does the next tin have to be the same as the last one. It just has to serve the same function, while being sufficiently different to the others open at that time. While ever I have those simple needs covered, I'll be happy.

I don't feel the need to limit my shopping to a narrow array of blends, and deny myself some nice smokes of a potential, but don't want to be face with a double figure choice of blends at ever smoke. I think I've got the balance about right for me with the current plan. If I ever get bored of something, change will never be far away. I'm sure in time, it will focus and narrow down further, but I'll let that happen, rather than make it happen.