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Mission Accomplished - tobacco cellar complete!

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
After receiving some reinforcements, to correct some Virginia shortages...

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... I've had two tedious days of labelling, filling, and heat sealing Mylar pouches.

Each of the four bulk pouches in the pic, got split up into four pouches, and each of the Silver Flake tins got split into eight pouches. I also bagged up some 25g samples that were taking me too long to get around to.

I needed to upgrade to a slightly larger overspill box too, to accommodate the extra tins plus a great swathe of assorted pouches that wouldn't fit in the tobacco drawers.

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I've used up all my excuses for shopping now. :lol: There's three years worth of Mylar pouches in the drawers, another three years worth of pouches in the cardboard box to top the drawers back up, plus all those tins for longer term ageing hiding below them in the box. I'm very glad to now have a better supply of Virginias amongst them.

I reckon that in three years time, I might be ready to start shopping again. Much smaller quantities though. I'll probably need a couple of aromatics by then. The Lakeland blends might need topping up too. I should still have a secure stash of everything else, but might want to add a few more bits of the favourites, to be sure they've had some age before I get around to smoking them.

It all depends on what I've been smoking most, and how kind time has been to them. There's still a chance I might go back to "pay as you go", and just pull out one of the aged blends as the occasional treat, extending the cellar by rationing what's already cooking, rather than perpetually stashing more away.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Decided the big box approach is ridiculous. It's damn heavy, and not easy to find what I'm looking for. Going to try splitting it up into shoeboxes, divided up into blend types. That way, I should also be able to see at a glance what I'm running low on... or not smoking enough of.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
^^^ MUCH better!!!
(Why didn't I do that before?)

Four shoeboxes. One Virginia, one Perique, one with aros and Lakelands, and one with English/Latakia and dark strong Virginias and Burleys. Easier to lift. Easier to store. Easier to see how healthy the stocks are, and find what I'm looking for.

I even took some out of the drawers to put in those boxes, including samples I got that weren't that enjoyable on their first smoke, and tasted like they needed to mellow or mature.

The ageing drawer now just has one (12.5g) pouch of every blend that I have 50g of, and two pouches of anything I have a bit more of. As I've cellared wide rather than deep, that's still a surprisingly well stocked drawer.

The baccy drawer, which is the one I actually smoke from, just has the (8 x 10g) remaining pouches of samples I intend smoking fresh, and a pouch of anything which already has two years of age on it (15x 12.5g pouches). For good measure, I also threw in a 25g pouch of Revor plug, the only pouch of plug that isn't stashed away for longer term ageing. There's also the 10 small jars with an assortment of goodies in.

That leaves at least half a tin of every blend I own at least 50g of, in the shoeboxes for maximum ageing. Including Cavendish aromatics. I know the toppings might fade a bit, but they're all quality tobaccos, so I'm not worried about them turning to mush.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
As I mentioned elsewhere on the forum, economics has come into play now too, and tobaccos costs here are prohibitive (for me) for cellaring. Occasional treats may still happen, but not on a cumulative basis.

So now the partially self imposed tobaccalypse is here, instead of growing the cellar, I'm managing It's consumption. I'm working that plan backwards, as follows:

1) What needs ageing longest/smoking last?
2) What needs holding back for blending (if a blend needs tweaking to enjoy it)?
3) What do I balance that with to keep variety for later?
4) What does that leave for smoking short term?
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
1) What needs ageing longest/smoking last?

Well, firstly, everything that was a mistake to buy. If I outlive the stash, it'll be easier to wean off stuff that's not my favourites. If I don't outlive the stash, I don't want to have wasted time not smoking my faves.

So, Royal Yacht, straight away. Damn horrible stuff fresh. Might get good later. Same with more potent Lat blends. As they stand today, I'd have to be pretty desperate to smoke 'em, so I'm considering these emergency rations only. If they improve, all well and good. If not, easy weaning.

Next, everything that will benefit most from longer ageing. Again, I think strength comes into this, so Cabbies Mixture sooner, St James later, for example. Or Old Gowrie sooner, and Hal O' The Wynd later.

Please "correct" me if you think I'm making a mistake there.

Based on this, I've provisionally (on paper) got about half of the Virginia Periques and dark Virginia Burleys earmarked for leaving well alone for at least five years... and a lot of that has already had a couple of years ageing time. Add to that, half the plain Virginia flakes too.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
2) What needs holding back for blending (if a blend needs tweaking to enjoy it)?

I have a few (four?) tins of plain Virginia ribbon, reserved purely for diluting anything that's still too strongly flavoured with something I'm not keen on. Particularly the stronger English blends. If they're not needed for that, hopefully they'll smoke well enough on their own.

If anything is dull and flat after a long sleep, then some wake up time in a jar, it'll get a glug of rum or whisky. I haven't cellared any blends purely for adding flavour.

Has anyone tried sloe gin for this?
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
3) What do I balance that with to keep variety for later?

Tricky one.

I'm going to split my rations of Condor between the sooner and later piles. I'm also going to try to leave the small quantity of Lakeland plugs alone as long as I can.

My secret weapon on this, is the Mylar pouches. Whenever I open a 50g tin, I'll put a quarter in a jar, with the remainder split between three Mylar pouches. That should keep a few aromatics floating about, but in small enough quantities that it's no great loss if any turn sour.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
4) What does that leave for smoking short term?

Anything by Germain's. Nothing from that place needs ageing, so it can be enjoyed while others are cooking. I know they can age well too, but I'd rather use them to "buy time" for other blends to develop. I don't have many left anyway.

Anything I have more than one tin of. There's seven or eight blends I can split, to have some while the rest continues to age.

Stuff that I've already tried, that I know I'm perfectly happy to devour fresh. Many of those are topped, but not all. Things like University Flake, No.27 Perique Flake, Ennerdale, Sherlock Holmes, Squadron Leader, Bright CR Flake.

Beyond that, it's rummage through for anything I got a few years ago. Pop it, try it, and if it seems like it needs steeping longer, whack it back in Mylar.
 
If I don't outlive the stash, I don't want to have wasted time not smoking my faves.
This is my favorite part of your post. Yes, smoke the good stuff first!

I’ve talked to many pipe guys and cigar guys alike who save their best stuff for “a special occasion”, sometimes one that never comes.

I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and I’m burning through my stash from the top shelf down. This way, the “occasion” becomes special BECAUSE of the tobacco.

Well said, @AimlessWanderer!
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
This is my favorite part of your post. Yes, smoke the good stuff first!

I’ve talked to many pipe guys and cigar guys alike who save their best stuff for “a special occasion”, sometimes one that never comes.

I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and I’m burning through my stash from the top shelf down. This way, the “occasion” becomes special BECAUSE of the tobacco.

Well said, @AimlessWanderer!

Thanks Don.

Some of them will be paced a little bit. I've got enough Condor and Revor Plug to scatter a few smokes throughout the journey, so I don't leave myself totally without later on. Besides which, I want to see how they evolve with time. Hopefully the ageing will mean there's new favourites along the way too. I'm certainly not going to be denying myself known favourites though. I'm in this to enjoy it!

As for everything else, I only average about a tin and a half per blend. I've gone for variety first and foremost, and when a blend is done, it's history. Maybe if I find something really special, I'll pick up another single tin to age again for later, but otherwise it'll be a continual exploration, with a couple of favourites sat waiting, for when I need the comfort of something familiar.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
That last consignment has all been bagged in Mylar, approx 5 smokes per bag, colour coded, filed, and records updated.

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While I treat all Cavendish aromatics and topped Virginia Burleys the same, I've split them up on this table, for a better understanding of how they should age. The vast majority is Virginia based blends, with just 15% either having Latakia or being a Cavendish aro. I think everything else should develop very nicely over time.

As regards the consumption plan, I've also sorted out what's for near term use, and what needs ageing longest, leaving out about 50 or 60 of those little 5 smoke bags, and stowing the rest away for a long sleep. That should keep me ticking over a while.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Wow, I thought I was the only person around who did the old “spreadsheet with pie charts” thing, but I’m not alone! Bravo, @AimlessWanderer!

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Actually, for me it's a small notebook, fountain pen, and online pie chart maker. :biggrin1:

Having that pie chart has helped me get a better overall appreciation of the balance of blends here, and did prompt me to make some adjustments after I first did it. I haven't gone into categories as deep as you though, as mine is just based on which pipes I stuff it in. Over here (I don't know what it's like over there), there's not a lot of consistency in tobacco descriptions, as to what's in a blend, or whether it's topped or not, so I don't even think I could put together a chart that detailed.

I'm not very well disciplined at crossing off what I've smoked either, so I will need to do another audit in a year's time. However, that's not a particularly big task with an ageing stash as modest as mine.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
After an embarrassingly ridiculous amount of over thinking (my brain does like to go the scenic route), I think I may have stumbled on a nice and simple consumption strategy.

Currently, I smoke blends out of 10 small (120ml) glass jars, simply labelled A to J. These are the live blends I pick and choose from when loading a pipe, and I don't open anything else until one of those jars come free. I also have six blend categories in my stash, based on which pipe I'll grab for a particular blend.

So, the plan:
Jars A to F to each hold one of the aged blend categories from the stash, so I always have one aged Virginia, Perique, Lakeland, Ago, English, and Dark tobacco to hand. Then jars G to J to be used for recent (unaged) purchases. Probably topped blends, as they are the ones that taste better fresh, in my opinion.

This way, the cellar steadily dwindles (i.e. actually gets used up eventually), but is padded out with the fresh stuff to slow its demise. Also, the occasional cash purchases I do make, don't feel like I'll never get around to smoking them. The cellar might still be drip fed though, as a new tin won't all fit in one of those jars, and so the excess will be Mylar bagged and stuffed in the drawer for later. However, I still intend to shop slower than I smoke.

One of those jars is already free at the moment, as I finished off a sample of Curly Cut Deluxe yesterday. So I might treat myself to a little something next week, when I catch a train to go hunting for a Falcon Bantam bowl. I have a nice little day trip planned for that.
 
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