Opening aged tobaccos

[AimlessWanderer]

As I've mentioned several times before, a lot of my ageing is done in Mylar pouches. Pouches and square tins get transferred to Mylar straight away, but round vacuum tins are left as they are to start with. Open tobaccos for smoking are kept in ten 120mm screw top jars, and I'll generally top these back up with the ~12.5g Mylar pouches. I find the jars a good size for 1/4 of a tin/pouch. Once I do finally open a round tin, a quarter or in goes into the small jar, and the rest gets split between three new Mylar pouches and put back in the ageing stash with the other pouches.

I've noticed when opening these aged tobaccos, both in the Mylar pouches and round tins, there's a vinegar/ammonia scent. It makes for a pretty grim/sour smoke until that scent has fully off-gassed from the aged blend. It seems to happen to me frequently, across the board, regardless of blend composition, but it's not something I've seen discussed online. Maybe other folks like it, or at least don't mind it?

What's everyone's views on this, and do you treat aged tobaccos differently to fresh tobaccos when you open them?

 

[luvmysuper]

I've opened new and tins that were several years old and never noticed it.
Nothing remotely unpleasant in any way.
Not saying it isn't there, I just have not noticed it.
Maybe some compound as a result of the fermentation process is acutely noticeable to you due to sensitivity to a particular gas?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I've opened new and tins that were several years old and never noticed it.
Nothing remotely unpleasant in any way.
Not saying it isn't there, I just have not noticed it.
Maybe some compound as a result of the fermentation process is acutely noticeable to you due to sensitivity to a particular gas?

It's certainly a result of fermentation. It's something I have seen discussed on a snuff tobacco forum, but not pipe discussions. The "solution" to both is simply airing out.

With the small jars I use, a few changes of air is needed before that scent has subsided enough. Leaving a pinch out to dry before packing helps too, but depending on how dry the tobacco is to start with, I might just pack the bowl, place my fingers lightly over the top, and blow air through the pipe a couple of times, then set it aside to just dry the top, and blow through once or twice more before lighting.

It's not a hardship to do those extra steps, just something I don't need to do with fresh tobaccos.

 

[luvmysuper]

It's certainly a result of fermentation. It's something I have seen discussed on a snuff tobacco forum, but not pipe discussions. The "solution" to both is simply airing out.

With the small jars I use, a few changes of air is needed before that scent has subsided enough. Leaving a pinch out to dry before packing helps too, but depending on how dry the tobacco is to start with, I might just pack the bowl, place my fingers lightly over the top, and blow air through the pipe a couple of times, then set it aside to just dry the top, and blow through once or twice more before lighting.

It's not a hardship to do those extra steps, just something I don't need to do with fresh tobaccos.

Does it happen to you in every case of aging, or more so with a particular brand, type or age?

A brief search online regarding pipe, and cigar tobacco indicates that ammonia is a natural off gassing smell associated with nitrogen negation. From my understanding, this occurs more frequently with tobacco that has not been properly aged PRIOR TO manufacturers processing. Meaning a rush to get tobacco out to the consumer.
It's said that it is a continuous process with all tobacco, but that with tobacco properly aged prior to processing, it is so minor as to be unnoticeable.
So it could be that you are particularly sensitive to the smell, or that as it is a continuous process, in a sealed jar or bag it may accumulate to the point of being noticeable.
Everything I have read seems to indicate that it isn't harmful in any way, and that an "airing out" as you are doing is the solution to the problem.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Does it happen to you in every case of aging, or more so with a particular brand, type or age?

So far (bearing in mind I haven't been doing it a long time), blend type and manufacturer seem to have less bearing on it than moisture content. The more moist the tobacco when put to sleep, the more noticeable the fermentation odour once opened. The same appears to be true of nasal snuffs. I haven't aged anything for particularly long periods yet (say 5+ years), so I can't comment on whether that will increase further over time, or level out once the initial ageing has happened. Once the odour has been allowed (or persuaded) to dissipate though, they smoke (and snuff) just fine. However, scented blends can mask that odour a bit, and the first bowl might not be as good as later bowls if there's a bit of the fermentation "stuff" hiding behind the topping/casing.

 

[Kentos]

The more Perique a blend has the more of that ammonia/sour tang I notice when opening an old jar. Va’s have a slight vinegar smell as well depending on the type. Burley’s like Old Joe Krantz ages to a nice apricot aroma to me. I opened a jar with a few cubes of Night Train in it, maybe 3 years old, and the tin note almost made me wince lol.

Most time a really old tin needs a week of rest in a jar with oxygen in it. I also notice the tobacco darkens considerably after a week vs when first cracked. YMMV.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

The more Perique a blend has the more of that ammonia/sour tang I notice when opening an old jar. Va’s have a slight vinegar smell as well depending on the type. Burley’s like Old Joe Krantz ages to a nice apricot aroma to me. I opened a jar with a few cubes of Night Train in it, maybe 3 years old, and the tin note almost made me wince lol.

Most time a really old tin needs a week of rest in a jar with oxygen in it. I also notice the tobacco darkens considerably after a week vs when first cracked. YMMV.

Interesting. I'll keep an eye (nostril?) out for that shift between vinegar and ammonia. I've had a few blends (flake and coin) needing longer than a fortnight to shed the fermentation odour, which can be a nuisance if several jars needed refiling around the same time. Didn't stop me foolishly trying to drive out the scent of a bowl of Cabbies Mixture in two days though. That bowl I just smoked certainly wasn't ready....