I went to the 'bacco store yesterday and bought a tin of Stave-Aged 35 Virginia Ribbon, after smelling an open tin at the store. Their tin was down to the last bowl or so, and it smelled fantastic. When I got home, I couldn't wait to get that thing opened up.. holy crap! Now I fully understand what the McClelland ketchup thing is all about! So I started reading reviews and discussions and quickly got sidetracked by all the different approaches to what I thought was as simple as; buy a tin, open it up, load a bowl, put the lid on the tin.. done. Some people "leave it out" for a bit to let it dry. But others seem to "leave it out" to get the flavor to settle.. some cited the "ketchup" smell diminishing a bit after leaving it out. Then, the reason for putting quote marks around "leaving it out" is that some folks leave it out with the lid off, while others seem to consider leaving it in the tin for awhile and not putting it into a sealed jar is "leaving it out" ... too many variables going on here to make sense of it, or maybe it was just getting late.. I guess the basic question is, when you open a new tin, or get a bag of bulk tobacco, what's your next move? Leave it out in the open air until the moisture content or flavor/smell is where you want it? Leave it in the closed tin/bag until the moisture content is where you want it? Immediately put it into a mason jar? I'm wondering if the Dunhill, Davidoff and Pease tins I bought and opened up 6 weeks ago should be put in a mason jar, or if they're safe to store in their tins?
tobacco storage & whatnot
- Thread starter jiminyshiznit
- Start date
Virginia's do have that "unique" ketchup smell for sure! Most guys including myself will simply put the tobacco in a mason jar and let it age. Much of the flavor that gets developed over time is done so anaerobically. It mellows out the tanginess that Virginias tend to have and gives it more depth of flavor. You may choose to leave it out for a time to dry it down a bit, my only concern is once you go too far it's more difficult to re-hydrate and you could potentially introduce mold if you're not careful. Best thing to do, buy twice as much as you think you need, sock away half of it in the cellar and smoke the remaining half so you're not as tempted to open up what you're aging.
- Thread starter
- #3
OK, cool.. that brings up another question. The half that I sock away.. is that sealed in it's original tin, or opened up and sealed into a mason jar?
edit: Just looked up "anaerobically", so I'm guessing still sealed in its original tin.
edit: Just looked up "anaerobically", so I'm guessing still sealed in its original tin.
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If you store it in the original tin, just keep an eye on it. Some of those have been known to pop the seal, the round ones behave better than the square ones. I have some 30 year old plum cake in the original round tin and i just take a peek at it now and then to make sure it's still sealed. If it pops, put it into a mason type jar.
If you buy in bulk (which I tend to do) then fill a mason jar full (don't cram it) and leave it in a dark, dry, relatively stable temperature environment and that will work just fine too. Even if there is some "air space" in the jar if you keep it closed you won't keep introducing fresh air to it all the time, hence the advice on ordering twice as much because if you're anything like me patience and fine pipe tobacco tend to find some conflict!
If you buy in bulk (which I tend to do) then fill a mason jar full (don't cram it) and leave it in a dark, dry, relatively stable temperature environment and that will work just fine too. Even if there is some "air space" in the jar if you keep it closed you won't keep introducing fresh air to it all the time, hence the advice on ordering twice as much because if you're anything like me patience and fine pipe tobacco tend to find some conflict!
Commander Quan
Commander Yellow Pantyhose
If you are using one of the round style tins, either the flat or Pringle style, the tobacco will be fine in there for a month or so, if it's a square or rectangle tin they never reseal one opened so they should be jarred.
Anything in a baggie will stay good for a couple of weeks and then start to dry out too much.
When it doubt jar it up. Mason jars will become a regular part of your tobacco supplies.
Tins that are unopened do not need to be jarred.
Most people find that the tobacco smokes better when it is allowed to dry slightly from the moisture content it is packaged at. This varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but over time you will be able to tell what is the correct moisture level. If a new tin is way to wet like some SG flakes I'll let them dry for a short period of time before jarring just to store them closer to the level I prefer to smoke them at.
The Famous McClelland ketchup smell does not carry over when being smoked so there is no need to let the tobacco air out for it to dissipate, just reseal the tin or jar it and it will be fine.
Anything in a baggie will stay good for a couple of weeks and then start to dry out too much.
When it doubt jar it up. Mason jars will become a regular part of your tobacco supplies.
Tins that are unopened do not need to be jarred.
Most people find that the tobacco smokes better when it is allowed to dry slightly from the moisture content it is packaged at. This varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but over time you will be able to tell what is the correct moisture level. If a new tin is way to wet like some SG flakes I'll let them dry for a short period of time before jarring just to store them closer to the level I prefer to smoke them at.
The Famous McClelland ketchup smell does not carry over when being smoked so there is no need to let the tobacco air out for it to dissipate, just reseal the tin or jar it and it will be fine.
Another vote for Mason jars. And I wouldnt dry it out first. If a tobacco is too moist I just dry what I am going to smoke, one bowl's worth at a time. It is easier to dry what I am going to smoke then to rehydrate an entire tin.
- Thread starter
- #7
Awesome.. thanks, guys! I did put all my bagged tobaccos in jars this weekend, so I'll be getting a few more to empty the tins into. Now to find a place for this hobby to live. My house is getting B&B'd, left and right!
Great advice above! I like this, I barely have to work! 
Great advice above! I like this, I barely have to work!
That's OK, we still love having you as a steward mate.
That's OK, we still love having you as a steward mate.
Yay! Now I only have to focus on the "latakia as a curse word" crowd...
Yay! Now I only have to focus on the "latakia as a curse word" crowd...
be careful....thats a rowdy crazy bunch over there!!
I just throw mine in a mason jar.
i use mason jars , there are some very nice ones a World Market for around 2.95 very nice-3 oz fits nicely
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- Thread starter
- #14
So, when you guys buy a large tin or larger bulk quantity of something, are you putting it into several smaller mason jars? I'm assuming, like a scotch you're not going through very fast, that when it gets about half empty, you're better off moving it to a smaller container to minimize the amount of air in the container?
Commander Quan
Commander Yellow Pantyhose
For me, anything I buy over 4 ounces, which is usually a half pound or more, gets broken up into separate jars, one to smoke the others get put away.
If you've got something set back to age you'll want to minimize the head space, to quicken the time it takes for the aerobic microbes to do their job. Once the oxygen has been depleted anaerobic microbes go to work. Any reintroduction of oxygen to the tobacco halt this process, until it's sealed off and starts over again.
If I'm smoking something, I don't care about head space, because it's not aging it any further at that point so no you don't need to move tobacco from one jar to the next.
If you've got something set back to age you'll want to minimize the head space, to quicken the time it takes for the aerobic microbes to do their job. Once the oxygen has been depleted anaerobic microbes go to work. Any reintroduction of oxygen to the tobacco halt this process, until it's sealed off and starts over again.
If I'm smoking something, I don't care about head space, because it's not aging it any further at that point so no you don't need to move tobacco from one jar to the next.
- Thread starter
- #16
Nice.. thanks, Derrick. I'm early enough into this where I'm still exploring what's out there, so I haven't bought more than a 50g tin or 1/2 oz of bulk at the B&M. I did buy a 6-pack of Carter Hall boxes on my first tobacco order, since they were on a killer sale and it pushed me to free shipping. I'm sure some of those will sit a long time before they get opened.
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