Best storage/cellaring tips

[raf66]

Good morning. I'm trying to build up a modest "cellar" of my fave selections and I've learned a great deal by reading peoples' posts and looking at the cellar pics. Wow, many of you have a better selection than most if not all B&Ms in my city.

Anyway, my question is really more of a technique thing I guess. For example, I have several Mason jars filled with blends with stickers on the jars explaining what the blend is, the mfgr of that blend, and the date it was put in the jar. Of course, I want to partake from my inventory every day so do I: (1) buy more tins and smoke from the tins, leaving the tobacco in the jars untouched; (2) smoke from the jars until depleted and then replenish the stock in the jars; or (3) fill the jars up and then buy some extra tins of each blend for "cellaring", and then smoke from the jars and replenish the jars with new tins leaving the cellared tins untouched for aging.

I may not be explaining it very well so I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. What "technique" or "method" do you guys use?

Thanks.

 

[Hunter5117]

I don't know if you will find a lot of consensus on how each of us manages the rotation of our cellars. I only started back to pipe smoking within the past 5-6 years so my cellar is relatively young.

I cellar for 2 reasons, first to have a steady, well aged supply of my regular tobaccos at hopefully a reasonable average price, and second to hold onto some of the hard to find or out of production blends for either my own use or for trading. The later is kind of random, I buy when there is an opportunity. I may crack a tin when the mood strikes me or let them age.

For my regular smoking supply, I guess it depends on how long you think a particular blend needs to age before you will get the benefit of the cellaring process. Most feel that virginias get the most benefit from aging, with burleys getting little to no benefit. I have read multiple opinions on English blends, obviously the virginia content should get better with time, but some say the Latakia starts to lose its best flavor if cellared more than 5-6 years, other say that it just keeps getting better. Myself I am primarily a straight virginia or vaper smoker, so my cellar should mostly just keep getting better. I have sampled some after just a year, but I find that it takes at least 3 years before I really feel I am getting full benefit from the aging process.

I have tins that are that old or older, and some bulk although I didn't really start cellaring a lot of bulk until just over a year ago. So right now for my way of looking at it, I am smoking the occasional tin that I open, some of the 3+ year old bulk that is coming of age, and quite a bit of recent purchase tobacco. As my bulk supply starts to come on stronger, I will commit more of my purchases to being strictly cellared since I will have ample supply from my cellar to keep my pipe full.

Lastly, right now I am buying much faster than I smoke, due to the possible pipe tobacco tax coming at some point. So, down the road I will have more aged tobacco than I can smoke, and as such the average age of what I am smoking will increase, so eventually I will be getting into 4yr, 5yr and eventually much older stock.

I also use relatively small jars, half-pint mason jars and I get about 90gms per jar (5 jars hold a pound). So, I can sample a particular "vintage" and if I don't think it is ready, I only have that small amount opened as compared if I had stored in larger jars. My jar cost is higher but I figure this is worth it.

Hope this helps. There are lots more experienced cellar masters here than I am, they will surely jump in with their systems.

Also, there are some other web sites dedicated to tobacco cellaring such as the online tobacco cellar. Lots of info there as well.

 

[PegLegEd]

This link was posted the other day. I looked back and could not find the author of the Post. I have found it very informative and entertaining. Thanks to the original poster.
http://nocturne.org/aging/index.php
Ed

 

[Hermit]

My "technique" is buy buy buy!
As I approach two years with the pipe, I'm up to 155 lbs.
It's bound to get old before I can finish it all. :lol:

 

[raf66]

Hey, thanks for the guidance guys. I use the 8 oz. mason jars and they seem to work pretty well at holding at least 2 of the 100g tins of tobaccos such as Frog Morton or Hal O' The Wynd, which are both kind of a ribbon or broken flake blend, while the jars hold more obviously of the flakes such as Irish Flake or the coins such as Escudo. I think what I'm going to try to do (where's that winning lottery ticket?) is fill the mason jars to the top and then purchase for consumption. When I have enough for short to medium-term consumption I will start purchasing tins and leaving them unopened in the cellar to age. I figure that before I die (I'm 44) pipe tobacco will be either illegal or so expensive as to be unaffordable so I may as well stock up as much of my favorites as I can. :cheers:

 

[nate560]

My "technique" is buy buy buy!
As I approach two years with the pipe, I'm up to 155 lbs.
It's bound to get old before I can finish it all. :lol:

I agree stock up. I use the small mason jars that hold 2 or 4oz that way I can just take a jar out with a small amount and not have to disturb a half lb or lb. It makes for more jars but the rest just keeps on ageing. Most of what I buy is in tins but there are a few that aren't tinned and I have to use jars.

 

[Natch]

Over the years, I've morphed from storing mostly in quart Mason jars to pints and even half-pint jars. Now, when I buy a pound, I generally put into two pint jars and perhaps one 8 ounce jar (depending on the cut of the tobacco and how tight I pack it). One pint jar gets packed into a box with other blends, sealed, and labeled, "do not open until ten year from the date I seal it, so I know almost half of what I buy is in long term aging. The second pint jar I usually keep around, but may not open it for a couple of years. The smaller half-pint jar is for sampling over the next few months.

I now have several good sized boxes labeled, "Do Not Open Until 2011, or 2012, or 2013 (up to 2019). So at least 8 to 10 pounds of 10 year old tobacco can be opened each January first for a while to come. That's the primary reason that I never post pix of my cellar, it's not all neatly stashed and arranged by brand or blend, but packed into sealed boxes and stashed all over the place.

But to answer your question with my experience, store in several, smaller jars rather than fewer larger jars, they you can open some and leave others to age.

Natch

 

[fishnrust]

You guys are hard core.

 

[Hermit]

That's the primary reason that I never post pix of my cellar, it's not all neatly stashed and arranged by brand or blend, but packed into sealed boxes and stashed all over the place.

No more pictures from me either.
Everything new is gettin' stacked
in the closet in cardboard boxes.
(up to 194 pounds now.)

 

[bruins]

I now have several good sized boxes labeled, "Do Not Open Until 2011, or 2012, or 2013 (up to 2019). So at least 8 to 10 pounds of 10 year old tobacco can be opened each January first for a while to come.

Natch

good system natch! i'm easily boogled by lots of numbers, writing "DON'T OPEN UNTIL..." is something i can follow!

 

[Dukeofbluz]

I use the short 8oz jars for my Tobacco bar

Duke

 

[bruins]

that's gorgeous and awe-inspiring duke! here's a newbie question. so if i dump a tin of union square in a mason jar and seal it up, but in a couple weeks i get another tin of union square, can i just add it to the mason jar until it's full?

 

[Cody V]

@Duke

Glad to see someone else uses the squat mason jars!

 

[LAEarl]

I use the short 8oz jars for my Tobacco bar

Duke

Those Platnum Jars aint cheap either, bro! I have several I used to jar up some Peach/Mango Jam I made this summer. They look great but don't stack worth a darn. Too bad becuase the look so nice. I see you have your jars stacked astride each other as opposed to on top of the lid.

The standard jar bands allow the tapered bottom to stack and set within the recessed space of the band. But the widemouth is much easier to load the pipe from. So I guess one has to decide which id more important :lol:

 

[Smokntaz]

You guys are hard core.

Yes they are! When I grow up I want to have a collection just like these guys :cheers:

 

[Hermit]

that's gorgeous and awe-inspiring duke! here's a newbie question. so if i dump a tin of union square in a mason jar and seal it up, but in a couple weeks i get another tin of union square, can i just add it to the mason jar until it's full?

Leave it in the sealed tin.
Jar up stuff that is open.

 

[bruins]

Leave it in the sealed tin.
Jar up stuff that is open.

thanks hermit.

 

[Dukeofbluz]

that's gorgeous and awe-inspiring duke! here's a newbie question. so if i dump a tin of union square in a mason jar and seal it up, but in a couple weeks i get another tin of union square, can i just add it to the mason jar until it's full?

Leave it in the sealed tin.
Jar up stuff that is open.

Yes, I only open a tin if I need too.

 

[Dukeofbluz]

I use the short 8oz jars for my Tobacco bar

Duke

Those Platnum Jars aint cheap either, bro! I have several I used to jar up some Peach/Mango Jam I made this summer. They look great but don't stack worth a darn. Too bad becuase the look so nice. I see you have your jars stacked astride each other as opposed to on top of the lid.

The standard jar bands allow the tapered bottom to stack and set within the recessed space of the band. But the widemouth is much easier to load the pipe from. So I guess one has to decide which id more important :lol:

Scrap foam insulation and wood grain adhesive paper, because you are right, they don't stack

Duke

 

[Hermit]

Beautiful display!