My cellar and questions

[GuitarMyFriend]

Heya!
Thought I’d post a picture of my cellar while hopefully getting some opinions and questions answered.

So I thought I was doing everything right in taking my tins of exactly the same, (or close to) ages, popping them open and jarring them. I use quart wide mouth jars and can fit roughly 7-8 (sometimes more, sometimes less) ounces of shag depending on the blend, and obviously more in Flake form. I will admit, I sometimes push a little bit down to make it all fit. Now I do, but rarely dip into these blends; I keep the stuff I’m smoking regularly separate. I read recently that cellaring should be done in smaller increments so that when you open up the jars it won’t halt the aging process and allow moisture to escape of the entire blend, only that specific jar. In my experience though, the blends  I have jarred that I have comeback to more than once have seemed to change each time, but have not appeared to lose much, or any moisture. It is a quick maneuver as to keep the moisture safe, and it’s VERY infrequent that I do dip into them. Any thoughts/opinions/constructive criticisms? It does seem to work for me In the meantime, but do you suppose it’ll last into my sweet golden age of retirement? That read on cellaring has scared me and made me rethink my methods.
Anywho, here’s my cellar;


Zach

 

[Corncobcon]

I used to wonder about long term storage in jars. But, I just don't worry about it anymore. I'll open a jar and check for moisture content. If the tobacco seems a bit dried out, I can always rehydrate it. So far, all the tobacco that I have billed for long term storage, and most of mine is up to 4 years of age, seems to be fine. I don't do anything with tinned tobacco if not opened, just leave it on the shelf. Except for some of the square tins. I usually put those tins in a baggy. That's my 2 cents worth. I'm sure others will have different opinions on all this. By the way, you have a nice storage closet.

 

[GuitarMyFriend]

Hey thanks Conrad, that puts me to ease a bit!
It’s actually half of a kitchen cupboard my wife suggested I use! It fits it all, for now!
Zach

 

[Rail Man]

Nice stash! I’d say do whatever works for you and don’t worry about it too much. I don’t think too much moisture is lost just dipping into a jar and if it does begin to feel a bit dry you should be able to rehydrate it as long as you didn’t allow it to get bone dry.

Myself I subscribe to the smaller container method, and use 8 oz wide mouth jars almost almost exclusively (some flakes I can get away with even smaller jars). I can easily get 50g in one and 2 oz of ribbon cut if I compress it in a little (another thing I don’t worry about). Aside from not disturbing aging tobacco I have another theory with these, that is if the seal is compromised on one or if one gets contaminated while jarring I only lose 2 oz instead of a whole lot more.

The downside is you need a lot more jars and a lot more space and shelves that can take the additional weight of all that glass. Definitely keep the boxes, they are the best way to store and stack a lot of jars. Tins I just leave alone.

 

[user 2027]

Well done! Nice and tidy. Mine looks like something out of American pickers TV show. Tins all shapes and sizes plus 3 different size mason jars make it look like nightmare. I keep meaning to reorganize but never do . . .

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Your set up looks fine to me!

That jar of Stonehaven though, see.... You need to take half of that and put it in a smaller size jar, and send the other half to me...

See how that helps? irate: :lol!:

 

[GuitarMyFriend]

Oh, ok! I think... I think I’m getting it! Let me think on that for a while.
HA!
Zach

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Oh, ok! I think... I think I’m getting it! Let me think on that for a while.
HA!
Zach

I thought you might get a giggle out of that...

 

[Puff Daddy]

The larger jars are great for long term storage, I have some I’ve popped after a decade and the tobacco is perfect. In fact I’ve found that tobacco seems to age better when stored in larger quantities and in larger vessels than in smaller ones. The only thing to be concerned with is once you’ve opened that large jar it’s probably a good idea to break the tobacco down into a few smaller jars and seal them back up so the tobacco doesn’t dry out. If you pop a large jar and start smoking through it, you’re probably going to find yourself with the tobacco going dry and starting to taste flat before you get halfway through the jar. I tend to break these quart jars into thirds when I open them, putting 2 of the thirds in 2 smaller jars for later and leaving the last third in the large jar to smoke now. It’s not so much to continue aging the tobacco as it is to preserve it in its aged state. Young fresh tobacco is, in my observations, pretty resilient to being in a container that is constantly being opened and shut. Tobacco that’s been aged a few years doesn’t seem to hold up to that as well, so having smaller jars of it seems to preserve the aged tobacco better.

 

[peanubutter]

That looks like a well organized collection. All of mine is stored in the top dresser drawer.

 

[Stick]

May I compliment you on your fine looking stash, Zach?

 

[Zanaspus]

Very nice. Keep in mind that even if you open a quart jar and "stop" the aging process, it will reseal itself in a short period of time. It's like tobacco magic!

 

[ontariopiper]

I think most of us use Mason jars (or alternate brand) for long-term storage of open or bulk tobacco. I prefer smaller wide-mouth jars I can fit about 2oz into - essentially the size of the average tin of pipe weed. Sealed tins sit next to my jars until I crack them open or I notice the seal has been compromised somehow, then the baccy goes into a jar.