Orlik Golden Slice - development with age

[Brunello]

This is not a review (plenty of those on Tobacco Reviews) more of a question: Does anyone here have experience with this over the years to know how it ages? I searched some older BoB archives back to 2011 and found no specific answers.

Last summer I enjoyed a tin that had seven years on it (the old red square tins), sitting on the porch reading Dan Brown's Origin, with OGS in my MM Cobbit Shire churchwarden.

When i finished that tin I popped another that only had two years age and it just wasn't that enjoyable. Put it in a mason jar until yesterday (posted on WAYS) and it still hasn't developed much.

At what age does OGS 'cross the threshold' to become something worth talking about? 5 years? 7 years? Also any comments on aging in tin versus 'development' in a mason jar.

Since this is considered a 'gold standard classic' and is so inexpensive and readily available, it would helpful for me and maybe some others to know what its trajectory is before starting to stock the cellar.

I know raf66 has a 10-year old stash, so I'm thinking we need to organize a raiding party!   :lol:

 

[Zeno Marx]

Two years seems like plenty to get a difference. I *think* you are running into an issue with popping a tin and then jarring it. Doesn't that get in the way of the aging? I mean...maybe that doesn't make sense, because we're all moving all tobaccos from one container to another before we declare it is now aging. We buy. We move to a jar. etc. Also, some would say 5 years is better than 2 years and so on. Theoretically, yes, but in practice, not always so. I know I've aged a tobacco too far. "Man, this stuff is stupendous. The next jar, with another year or two, is going to be even better!" Wrong. It kept aging. For sure. But for my tastes, it went beyond the sweet spot and into new, lesser territory. More isn't always better. End of diatribe.

 

[BriarBeagle]

IMO, Orlik Golden Sliced takes a really sharp turn (for the positive) in the 5-7 year range, and continues to improve over time from there. I've smoked quite a bit of it, from fresh to 20 years old, and many of the years in between. Unfortunately I don't have much experience aging it in the jar. Once it goes to the jar it gets smoked up pretty quickly. The bulk of my experience with this blend has been by cracking sealed tins of various ages.

Wish I had a lifetime supply of well aged OGS because it is SO DAMN GOOD!

 

[Brunello]

Two years seems like plenty to get a difference.  I *think* you are running into an issue with popping a tin and then jarring it.  Doesn't that get in the way of the aging?  I mean...maybe that doesn't make sense, because we're all moving all tobaccos from one container to another before we declare it is now aging.  We buy.  We move to a jar.  etc.  Also, some would say 5 years is better than 2 years and so on.  Theoretically, yes, but in practice, not always so.  I know I've aged a tobacco too far.  "Man, this stuff is stupendous.  The next jar, with another year or two, is going to be even better!"  Wrong.  It kept aging.  For sure.  But for my tastes, it went beyond the sweet spot and into new, lesser territory.  More isn't always better.  End of diatribe.

No diatribe, some good points made! As with wine, I totally agree that aging longer and longer doesn't necessarily produce a better result. I've had a few older tobacco blends where in direct comparison I preferred the bolder flavor profile of the younger version. Sometimes they get so mellow and the flavors melded together so much that it's like cream soda, creamy and smooth but not much to talk about.

The other point is worth further exploration, maybe not here and now, but the idea of tin aging under an anaerobic vacuum seal versus developing in jar with some level of oxygen. That is an area that I don't feel qualified to talk about, but I'm definitely interested should anybody care to explain the chemistry (in layman's terms!).

 

[Brunello]

IMO, Orlik Golden Sliced takes a really sharp turn (for the positive) in the 5-7 year range, and continues to improve over time from there.  I've smoked quite a bit of it, from fresh to 20 years old, and many of the years in between.  Unfortunately I don't have much experience aging it in the jar.  Once it goes to the jar it gets smoked up pretty quickly.  The bulk of my experience with this blend has been by cracking sealed tins of various ages.  

Wish I had a lifetime supply of well aged OGS because it is SO DAMN GOOD!

Wow, that is exactly what I wanted to know! Now I know I need to have patience to wait for the 5 year mark (at least) or keep searching around in dusty corners of B&M shops for those really old tins (but forget those consignment sites with super-inflated prices!). From what you say it seems like, at least to 20 years, OGS will take a very long time before it shows any downward decline. Thanks Beagle!