A Better Pipe Smoking Community

Greg Pease, who just happens to be one of the "two friends," has some interesting info regarding aging on his FAQ page, http://www.glpease.com/FAQ.html

Generally, blends with a good portion of Virginia's stand to benefit the most from aging, so TF Heritage should age nicely. Just make you sure that if you open the 16oz tin and transfer the leaf to smaller containers that you get a good seal on the new containers.

Personally, I do not age tobacco for the purposes of "aging" it. Most manufacturer's will tell you their tobacco is ready to smoke and meant to be smoked when purchased. That being said, the notion that "aging" makes a blend "better" is a driving force for those that prefer to "age" tobacco. It is arguable, yet a very personal preference. This issue is not a black or white issue.

Typically, aging of aromatics for an extended period of time will result in a significant change of taste as the "topping" will fade over time. I would not recommend aging any aromatic beyond a couple of years.

However, I do not consider TFH to be an aromatic. It has a miniscule amount of flavor agent to bring out the sweetness of the Virginia's. I would not hesitate to age Heritage as I do not expect it would significantly enhance or degrade its smoking qualities. Just keep it in a tightly packed, full and closed mason jar and it will be fine.

I'm planning to move it all out of the tins into jars anyway, but I want to reserve at least 2oz, in 2 small jars prepared with all the ritual, boiling water, paraffin, the works and keep one for 1 year and the other for 2 years and see if it really makes any difference for my tasting buds.
I can't provide a cool dark place with stable temperature, so, a dark place will have to do.

My doubts with TFH is that the flavoring my go stale and ruin everything, so I wanted to ask if anyone have tried it yet.

sorry

With Ozark... because of the high VA content, TF should age very well. Go for it, and in a year or so, I'm sure you will have a very smooth complex tobacco.

Totally unneccessary to use wax to seal those jars to age TFH. Just screw the lid on tight and leave them alone.

And DON'T use paraffin - it will taint the tobacco. Personally I don't even boil the jars.

Are right... DO NOT USE WAX. I still boil my jars to get a vacuum, but it really isn't necessary. A good hand tightening and you are fine.

My only dilemma that I have found is that some of the lids being made for mason jars these days are a bit sub-par. My last batch, I had one or two that stripped and wouldn't hold a seal. They would get to a tight point and then just slip past and be loose again. Gosh darn Chinese metal.

Ok, I will not. I thought it was really needed for long therm storage.
I will boil the jars in order to get lower pressure inside and a better sealing but that's all.

Thank you friends, you have saved me of doing a stupid mistake.

Now I only have to wait for next Christmas.

I used this Italian jars - http://www.vasiquattrostagioni.it/english/Quattro_stagioni_linea.htm
The lids are very good, I was able to tight them really hard.
I divided the 2 tins into 3 parts, I'm aging 2/3 of 16 oz of Heritage on two 0,5 liters jars and 1/3 of 8 oz of Red Carpet on a 0,25 liters jar.
I'm not expecting a really big change in TFH, but Red Carpet should change more.

Tobacco is not the only thing that ages. This morning as usual I took my 6 yo kid to school, as I was leaving I heard another kid asking my boy "Is he your grandfather ?"... Oh boy... I'm only 44, this beard is coming out ASAP... :-(

I'll bet you can't leave your TFH age for a year! It's too good. Smoke it up and get some more!

It's a bet!!! :-) What do we bet ? The loser will smoke 1oz of Clan ??????? :-)

Beard is off, most hair is off too, I don't look a grandfather anymore.

You sound determined so I won't take the bet. Any guy who shaves his head (so do I) is a damn determined individual. I shave my head once a week even if it doesn't need it. As for the beard, it is on for the Winter ski season and then off for the Summer. The silver beard is a dead give away for my age (59) but I just don't give a damn. Too many young punks with shaved heads running around, anyway. So, the silver beard warns them of my "wisdom" (I hope). Enjoy your aging and enjoy your aging tobacco.

I visited the Algarve in 1986 or thereabouts. What a wonderful place! I especially enjoyed the topless beaches (and bottomless for all practical purposes, as well). I wish they did that in America! Maybe I would change the color of my beard!

I would like you to try my Pot O' Gold Mixture. It is 50% TFH. Get yourself a two ounce tin of Autumn Evening and a two ounce tin of Riverboat Gambler. Take a shot glass and mix three shots of TFH, two shots of Riverboat Gambler and one shot of Autumn Evening. You may find, as I did, this is an ideal mixture. I still smoke a bowl of TFH or Gambler on their own once in a while, but my daily staple has become Pot O' Gold alternating with CBB. At night I usually smoke English (Uhle's Bishop's Move).

The best way to describe POG: It's the best of Heritage with Burley and Turkish added. Then the subtle aroma and taste of Maple from the Autum Evening Red Cavendish brings it all together for a wonderfully smooth and pleasant smoke. Since you like TFH so much, you just may enjoy this variation. Let me know if you decide try it. It will also make your TFH last longer! I like it so well that I buy all three in bulk by the pound! I mix up a pound at a time and pack it tight into jars. This mixture is now available direct from C&D pre-mixed, too. Just ask for Captain Bob's Pot O' Gold Mixture in bulk (minimum of one pound).

I'm going to try it. My suplier (Synjeco) doesn't have all C&D blends, but AE and RG are on the list so I'll get a tin next time I order.

Back to topic, Aging...

Having some rest looks to be a good thing for most tobaccos, got another small success in the last weekend.
A pot with about 50g of Hans Schürch's TULI that I'd put away classified as "HOT SUGAR BOMB - DO NOT TOUCH", now, after 7 totally undisturbed mouths is metamorphosed into a totally acceptable baccy.
The "hot sugar bomb" is gone, at least I'll be able to smoke it in a normal pipe and try to see something over the sugar curtain. :-)

On the other end, aging is a bad thing for (at least one) the high aromatics. I had to put away a pot with 50g of Candido Giovanela - Chocolate (Brazilian OTC), when fresh it was barely smokable, after 5 months it was even worst. I can't describe it... It wasn't rotten, it was more like if the casing components were not mixed anymore, instead of a flavoring I only had a bunch of unrelated chemicals. To the trash can it went. I had to wash the pot with bleach in order to remove the smell.

I'm not a fan of chocolate (in the tobacco 8-) but a small sample of SG Chocolate flake went from "beeeehhhh" to "miammy" in a few months. After being bone dry this flake is amazing, the strange flavoring that they choose to call chocolate is almost totally gone, and all is left is a delicious VA dark flake. It is the most slow burning tobacco I ever found, a size 3 pipe will last for over 1 hour.