Questions about cellaring some baccy.

[Cool Breeze]

Hey guys.
I'm thinking that every time I buy some pipe baccy, I should buy a little more than I need and start putting some back. Now I'm new to this, but I think that my future self will thank me for it. Looking at Tobias' thread with all of his goodies makes me want to start working on a stash.

Questions.
Does your regular bulk tobaccos like Lane 1Q and McClelland Red Cake benefit from aging as much as the higher end tinned stuff?


And, how tight should I pack the jars with tobacco to age? Should I really pack it in there tightly or just fill it up to the top and leave it loose? Does it even matter one way or the other?

Thanks guys.

[Pugsley]

I have no answers as I've never stored tobacco in jars, but I do have a question to add to this thread. Do the jars need to be sterilized before use?

[mooster]

I have no answers as I've never stored tobacco in jars, but I do have a question to add to this thread. Do the jars need to be sterilized before use?

No need at all.

[OnePyroTec]

Aging a straight Virginia couldn't hurt for the Red Cake. Lane 1Q being an aro IMHO wouldn't help much if at all. In fact you may find over time that the flavorings may dissipate.

When I "jar" pipe tobacco I take the jars right out of the case and use them. So far in 15+ years no adverse effects. When I change blends in a jar, I do run them through a hot water wash cycle in the dish washer.

[Cool Breeze]

OK. Great. Thanks for the fast reply. I totally forgot that 1Q was an aromatic. I have read where they don't benefit nearly as much.

OnyPyroTec, how tightly to you pack the baccy in the jars when you are doing it for aging purposes?

[OnePyroTec]

A general rule of thumb for me, I'll put 2 oz or 50 gram tin in a half pint jar after opening it.

Using pint jars, it depends what the bulk is that I'm putting in there. If it is a crumble cake such as Plum Pudding, I was able to 6.5 oz in a jar with some air still around the large cake sections and not breaking it up. Being it is already packed fairly tight less space taken weighs more. I didn't want to break up the cake. For some flakes I may only get 4 oz because I don't feel like breaking them up and distorting their original shapes. For all regular cut blends, I'll get about 6 oz in a jar lightly packing them in leaving about 3/4" of air space on the top of the tobacco.

All that being said, with bulk I try to get in multiples of 8 oz. I then use on pint jar for long(er) term and one half pint for right now smoking.

[Tobias Lutz]

All tobacco alters with age. The primary factor determining how much seems to be the sugar content of the varietal. I've only been doing it for a couple years, so I reference other people's experience a lot. Google "GLPease aging tobacco" and read what Greg has to say. It is a lot of good stuff. I find my storage volume sounds a lot like Wayne's- I can get 8 oz of about anything in a quart jar.