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Prince Albert in a Can, Aging?

4K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Terrier 
#1 ·
This is not a joke. I tried Prince Albert tobacco (from the pouch) yesterday for the first time. Gotta say that I liked it. So I am considering buying a can to store.
I was wondering if any of you have smoked some Prince Albert in a can that has been un-opened for a good lenght of time. How was it? Did it age in a good way? Did it go bad? Did it remain the same?
 
#2 ·
I havn't smoked the Prince in years, in fact when I did it came in cans. This is no longer the case. Now it comes in plastic. Back then no one would have aged tobacco. You bought it as fresh as you could find and smoked it. I sort of doubt a burley with PG on it, burley is not known to age well, and they didn't use PG back then, would age at all and Plastic tubs are probably not good for aging.
 
#6 ·
If you like an OTC blend they don't usually age great. Here is what I do with my Sugar Barrel.

1) I buy the 12 oz tub (I get mine from 4noggins SHAMELSS ENDORSEMENT: I buy them about 4 at a time for the best prices on the net, get free shipping, and I love the customer service)

2) I open the Tub (They come in shrink wrapped plastic.

3) I pack the tobacco into a Mason Jar. I pack it tight so it takes 2 Jars for one 12 oz tub of Sugar Barrel (PA also comes in a 12 oz tub I think). I use a Smart Saver Vacuum sealer for food with the mason jar attachment.

4) My storage cabinet an old Wardrobe that I put shelves in to hold tobacco. My oldest SB is now just around 9 months (I bought a decent amount and am smoking it daily), I plan to check some of the older jars at 1 year and so on.

5) I do not take out 100% of the air, I leave some in for aging. I don't know how well an OTC will age, but I will report back at the 1 year mark!
 
#7 ·
I think it would do O.K. depending on how many years you let it sit.

GL Pease:
Aging

[edit] G.L. Pease on aging
Q: Will all tobaccos improve with age?
A: Generally, any tobacco with plenty of natural sugars will age wonderfully. Virginia is always a prime candidate, but so are blends with lots or Oriental leaf. Though Oriental varieties don't have as much sugar as Virginias, they do contain enough to go through fermentation in the tin, and will improve over time.
Q: Isn't "fresh" tobacco better?
A: Unless you go to a plantation, or grow your own, you'll never see "fresh" tobacco. By the time it gets into the hands of the blender, it's been cured, sweated, fermented, and allowed to "settle down." Once it's blended, the finished product is allowed to meld for a time before it's put into the tins. Then, the real magic of the aging process begins. While a well conceived blend will be delicious almost immediately after blending, time in the tin will make a noticeable change, adding complexity and smoothing out any rough edges.
Q: How soon is blend "right" for proper smoking?
A: This is dependent upon several factors, including storage method, tobacco processing methods and personal taste. While certainly not at its best, a well conceived blend should smoke well very shortly after it's blended. If it's not good when it's young, it will never become great. Waiting a couple months, or even more, will allow the various components of the blend to "marry," to come together into a cohesive whole, rather than present themselves more as individual aspects of the blend. Within one to five years, the tobacco will really begin to shine. Beyond this time frame, the changes are much more gradual. While the blend may continue to improve for years, even decades, the changes will not be as dramatic as they are in the first few years. Some people enjoy the exuberance of young blends, while others prefer the mature complexity of tobaccos that have been aged for long periods. I recommend experimenting to see what suits you best!
Q: How long can I expect a blend to improve?
A: It really depends on the blend. A full Virginia will continue to improve, though at an increasingly slow rate, over many decades. Most English style tobaccos can go 20-30 years before they begin to go "over the hill." Balkan styles have a shorter life expectancy. Of course, storage conditions will play a part. It the tobacco is cellared at a constant, cool temperature, it will last longer than if it's stored in higher temperatures, or with lots of temperature variations.
Q: What's the best way to store tobacco for aging?
A: Ideally, tobacco should be left in its original sealed tin, and stored in a cool, dry place. It's important to realize that storage in plastic bags and the like, while allowing the tobacco to "meld," will prevent the true aging process. Plastic bags are permeable to small molecules. (Water, while not a very large molecule, is polarized, and has a hard time penetrating the barrier formed by the plastic.) If you can smell the contents through the bag, you're losing flavor and aroma! Mason jars, bail-top jars and so on are good candidates for long term storage, as long as you can resist the urge to open them to "check up" on what's happening. Aging tobacco must be left alone, with no gas exchange allowed. Once an aged tin is open, the contents should either be smoked relatively quickly, or transferred to a jar with a good seal.
Q: What about vacuum sealing?
A: Vacuum sealing is great for vegetables and coffee, but is pointless for tobacco. Tobacco needs some air to be locked in with it , at least to begin with, in order for it to age. A perfectly vacuum sealed container will likely keep the tobacco "fresh," but it may not really age the way we expect it to. I'm more than a little suspicious about the heavy plastic "bags" used by most of these machines. They hold moisture in just fine, but they really don't prevent gas exchange, and I'm not sure they're truly able to stand the test of time. Tins are best. Jars are a close second. The special high barrier bags we used for a while for our 8oz packaging have several layers, each designed to be impenetrable to a different sort of molecule. I've conducted extended tests with this material, and am satisfied that the tobacco will age nearly, if not as well as in the tins, at least for the short term. They are only slightly evacuated to facilitate packing and sealing. For best long-term aging, though, I still recommend tins.
Q: I've read about heating the tobacco in a microwave. Is this a good idea?
In a word, NO. Heating tobacco that you like is not a good idea, as it will change the character of the blend. Blenders do it in specifically controlled ways - stoving, panning, steaming - to alter the characteristics of the leaf before, and sometimes after blending. But, if you like the way the tobacco "comes together" now, you may be less than happy if you nuke it. In some cases, you might notice an improvement, in others, the result will be anything but satisfactory. Further, there just is no reason to do this. Sterilize your jars, fill them up, and put the caps on. What purpose will heating serve? The jars will seal fine without the "pop" of the slight vacuum that results from cooling.
Q: So, I've opened an aged tin. Now what?
A: This is a little tricky. Once the seal of the tin is broken, the delicate balance present in that little ecosystem is permanently altered. You can't go back! So, once that tin is open, either smoke its contents fairly quickly, or transfer it to air-tight containers, like bail-top canning jars. The aging process from this point on will be different, but the tobacco will remain in fine condition for your enjoyment as long as it's kept in good condition. (The plastic lids on my tins will keep the tobacco in find shape for anywhere from a couple weeks to a few months, depending on the ambient temperature and humidity. Just keep an eye on it!) This is the reason, by the way, that I cellar 2-oz tins, rather than the 8-oz ones. Once I open that tin, I want to smoke its contents as quickly as possible to get the maximum enjoyment from my years of patience. It's like a fine wine - cellar it for a long time, but drink it fairly quickly.
Q: What about plastic bags, like zip-locks?
A: While plastic bags can form a reasonably good barrier to moisture, keeping the tobacco ready to smoke, the polyethylene that is used for most plastic bags is quite permeable to gasses. You can smell tobacco through the bags, after a time, and all that "aroma" that's getting out is stuff that you really want to keep in! For my 8-oz bags, I use a high-barrier film that forms a barrier to both water and gasses. These will not only keep the tobacco at the perfect smoking moisture, but will also allow aging to take place. This just won't happen with plastic bags, even those that are used with kitchen heat-sealing machines. For short term, like keeping an ounce around for smoking, plastic bags are fine. For long term storage, fuggedaboutit.
Q: Which of your blends are best suited for aging?
A: I design all my blends with aging in mind. Barbary Coast, being based on Burley, is probably the blend that will benefit least from long cellaring, though the flavors WILL continue to meld over several years, and there's enough Virginia leaf, as well as perique, to afford some significant change. The cigar leaf in Robusto may peak after 5-7 years, but the Virginias and oriental leaf will continue to develop increased complexity. All the rest will improve for 10, 20, 30, 40 years or even longer. Ask me again at the turn of the next century...
 
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