1992 Amphora Cesare Borgia

[omowasu]

I had my first pipe back in 1991, and at that time had purchased several tins of tobacco for long-term storage. Two of them were the Amphora Cesare Borgia, a venerable aromatic that was pulled from the market in the late 1990's. The first tin had been smoked intermittently throughout the last few years, but the second tin remained intact. This second tin was to be cracked, rehydrated if needed, and fired up in a Molina 1/2 bent rusticated pipe today:



This tobacco provided some very interesting insight on aging aromatics. Upon opening the tin, the tobacco retained the sweet floral odor of the CB, but there was visible leaching of oils and casings into the paper surrounding the tin. The 'baccy was a little dry, but not too dry, so I packed up and lit.

The taste had changed significantly over the time sitting in rest. The initial strong/harsh notes of the original smoke were all but gone. The remaining tastes were mild and sweet with absolutely no tongue bite. But for some reason, I think I may have preferred the Cesare in its original form - that initial bite provided more taste and a little more vitamin N. After aging, the Vitamin N was minimal, and bite was nonexistent. I smoked the whole thing anyway, it was an excellent tobacco whose loss I lament every time I open a tin.

So, this has me thinking about aging 'baccys - is it worth it for cased/aromatic tobaccos? Has anyone else noticed a decline in strength when aromatics were aged? Anyone else try Cesare at some point?