PCA Magazine 2022 Show Issue

48 PCA The Magazine | VOLUME 2 2022 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG BY WI LL I AM C . NELSON The Pipe | I Dating Tins: A Real Value Added I LIKE SEEING A DATE ON ANY TIN OF PIPE TOBACCO I BUY, ALWAYS AND EVER. I’d go so far as to say that finding a lack of any dating information on a tin is a genuine demerit. It leaves a sour taste on this buyer’s palate before the top is ever cracked open. Given popular interest in cellaring tobaccos, would it have killed themanufacturer to stamp a date on the tin? Tobacco is an agricultural commodity. Nomatter the leaf variety, its characteristics change over time in the tin. Virginias in particular are given to improvement with age, but even if the tobacco is a presumably timeless Burley, I want that date ; and as a consumer I feel no obligation to justify feeling this way. Come to think of it, I don’t like Merchants should consider tracking tin dates in their inventory software. Customers will be grateful. buying food products with no date stamped on them, either. There is a reason why discerning pipe smokers have, since time immemorial, been dating their tins with permanent markers as soon as they get themhome. Knowing the age of the tobacco tells the serious hobbyist a great deal about what kind of experience they can expect from the product. In addition, attendees at pipe shows can attest that clear dating also serves a vital function in setting value in the