I’ve tried searching, but apparently I can’t find any decent information on the topic. It seems hard to believe no one has asked this before, so if there are threads on the topic, please bear with me and redirect me towards those. I discovered snuff a few months ago and i’ve really taken a liking to it. Like pipesmoking, I enjoy purchasing and consuming a variety of blends, but I don’t pinch often enough to go through tins quite as fast as a lot of the members of this forum seem to so I worry it will dry out and lose their scent. This has already happened to me with a couple of snuffs that came in those horrid tap-boxes. Now: How will open tins last? I gather the ones from Toque with their threaded and closed cell foam backed tops will probably be good for quite a while while the WoS seem to be very, very leak-prone. In you experience, how long can you keep snuff in the original tins without it drying out and losing its mojo? Which begs the second question… If snuff can’t be kept in tins for the long term, how do you store smaller quantities of snuff (<25g) so that it’ll last as long as it takes for you to consume it? I’ve read everywhere that airtight glass jars are the best option, but it seems to me there would be a ridiculous proportion of air inside even the smallest jars if one were to store the contents of a 10g tin… I suppose one could dump several tins inside the same airtight jar (so long as they are similarly scented, ya know, keeping Toque C&B away from G&H English Rose…) but i’m not sure this is the best method either… Please, englighten me with your knowledge! Are we slow snuffers condemned to sniff through one tin at a time? I guess i’m going through less than a gram a day. At that pace, the 500g bulk quantities some of you buy would last me two years!
What I do is empty out a few grams from a 25g tin into an empty 10g Toque tin or a smaller amount into a snuff box. I wrap the 25g tin in kitchen wrap and place the wrapped tin into a ziplock baggie. These bagged tins are kept in an airtight cannister. I decant into the smaller containers as needed. I haven’t had a 25g tin dry out on me yet.
@Kaboom I’ve found a couple things that work for smaller quantities. One is those plastic screw top pill carriers theyhave at walmart for something like 25 cents a piece. Get the dark blue ones so they keep out the light better. I have some Crumbs of Comfort in one of those from early January that still makes the whole room smell like Wrigleys Gum when I open it. The other option, especially with WoS snuffs is to put electrical tape back around the seal like it was when you got it. Also, I would steer clear of the tapbox altogether. Very convenient, but for a slow sniffer the contents therein are pretty much condemned.
I’m lucky, don’t mind dry as dust. But there are ones that demand decanting into glass or the tin will corrode or rust, and some like Ozona Orange that have just started tasting rotten with age, and some that will mold unless kept frozen or refrigerated like some of the artisan snuffs…
http://www.freundcontainer.com/wide-mouth-packer-glass-bottles/p/v4232B07/ I use # 4235B03 I peel the labels off the top of tins with a little heat added to the underside and stick them to the bottles. The plastic tubs I use a blow dryer to heat them up to remove labels and stick them to the jars. if needed i use a little white glue. when closing the lids I gently blow some hot breath into the jars removing the oxygen and adding some humidity at the same time for water based snuff. dry snuffs keep well just with the lids tight. I had great success with these bottles keeping my snuff fresh and flavorful as the day I decanted them. Best investment I had made. I plan on making several wall racks to display and easy access; but currently I just put them in the shipping box and mark the boxes with the manufacturer name.
i do the same as @basement_shaman , and it works great! I currently keep my bottles in tupperware but will also make some kind of rack or cabinet for them, at some point. I use two sizes- 1oz for snuffs up to 12.5 grams and 2oz for 15-25grams tins ( majority of what i have ). Larger amounts I use a couple of 2oz jars but I think for bulk purchases- 4oz or 8 oz jars would be better.
@jmahes I use the 8oz for pipe tobacco cellaring 100g in a jar. Just open a 3 year old jar and the tobacco was still fresh and moist.
@basement_shaman that sounds good. I only have a couple of bulkies, but as I acquire more I think the 8 oz will be my choice as well. I love the consistency of the the jars too- looks really nice all lined up and neat. I use the same technique with getting labels- heat gun on low and they just peel off!
8 and 16 oz Mason Jars for bulk pipe tobacco here. Also heavy ziplock mylar food storage bags for 1 lb. Flakes, they keep well in them and are less hassle.
I keep mine in small glass kilners… then run a wet finger across the top when I have spooned out the days snuff… Works a treat… I have found no benifiet of keeping snuff in a fridge here in the UK, A kilner jar is a cool dark cupboard does the trick
Thank you very much for all the excellent advice gentlemen! I think i’m going to start storing them using the individual ziplock baggies + collective airtight container as suggested above. Once I start ordering bulk (If I ever do actually start ordering hundreds of grams at a time…) I’ll definately start looking into individual glass jars to decant into… I have the day off on wednesday, a good part of it will be spent reorganizing and re-storing my small snuff collection.
I know I have mentioned it before, but the Gerber baby food jars work great for 50g. Stash. Keep them out of light and in a cool space and they will keep fresh. Also don’t forget to boil jars and lids in water to kill all bacteria!
Dr Samuel Johnson, the lexicographer and 18th C man of letters, used to store it in his pocket - no tin, no snuff box. He was generally covered in the stuff, said his biographer Boswell, but he may have gone through it fast enough that it never had time to go stale.
I finally gave up on all this storage stuff. I now store my snuff in my nose. Works like a charm and disguises the gray in my moustache rather well.
put aside for rainy day. I am so glad I did. My days would be very gloomy if I had not. I do dread the day when all I have left is bohica ;that will surely be hell