One of the long-running themes on NJBS since we started in 2019 has been an interest in exploring how aging cigars and tobaccos impacts the experience of the blend. Whenever I can, I love to compare aged tobaccos side by side, and I recently had an opportunity to do just that with one of my favorite pipe tobacco blends: Barbary Coast from G.L. Pease. For this review, I smoked a 2oz. tin that was as “new” as you can get, being tinned in January 2025, and an 8oz. tin closing in on 6 years of age that was tinned in May 2019. Both tins were unopened before this review. I smoked each of these side by side using Savinelli 320 pipes.

Tin from January, 2025:

Cracking open the tin, I get notes of fig, fruit, nuts, cocoa and a soft boozy sweetness. The tobacco is a little damp. Takes a bit to get started because it is moist, but once it is going, it is good.

Right off the bat, I get nutty, figgy, stewed fruits, and raisin notes, with a pepper spice in retrohale. The finish is dried fruits, cocoa, and walnut and a deep blueberry-like sweetness under it all. In the back half of the bowl, : Nuts, chocolate, black pepper in retrohale. Creamier at the end with cocoa and walnut, earthy.

Tin from May, 2019:

The tin note of the aged tin presented with stone fruits, nuts, figs, and raisins. The tobacco was at a perfect humidity and packed easily and lit right up. There is a deeper sweetness to it, with notes of stone fruits, dark cocoa, and raisin. There is some nuttiness as well but I smell it more than taste it. The retrohale is earth and peppery. The finish is deep, creamy, with cocoa and a hint of nuttiness. Halfway down the bowl, the nuttiness is more apparent on the palate now. The flavors become notably darker and sweeter, yet creamy at the same time. There is a little pepper on the palate, and more pepper in retrohale. For the first time a get hints of blueberry sweetness on finish along with earth, fig, and raisin.

Final Thoughts:

Aging has some notable effects on Barbary Coast. There is a smoky quality to it as well that was not in the new tin. The blueberry sweetness that is very prominent in the new tin was not there much in the aged until the end. While the blend retains its core profile, 68 months of aging presents a deeper and darker profile that is very enjoyable. It is still, “Barbary Coast,” but It is more earthy, and is more nuanced and subtle in its presentation than when right out of the factory. I cannot say that I have the necessary self-control to wait 5 or 6 years before opening another January 2025 tin, I can say I would be well rewarded if I did.