Sutliff and H&H Mid-Town Tubs.

I've seen some debate in various places about how well the seals on the Sutliff and H&H Mid-Town tubs will keep the tobacco fresh. Since I have several of those kinds of tubs in my "cellar", I decided to investigate the subject. I opened up a tub of Edward G. Robinson's Pipe Blend and Heine's Blend. The EGR is several years old, possibly six years. The Heine's Blend was tubbed in 2012. Both still had a good moisture, especially the EGR. I detected no change in the flavor or color of the Heine's Blend tobacco. The EGR was mostly dark with a very minute amount of burley colored strands as contrast, unlike how it is when freshly made (you see the burley very prominently then). The flavor of EGR was mostly the same, though it seems to have lost just a tad of red wine sweetness, and is slightly more tart than it is in recent tins and tubs. The burley seems just a shade more obvious.

I had some doubts about the effectiveness of the seals long term, and as the same seals are used in current manufactures, I feel more comfortable about them than I had before. I hope this experience helps those who also question the subject.