If you’re reading this and you’re somewhat new to pipes, there’s a better than average chance you’ve smoked cigars before and you had to see what you were missing… Even if that’s not you, the subject at hand is one worth knowing and understanding. Like cigars, pipe tobacco requires attention to temperature and relative humidity (RH) conditions. While it too is organoleptic, maturing with time and stable conditions like cigars, pipe tobacco is a bit more forgiving when it comes to it RH requirements. Because cigars are rolled strategically with specific varieties placed intentionally in a specific locations within the cigar, they age and marry flavors with their nearest and most closely nested leaves. Pipe tobaccos are blended such that all component tobaccos are dispersed equally throughout the mixture. As such, they age together in harmony.
Pipe tobaccos are also less fragile, as there is no requisite mandate to keep a delicate wrapper or binder from cracking in drier conditions that could ruin a fine cigar. And for most pipe smokers, pipe tobacco is smoked at a lower RH than that of cigars. And while the optimal RH is a subject of much debate and opinion, we will for the sake of this discussion call it 62-65%. Pipe tobaccos sealed at or near this range can be aged almost indefinitely. Cigars are most commonly aged in humidors lined with Spanish Cedar, which not only helps hold a stable RH level, but also adds complimentary flavors and aromas to the aging tobaccos. Pipe tobacco is most commonly aged in the tins they were packaged and sealed in when they were sold. Many will open these tins and enjoy them a little at a time, re-sealing the remainder of the contents into Mason jars, storing them in a dark, cool place, where the absence of air movement allows the essential oils and flavors to continue marrying together even longer.
Some would even argue that a forgotten or otherwise dried out pipe tobacco can be reconstituted by dampening it with a distilled water-soaked paper towel. Being convinced of this would require me to let some dry out to that point…I haven’t yet and I don’t intend to do so. At least not on purpose. I suppose if the need ever arises, I’ll try it out and write about it here.
Finally, we’ll address the matter of moisture presence in the tobacco when you smoke it. You’ve probably seen pipe smokers set out a bowlful and leave it in the open air to dry for a few minutes (or even a few hours) in a drying tray before smoking it. 
Pressed cakes and cut flake tobacco blends that require rubbing out into a consistency that can be loaded into the pipe chamber for smoking usually contain more intrinsic moisture that needs to dry before being burned. How much? Therein truly lies a matter of taste and preference. Since the flavors of the tobacco are carried to the palate by both the steam from its burning and by the smoke itself, the personal preference of the smoker reigns supreme. A wetter smoke will tend to have more tongue bite, even if it is a little cooler. A drier smoke will burn a bit hotter and can sometimes deliver spicier notes to both the palate and olfactory sensors. My suggestion: try drying it from zero..to a little…to a lot. You’ll soon know just exactly how you prefer it and will get to where you can feel its point of perfection with your fingers when you pinch the tobacco to fill your bowl. And when it comes to a matter of personal preference, there’s only one right answer: yours. Cheers!
—Danny Jackson