r: I've smoked several different manufactures of Revelation, and even the best one is not as good as Epiphany, though the flavor profile is the very similar. The Revelation Match is pretty good, too. I've smoked versions from the 1950s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
Here's my review of the House of Windsor productions:
I've smoked this a few times, always hoping to change my mind and like it. It has all the elements of a good blend - the kind I should like - but it never did much for me. I didn't care for the toppings. The perique is very mild as is the latakia. I hardly noticed the perique. The rest of the ingredients never seemed to be of high quality. The Virginia and burley were less sweeter than expected, with very little nuttiness and earth, though the Va. was a kind of grassy. Overall, I found it very dull and disappointing. It's not awful, just more boring than it should be. It tended to smoke hot and harsh near the finish with a cardboard hit. Maybe the Philip Morris version that Albert Einstein smoked was better, but I never tried it, and can only go by what I smoked.
Edit 10-14-2015: Recently, I was fortunate enough to try the 1950s Philip Morris version and another batch of the HoW version from the 1980s. The '50s version had most of the virtues of my original review, though the topping and latakia had faded some with time. Even still, it was better than the HoW versions I cited, and I give that three stars.
However, the HoW version I was gifted is a big improvement from the earlier HoW versions I have smoked. The latakia had some smoky woody strength in a supporting role, and was not dulled by time. The perique was a minor player, with spice and plum. The Virginia was grassy, citrus sweet. The burley was nutty, and a little earthy. The fruity topping is pleasantly sweet, slightly tangy. There's some spice here that I have noticed in other HoW products that doesn't come from perique, so it must be the way one of the components was manufactured. Burned well, reasonably cool, though it needed to be sipped a little, and left a dry bowl.
It is common knowledge that HoW had severe quality control problems by the end of the 1990s, and into the 2000s before they ceased production in 2004. This version I have been smoking obviously came from one of the good batches, and I award it three stars. I'm leaving my overall rating at two stars because with HoW, you never know what you will get when you find a vintage tin.
Here's my review of the House of Windsor productions:
I've smoked this a few times, always hoping to change my mind and like it. It has all the elements of a good blend - the kind I should like - but it never did much for me. I didn't care for the toppings. The perique is very mild as is the latakia. I hardly noticed the perique. The rest of the ingredients never seemed to be of high quality. The Virginia and burley were less sweeter than expected, with very little nuttiness and earth, though the Va. was a kind of grassy. Overall, I found it very dull and disappointing. It's not awful, just more boring than it should be. It tended to smoke hot and harsh near the finish with a cardboard hit. Maybe the Philip Morris version that Albert Einstein smoked was better, but I never tried it, and can only go by what I smoked.
Edit 10-14-2015: Recently, I was fortunate enough to try the 1950s Philip Morris version and another batch of the HoW version from the 1980s. The '50s version had most of the virtues of my original review, though the topping and latakia had faded some with time. Even still, it was better than the HoW versions I cited, and I give that three stars.
However, the HoW version I was gifted is a big improvement from the earlier HoW versions I have smoked. The latakia had some smoky woody strength in a supporting role, and was not dulled by time. The perique was a minor player, with spice and plum. The Virginia was grassy, citrus sweet. The burley was nutty, and a little earthy. The fruity topping is pleasantly sweet, slightly tangy. There's some spice here that I have noticed in other HoW products that doesn't come from perique, so it must be the way one of the components was manufactured. Burned well, reasonably cool, though it needed to be sipped a little, and left a dry bowl.
It is common knowledge that HoW had severe quality control problems by the end of the 1990s, and into the 2000s before they ceased production in 2004. This version I have been smoking obviously came from one of the good batches, and I award it three stars. I'm leaving my overall rating at two stars because with HoW, you never know what you will get when you find a vintage tin.
