First impressions of several Hearth & Home blends

[990rick]

I have sampled five H&H blends so far and here are my first impressions. Virginia Stroll is too hot on the tongue for me. Virginia Spice is better, but it seems to lack complexity. Burley Kake and Anniversary Kake. Burley Kake is very sweet-tasting (I'm not a big fan of sweet) and its overall flavor reminds me of Perique. I love Perique as an undertone, but this Perique-like flavor as the most forward impression doesn't do it for me. I think some will really like it. Just not me. The Anniversary Kake is very tasty. The AJ's Vaper is the best of the bunch so far. Very tasty, not too bitey. I think I'm going to mess around with adding a bit of one of the Virginia blends to this one as I'd like a bit more brightness, but this is a tobacco blend I will buy in bulk. The last blend in my H&H sampler is Larry's blend. I'll be smoking that this afternoon and will add to this review then.
Overall I think H&H does a good job of producing very distinct blends. This naturally means that they will each appeal to certain selective palates. So far I haven't found anything that is as satisfying as my own hybrid blend of Dunhill 965, IQ and mild Burley with a touch of Perique, but I know there's a natural, preservative free blend possible that will give me the enjoyment of my hybrid without the added preservative. And I'll just keep sampling till I find it.

 

[unclearthur]

Larry's is one of the best English blends around in my ain't no way humble opinion. Russ whipped up a major goodie there.

 

[hobie1dog]

You should really enjoy Larry's Blend ::

 

[admin]

I like the H&H blends a lot too. I love Larry's Blend and a bunch of others.

 

[990rick]

Just finished my first half bowl of Larry's. I agree with the above, it's a truly fine smoke. And I found that it got better as I got further into the bowl. Very interesting. Also, it seems much heavier on the Latakia than I would have thought I'd enjoy, but this is definitely a keeper. I need to smoke some Dunhill 965 to see why this blend reminds me of it even though it's different.

 

[admin]

In addition to Larry's Blend, I also like Old Tartan, Old Companion, Anniversary Kake, Trout Stream, Louisiana Red, Sunjammer, and Lakeland Brickle.
Grandma's Kitchen was too heavy on the Burley for me, but if you like heavy Burley, this will be a good one for you.

 

[mattia76]

Has anyone tried Sweet and Savory yet? I just ordered some tins and I CAN'T WAIT!

I'm a long-time fan of Anniversary Kake and Trout Stream though.

 

[admin]

@mattia76

Has anyone tried Sweet and Savory yet?

I have a tin, but haven't opened it yet. I should do so soon.
I am smoking Trout Stream right now and it is an awesome sweet flavorful aromatic.

 

[connolse]

990rick, if you are a fan of 965, I would suggest trying Hearth and Home Sunjammer, which is an 'homage' (not a copy or match as such) to 965. It's a sort of sweet English blend.

 

[romeowood]

I sampled Sweet & Savory at the NY pipe show, and found it good, though not particularly to my taste--it is definitely the most aptly named blend in the line, though. I'm a HUGE fan of Anniversary Kake, my favorite VaPer so far.

 

[igloo]

If you can not say anything nice , well you get my point .

 

[tgjone]

@ mattie 76:

I got a sample of Sweet and Savory at the Chicago show. I was very surprised! Must be the blend of Orientals. It just really jumped out at me. Very complex tastes and flavors, a nice sweetness. The pouch aroma made me think I wouldn't like it, but gave it a try and was very pleased. And that's after only one or two pipes! May have to order some of this!
Cheers!
tj

 

[loborx]

I really like Louisiana Red. When I first got it, it was a little "young" and it wanted to bite. It also came in the ziploc bag a bit dry. I dumped it into an empty candy jar and let it sit for a couple of years. Recently, I re-humidified it with a moist wad of paper towel stuffed up in the top of the candy jar. Holy crap is it good now! Perfect moisture level. A sweet, pleasant stewed prunes aroma in the jar and a cool, spicy sweet smoke in the bowl. Burns clean to a dull grey ash and no dottle. If you have the patience to let it age a while you get rewarded with, IMHO, one of the great VaPers around today.
I'm working a bag of C&D Crooner the same way in another candy jar and the results look promising.

 

[cortezattic]

Here's what I think of Sweet & Savory :clap:

 

[clanobucklin]

Hearth and Home Blends totally Rock!
My favorites our:

Lakeland Brickle - very unique

Sweet and Savory - a nice early day latakia blend

Anniversary Kake - tastes like a spicy chocolate cake

Klassic Burley Kake ;-) Old Fashioned doesn't get much better!!! Comparable to Rich's Grandpas

VA Spice - beautiful blend with a hint of cigar leaf

Steam Roller - when I want a nicotine blast
Haven't tried Larry's blend - will put that on the list

 

[haroldt]

H&H "Vermont Meat Candy" is wonderful and truly smells like bacon cooking. I love it. Burns well and carries flavor to the end.

 

[whiteydoughton]

Really haroldt, Bacon? I am so gettin some!!

 

[doctorthoss]

I think H&H's two best blends are Magnum Opus and Fusilier's Ration, both of which are fairly strong latakia blends (we used to say Balkans, but that term seems to be falling out of vogue). Magnum Opus is an exceptionally complex blend that focuses heavily on orientals other than lat (although some of the Cyprian is in there), while Fusilier's Ration was inspired by the old Bengal Slices blend.

I've been impressed by most of Russ Outlette's blends, even when they don't hit my personal sweet spot. Anniversary Cake and Larry's Blend are modern day classics with large followings, and no matter how much Classic Burley Cake I have cellared I'm always afraid I will run out LOL.

Thanks for the reviews!

 

[whiteydoughton]

Latakia and Balkan are the same thing? This I did not know but I am so new to this. Our local shop doesn't sell tinned tobacco and I have yet to try online shopping. with that said, I do try his bulk stuff like: Virginia Flake/Perique, Virginia Red Flake, Oriental Express, Balkan Sunrise. To be honest I don't know what I am smoking - I just know I am enjoying all these very much. I would however, like to know the 'Tinned' variants and start online shopping. There's so many, I find it overwhelming and back out.

 

[phred]

Latakia and Balkan are the same thing?

Not quite - Bob Tate did an article on this a while back that you can find here: The Mystery of Balkan Blends
He did a similar article on the confusion between the term "English blend", which also tends to refer to Latakia-heavy blends - English Blends and Latakia Blends - One and the Same?
Dig around in the Beginner's forums a little if you need more information on tobacco types - there are a couple of threads on just that topic.