Jim's H&H Viprati Review

[tennsmoker]

I follow a general rule when preparing to order a tobacco I have yet to try: I see what Jiminks thinks. If he hasn't reviewed it yet, I wait until he does before I order.
I find that Jim's reviews are far and away better than most, even those in a national publication, which I won't mention here.
Why are Jim's reviews better? He cuts to the chase and gives you the tobacco's details, as if you are right there with him as he deciphers the various leaf ingredients. No fancy flights of metaphors or long-winded sound-offs. Just plain good English that gets straight to the point.
I very much appreciate the time Jim takes to tell us his thoughts on tobacco. As far as I'm concerned he is the muse of the reviews and I follow his advice religiously.

 

[blendtobac]

Yes, Luigi Viprati had smoked the blend and likes it. Luigi is a friend and he allowed us to use his name, but there's no endorsement fee involved. He's just a nice guy.
Russ

 

[JimInks]

Tennsmoker: m'lady said we need to include you in our will!! I blush at the glowing compliment. Thank you. I try to be concise in my writing whether it's for professional work or for fun, e.g. tobacco reviews. I like to get to the point. You also have to thank Mickey Spillane. Years ago, I was sitting at a bar with Spillane, and he said it was a mistake to over write scenes. "If Mike Hammer is going to the door of a suspect's house, nobody cares what kind of wood the door is made of or what the handle looks like. The reader wants to know what happens when Hammer goes inside." I never forgot that advice.

 

[arturo]

First tin just arrived this week. Have yet to light up a bowl, but in the meantime, I'm amazed there's no flavoring added. The component tobaccos bring ridiculous amounts of chocolate, leather and cherry to the party.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Rusininv (Tim) was gracious to offer to send me a sample and I was astounded to open the package and see two full tins of Viprati. I am enjoying a bowl now. I am still finding my way around the flavour elements, but it is fairly stout, in a good way.
I was wondering if anyone know the percentage content of perique in this blend?

 

[darwin]

A half dozen bowls in on Viprati and it's a winner no question, indeed it's a contender with Escudo for a place in the rotation. Perfect smoking moisture right out of a fresh tin which is certainly not the case normally with the immortal shield. Perhaps minutely less spicy than the big E but in general a beautifully balanced mixture. Will be ordering more.

 

[ravkesef]

I can only echo what others have said. Jim always hits the nail on the head, and you know what a tobacco is going to taste like just from reading Jim's review. More to the point, if you're interested in component identification, just read Jim's review as you're smoking a blend, and you'll be able to pick out the taste of Kentucky, Virginia, and even the variations within Virginia. Latakia, of course, is always easy to identify, but some of the other ones are not. How many of us, for example, can identify the taste of Yenidje?

 

[phred]

Hah! This time, I don't have to add to my "someday I'll buy some of this" list - I've already got a tin, just waiting for an open spot in my rotation. :D

 

[sablebrush52]

How many of us, for example, can identify the taste of Yenidje?

I can. Do I get a gold star?

 

[mackeson]

a bit of a necro resurrection, but I thought it better to add to Jim's eloquence rather than stumble through my own review.
I love VAPers, and have a few favorites, but this may take priority in my rotation. I was gifted a tin by my secret santa and have been enjoying this immensely for the last few days. Plummy is an understatement. I get quite a bit of dried fruit and would consider this the best fruity aromatic out there even though it's a non aro with the fruit coming naturally from the perique and VA. I get some vanilla also and a little of the woodiness that Jim mentioned in his review. This is one of the fullest bodied, and most satisfying VAPers I've ever had. Thanks Santa!

 

[blendtobac]

Mackeson, I appreciate your comments. I've put together a fair number of Virginia/Perique blends, and I love the genre, but for some reason, Viprati really resonates with me. I'm constantly revisiting my blends for quality control purposes, but I always have a tin of Viprati in my backpack.
Russ