Hearth & Home Chatham Manor

The original Carter Hall is fairly nutty, earthy, woody with some molasses and a touch of cocoa, and a mild vanilla, bourbon taste that come from toppings. Chatham Manor, which is a Match for CH, is more chocolate/vanilla-ish, a little less nutty with about the same amount of molasses, wood and earth. I think there’s just a little more earthy, woody, tangy dark fruity red Virginia in the CM. Both have the same toppings: light bourbon and vanilla. Both burn cool, well and even with some relights, though CH needs more than CM does. Sometimes, there can be a cigarette note in CH when puffed too fast, as well as a chemical note. Neither is true of Chatham Manor. Both have a mild nic-hit. CM's taste and strength levels are just past the center of mild to medium. Those aspects in CH are mild. Neither will bite the smoker. Overall, while a mildly close Match in a couple of respects, Chatham Manor has a little richer, deeper, more consistent flavor that doesn’t weaken at the finish. Often, Carter Hall will lose some flavor near the end, and if puffed very fast, could sport a harsh note or two. None of that doesn’t happen with this version as the taste is consistent from first light to last puff. Leaves a little less moisture in the bowl than CH does with a more pleasant, short lived after taste and room note.

I rated Carter Hall at three stars.

-JimInks

Carter Hall is my daily puff, until now. What I like about Carter is it burns easy, no fuss. I can mow the lawn, go hiking, be active and not have to worry about fiddling with it. I also just plain like the taste. What I don't like about Carter is it gets cigarette ashy toward the bottom of the bowl and my wife does not like the after roomnote. Chatham does all the good I like about Carter without the negatives. It is not a Carter clone, nor do I think it would be a great general mixer, but it is as close as I have ever found... And I have looked! This is due to one other negative of Carter, the chemical notes in it. This came out very clear when I cracked open a mason jar at six months with Carter in it, first thing to hit my nose was not the usual Carter smell but chemical off gassing. Chatham does not do this. Now Chatham is a bit, only a bit, more sweet, maybe in a light chocolate sense, than Carter. It fades a bit through the bowl but can be found in relights near the end. You certainly can tell the quality of the tobacco is better. I'm glad that H&H came up with this blend. Yeah I can be happy with Carter, but I am very happy with this!

Russ O. sure must be having fun with these match blends. I always appreciated the old Carter Hall for what it was and this one actually ratchets up the quality and flavor of what I remember from that old classic. I see where some reviewers are calling the top note chocolate like. I got more of a Cocoa sort of flavor along with a much more nutty taste. The cut was a little larger than CH, and burns slowly considering the contents. Well done match, right here!

Various browns in a ribbon cut with a subtle nose of chocolate and basic tobacco. As someone who found Carter Hall mildly offensive, I wasn't all that excited to try this large sample sent by a friend and CH expert. But I was interested, as Russ had recently discontinued Angler's Dream, a tobacco that I felt was the finest OTC-style tobacco in existence.

The topping in this one was a bit subdued as compared to CH and based on my faulty memory. It wasn't the chocolate topping in CH that bothered me, it was... something else, but I can't say what. This one started out like a basic OTC with a nutty and slightly sweet flavor but did not go ashy and cigarette-ish down the bowl. In the tradition of Virginia-based tobaccos, it actually improved! It got a bit sweeter, richer and more "there". I thought it was my imagination until the aforementioned expert confirmed that he was having the same experience. This one never got complex, but that's not the point of OTC's anyway. It's just a good tobacco-y flavor with some mild chocolate and a fair bit of nuttiness with just enough sweetness to know you're smoking something that was blended with care and expertise. This has replaced Angler's Dream as the finest OTC-style tobacco I've ever smoked and is absolutely perfect for those times I look at all my tobacco jars and can't decide what to smoke. This always satisfies, and not just a nicotine craving. It has depth of flavor that regular OTC's never seem to have, along with a down to earth flavor that is never boring but never too attention-getting. Great for multi-tasking. Good job, Russ! More tubs on the way!

A friend from Texas offered to send me a sample of Chatham Manor. He sent a Texas-sized sample - 8 oz! I am 15 or 16 bowls into the CM experience.

In terms of a match, I think it is a 2.5 or maybe even a 2. The CM is milder and there is less topping. I always got just a little bitter taste with the CH, and the topping is a fairly distinctive trace of bourbon and a sweet that might be just a little brown sugar. With CM, the smoke is milder, and more mellow. I don't identify specific flavors in the topping.

I don't think it is a very good match, but it is a very good smoke if you are not expecting to be reminded of CH. The pouch note is cocoa. It burns well and is an easy smoke. It is mild on mild with a nutty tobacco flavor and a little cocoa in the taste too. It comes at a great price point.

I have a GBD pot that just rocks with CM. In codger style, I smoked it three times in a row with CM and did not dissemble to clean. It was still rocking at the end of bowl three.

All of this is very good. This is another one of those OTC-style tobaccos you wish you could get OTC. It is a solid 3.5. I will buy a tub of it when I am finished with the sample.

I smoked CM and CH back to back all weekend and I prefer CH. CH has more bourbon evident in the topping, CM more chocolate. I like the bourbon. While the tobaccos in CM have a little more body, I prefer the flavors of the tobaccos in CH. CH is nuttier and sweeter. All in all CM is close, very close, to matching CH, but doesn't quite pull it off to my taste buds. It's still a very good smoke.

Mild to medium in body. Mild in flavoring. Mild to medium in flavor. Burns perfectly. Smooth with no bite.

**2/7/2016 Ok guys so I have aged half the CM in a ball jar for exactly one year and if you liked the fresh CM, wait till you try some with a year on it. Smoother, Virginia a tad sweeter and she dried out some to the perfect level. Loving this stuff!**

I just love P&C since they always have great specials that keep me entertained weekly and also keep me updated on all the new goings on in the pipe world. When I read in an email that Russ had recreated some age old blends using top shelf leaf and keeping the price down I was ready to jump on them but I waited for a couple of reviews to order. Our own Bugenhagen left a great review and I was intrigued, the TAD itch had gotten me... Well Chatham Manor lives up to the refinement of the blend it was designed to replicate possesses. I actually like the tin aroma flavor better than Carter Hall since it is more brown sugar / Cocoa than Carter (but very very restrained) this is not an aromatic by any stretch. Ribbon cut but not thin ribbon so that keeps the heat down and you can tell it contains very good quality leaf at first open, the total opposite of say opening a Walgreens Golden Burley bag and knowing although it may taste good, the leaf looks and feels cheap, Chatham Manor screams high class OTC and regardless of price I would still order Chatham and actually prefer it to CH. I plan on ordering the others of the Mid-Town series and am very excited to try the Prince Albert and Sugar Barrel replica's. Great idea Russ and I sure do appreciate taking the gamble and creating these blends!! Between Chatham, Prince Albert and Storm Front I have my entire week set during the working hours, later in the evening I prefer a more stout mixture but for driving around or puttering Chatham can't be beat. So delicious and refreshing that a modern blender created a Vintage OTC our grandpas would be super proud of and satisfied, that's a mark of excellence! O by the way I split the tub into two large ball jars, one to age and one to dip my fingers in, that way I can see what 6 months does to Chatham and the tub would dry out eventually but my ball jar is only 7 ounces... Best in a medium sized cob, say Washington or Country Gentleman, I tried every shape and these were the best.

So there I am glancing back and forth at all the 4 star reviews of Hearth and Home blends, and a pipes and cigars catalog with a pic of the Mid-Town series of blends and thinking: "I like Carter Hall; should I try this Chatham Manor?"

Figuring that so many good reviews of other blends signals a general high quality to this brand, I figured I'd take a shot. Then, when I saw the price, I pulled the trigger.

I'm glad I did. When I opened the canister the aroma was round with a deep but subtle sweetness and fruitiness. Whatever the aromatic topping is, it is subtle and only enhances and supports the tobacco flavors.

Chatham Manor is mostly burley with a little Virginia, and that deeply fruity mellow topping. Smells old fashioned in a good way.

It is a ribbon cut that packs easily, lights easily, stays lit, and smokes at a good clip.

The topping doesn't interfere with with the tobacco flavor but supports it and brings it out.

Chatham Manor tastes nutty, round, and sweetish right down to the bottom of the bowl with no real dottle. A mild and simple smoke; a great all day blend; a pleasant change of pace from heavier blends. I really enjoyed it.

How does it compare with Carter Hall? Hard to say without having some CH on hand to compare, but if memory serves, it delivers the same goods as CH, but a bit different. Chatham Manor compares to CH the way Lane 1Q compares to Captain Black (more refined).

Update (August 2015): After enjoying CM off and on for half a year or so (half way through my second tub) I still stand by my review, and still love this neo-OTC blend. On the difference between Chatham Manor and Carter Hall, I would have to say that CM is chocolatier, but not annoyingly so; AND that smooth 'breadiness' of Carter Hall is more muted in CM.

Bugenhagen

Let's just cut to the chase. This stuff is great. Buy it. If you are the type of piper that is obsessed with codger blends and wants to constantly have a cob in their mouth, buy the tub.

Seriously, this stuff delivers. It's the ultimate dont think about it blend. Driving, in the shop, at the park, with morning coffee or tea. This stuff is great and goes well with everything.

Taste is nutty cocoa and delicious burley tobacco. Just typing this review is making me crave a bowl!

Hearth & Home - Chatham Manor (Mid-Town Series).

I haven't smoked Carter Hall for years, so can't draw comparisons, but this is a fine smoke! Although it's flavoured it has enough spice to satisfy the veteran; IMO!

It's a mid-brown ribbon with a slightly aromatic aroma and PERFECT hydration. So, the hydration aids easy ignition!

The two toppings compliment the tobaccos nicely. Strange, rather than bourbon or vanilla I get more of sweet, creamy, calm whisky flavour; very nice! This flavour works wonders atop of the rugged, Burley driven tobaccos. The ONLY thing to perturb me is the bite; I get more than a 'nip'! But, that said, the flavour from Chatham' is lovely! The burn from C.M. can't be questioned.

Nicotine: above mild. Room-note: nice.

Chatham Manor? Just enough toppings to enhance yet not subconrad the smoke. Sure, I get a little bite, but it deserves four stars:

Highly recommended.