Wonderful, wonderful tobacco. I always get a compliment from a fellow pipe smoker when I light this up. Masterful blend.

Magnum Opus is certainly a bold (and dangerous) name but Russ has the skill to back up the marketing.

The tin aroma has a fresh, almost floral (good floral) bouquet begging you to jump in. I find this to be very well balanced with no single tobacco being a brute toward its fellow components. I will say that the perique is to me almost non-existent, but that may be because I also smoke alot of VaPers and therefore am accustomed to it.

There is no nic hit of consequence which pleases me greatly and burns cleanly to the bottom of the bowl with no fuss.

A very enjoyable smoke and worth exploration and keeping some on hand.

One of the many things I like about this tobacco is when smoked through a well pipe (all I smoke), after a full 45 minute smoke there is 0 moisture in the bowl. It smokes very dry, thus creating a non-burned mouth.

There is a perfect balance of latikiah and Virginia. What can I say, just smoke it and give it the 4 stars it deserves.

*****UPDATE 11/17/2012 I think I finally figured this blend out. It took patience, slow smoking (I tend to hurry), and the right pipe. None of my briars really brought out the fine points of this blend, but once I loaded Magnum Opus into my well-aged Meer, all was well. I finished half a tin in a couple days. Not enough improvement to warrant a fourth star, but it's knocking at the door.

This blend was seriously complex but wasn't brazen about it. The flavor was smoky and dry as opposed to sweet. I can't say I tasted the perique but I'm betting it's a big part of the overall profile. It definitely reminded me of blends from yesteryear but I couldn't determine which ones - John Cotton's #1 and 2, perhaps? But it's been too long since I smoked that one. At any rate, this was a very good blend but I'm not as taken with it as the other reviewers. There was a strong hint of bitterness underneath this offering, and I couldn't get that to go away. I'm also suspicious of blends that work only in briar pipes, and this bitterness was more apparent when smoked in my preferred meerschaum pipes. Briars tended to mute this effect somewhat. While this won't unseat blends in my rotation such as Charing Cross, Exotique or Bishop's Move, this is one I'm going to buy more of to experiment. There were several instances of my wishing there were more latakia, which is something I don't often do. I may try adding some myself.

All this said, there is something about this blend that smacks of blending genius. Like GLP's Abingdon, I may not smoke a lot of it down the road, but do add a 4th star if you're one who loves complexity and true art in tobacco blending.

As others have noted the flavors morph continuously through the bowl in a truely pleasureable way. At different times the various tobaccos come to the forefront but always in perfect harmony with the rest of the flavors. Smoke gently and Magnum Opus sings in subtleties, more aggressively and it plays along with a sturdier presentation and no tendency to bite. A masterfully created blend. I can easily see this becoming a classic.

I feel perplexed by this blend...I can't put my finger on it. But it's definitely one that I have thoroughly enjoy. Definitely plan to have a few tins available.

The first time i tried this blend i liked it, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. Put the tin away for a month and tried a couple more bowls and i was hooked! Smokes great in any pipe. Fantastic all day smoke.

If you have not tried it, do not hesitate to do so!

I have smoked many blends offered by Russ and have been very pleased by many of his offerings.

If you want to dive into the world of English Blends this would be the deep end of the pool. No overload on any one ingredient, no bitterness and a cool clean smoke. The ribbon cut comes fairly dry and packs and lights well. The leaf is top quality and the blend is consistent.

Magnum Opus has surpassed my expectations and is truly in a class by it self! Bravo!

And now there's Magnum Opus. If ever a blend deserves its name, this is it.

This stuff leaves the rest of Russ Oulette's offerings in the dust, IMO, and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the absolute best that Pease has produced. The virginia base is sweet and flavorful, the latakia is in just the right proportion, and the orientals .... well, let's just say that the orientals don't so much "sing" as put on a full-scale Broadway production. This stuff is as complex as Wilderness, but with more high notes that give it a livelier character. The perique adds just a hint of stewed fruit but primarily serves to enhance the body and strength. This has far more body than any of McClelland's mixtures, and is a little less full than GLP's Odyssey or Westminster. The nicotine level seems to be a solid medium.

There is a wonderful synergy here that I rarely encounter. To top it all off, the burning characteristics are literally flawless. This burns with almost the same ease of a drugstore burley and doesn't have a bite in it, even when smoked hot or in back-to-back sessions. This is a meditative smoke ... I think you could smoke it all day, but I prefer to save it for the evening when I can concentrate on it.

Overall impression? I love latakia mixtures, especially the more complex ones that tend to be labeled "Balkans" (although that term seems to be going out of vogue). I have smoked a LOT of them, and I can say without reservation that I would put this in the top 5 mixtures of its type that I've ever had the pleasure to smoke. I plan on cellaring as much of this as I can afford, and hope that someday it's available in larger tins.

Russ Ouellette will be either sainted or arrested for this one.

Incomperable.

The reviews which note that it is a complex, constantly-shifting, delightful blend which defies simple description are spot on.

When put in a great pipe, this blend cannot be exceeded and will offer an aesthetic experience impossible to describe with words.

Category: Masterpiece

Although some Virginia sweetness comes through at times, it's not a particularly sweet blend. In wine terms it's more dry, but absolutely overflowing with flavor. As the bowl progresses, it just gets better, richer, more complex, and more enjoyable as it wanders from Virginia to Latakia to Orientals and back again. It works in every pipe I've tried to far, but I love it in my big Laird with a two inch deep bowl, just because it stretches out the experience as long as possible.

Updated 2/28/12- Into my 4th tin and I just wanted to add that this is still a 4 star blend. I find it has a similarity to some of G.L. Pease's blending techniques (Odyssey, Blackpoint, Lagonda, it's more airy than greasy like Penzanze is),but I think this is smoother. Good job Russ