I really can't understand why latakia blends get the highest reviews here. As I have mentioned before, reviewing tobacco is useless, because one mans trash is another man treasure.

To be fair, I tried this in a new cob, and a semi new briar. The cob was more tolerable however.

I think Larry should find a new career, and stay away from blending anything.

*** BIG UPDATE *** One year later... I love this stuff. I really don't know what happened to my taste buds, must have adjusted, since I had never been a smoker. I did not give up and kept at it, and after being a pipe smoke for a year, I have come to LOVE latakia blends. I now prefer English blends and don't like aromatics as much. I would absolutely discourage any new pipe smoker from trying anything but mild aromatics until your taste buds adjust and you acquire a taste for stronger tobaccos. Or else you will hate everything you try. I guess you have to learn to swim first, before you try the deep end. Happy smoking.

I also am almost positive I detect McClelland blending tobacco's in Larry's blend. This is not a bad thing on its own. It is just that I have blended baccy's almost identical to this blend myself with available blending tobaccos.

I consider this a medium english with moderate nic content. Larry's blend is good but can't stand next to the great powerhouses of the current english world... 965, Odyssey, Penzance, Margate, and Balkan Sasieni. I'm giving it three stars, but barely.

Personal rating: 7 out of 10

Tobacco Reviews rating: 3 stars

8/16/11 I still love this blend. So far have purchased 4 pounds in bulk. because I taste it as a great medium Latakia blend, I find that it is perfect blend for hot weather.

I have tried to make this stuff bite and failed. It is one of the very few tobaccos I can say that about. I have never smoked any other tobacco that was so flavorful yet so gentle on the tongue and palate.

An earlier reviewer noted the smell of horse dung, in a positive light. He is correct. I note4d the same thing from the first time I smoked it (before reading his review), and was relieved to find that it was obviously not just my imagination. It is not a detraction from the smoke at all. It is not only quite appropriate but enhances the experience. HOWEVER – and this is something you'll need to consider if you don't live on an island all by yourself – anyone who does not like this tobacco will think it stinks to high heaven. Imagine the Warner Brothers' cartoons of people reacting to Pepe le Pew entering a restaurant. On the other hand, if you want to insure your own 'personal space' just light up a bowl of this stuff.

Personally this would make for a great all day smoke (if my situation allowed). It's a front-porch-smoke for me. I can't recommend it highly enough.

This is gooood stuff. This is refinement and the life of the mind married to good old fashioned hillbilly smackdown. This is "do you like it rough?" This is Daniel Craig as James Bond. This is Mary, Queen of Scots with a Claymore. Hell, this stuff is James Clerk Maxwell.

Larry's lights and burns great. It bites very little, burns nice and cool, and is a tremendous pleasure to smoke. The orientals contribute a beautiful floral component, and just in case it sounded as if the latakia is overpowering, it is not. It's just there in all of its glory. If you dream of having your own pirate ship complete with casks of rum, cutlasses, and lots of stale sweat, get this. It is killer.

I opened the bag and it smelled great and looked like all the other English style tobacco I have tried. It packed easily and took no time to get lit. Once lit I was awarded with wonderful flavors and a nice smoke texture. Creamy, buttery, smooth all describe it. I love the teture of th smoke and would smoke it just for that alone. But it has a nice flavor that I will keep coming back to.

For the price I have paid for others this one is a definite winner.

Jan. 30,2010 This has become my good to all day tobacco. I just purchased more from 4noggins. I love the cool mild flavors and I could sit puffing this all day.....wait...I have! Enjoy!

Because of the very dark appearance, I expected a flavor wallop on light-up. It didn't happen. There is, instead, a surpisingly mild, full English taste, without any Latakia overload. As the bowl progresses, the Latakia is a little more evident, but never as prominent as I thought it would be. The Orientals are more sweet and rich than herbal, not astringent at all, and seem well chosen to balance and smooth out the flavors. VAs take a back seat on this one.

Overall Larry's Blend is a very nice, very English smoke, and reminds me a little of McClelland's British Woods but without the super rich VA's. It did have a tendency to smoke a little hot, and because of the fine cut care must be taken not to over-tamp. Overall, this is a very tasty full English and worth a try for any fan of the genre.

The pouch smell is absolutely awesome, I can't get enough of it. I find that Larry's blend packs easily, but takes a few matches to get going. I don't dry it out, I just stick my pipe in my pouch and scoop away and pack, scoop away and pack. I find that once I get it burning good, I don't have to relight.

This blend is very smooth, cool and easy to smoke, but it isn't bland. I enjoy reading and or writing while I'm smoking and this blend is very suitable for that purpose. With the pipe in my mouth, I can puff away without worry of the smoke being too overbearing or irritating. It has a wonderful aroma and in my opinion a really good after taste. The Virgina note is far in the background on both during smoking and on the finish and aftertaste, which is what I like. The tobacco's used seem to me to be of a very good quality. So far I've been very satisfied with Hearth and Home Tobacco's.

My regular rotation, along with Larry's Blend, includes; Penzance, Abingdon, Odyseey and Westminster.

When first lit the smoke was very mild. About halfway through the bowl the smoke gets much more rich and the latakia taste becomes just wonderful, like I'm standing next to a barbeque with ribs on the grill. I should have stopped at half a bowl but decided to smoke it down to the last, that's when things turned south a bit. I'm not sure if it was the tobacco or my brand new pipe with the first bowl of tobacco, but the taste became harsh and rather bitter, perhaps it was the briar wood burning LOL. I stopped at half a bowl everytime on my other pipe and had a very pleasant experience with all of my tobaccos, even Larry's blend, perhaps my bowl just needs some conditioning, and I'll probably stop at half to 2/3 of a bowl and dump the rest from here on out.

I have to say that this is probably an aquired taste, i.e., the smokiness of the latakia. When I first opened the zip lock bag I was afraid to smoke it because the smell was so strong LOL. But the taste isn't nearly as strong as the smell of the tobacco. I do like the fullness of it, much fuller than Trout Stream.

By the way, I'm still tasting what seems like wood about an hour after smoking, I'm almost positive that I burned the wood on my pipe a little which made the end of the bowl a bit nasty. I'm giving four stars and blaming the bad taste at the end on my burnt pipe LOL.

By the way, I ordered two ounces of this, and recieved another small sampler with my second order, both were beautiful ribbon cuts, not swept up crumbs like other reviewers stated below. My tobacco was nice and fluffy, no small bits at all.

*********************** Here's an update, I smoked another bowl and was very gentle at the bottom of the bowl. No burnt pipe taste at all, very nice taste that lasted for hours! Four stars all the way. In fact I just ordered a pound of this delicious weed!

I've generally been disappointed with Hearth and Home blends, especially in comparison with similar offerings from other blenders. It not that these are bad mixtures, by any means -- they just don't agree with me. In any case, Larry's Blend is the big exception.

This is a very nice Balkan, one that manages to capture what is best about both Odyssey and Abingdon yet costs far less. It's sweet, powerful, and keeps the latakia at the forefront (where it should be). It burns well, cool, and has little or no bite. It does lack complexity, and instead of the shifting high notes and spices that grace similar mixtures by GL Pease this blend has a sustained "buttery" flavor. This is far better than most blends that are labeled "balkans," and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone who appreciates -- or wants to appreciate -- this kind of mixture. One caveat: Larry's Blend seems very young when shipped, and I aged this batch for a year before smoking.