My rate should be in fact 2.5.

I find HHVS and Mixture are very similar in sweetness and body.

Thank you MB for this Excellent blend!!

That's not to say it's not a fine tobacco, because it really is. It may, however, be too subtle for its own good. For that matter, the mild, incense-like smokiness of the Syrian Latakia often seems overmatched by the sweetness of the Virginias. And in the smoky-sweet tug of war that defines mixtures like this, I'm not sure the sweetness wins the battle without a little help from the tug fairy. It tastes a little enhanced. I'm also inclined to worry that the questionable balance of this blend in youth may hamper it down the maturation road.

After a week or so of smoking this to the exclusion of all else, however, I've decided that HH Vintage Syrian just needs to be in a committed relationship. The first couple of bowls I smoked reminded me of a Canadian on the first day of his Caribbean vacation - a little pale in comparison to the rest of the beach's cast - but when smoked to the exclusion of other tabacs, it seems to come into its own, smoky-sweet, elegant, refined. I find it particularly lovely early in the day.

It reminds me a great deal of DAN Tobacco's estimable Gordon Pym, another restrained and delicate tobacco which doesn't really fit into convenient categories and to which I've also failed to commit. Ah well. It's not you. It's me.

My twin brother and I found this blend in a smoke shop in San Francisco after months of searching. I was very reluctaant to try this blend as it sat with my pipe rack for literally months before I even opened it up.

The tin aroma is very smokey and spicey which kind of left me feeling like "Umm, do I really want to smoke this stuff?" It wasn't sweet in the least like a few low hitters have stated here.

It packs very easy in my Bjarne Copenhagen Billiard and lights very easy as well and gives you a cool dry smoke. It's moisturee content is very low, almost un-noticable, unlike the HH Mature Virginia my twin brother prefers.

The smoking experience is very plaesent and enjoyable with rich and full bodied flavors of Sarsaparilla with the initial light-up that moved on to spicy flavors of cinnamon, allspice, cloves and leather with hints of dark chocolate and vanilla. It leaves you with a smooth lingering finish of sweet spices, sarsaparilla, leather and toasted nuts with hints of vanilla and caramel. Many people have complained about having severe tongue bite with this tobacco. I smoke this at work on my 30-minute lunch breaks and have never had any tongue bite; oh and I don't have time to slowly smoke this stuff. I only have 30-minutes to eat and then enjoy a bowl so these complaints must come from people who huff and puff like locomotives or the big bad wolf.

The room aroma is very nice and mellow with aromas of sweet spices, vanilla and leather. I mean it almost smells like someone is cooking oatmeal raisin cookies in the distance only not as sweet. It is very pleasent and enjoyable.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for something unique yet full of character and body, you get a very high quality blend at a very reasonable price.

For my taste I would rather have more strength but I do not hesitate to recommend this to someone who likes a milder tobac.

Upon first opening the tin and each subsequent time thereafter, I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting a pungent sweetness, mustiness and the peppery aroma of the Syrian latakia others state this blend has but was hard pressed to find them at all. The aroma was figs and light pears, maybe a slight hint of mustiness but not very outspoken about it. Not something I would expect in an English/Balkan blend. Much later I was told that MacBaren "cases" all their blends.

In the pipe, it smokes a bit more like it is advertised to be but have to agree with several of the other reviews and that it is a bit bland. The tin's aroma comes through as does some Virginian sweetness with off and on smells of hay. As this tobacco aged, I found the aromas of the latakia, the orientals and the Virginias coming through but just no real complexity to it. However, I found that after several months, even with proper cellaring, it started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Possibly because of casing?

Overall, this is not a bad blend and will say that it may be the right blend for someone, just not right for me. I can only give two stars due to the fact I would not purchase again.

The tin aroma was a bit sour, but not a distraction. The initial light seems to coat the mouth with a blanket of casing. Didn't bite, just muted the taste. I found the true tobacco taste peaked through about halfway through a bowl. The Syrian was pleasant enough,would have prefered more of it and less Kentucky and Virginias. Kept hoping to find some excitement, but nothing.

I had tried a tin about a year ago, and have made my way through about half a second tin. It is a quality blend. Just no magic in it for me. 6 out of 10

When I re-read my original review I have to laugh at myself. I left it here mainly for amusement purposes.

I can say that I agree with the me from last year on quite a few points. The description of the blend and smoking properties is still accurate. I'm not ashamed to say that I still think it's a pretty good blend. But I did kind of go overboard a bit. All I can say is that I'd only tried maybe ten or fifteen blends, and it was far better than most of them. I've got a little more perspective now.

HHVS is pretty darn good. Not amazing. But pretty darn good. Nothing wrong with that. Makes for a nice, enjoyable and reliable smoke... which is the kind of blend I normally give three stars to, so I'm going to revise my original rating to reflect that.

-------------------------------------- FROM 6/29/07

I just lost a very long and tediously poetical review of this tobacco by letting my browser session time out. Oh well. Here's the condensed version.

This is an excellent tobacco. Packs great. Requires few relights. Burns to the bottom. No bite, no gurgle. The individual components interact in a very harmonious way, but each is still detectable in the blend at different parts of the bowl. The flavor is mild but very, very tasty. Seemed merely pleasant at first, but has since revealed a nice, subtle complexity that keeps me coming back. Others have noted that they are dubious about the claimed amount of Latakia. I can understand why they might feel that way. This certainly does not taste like the Latakia powerhouse you'd expect by the claim that it makes up almost 50% of the blend. But to me, it doesn't matter that much whether it's 20% or %50 latakia. Either way, it's excellent stuff. Besides, if you're looking for latakia overload (and sometimes I am), there's always Old Ironsides.

Being relativley new to the pipe, I can't speak to how this blend rates against this or that late lamented classic (specifically Bohemian Scandal or Balkan Sobranie), as I have not had the good fortune to sample them. And maybe that's for the best, because that allows me to judge HH Vintage Syrian on it's own merits, of which there are many. It may not be the absolute best tobacco in the world, but it is VERY, VERY good. I believe that there probably are tobaccos that are better... but not by much.

In an ideal world, it would be a little stronger, but it's SO close to perfect now, I really wouldn't want them to mess with the blend just to attempt to remedy this one very minor nit-pick.

So, with that said, allow me to dash some hopes. It's probably not the second coming. But if it ever goes away, I have no doubt that my memory will convince me that, in fact, it was.

Rather, it's a nicely balanced tobak that requires a relaxed cadence & a little drying (10-15 seconds in the microwave), as well as a clean pallet. I like it best in a Meerschaum or a briar not seasoned with a strong Latakia or aromatic blend.

The flavor is of a smooth, light creamy nature. The sweet VA plays nicely with the orientals (neither overpowering each other), and the Kentucky adds a gentle warm spice & a richness (again not overpowering the VA's or Orientals) to the taste. Never does this blend have any astringent or overpowering sour notes, and leaves the option to enjoy a bowl of something else. Given that, I find it completely enjoyable, consistent from tin to tin.

For seasoned English smokers this will come as a dull surprise but for those just starting out it may be just the ticket. No offense is intended here towards anyone, and I really do think this would make a fine tobacco for new pipe smokers and for English virgins. It's just not for me. I found it exceedingly bland and dull and the Latakia was a huge disapointment.

Oh one thing - the tin holds 3.5 ounces and is a very good buy if you like it.