Sitting down to a pipe full o' this makes me think of slowly wandering around a walk-in humidor with my nose tilted up catching all sorts of flavors, some of which make me scratch my head, while other's call my name with the irresistible pull of a Goddess ready to reward me for services rendered..... Anyhoo, it's a tad on the sweet side for my taste but it is definitely a good smoke if you are in the mood for something that will keep distracting you from what you were trying to do whilst smoking your pipe. Sweet Cavendish, nutty burley, and the extra percentage of Perique set themselves apart in this lively blend that has little of the traditional Mac Baren sweet casing and lot's of pleasing, well balanced flavor. Flavorful enough to make you want to puff and Virginia enough to make you pay. Mildly strong. Vitamin N. Lots of fun and tasty to boot. Bravo.

Three Stars.

http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/the-mystique- of-perique/

http://www.theitalianpipe.com/infowell/articles/perique.htm

Obviously, due to its limited acreage and highly labor intensive production involving a type of anaerobic pressed fermentation and aging, there is always a danger that it may go "extinct" or that at some point prices may really soar.

But Mac Baren's HHAP really is a good showcase for what Perique can do when in high presence and mixed with a number of different tobacco types. I have gone through several tins and recently bought several of the 16oz. for transfer to Mason jars for cellaring.

Although HHAP is not a flake tobacco, I treat it as such, and generally use it in smaller bowls (e.g., Dunhill Group 3 & 4s) in billiards and chimney shapes. These narrower bowls seem to enhance the "curing" or "resinating" process of Perique, as the smoke proceeds down to the second half of the bowl.

Also, Perique, in such high percentages as found here in HHAP, often can produce a wet smoke if hurried through, necessitating a pipe cleaner in mid-smoke to tone down the humidity of the burn. So sipping is required.

HHAP, introduced during the 2009 Chicagoland Pipe Show, seems to be in limited production and my current can says 191/500 and is signed by the blender, one J. Jensen, so stock up on the 16oz. for cellaring. Happy smoking!

It can be puffed all day, the Nicotine kick is evident but not overly powering to me. I like strong Cavendishes spinkled with Perique when I'm not trying top blends however.

A Drinkless or Peterson type pipe will help you to distinguish the four main notes. But a well caked billiard will give a rich warm smoke that is not unlike rich dark coffee, or a dark Beer. Both of which go with this blend well also.

Burns to a fine ash, carefull or you may get ashes or ash taste in your mouth near the end. It does smoke nice with no tongue bite and only slight bitterness all the way down. Does tend to build moisture so running a pipe cleaner or two during your puff will help keep that at bay. A good blend to rotate through a couple pipes at least because of the moisture that can build up. I'm again used to this due to me liking Cavendish which is moist and acrid but sweet.

This blend should age very well. The tins I have are about a year old and are only getting better. It is a limited run blend.

Overall very fine blend. Did fine some tobacco veins/sticks. Unussual with a high end blend. Most likely from the Virginia they are using in the blend.

Easy to pack plus lit without problem, which burned beautifully producing adequate amounts of smoke. No initial harshness that sometimes happens with some blends. Intermittent oriental aromas and tastes pop up during this pleasurable smoke. Burned to a fine grey ash.

This is a quality pipe tobacco that needs to be tried.

For people that want a natural tasting blend spiced with Perique should try HHAP at the earliest opportunity.

Perique is the Champagne of tobaccos, and must/can only grow one single place on earth - St.James Parish in the state of Louisiana. As of today there are only two commercial farmers left in the world doing Perique, as it is very labour intensive, not very profitting and an extremely difficult leaf to handle/process.

Often when you smoke blends supposedly containing Perique, they are not. It's very likely that you are smoking Green River Burley instead - the processed leaf look very similar. If you are a Perique Connoisseur as myself, you will easily taste the diference, the normal pipesmoker will not. Green River Burley is sweeter yet harsher. Sorta like an peppered apple (if that makes any sense). Real Perique is dryer, way more pepperish and earthy (not that unlike Latakia).

This is the real deal!

I think they should have kept it more simple though, because throwing in sweet Cavendish and bright VA's makes it hard to dechifrate. Then there's the Burley and the Burley Kentucky in there as well, making this a very confusing and highly complex smoke. I've given up on analysing this blend, and primarily smoke it when in need for som strong nasal cleansing smoke. And the aftertaste is kinda weird. You have no urge for cigarettes for several hours after smoking this. It leaves your mouth with a taste that you've just eaten some eucalyptos/toothpaste with chili (?). You feel the freshsness in your throat and nose, like you've just cleansed your system.

No question this is not a tobacco for everyone, and no question this is high-end tobacco, with a fair amount of nicotine due to the acrid Burleys. But surely the Perique holds it share as well. The interesting thing is that this blend is full of the expensive Perique, not only the 2-5% that is the normal for Perique blends, but more like 10-15% or so. There is no doubt that Perique dominates throughout.

It smokes somewhat cool in the pipe, and you get it burning very easily. Burns to the end with no problem, though I always have a small moist dottle in the end. Maybe I could smoke it all, but it does get kinda sour in the very end.

I recommend you not to give up on this until you've smoked at least half a tin. Because of the complexity, it really deserves more than a few bowls. My first, second and third bowl was kind of disappointing - all I got out of it was tears in my eyes and burning nostrils. But I never pass judgement on a tobacco until I've at least gone through a whole 100 grams. Maybe I kinda know what I think of it after five bowls or so, but my experience tell me, that things can change suddenly in the world of bacco tasting. Also try out this in different pipes. I favour HH Acadian Perique in a Pot or Oom Paul.

I like my Perique blends a little more simple. But I recognise good tobacco, and I will be buying a dusin or two of these tins. But I do hord Perique in any shape or form, as the future of this "truffle of tobacco" is very unsecure. I for one, would gladly pay twice the price, if that be what it takes to keep farming it.

The MB original Cavindish, which I am very familiar with, is present and has its distinctive flavor in this blend, I find HHAP a very enjoyable all day smoke and would highly recommend it to those who like the natural taste of tobacco. also this blend is the perfect alternative for cigarette smokers who wish to start with pipe smoking.

I did like the flavor, but bright Virginias tend to bite me, and I did get a bit of bite from this.

The cavendish gives this a bit of a sweeter note than a straight VAPer. There are others in this style (Hearth & Home AJs VAPer immediately comes to mind) that I like better.

That said, there's certainly nothing wrong with this blend, and those who are exhaustively searching for the perfect VAPer should certainly consider giving this a whirl, especially if they want something slightly sweeter than a straight VAPer.

The only upside to this tobacco is that it's nearly impossible to get tongue bite from it. Other than that, save your money.

Unfortunately, this has too much flavor for me. I found it strong and the tobaccos overly combative with one another. This blend has everything but the kitchen sink in it, and I think it comes out the worse for wear. The dominant flavor is perique, and perhaps they should have used a bit more of a conservative hand with it. Even though I love perique, I prefer a more skillful blending of it; it is, after all, a condiment tobacco. There is also too much body to this blend, if there is such a thing. The base tobaccos then become condiments to the perique by offsetting each others basic taste and creating a mish-mash of flavors that don't necessarily belong in a pipe bowl. Each bowl left a chalky, cigarette ash taste in my mouth upon its finish. It was not a pleasant experience.

That said, I think this is a blend that every perique lover should try. C&D's Old Joe Krantz has its followers, even though I found this tobacco as difficult to smoke as OJK. Others obviously enjoy this more than I, so if hugely complex and supremely perique-y is your thing, you should definitely grab a tin of this.

It smells like fresh black raisins in the tin, and may be a bit moist on the first day you open it - but only a little.

It lights easily and yields a first impression of mellow Virginia off set by a peppery low note of Louisiana's cool wet dirt as the Perique has its say. The subtle influence of the orientals defines this as a superlative and complex smoke that keeps me coming back for more.

It is another of those tobaccos that has its finest moments near the end of the bowl where the perique's rich flavor descends into cigar-like depths which are tied by the medium body of virginia and the ashy crisp edge of the burley into a singular experience where that pipe smoker's moment of transcendence occurs. This moment is sustained over the last 15 minutes of the bowl until you discover with sadness that your pipe is done. It leaves you like the sound of a freight train long in passing and having now passed - your head swims for the absence of a sound you had forgotten was there.

I really enjoy this one and would love to find more in this range. I am reminded of my old forgotten favorite - King Fisher.

Edit: I have updated this to highly recommended. The more I play the field, the more I keep coming back to this blend. It's really my new fave. The local stores can't keep it on the shelves so it's hard to get a hold of for now.

This is a ribbon cut, not a coin cut. Not a roll cake.

Cool, mild, and tasty with no added flavorings. No dampness. Hans said it's MB's strongest rated tobacco, as the perique can sneak up on you it smokes so mild.

Hadn't caught me yet, but I have just smoked small bowls (10 at this time, with about an ounce of tabak to go). Still not as strong as something like P's Irish Flake or not as spicy as SG's St. James Flake. Of course, this is not a flake at all.

You can definitely taste the perique note in the blend and smell it in the room note. I can't say this is heavy or a big flavor blend, but a very nice one.

I feel you must like perique to appreciate this fine blend; again not too strong but probably not for a beginner. May be suitable for one venturing into the perique domain though.

The burley and virginia tobaccos are there and used to be a light-medium support for the perique note, which is the star. Not terribly complex at this time. Sorta simple.

Can't imagine how much this will age -- will the perique take a little more charge or meld in with the other tobaccos? Time will tell. (e.g., B's Kingfisher, similar compostion but ckae cut, gets stronger with age.)

Hans said the bulk and tinned tobacco are the same; just open the tin up for an hour or so and let it hit the air. We'll see. (Some tins of the MB earlier HH Matured Virginia had different strengths to me -- from the best out there to sub-par.)

This is a not so preliminary review, as 10 bowls is a fair try but not the usual ounces I taste test before reviewing. This is so new, that I thought I'd do a service by interesting folks at the get-go (I don't even have the full tin description but I wrote up what Hans has stated.). I'll update as I finish my sample perhaps in another pipe. Hopefully, we all can get lots more.

A natural, and relatively mild way to smoke perique. Recommended to English and VAPER puffers.

Update; Finished last 10 bowls of my sample in a medium large Ries pipe (first 10 was in older, small Comoy). Still smooth with a note of perique. Just got tins (autographed by Hans so it may be a little more aged -- few months -- than regular tins) a couple of weeks ago, and smoked through 1 1/2 ounces in the Comoy and Reis. The tin does take a few days of opening and closing (maybe leave open a while) to release the flavors. Yep same tabak. Still smooth with a definite perique note. Not too strong. A lot going on here, but a melange of soft, natural flavors with a Perique note as the key. A steady smoke. May become "My Precious" blend. I just updated review with tin description, so that will be posted soon. Highly recommended now.