HU Tobacco Anniversary Blend

The red Virginia is tangy, dark fruit sweet with a little earth and wood. The bright Virginia is mildly grassy with some citrus and a slight floral, vegetative hit. They form the base for the other components to play off of, though they shine all the way throughout the experience. The mildly spicy, floral, woody, earthy Kentuckys have little sweetness and a slight sour note. They serve a complimentary role most of the time, and every one in a while, they’ll do just a little more than that. The burley is earthy, woody and nutty with a toasty sweetness in a supporting role. The sweet and tart Balsamic vinegar also sports a very minor sour note, and while the topping is noticeable, it does not drown out the tobaccos. The nic-hit is a shade closer to medium than it is mild. The strength and taste are medium. Won’t bite, and has no dull or harsh spots. Well blended with some subtle and obvious complexity, it burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a very smooth, consistent and synergetic flavor from start to finish. Requires few relights and leaves virtually no moisture in the bowl as it easily burns to ash. The aftertaste pleasantly lingers a little. The room note is pleasing. Could be an all day smoke for the experienced smoker, and a very repeatable one for those who aren’t.

-JimInks

Another winner from the HU house, they can do no wrong in my opinion. After hearing that this blend is topped with a balsamic vinegar, I absolutely just had to try it. The blend comes in a large screw on tin, the tobacco is at the perfect moisture level but doesn’t hurt from a little bit more dry time and it’s a rough cut perfect for gravity filling your bowl. The smell from the tin is divine but I was surprised to hardly pick up on any vinegar from the aroma but fret not, the balsamic flavors come through in the smoke. This is a creamy, velvety smoke that just doesn’t burn hot even if you tried. The topping comes through much sweeter than I thought it would and it’s very subtle, it’s just enough to add some beautiful nuances to the already flavorful and aromatic varietals in this blend. The sauce adds more sweetness than it does sour and come to think of it I would describe it more as a sweet, tangy smoke rather sweet and sour and by no means is it overly sweet, the sweetness comes offf as natural to my palate. Regardless of the balsamic dressing, I don’t think this blend is polarizing in the slightest, it’s just a pure delight. As always it just keeps getting better and better each time I smoke it, as it’s scent memories gets implanted into my olfactory system. I don’t notice much nicotine in this one but I’m not a very good judge of that since I’ve been a nicotine addict since my early teens, I’d like to say it’s in the mild to medium range with the body being medium to full. I also love the room note, I don’t think it will win over any of the “antis” approval but I’m sure it will be pleasing to those who already enjoy the fine aroma of a burning pipe. For those of you who miss the tangy McClelland VA’s I’d say go ahead and give this blend a try, it might very well scratch that same itch.

This absolutely gets the essential stamp from me.

I was gifted a sample of this, and frankly didn’t know quite what to expect.

After smoking three bowls of this, it’s a nice blend of Va, Burley, and Kentucky. The Va seemed to stand out above the others, and it it had a nice sweetness to it. Without knowing what the blend was initially, I was quite curious as to what it was that I was tasting. The Balsamic Vinegar adds an interesting wrinkle. I did enjoy it, but it’s not something I would smoke everyday. Leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

I start this review by saying that I'm glad I waited a long time to do it since I started smoking this tobacco, as my impression of it has changed since then. I have been tasting HU mixtures for some time now and I really wanted to try this one, since I was attracted by the combination of its ingredients added to the vinegar topping. I usually like the balsamic character that some straight virginias and also some va/per ones naturally have. A good example would be Old Fredder's, an excellent vaper that is also produced by HU, where, in my opinion, that type of nuance is much more present.

Sometimes it happens that the perception of a tobacco changes compared to what it was a few months ago, but what is less frequent is that the aroma in its tin changes so much in such a short time. Has it ever happened to you? In this mixture, which once commemorated HU's fifth birthday, the tin note is predominantly fruity with some vinegar. Once the pipe is lit, the flavor corresponds to that aroma, although it is somewhat difficult to describe. I guess the closest thing I can find is to describe it as fruity and slightly balsamic. I have the impression that it burns very quickly and if you rush it it can give off the typical kidney smell of some virginias.

Finally I liked trying it since it has different characteristics to all the other tobaccos I have smoked and as I said, I think it has improved after it has aerated for a few months in a glass jar.

I think three stars pretty much fits how I feel about this anniversary blend…