Hearth & Home Black House 10th Anniversary
(2.50)
Notes: In 2011, the Seattle and New York Pipe Clubs acquired a large tin of Balkan Sobranie 759 that was around 23 years-old and tried to figure out what to do with it. They decided to send samples to three blenders - Carl McAllister of Sutliff, Mike McNiel of McClelland, and Russ Ouellette of Hearth & Home - and asked them to try to replicate the blend for a contest at the 2011 Chicagoland Pipe and Tobacciana Show. The challenge was modifying the blend to accommodate 23 years of aging. When the contest, called the Balkan Sobranie 759 Throwdown, was completed, Russ' entry, now known as Hearth & Home Marquee BlackHouse, was the winner.
To celebrate a decade of this now classic blend, Russ wanted to do something special. When he learned about a small cache of well-aged Orientals the answer was simple - substitute the Orientals from the original with this vintage leaf. Because the amount of the aged Orientals is very limited, he had to do this as a limited edition blend called Hearth & Home BlackHouse 10th Anniversary.
Details
Brand | Hearth & Home |
Blended By | Russ Ouellette |
Manufactured By | Sutliff Tobacco Company |
Blend Type | Balkan |
Contents | Black Cavendish, Kentucky, Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Perique, Virginia |
Flavoring | |
Cut | Ribbon |
Packaging | 50 grams tin |
Country | United States |
Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Medium to Strong
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 Reviews
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2021 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
The aged Orientals provide plenty of sour floralness, earth, wood, herbs, vegetation, some spice, and mild buttery sweetness. They are the lead components. The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia is a strong supporting player that occasionally manages to share the lead. The Virginia offers some tart and tangy citrus, grass, sugar, bread, light floralness and touches of spice and acidity in the background. The aspects of the dark fired Kentucky are smoke, earth, wood, floralness, mild spice, some sourness along with a light nutty, barbecue sweetness. It’s a tad more obvious than the Virginia. The spicy, raisiny, plumy perique has a minimal effect at best. The sugary black cavendish is barely noticeable. It won't bite or get harsh. Has a few minute rough edges. The strength and nic-hit are a step past the medium mark. The taste level is a slot ahead of that threshold which is due to its spice and floral qualities. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate with a mildly sweet and rather savory, spicy, floral, campfire flavor that extends to the pleasant, moderately lingering after taste. Requires an average number of relights, and leaves very little dampness in the bowl. The room note is tolerable. Not quite an all day smoke, but it is repeatable.
The effect of the aged Orientals are greater than those used in the regular Black House as this tends to be a little Oriental-forward. The Cyprian Latakia is mostly a supporting player rather than being the lead component it is in the regular BH. The other varietals have a little less say in the flavor profile, and this is a stronger mixture. This one is a tad less sweet, less balanced with fewer nuances, and a little more floral, smoky, spiciness. Even with all of that, there still remains some semblance of the original that is mainly attributable to the similar sweetness. This gets three and a half stars. I gave four stars to the original.
The effect of the aged Orientals are greater than those used in the regular Black House as this tends to be a little Oriental-forward. The Cyprian Latakia is mostly a supporting player rather than being the lead component it is in the regular BH. The other varietals have a little less say in the flavor profile, and this is a stronger mixture. This one is a tad less sweet, less balanced with fewer nuances, and a little more floral, smoky, spiciness. Even with all of that, there still remains some semblance of the original that is mainly attributable to the similar sweetness. This gets three and a half stars. I gave four stars to the original.