Hearth & Home El Nino Reposado Limited Edition

The Virginia provides some tart and tangy citrus, grass, earth, wood, bread, sugar, mild darker fruit and floralness as a team player. The dark fired Kentucky offers plenty of smoke, earth, wood, floralness, vegetation, some herbs, nuts, sweet and sourness, barbecue, and spice as a co-lead. The musty, leathery, mildly sweet Cyprian Latakia produces a fair amount of smoke, earth, wood, vegetation, herbs, floralness, light incense, and a pinch or two of spice. It’s a couple of steps above the condiment level. The earthy, woody, raisiny, plumy perique has a few pepper notes in the background. The rich tequila tones down the tobaccos a couple of notches above what I would consider to be moderate. It seems to reduce the presence of the Virginia more than the other components. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a step behind that mark. No chance of bite or harshness, and has few rough notes. Deeply rich and well balanced, it burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate with a very consistent sweet, floral, herbal, mildly sour, nutty, spicy flavor than extends to the pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note has some pungency. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Not quite an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. Three and a half stars. I gave three stars to the original version.

-JimInks