G. L. Pease Haddo's Delight

(3.04)
Haddo's Delight is a stout blend of several Virginia tobaccos with a generous measure of long cut perique. Unflavored Green River black cavendish and a little air cured white burley ribbon provide fullness, body, and a bit of extra strength. Finally, an exclusive process darkens and marries the mixture, and gives the blend a subtle tin aroma of cocoa and dried fruit. The flavor is full on the palate, earthy, slightly sweet and intriguingly piquant, with overtones of figs and raisins. A wonderful blend for the perique lover!
Notes: Haddo's Delight was introduced in August, 2000.

Details

Brand G. L. Pease
Series Original Mixtures
Blended By Gregory Pease
Manufactured By Cornell & Diehl
Blend Type Virginia/Perique
Contents Black Cavendish, Burley, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring Rum
Cut Ribbon
Packaging 2 ounce tin, 8 ounce tin, 16 ounce tin
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium to Strong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.04 / 4
125

98

54

29

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 306 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 16, 2002 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant
Haddo House is the stately home of the Marquess of Aberdeen, designed in 1730 by William Adams, at Ellon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is also the name of a lake and mountain in British Columbia. Finally, Oliver Haddo is the name of the necromancer in W. Somerset Maugham's novel THE MAGICIAN(1907), a character inspired by Maugham's acquaintance with the notorious British occultist, Aleister Crowley (1875-1947).

Just a bit of Magick! [note the spelling] is how G. L. Pease characterises this mélange, and whether it conjures up the gracious living of one of the loveliest houses in Scotland, or the transfigured beauty of the Canadian West, or merely the thelemic prestidigitations of an illusionist, you will agree that, when he gets around to choosing allusive titles, Mr Pease doesn't kid around.

We all know the great Virginia/Périque mixtures: Escudo, Three Nuns, Saint Bruno, possibly Dunhill's Elizabethan. HADDO's DELIGHT now joins them. It is very much final proof of G.L.'s mastery at taking up something old, and making it new and delightful.

The savoury sweetness of Virginia is the basis of this composition, yet the plain-spoken burley, subtly flavoured, never lets it grow wearing. Cavendish prevents bite, and puts velvet on the smokiness. But the greatness here is in the use of Périque: it gives the whole composition a heady liveliness, an air-borne edge, that makes the whole thing stimulating and fun. I put this in a Dunhill prince, sat in the balcony, and gave God thanks that, when he created the Manhattan skyline, he also created pipes and Périque.

Dare we now hope for a DIANE de ROUGY companion mixture?
70 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 11, 2014 Medium Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
The red and brighter Virginias are very slightly grassy with some wood, earth, bread, tart and tangy citrus with a moderate amount of tangy dark fruit. The red leads here. There's a fair amount of plumy, raisiny, figgy earthy, and peppery perique that consistently perks up the experience from beginning to end, and is an important secondary player. The dry, woody, earthy, nutty white burley provides a slight sharpness and strength in a minor role. The unsweetened black cavendish is a little noticeable, and helps smooth out the mix with some sugar. The cocoa notes are extremely mild, but I catch a hint of them here and there. The sweet rum is mildly applied, works well with the tobaccos, and mildly sublimates them. The strength is medium, while the taste just crosses over that mark. The nic-hit is a couple of slots short of the medium threshold. Won't bite or get harsh, and has few small rough edges. It may need a little dry time, but leave a little moisture or risk losing some of what makes this a very complex tasting product with a mild aromatic feel. Burns cool, clean and a tad slow with a mostly consistent flavor. Requires a few relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. Not really an all day smoke, but it is repeatable. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks
55 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 06, 2011 Medium to Strong Mild to Medium Medium to Full Pleasant
This is one of those tobaccos that I knew from the first couple of puffs would become a favorite. The tin aroma reminded me of the brandy flavoring in Barbary Coast, which I enjoyed. It should be noted that I rated this as "mild to medium" in the flavoring category but to be truthful, the nose of it was mild to medium. This flavor came out in the smoke but was on the mild side.

The perique "feel" is strong, in that it definitely tickles the nose and the back of the throat, but the perique flavor is a simple enhancer. The virginias played the lead role to my taste and the perique and brandy (or rum or whatever) were vocal backseat drivers. Excellent body to this one and it was just a "fun" smoke, as long as I didn't overdo it, as the nicotine could be just a bit over the top in the large bowls I favor. The flavors did a lot of dancing and were brazen almost to the point of haughtiness. But it was all in fun. A complex smoke, this can also be smoked as a dessert blend to relax me after a tough day. As much as I enjoyed Barbary Coast, this variation on that theme struck me as superior, and I immediately bought a 16 oz tin. The only downside to this is that it willfully smote any attempts at DGT. It simply didn't like being extinguished and relit hours later. But that's ok - I don't often DGT.

Yes, this could be considered an aromatic by some people, and there's nothing wrong with that. Highly recommended as something different and... yes... fun!
46 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 14, 2002 Medium Very Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Fig Newtons? Pavlovian response? After reading the above review, I don't know what old Howie's been smoking, but I don't think it was Haddo's Delight!

All joking aside, this is not bad stuff. In fact, I call it a dose of heaven on earth. I have had a love affair with Haddo's ever since it hit the market back in 2002 (I think that's when God gave Pease the ingredients for this manna). The bowl I just finished was from some 2004 vintage Haddo's and was it ever goooooood! If you have not tried this blend and enjoy complexity with strength, then you owe it to yourself to partake of this weed. It contains several varieties of strong and well aged Virginia leaf along with a nice helping of true St. James Parish Perique, white Burley and some Black Cavendish. It leaves a tobacco aftertaste in your mouth that is just this side of heaven. I prefer to smoke Haddo's in the evenings either just after a workout or just after dinner. This blend deserves attention and that's why it needs to be savored slowly (sipped rather than puffed). Truly one of the all-time great blends (IMO, of course).
43 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 16, 2013 Medium Medium to Strong Medium Tolerable to Strong
Haddo's Delight has ignominiously ended my long-running streak of 4 star blends from Greg L. Pease. I gave it a last, college try this morning, then I unwound with a bowl of Sextant, which is a proper booze-laced GLP blend, IMO. Adding injury to insult, HD ghosted 4 of my pipes, bad, and it stunk up my clothes; and it's not even strong!

Popping a young tin quickly tells you most of what you need to know about smoking it as all else is obscured by the rising scent of plum brandy. No figs, and no "fruit" (fruit, schmoot...), just the plum brandy. Only after a period of acclimation could I barely discern the tobacco. The lot is deep, rich and pungent, all at once, but I'm hard pressed to say particularly and exactly what I smell (apart from the brandy...). If there's anything fermented in there (apart from the brandy...), I've missed it.

HD's rough, chunky ribbons have perfect, minimal water content in the tin, and they are easy to rough up, load and light. At first, given the strong tin note (and all the talk about it), I was surprised that the flavor (apart from the plum brandy...) took so long to arrive. Initially, there is - nothing. In view of the Perique, I would not puff hard, but the flavor picked up after the first 1/4. The Cavendish is almost tasteless vs. the Perique; ditto, the burly. The VAs finally arrive past 3/4, too little and too late, for my money. The Perique is another matter. It's first on the scene (after the plum brandy...), and it quickly snowballs. Fast, and/or strong puffers will get righteously "spiced", and how, and this may well be at the root of most of the complaints about HD's excessive "strength".

Revisiting the "strength" issue, I rate HD at just over "medium". If you think HD is strong, I recommend you be careful with many Pease blends, especially Triple Play and JackKnife Plug. OTOH, if you want something that is actually (quite) strong, with great, strong tastes, try Sillem's Commodore Flake.

All in all, if you really, really like Perique, and you love plum brandy, you might possibly like Haddo's Delight. And who knows, perhaps long aging can redeem this problematic blend. I'm not holding my breath.

Update: At 15 mos. the brandy is, IMO, the best part of the smoke, lending a nice aromatic quality to the initial "flavorless" period. After that, it's still just too much Perique, and not enough else, as before. While I like Perique, this "blend" is still lost on me.

Update: after almost 4 years rest in a Mason jar HD is finally ready for smoking! If you can find some that's been so aged, and you are good with plenty of Perique, I heartily recommend you smoke it. The alcohol is gone, settled into a rich, sweet plum that imbues and enhances the generally "fruity' smoke. There is not much in the way of the usual pepper, but there are very intense, Middle Eastern dessert spices that most will want to smoke slowly and snork gently. The VAs are still mostly subsumed, and the lot is well-melded. The white Burley puts a slight, bracing, bitter edge on it that I quite like. In brief, it's still "too much Perique", but now it "works", and all's well that ends well. I'm glad I hung onto my stash.
Pipe Used: various briars
PurchasedFrom: Liberty Tobacco
Age When Smoked: 3 months to rested 4 years
37 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 08, 2014 Medium to Strong Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Haddo's is another winner from the Greg Pease. One thing that intrigues me is just how much this blend changes as it has time to age. I've been lucky enough to try it fresh, aged 10 years, and a number of points in between. Regardless of the age, a few things seem consistent:

The tin note is a combination of tangy tobacco with a plum brandy topping. The combination of the topping and the perique give the tin note a little something reminiscent to chocolate covered raisins. The smoke and mouthfeel are also very consistent - heavy-bodied, quite a bit of smoke, and a fair bit of nicotine strength from the white burley and perique.

Otherwise, when it comes to describing the taste of the smoke, itself, I think it's necessary to break it down into a few different ages categories:

**1. Fresh --Fresh from the tin, Haddo's is loud, bold, and brash. The Virginia is still a little rough around the edges, but not too sharp as its nicely rounded by the cavendish. The topping is more apparent here then in older versions, and the plum/brandy taste is easily found in the first half of the bowl. I wouldn't go as far as to call it truly an "aromatic," but the younger the blend is, the closer it gets. Also of note is that the perique is very peppery at this stage, and goes a long way to clearing out the sinuses!

**2. Moderately aged (2-6 years) --The topping begins to fade into the background, but it is still detectable. With it being less dominant, you get a better sense of the VA and Burley leaf in the blend, and you taste those tobacco components more than in the fresh version. Here, something magical starts to happen between the topping and the leaf - the subdued flavor of the topping really complements the natural characteristics of the tobacco, and it's a match made in heaven. The perique at this point is still very peppery,but has begun to take on the characteristics of dark fruit.

I think this is really something special. The topping of dark fruit and sweet alcohol diminishes in its own right but goes a long to support the increasing natural sweetness and dark fruit qualities that result from the aging of the leaves in the blend. WHAT A TREAT!!!

**3. Well-Aged (7+ years) --The topping is barely detectable. In fact, in samples aged 9 and 10 years old I haven't been able to taste it all except, perhaps, in the very first lighting of the bowl. What remains is an excellent quality blend, tasting nothing but the sweetness of well aged Virginia with a bit of the burley to carry it along. The perique has now lost a lot of its peppery quality and instead lends its characteristic "dark fruit" qualities to the blend. With this much aged, it has very little in common with its fresh form, but is a top-tier VaPer in its own right.

So, to sum up, the older the blend gets the more sweetness is owed to the aged VA rather than the topping, and the more the perique offers "dark fruitiness" as opposed to peppery-ness.

For my money, Haddo's is best between 4 and 6 years old. It is at that point that you can still taste the plum brandy topping, but in a way that fully supports and complements all of the component tobaccos but doesn't stand out in the crowd. As a perique lover, this is where you find the best combination of pepper and fig/raisin, as well.

Bottom line: I call this a 3-star blend for the purposes of this site, but because age plays such a huge role, I would break it down as:

Fresh/Young: 2.5 Stars Moderately Aged: 4 Stars Well Aged: 3-3.5 Stars
Age When Smoked: Various
24 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 11, 2001 Strong Extremely Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Pouch Aroma: Ok, let me go on record saying that this stuff smells really ODD in the baggie. It's got a sweet note that reminds me of maple sugar, and right alongside - neither dominating nor being dominated - is the earthy, compost-y smell of Perique and rich orientals. At first it was almost unpleasant, but after burying my nose in the bag a few times methinks me likes it.

Appearance: This looks to be about 25% dark tobaccos, 20% golden-yellow, 20% red and the remainder is a tawny honey-gold with a greenish cast. This is a nice looking tobacco cut mostly short and coarse - 15mm x 2-3mm average. It looks perfect for a short, wide bowl so I packed it into my old Hardcastle bulldog which is a favored pipe for VA mixtures.

Packing and Lighting: This stuff packs easily - actually, I had to be careful not to pack too tightly due to its being just a little moister than I usually prefer. Still, the light hand triumphed and the first flame brought me mouthfuls of soft sweet smoke which had a peppery tingle when blown out of my nose and a very mild and sweet room note.

Exposition: After a very light tamp and relight (not really needed, just habit mostly) the pepperiness has mellowed just a bit, leaving a mild tobacco flavor to entertain me. It's not as full as something like GLP's Cairo but it's got a bit more physical presence, producing great billows of thick, light blue-grey smoke. It's a bit early to be sure, but I don't sense much potential here for biting and it would make a great social smoke for those who can't handle flavored tobaccos. The adorable young lady who works at the jewelry store across from my work says it smells great, and quite unlike any of my usual smokes. So far this is a keeper!

The Story: Word of advice - do NOT accidentally inhale this one! I smoked cigarettes for too many years but have managed to lose the inhaling habit. On occasion though, I do it subconsciously, mostly with milder tobaccos in what must be an attempt to get 'that old-time feeling' or sumpin'. Well, this stuff tastes mild, but underneath that velvet glove lies a fist of pure unobtainium! I had to set my pipe down and let Thin Lizzy finish "The Boys are Back in Town" before I could stand to relight . . . this stuff packs a teensy wallop!

The flavor is holding quite well; it's a bit gurgly but nothing too terrible, and after my involuntary rest period it has taken on a flavor reminiscent of popcorn of all things! Not in a bad way, it just has some of the same nutty, buttery flavor components underneath its nice sweet virginia taste. In classic VA fashion the flavor is intensifying toward mid-bowl though, and some of the sweetness is turning woodsy.

Denouement: Reaching the end of the bowl, I'm finding quite a bit more strength than I would have guessed initially. It reminds me of Two Friends' "Redwood" in this respect; mellow start, smooth but full-flavored mid-bowl, then BAM! upside the noggin with the nicotine stick.

Is gooood smoke, Kemo Sabe!

The ash is a dark salt-and-pepper and very fluffy and the bowl walls are left clean as a whistle. This tobacco has a nice mellow start, an interesting middle and a gloriously relaxing finish with nice smoke volume and room aroma throughout the entire smoke. The burning qualities are faster than normal but with no bite. Granted, it's not the most complex smoke I've had, but I get the feeling that a dedicated pipe would bring out many nuances in time. The last few shreds are blackened leaf scraps and the heel is dry with a nice coating of ash for future cake-building.

Pros: Mellow initially with a good progression of strength and flavor, great burning properties, nice smell for those around, lots of thick smoke and no bite. I'll buy some when I find out what it is!

Cons: It almost starts out too mellow and some may find it a tad powerful at the finish, but anyone who likes naturally sweet tobacco but doesn't care for the preparation and slow smoking properties of VA flakes should be able to overlook these 'problems'.

My second trial of this was in a family-era Sasieni 'Cromer', a group 2-3 billiard which smokes exquisitely well. The experience was almost identical to the first - I smoked it entirely at work and got a LOT of compliments on it and not a few queries as to what I was smoking. You can imagine my initial sheepishness when I had to say "Umm, I have no idea" before explaining the BPTT concept. I like this better in larger pipes though, as the little Sasieni was down to ash long before I was ready for it to be finished. . .

This one definitely gets an 85, for I can easily dance to it!
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 14, 2006 Strong Medium Full Tolerable to Strong
Alright. Haddo's Delight is a tricky one!!!It has a very weird smell upon opening, which invades the nostrils and stays there for a while; it's definitely a bit strange. And rather strong. That smell is hard to explain, rather spicy, with a powerful note of damp earth after a light rain ( Hum, I guess Poetry is not among my many other talents...but this is an epistemological exercise). My wife says it smells like dried prunes, I wonder where she gets it...I can't, myself, detect the smell of cocoa and dried fruit as it says on the tin.

As for the tobacco itself, when I read stout, I expected mainly a dark tobacco. But it's not: rather brown, golden brown and shades of black. The cut is long and thin, no presence of ready-rubbed flakes: all loose cut, and it's a nice change! I recommend the tin to be dried out a bit before smoking, because this tobacco is a real man's smoke, if you see what I mean. If you're starting off your pipe smoker career, stay away from this blend, or you will repent! It might even make you sick to your stomach! This blend is for the experienced pipe smoker only, and you need to have measured yourself with the strong English blends to be able to deal with Haddo!

I selected my Stanwell Buffalo and Chacom Carrare for this blend, both medium sized bowls. Curiously, upon lighting, the Burley seems predominant at first, but it fades away after about 5 minutes to be replaced by the rest - VA, the more substantial Périque and I cannot really make out the unsweetened Black Cavendish, whose job is supposed to compensate and soothe the strong overall taste. And boy, this gets stronger and stronger as you go! Haddo's Delight has a tendency to leave a slightly sweaty bowl by the end (which must be provoked by the Burley, I suspect, and the fact that the tobacco is still rather damp). I think there might be more than just a "little air-cured white burley" in this mixture. Personally, I do not really enjoy Burley, but it's a minor factor.

I must say, I like this tobacco! Haddo's Delight is strong and satisfying. The nicotine is not lacking, you won't feel like having another pipe full shortly after. This is the kind of smoke enjoyable with a fine measure of Bourbon whiskey, Single malt or an old Cognac. Or smoke it when you need to extract yourself from an absolute boring day. Feeling tired? Smoke Haddo's, it will bring you back to life pretty darn quickly!

The only negative side is that Haddo's Delight leaves my tongue rather beaten up afterward. But it's a nice alternative to a traditional English Blend - the only blend about which I let my wife win because she tried to tolerate them but can not stand the smell of Latakia...

Don't let the weird smell stop you from trying this blend, it's worth it. Extremely different, it is a unique blend, like nothing I've smoked before. Definitely recommended, but in small doses.

Update

My first tin has been opened for 4 or 5 weeks now, the weird damp smell that tickles the nose has settled down a lot. I do detect now some discreet tones of coco, both in the tin and when I smoke it.

I started smoking this tobacco when it was too damp. I've learned from this mistake. Didn't know, it was my first attempt. Mind you, once dried out properly, it is still strong but the taste is different - the Burley barely sticks out anymore at first-, it's more on the good side of bitter-sweet black chocolate, the full victory of the magnificent Périque de Louisiane! Haddo's Delight smokes extremely well and the bowl is dry upon completion. The room note is rather strong, though - according to my ever attentive critique- but tolerable.

Haddo's Delight is a great tobacco, a masterpiece of blending. I am truly impressed by this one. Don't let first impressions dictate your relationship with this blend. I've been a pipe smoker since 1988 and this is the first time that my first impression proved wrong. For some reason, I refused to get rid of my three tins and kept trying. My instinct has not let me down! If you rely on that first impression,you might miss an absolute jewel! This blend needs time, patience and 5 or 6 pipe fulls before it reveals itself in its full glory. You need to be patient because it's like nothing else available on the market and redefines the smoker's conceptions of pipe tobaccos. That's what makes it so great. The folks at G.L. Pease really hit the Bull's eye with that blend!

So, I must change my verdict from recommended to highly recommended. It will never be an all day smoke for me, but it will always have a privileged place among my favorite blends.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 26, 2016 Strong Medium to Strong Medium to Full Pleasant
G. L. Pease - Haddo's Delight (Original Mixtures).

The tin-note's lovely: alcoholic, fruity, and sprightly. Although it's badged ribbon there are a few different shapes and cuts in there, and sadly this includes a couple of twigs. The appearance suggests a lesser amount of Black Cavendish in comparison to the other varieties of tobacco.

I note how the popular opinion on the added flavour is mild, but I can't say the same. It's not overwhelming, but to my tastes it's quite strong: the combination of alcohol and fruit makes for a sweet liqueur type flavour. The main tobacco taste is unequivocally the Perique, and this is reflected in the quantity of nicotine: medium to strong. I struggle to get much flavour from the others, they have quite a formidable force to contend with regarding the Perique. The burn from Haddo's Delight is steady, and it has a medium speed.

I'll finish on the point I don't like: it bites.

This would be a good blend for those who like aromatics but get fed up with the constant weakness and want more N. But I can't say I'm mad about it, I'm not saying it's bad, but it doesn't earn any more than two stars from me.

Somewhat recommended.
Pipe Used: Chacom
PurchasedFrom: Gauntleys Nottingham
Age When Smoked: Six months
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 06, 2014 Medium to Strong Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
I a writing this review after finishing a 2 oz tin. My first impression was that this was a little harsh and disappointing. I smoked it in the same Peterson 999 and then switched to a GBD pot, and I will say that I acquired a taste for it. I think this blend benefits from a dedicated pipe, and this may explain part of the improved experience. For me, it smoked better in the larger bowl, and I picked up more of the flavors.

There is a subtle quality to this blend despite a solid dose of perique and a little more nicotine than most things I smoke. You can pick up the sweet Virginias and a slight topping that is hard to identify. It almost seemed like banana. It was not much like the things I usually smoke, and it made a nice change for pace. I was sorry when the tin was done, but I did not order more.

This tobacco left a somewhat pleasant ghost in the two main pipes I used with it. I would pick up just a trace of the perique and the fruit in the next couple of bowls after it was gone.
Pipe Used: Peterson 999, GBD pot
PurchasedFrom: pipesandcigars.com
Age When Smoked: fresh from the tin
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