G. L. Pease Haddo's Delight

This is a brilliant take on the VAPer genre. I must tip my hat to Mr Pease for this effort. It is a delicious though somewhat bold/assertive blend when fresh, but age in the cellar does wonders at softening the rough edges and sweetening the Virginias.

The rum topping or the “exclusive process” that is indicated on the tin makes itself known in the tin bouquet, the smoke itself(where it adds to as opposed to distracts from the tobacco), and the aromaticity of the sidestream.

The Virginias are sweet and without teeth. The burley likely contributes the the nicotine level which is just past medium. The Perique adds pepper to the retrohale early on in the bowl. As one smokes down and the leaf at the bottom becomes “auto stoved,” the Perique lends more of a dark stewed stone fruit character. At this point the retrohale can border on the glorious sense that “I’m blowing stewed prunes out my nose!”

Dryness level out of the tin is ideal. The rough cut takes a light easily and burns well. I am so totally impressed with this blend. Even if VAPers are not your thing, I would strongly advise the reader to consider this blend. A masterpiece in the annals of tobacco blending!

When I opened the first tin of this I was taken aback by the note. A rather strong fruity aroma arose (from the rum, I guess), and I haven't been a huge fan of that aroma from a VaPer. I more often associate the smell of what is popularly referred to as "McKetchup" with quality VaPers. I approached the blend with caution. It packed and lit well, and the fruity aroma carried over to the smoke. After about three bowls, I stepped out and bought another tin.

I must have adapted to the taste quickly and now find it really good. Nicotine is medium and the room note is pleasant. I have had no problem with the blend smoking hot even though I'm a rather heavy puffer. Although I wouldn't consider this an all day smoke I certainly recommend it.

Presentation: Haddo's Delight comes in a chunky chopped ribbon. My tin had a melting pot of shapes and sizes. Throughout the tin, there are dark pieces of what I believe to be the perique or black cavendish that need to be broken up a bit more than what was provided. Amongst the darker portions of perique and black cavendish, lies medium brown/red virginias and a few brights and the lighter and smaller chunks of white burley. Nice sugar crystals had formed on the darker tobaccos due to the age of the tin, which was eye candy.

Palate: The newly opened tin hits you with a plum and raisin aroma, with a slight feather tickle from what seems to be minuscule vinegar to the nostrils. Very strong topping, but not nauseating. This blend is complex. It offers a deep earthy bouquet and diverse taste. It's somewhat smooth and while the rum topping is heavy applied in the tin, it doesn't particularly overwhelm the tobacco taste, but is noticeable. The base of Virginias is mostly reds from what I can gather, which offer a delicate sweetness, with a hint of bright here and there. The black cavendish adds a creamy dimension to the mouth feel and retrohale, while the perique is a little spicy, yet more dark fruit natured than anything. The burley is barely detectable, as I feel it may have been added to round out some of the rougher spots. It does however have a lovely side stream.

Performance: When I first smoked this blend, it didn't consistently give me the same flavor and was hard to keep lit due to the uneven cut. I'm not sure if this was just my tin, or if this is how all the tins are, but I feel that it could use a re-work in how it is packaged. Either new or aged, Haddo's Delight needs some breathing time to settle down. Even with the 4+ years of age, it was unrefined and had some sharp edges that needed to be dulled. Lights with two or three charring, and stays lit until the last 1/3 of the bowl. Requires an additional light. Burns at a medium pace, not too fast or slow. Medium to medium/strong nicotine hit, yet varies on your tolerance.

Conclusion: This blend sat for another year in the jar before I came back to it. It developed a lovely deep dark chocolate aroma that was absent when initially opening it and the plum/raisin smell was diminished greatly and not sharp. Perhaps I needed to let it mellow a bit before truly experiencing this popular blend. I can see why so many people like it, but first impressions are everything. I enjoyed it after it went to rehab for 12 months and found myself reaching for it every night for two weeks as my nightly smoke. It's a delectable smoke and its complexity shines despite its shortcomings, but I can't see myself cellaring any more than one or two tins of this tobacco, due to the factors mentioned above. There are many tobaccos in which I prefer to this as of right now, especially as this is a Va/Per and I have a better palate for other blends in this category. I'm afraid I'll let this blend slip through my list of favorites as so many others before me have felt the opposite, but I won't be sad. I know that Haddo's Delight will stick around, and if something changes, then perhaps those few extra tins won't go to waste.

This blend is something of an enigma. It can be difficult to classify what type of blend Haddo's Delight is. If you think you know, I can assure you there are many others that will disagree with your assessment. That aside, I'll do my best to describe this blend from my own experience.

I would describe the taste as fruity. Not like an aromatic can be fruity, but more like how sweet Virginia's and Perique can sometimes be fruity. Except, it's much sweeter than a VaPer to me. Part of this is in the topping, I'm sure. I'm not sure what the topping is, but it is definitely present. There is a strong raisin-like and almost wine-like quality to this blend. The sweetness of the smoke lasts throughout the bowl, no-doubt supported by the presence of Cavendish in this blend.

This is a love-it or hate-it blend for most people. I honestly didn't know how I felt about it for quite some time. I smoked a 2 ounce tin and was still undecided. I smoked a second 2 ounce tin, was still undecided. Then I ordered an 8 ounce tin, and then another many months later. I came to realize that I actually really like Haddo's Delight because I'm certainly smoking a lot of it. I always have a good quantity on hand.

It smokes cool, it doesn't require many relights, and it's easy to work with. It is deceptively strong in nicotine though. If you are sensitive to nicotine, filling up a large bowl pipe might get you into trouble before you realize it. The nicotine strength isn't immediately apparent. For this reason, it is best smoked in a medium sized pipe unless you are a seasoned pipe smoker.

I recommend this tobacco, but be aware this is an odd one that is very different from most everything else. It took me a year before I accepted that I love this blend.

Haddo's Delight is a marvel and truly unique. Robust and flavorful, the dried dark fruit notes from the perique are prominent- plum, dates, and raisin. The topping is slightly more noticeable in the first 3rd, but it's masterfully applied and merely serves to accentuate the natural flavors. Where the burley adds a slightly sharp edge, adding strength and body, the virginia adds balance and light hay. The cavendish is sugary sweet and really makes the blend, and reminds me somewhat of toasted coconut. As others have noted, Haddo's Delight becomes bolder and spicier a little past the halfway mark, and this is also where it picks up strength. Smooth, full, rich, and satisfying, this blend ages wonderfully. 4 stars.

In some ways, this reminds me a bit of Chenet's Cake, with a bit more restraint. "Chenet's Lite", so to speak. The Virginias are tangy-sweet, more bright citrus than dark fruit. There's a fair amount of perique, but the real genius is the topping. It lends the fruitiness of perique without the spice and nic-hit, while the Cavendish and Burley lend body and and dark sweetness. Quite a trick, and quite a tasty tobacco. A good intro to those who want to get into heavy perique blends. Room note will be pleasing to all but dedicated tobacco-haters.

I am not a fan of Pease's virginia blends in general, but this one is quite good. A dash of added flavour adds a complexity and richness his other blends tend to lack. There are levels though, this is not up there with Peterson and Gawith; it is too thin flavourwise and leaves an ashy note on my tongue. Want something light and salty that is far from full, by all means try this. I can't see myself revisiting it though.

Taste: First light reveals a slight sweetness from the virginia just below the flavour of the topping; mainly alcohol (more rum than brandy and not so much of the plum). The perique grows more noticeable towards the end half of the bowl, as the spiciness continuously grows and intensifies. The topping strikes me as a tad bit peculiar, as it really is quite loud and present throughout the entire smoke. I am certain that it is the alcohol that plays the leading role, but it does not taste like any brandy or rum that I have ever imbibed - rather it reminds me of a crossover between the brandy in Barbary coast and the miscellaneous topping (I really have no idea what it is comprised of) of Samuel Gawith's Kendal Cream. Does it work? Well, I think so - it is unique and adds a character to the leaf in the blend. Now let us talk about the mentioned leaf. It is my opinion and belief that Mr Pease and the gentlemen at Cornell & Diehl have poor virginias to play with; their virginia blends always come across as a bit bland to me (whereas I love their burley ones). This actually plays in favour of the topping, as it is allowed to be dominant and take charge without me grieving the masking of the natural virginia taste. Now, though the topping is rather forward this is not an aromatic like, say, Autumn Evening by C&D - there is a balance that allows for a prominently salty side of the tobacco to play alongside the added flavours. They kind of have each other's backs. I still find the overall sensation somewhat thin, underwhelming, as it is quite cautious and never really grabs a hold of me.

Mechanics: Rough cut, a bit moist out of the tin, easy to pack. No bite, medium nicotine. Burns just fine but a moist smoke that will require some pipe cleaners.

Maugham called The Magician "lush and turgid" which I think could stand in for the perique in Haddo's Delight.

Looking forward to more literary influences - maybe Josef K's Kake where you keep getting a tiny hint of Red Virginia but you can never tease it out, or Ivan Fyodorovich's Flake, in which one doubts the existence of burley?

After hemming and hawing for a while I cracked open an aged (5 yrs.) tin of this and I couldn't be happier. Flavorful, well burning, good strength, lovely complexity, not too much, not too little.

The plum smell is there at the beginning and calms down as the Perique takes over but never enough to overswhelm it's basic flavors. "Stout" is a nice adjective -- you've been enjoying a pipe, no doubt about that with the room note and taste, and are completely satisfied after a good size bowl. I've been smoking this in a bigger Radice, and love it at nightwhen the world calms down.