G. L. Pease Haddo's Delight

Having read somewhere that Aleister Crowley smoked rum soaked but otherwise pure perique and given it a go with some intriguing results (herein my interest in Crowley ends), I thought I would give this offering that is named after a character inspired by him a go.

The tin aroma reminds me somewhat of fresh Carter Hall, a little sweet perhaps with hints of something from a tin of Quality Street, only a lot nicer. The colours of the tobacco are rich, as with all GL Pease's offerings, with a lot of rich earthy browns and some darker ribbons included. It was quite moist but this doesn't effect the lighting any but the length of some of the ribbons makes them clump up a little making the packing a little but not too tricky. The smoke itself is delightful as those sweet Carter Hall like flavours come through. As it progresses, the perique begins to rears it's head and, while not overwhelming, adds a dark but pleasurable addition to the smoke as the tobacco underneath begin to shine. There is a bit of roughness at the bottom of the bowl though, even when smoked gently which takes the shine off it a little. Also, I found this to be tremendously strong, certainly more than any other Pease tobacco that I've smoked. Thankfully, I've smoked this in a pipe with quite a small bowl so it does not become an issue.

This is a tremendously gorgeous pipe tobacco that I'd be happy to smoke more regularly save for the roughness and the strength, and possibly the price too. Maybe it improves with aging - sadly I am smoking it young as I don't have the wallet to cellar to any great length - but as it stands, this tobacco is pure concentrated evil and I swear the most miniscule ribbon could turn us all into hermit crabs. I cannot, in all good consciousness, give this four stars but it is so darned close but, in the meantime, I'd give it 3.75. The one thing about evil when it does it's job properly though, it's so darn tempting.

I have read that Pease blends improve significantly with age and maybe that is true with this one.

I have smoked 4 bowls of this and haven't particularly enjoyed any of them. I think this would be better smoked in the winter. I smoked a bowl of this when it was about 90 degrees outside and felt like I was about to pass out. It was very harsh and it left me with an upset stomach.

I like a little Perique (Irish Oak is one of my favorite tobaccos) but this one has been too much for me.

Maybe I am just not man enough for it. I will try and give an update in the fall/winter when it has had some time to age.

EDIT: 9/7/13

I just jarred most of what I had left of my 2oz. tin. I smoked another bowl (in the cool of the morning this time) and was again disappointed. It was characterized by burning in the back of the throat (I like spicy, this is just harsh) and an upset stomach. I couldn't even finish the bowl.

I can smell the raisins that people consistently comment on but it is overpowered (to my taste) by the perique. I had the opened tin in a container (to keep the smell from bothering my wife) with 9 pipes and two other opened tins of tobacco and when I open the container all I can smell is the friggin' Haddo's!

'Gonna let this joker chill for a year or two before I try again. Maybe I'll get some Irish Oak in the meantime.

UPDATE2: 04-2014

Okay, now that this tin has gotten some age one it I am rereviewing it. When I opened the jar I still got the familiar cloying scent from this. I was sure I was not going to enjoy it. I went outside with a bowl of this and some hot black coffee. Man, what a difference! The sweetness, with a slight pepperiness. That cloying aroma gives way to a very nice smoke.

I will say, I've had several bowls of this since reopening the jar and it seems to smoke completely different outside than it does indoors (my truck counts as indoors right?). It seems to loose that subtle sweetness and I think a nice cool breeze does wonders for the peppery Perique. If you are just getting into Va/Per's I would suggest going with something a bit more mild (like PS Bullseye Flake).

All in all (sorry for the long review) I give this 4 stars AS LONG AS: you let it get a bit of age; smoke it slow; enjoy on a nice cool/cold morning. That's a lot of conditions so I can't give this more than 3 stars.

Not bad, but not memorable either. Smells and tastes like some rum flavoured blends from C&D . The C&D AfterHours is better. Tobacco is too dry, difficult to keep lighted, and it releases moisture. Will not buy again.

My first bowl review of Haddo's. At first I was unsure of this blend. At the beginning of the toke I was feeling a little too heavy on spicyness/pepperiness. Perhaps i just pulled too hard or fast on it. Also, had a slight issue with moisture coming up through the stem. Maybe needs to dry out a bit. This smoke really grew on me throughout the bowl. I see this is a sign of a real quality blend. In the middle it was very earthy. It almost tasted like I had broken up a cigar and dropped it in the bowl. Perhaps that was from the Burley element, which is my first experience. Towards the end the earthiness really mellowed out, easing slowly into a nice smooth flavor on the palate. I found myself wishing that the bowl was not finished, yearning for more. I did feel the nicotine hit, but was not overpowered by it as some were. My rating: Very enjoyable. May turn to 4 stars upon further review.

A nice VaPer, with the added cav and burley not really evident to me as separate notes. The perique sensative may find that element a bit too strong, but a nice stout smoke all-in-all. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is probably not.

Haddo definitely needs to be aged to get the best smoke from it. Upon opening the tin it smells awesome! Like a fig newton and even a slight chocolate covered rasin scent in there. But it is rather harsh at first smoke. Buy this blend in advance open, take a sniff, then shelve it for a few months. HUGE difference! One of my favite smokes lately. I just reviewed Haddo's delight on my new youtube video channel "Adventures in Pipe Smoking" Episode 4 check it out!

Opening this six month old tin of Haddo's Delight revealed loose varied cut ribbons in different shades of brown, black, and orange. The tin aroma was of figs, raisins, and chocolate covered cherries. It had a good moisture level and was clean to the touch.

An unlit sip brought the raisin and fig taste to my palate. Overall the raisin and fig tastes seemed to dominate. I could also grasp the brandy flavor that other reviews I have read have mentioned. It was very full bodied with a wicked hit of nicotine. This blend burned to a dry gray ash, leaving a nice room note, and a short finish.

This blend may have been too complex for me to give an adequate review. I have been used to smoking more straightforward tobaccos of late, and I was not ready for what this blend had to offer. I enjoyed the nice sweet flavors I could detect, and the cool burning of this blend. I wouldn't smoke this blend on an empty stomach. I tried it once, and it left me feeling queasy. I think this would be a great after lunch smoke to carry one through to the end of the work day. I also think anyone who enjoys a full bodied, high nicotine blend with perique will enjoy this smoke. I have another tin in my cellar I'm going to let sit for a few years, and then tackle this one again.

I have to admit, when I tried this at first, I just did not like this blend. It tasted green and overbearing to me and as I did not want to slam Greg, I just resealed it and put it to the back of my opened tins chest. It has been many months now, and I mved into a new home recently and I found this blend and thought what the heck, I will give it another try. Oh what a difference a few months makes! I am finding I like it a lot now. I think this blend just needs more time to mature to become a nice blend.

In the tin, it is very peat like and tart smelling, composed of the spectrum of colors and in a ribbon/rough cut. It is very easy to load in the pipe and quite easy to lite. Once lit it burns nice and slow and emits a strong, sharp room note very typical of VaPers. When my wife complained about the aroma, I knew I was going to enjoy it this time. I love perique and this contains a great deal of it. The mixture of Virginias along with the perique make for a not so subtle, rich, creamy, spicy smoke. It has non of the haylike sweetness of a lot of VA based blends, it is deep and flavorful and very rich in taste right from the start, yet it produces no tongue bite at all. It smokes great with coffee or a beer and could easily be an all day blend for those that like strong tobaccos. It burns down to a dark grey ash with a little dottle at the bottom of the pipe. I have smoked 10 bowls of this in two days now and the more i smoke it the more I am liking it, in fact I just ordered another 8oz tin of it. So I have moved from unimpressed to recommending it now. For perique lovers, it is a must try.

If John Wayne had liked perique, (maybe he did!) this would have been his goto smoke. When I am in a REAL perique mood, this is the tobacco that flls the bill. Good late day smoke when you need to be up late and on top of your game. Not a mild number by any stretch, but it does what one would expect from a name like it has.