Hearth & Home Larry's Blend

(Original review, see revised below)-Weird, that's what I think of this one. Upon lighting, I got a strong taste of MOLD ???? So much so, I wrote Pipes & Cigar's, Russ Ouellette, to ask if he had a problem. Russ graciously wrote back explaining that it is the high quantity of Smyrna leaf used that gave me that taste. He recommended trying Armada, which is around the same strength, but with different Orientals which are brighter in flavor.

Updated 9/14, Just tried a tin of McCellands Grand Orientals: Smyrna No.1, I love it and no mold!!!!

Updated 9/17/11, Had to try LB again after trying the McC's Smyrna #1, Yes, I get it now, the oriental Smyrna is really out front and as long as I don't THINK, "mold" , it is great, earthy. I think the description threw me off, I don't find the Latakia or Virginia that strong in comparison to the Orientals , Oriental is totally out front, sweet provolone cheeze. I also find this very similar in taste ( same Orientals) to C&D "Orient Express", but smoother. I believe the Perique in "OE" gives it a little nip ,but it also is slightly more flavorful than Larry's blend.I really feel that Ten to Midnight has more Latakia,unlike the description indicates. I really have to bump this to 3 stars.

PS Wife hates the smell,I'll make this a regular !

2/28/13- I had some "Black House" yesterday and I find the two very similar. BH might have more Latakia and flavor but it doesn't burn as well as LB, I also tried "Ambassador's blend" and I like that better than LB. It has the same flavor but the Smyrna is toned down some.

What a lat bomb.

If you are looking for the lat fix that so many people seem to crave, look no further. Huge wallop of in your face lat from the tin note, and on the char light is smells like you are beside a campfire.

Then, the background warms up, and there is a wonderful creamy fullness about the smoke. Its still big and loud, but soft around the edges. It needs no work or help, it delivers trayloads of goodness with hardly any draw, and gets bigger and louder as it goes on.

I don't get much from the accompanying band. The other elements seem to be there to smooth out the lat and give a bit of background noise, but as lat bombs go its a lot smoother, more complex and satisfying than most.

Good price too.

Winner.

Second Russ Oulette blend for me, the 1st being Anniversary Cake, which was terrible. This, however, is a blend fantastic.

The tin note is Latakia forward, and the consistency is of grossly irregularly cut shag? No kidding, there were pale blonde Va leaf in there six inches long-I measured. It was drier than I like, and if it lasted long enough I'd have to throw in a humidisc. It won't last that long though.

This stuff is rich, sweet and buttery, it doesn't burn hot and although it seems laborious to get established-from a fire-it-up perspective, it burns cool and slow. Sweetness to a nice soury taste, all in the same bowl.

Well done, well done indeed. Wonderful stuff.

This came as a small ribbon, mottled leaning toward dark in color with a bag aroma of latakia and sweet orientals. Quite enticing. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to extract this buttery quality that the orientals are purported to provide. This blend smoked extremely bitter, far from creamy, and very murky. There was some nice flavor from the latakia, but it seemed to me that too much of that condiment was used... which is silly because that's sort of the point!

Any complexity was hard to follow because this dusty, dirty flavor was a bit overbearing. The room note is guaranteed to make all non-pipers flee. It smoked cool and with little nicotine, and I get the impression that there's a good blend hiding somewhere in there... hiding from ME, at any rate... because this one seems to score high marks. And I do seem to struggle with a lot of blenders "lat bomb" tobacco blends. Consequently, I recommend this to anyone seeking such a blend with the codicil that I don't review tobaccos per se, but how much or how little they mesh with my taste buds. A small distinction, perhaps, but critical. And I do believe I'll let Larry have my share of this one.

This excellent entry by Russ Ouelette of Hearth and Home Tobacco is just that: excellent. I could not, however, give this four stars, simply because of the cut of the tobacco. It is a coarse cut which has given me trouble with the packing of it, and I cannot smoke it in some of my pipes because I simply cannot pack it properly to prevent tobacco from being sucked into the shank and causing blockage. Other than that, it's all excellence, but I felt that this deserved mention as it is a rather important issue, practically speaking.

I had heard so many good things about Hearth and Home and about Russ that I decided to try this, especially because I favor Balkans, and especially Balkans with some punch to them. This one delivers, big time. The nicotine level is how I like it: nice and high. Not overwhelmingly high, but high enough that you don't feel the need to smoke another bowl of it once you're done. That's important to me.

The taste is as described on the tin: rather buttery, and "amped-up" with latakia. It is perfect with regard to the amount of each component tobacco that is used. It is just so well done; as with any good English or Balkan, the tobaccos all harmonize, rather than each one singing in a different key. Occasionally the latakia would really pop in and say hello, but overall, probably due to the quality of the Orientals used, this tobacco is clearly blended by a modern day master. Russ, if you didn't know, won the competition where several different blenders attempted to recreate Sobranie 759, judged by his peers. I never had 759, but I imagine Russ did it justice, and then some.

Really, you would be doing yourself an injustice to skip this one if you like Balkans. Even if you are decidedly an English smoker, try this; it might turn you on to the Balkan genre. Now if only the cut was similar to, say, 1820 or the current Dunhill ribbon cut, I would be much happier, but I guess one cannot expect perfection at all times. Still, very much recommended.

EDIT: I can't even believe my eyes when I read my old reviews sometimes, that's the trouble with doing this. Anyhow, I have upped my rating to four stars, and this blend would get five if I could. It is in my "top five favorites tobaccos on Earth" list. I just ordered half a pound of it in bulk from pipesandcigars.com. Seriously, to not try this should be a crime against tobacco. Do not hesitate.

Also, maybe I shouldn't say anything, but to the guy who said this is an in-your-face aromatic similar to Paladin Black Cherry... are you sure you're smoking the right Larry's Blend? There is absolutely no flavoring in this tobacco whatsoever.

This was quite dry out of the bag, just the way I like it. Packed very easily, almost a gravity fill because the dryness discouraged tamping. It burns beautifully and does not require relights.

This is a rich, delicious blend and I will certainly buy more. It's more earthy than Stokkebye's Balkan Supreme or 965, and when I say earthy I mean dirt, like the rich black soil I planted my tomatoes in last week. It's a big mouthful of taste for those times when I'm in the mood for a more raw, back to nature experience, while BS and 965 will remain my choices for a smoother and creamier smoke. Get a bunch of this stuff and put it away for while!

First smoked this sometime back in February or March 2014. Here I am still smoking it in 2022 (it's Jan 1st 3:12am as I'm writing this). Not sure what to say about it other than that it checks all the right boxes for me. Smoky, earthy, sour, tangy. Not too strong, not too light. Pretty much a perfect smoke when I'm in the mood for a Latakia blend. Shout out to Dagner for recommending this blend years ago in his pipe smoking tutorial.

From the description offered by H&H I was concerned about just how dark and heavy this blend was going to be. The reviews were quite positive, though some reviewers labeled it as a "lat bomb". Now that I have smoked this wonderful blend, I must disagree with that epithet - I have smoked some lat bomb blends in my day and this isn't one of them.

On opening the tin you are greeted not only with a wonderful english blend aroma, but the sight of a well-blended mixture of various browns, blacks and some lighter leaves. I knew from long experience with english blend smoking that this was not the aroma nor the appearance of a "lat bomb".

When I was just starting to discover english blends (in the early sixties) every smoke shop (and there were many of them in those days) had a blend like this in their line up of bulks. It usually could be found down toward the stronger end of their englishes; but not all the way down to the end - that was reserved for blends that were much darker in color with lots of black leaf and with mind-blowing heavy latakia aromas.

So, when I opened my first tin of Larry's blend it was like finding a long lost friend - familiar and missed but now close and warm. I thoroughly enjoyed smoking this tobacco and knew that I would be ordering more for smoking and aging in my stash. It smokes round and soft with a warm toastyness that comes from skillful blending with a range of brown middle tobaccos that give it depth. How anybody could label this blend as a latakia bomb is beyond me. Larry's Blend is the epitomy of a medium/heavy english blend - one of the best I have ever smoked. I love it - four enthusiastic stars.

This is an outstanding Balkan blend. To me, this is a mild tobacco. But the taste is absolutely phenomenal, and slow sipping is highly rewarded; Im surprised every time of how unique a taste it has. I wonder if its the Orientals used in this that makes Larry´s Blend so special to me, it makes my pipe sing everytime.

The rough cut is perfect for me, it smokes very cool and without even the slightest bite. Good progression in the bowl, never boring and never harsh. My favorite Balkan by far!