Hearth & Home Louisiana Red

I was gifted around thirty pipe tobacco tins from a nice lady whose uncle unfortunately passed away and this is one of them. I either need to start smoking more or I too will one day be in the same boat with tins to be gifted so I will choose the former. Every time I smoke Red Virginia and/or Red Virginia with Perique I fall in love all over again. The description says St. James Perique but the tin description on my tin only mentions Perique. Maybe St. James was too hard to get, not certain. I am just going to use the standard descriptors of sweet and spicy as I can’t really describe this too well but nine times out of ten, I can tell when I am smoking Red Virginia and I would rate this one among the top 5 or so that I have tried. On a side note, I checked out pipesandcigars.com and it is no longer sold in the tin and contains Acadian Perique vice St. James.

Picked up a couple of ounces of this just recently. I have fallen in love with this tobacco. Is everything I look for in a Virginia perique mix... lots of spiciness from the Perique.... hints of Sweetness from The Virginia.... I have to remind myself not to smoke this too fast because I love the flavor so much... highly highly recommended stuff.

Jimink's review of H&H Louisiana Red is spot on.

As delivered, the tobacco is a bit on the moist side but nevertheless is easy to light and burns evenly, requiring few relights. The aroma of the unburnt tobacco is mildly sweet.

Taste-wise, the red Virginias predominate but the Perique is quite noticeable throughout the smoke, being about mid-way between spicy and fruity. The flavor starts out sweet, fruity and spicy and becomes milder, darker and richer towards the end. H&H LR burns to a dark grey ash, leaving no moisture in the bowl. There is no bite or tongue burn, no matter how fast you smoke it. The after-taste is very pleasant. I rate the tobacco's strength as medium, but I only smoke on occasion and so may be more susceptible to nicotine than the average pipe smoke.

I've been looking for a replacement for McClelland No. 5100 Red Cake and, while H&H LR is not as flavorful as the McClelland red Virginia blend, it's a pretty good substitute. At less than $50 a pound, it's quite a bargain IMO.

If you like VaPers that are sweet and not too spicy, I strongly recommend you try it.

I got a sample of this in a box pass that took place in the smoking tent at the 2018 Chicago Show. I lit it up as we sat there and I was quickly sold on the blend. My preferences generally run towards sweeter uncased or very lightly cased blends like Esoterica Brighton and Pembroke and Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake. This review is based on the fresh one pound factory-sealed bag from Sutliff I ordered immediately after sampling it. I think it will improve with some aging, since my sample was slightly better than the batch I’m smoking now.

Louisiana Red is slightly sweet, with the figgy Perique providing just enough flavor to add interest and tame the bite of the Red Virginias. The Perique isn’t peppery, just flavorful. The side stream is delightful and adds to my enjoyment of this blend. Without drying, a light pack using the Frank method (I use a smaller packet than most, BTW), burns easily with gentle puffs, providing plenty of creamy, cool, smoke. For me, it’s an excellent anytime, all day blend. Does not bite.

Others have compared this to AJ’s, which I haven’t tried yet, but I much prefer this over Anniversary Kake, which I find lacks the modest sweetness I enjoy.

Like the others VaPer Blend, 1st i open the can i can smell a good plum and raisin flavor. Is very good to smell it in a distance but little bit sharp if you smell it in near. In ribbon cut, is easy to pack and with a delighful sight to see this brown cut tobacco. At 1st light, the smoke is quite great, sweet and pleasant with a scent of plum or raisin. I draw it slowly and the taste is getting better, ascending from a mild and smooth taste to almost medium to strong taste with enough peppery and spiciness. Since i love the VaPer blends, i quite enjoy the strength, the strength is between Dunhill Elizabethan Mixtures to GL Pease Telegraph Hill, not to strong but also not to mild, just in medium strength. I smoke it using my briar full bent shape and my local tamarind woodheart pipe, and the moisture is good, not much gurgling even i draw it a little bit fast and hard, but if i draw it a little bit more faster or harder, i'm sure the heat and the moisture will be not good. This is must enjoy it with slowly. I really enjoying my smoking time with this blend from the beginning i open the can until the finish, so perhaps i will buy some more to keep it for aging. Aging VaPer blend usually great to smoke.

I picked this out based on the description of it having "a good amount of outstanding St. James Perique." I like perique. I must say I was a little disappointed initially, this stuff just wasn't quite as spicy as I wanted it to be. Upon opening the tin, I found the tin note to be juicy and sweet. The cut reminded me of cigarette tobacco. The taste kind of reminded me of cigarette tobacco but far more palatable. Moisture content was about perfect and the bowl burned well to a salt and pepper ash with no relights needed. Once the bowl is well underway or after a good DGT this blend really develops a nice twang.

I'm glad I didn't write a one off review based on my initial impression , this stuff has really grown on me. I stuck it in the back of my closet and began to smoke 2 - 3 bowls a week of it, and with every bowl I liked it more and more. I will be ordering another tin.

UPDATE July 28: Gosh this blend is really good, it just keeps getting better and better to me, bumping it up another star. Shifting flavors noted so far in the burn include buttered corn on the cob, collard greens with tabasco, beer battered shrimp, cornbread. Great job, Russ.

This is one great tobacco blend. It is absolutely my favorite Va-Per. Burns even and cool and delivers a satisfying burst of flavor. This one is a winner and a keeper and a permanent part of my rotation.

Bag note sweet Virginia with spiciness just a touch of citrus. Fine ribbon cut. My bag was new the moisture level was fine. packs very easily. Burns a bit hot slow puffing recommended. The Virginia provides some sweetness and the perique give it some spicy and tart notes. Perfect amount of perique. Burns fairly quickly with a few relights between tamping. The flavor stays the same through the whole bowl. This is a nice light Vaper blend. Nic hit is mild. Somewhat one dimensional but for what it is. It is very good. Easily could be an all day smoke. I suspect with a bit of age it will get much better.

The H&H Red Virginia blends are absolutely fantastic. I've had several of them and it does feel like they have their own unique characteristic of a very sweet wine-like aroma. Specifically, and this is highlighted in this blend, it reminds me of one of those Chocolate wine/liquor candies that come in these fancy boxes.

The smoke itself carries some of that aroma and flavor with it. It's amazing how these Red Virginias and the way they're processed can produce such a great flavor. It tastes aged, fermented fruit, wine, a bit of chocolate. And all of it purely natural! This reminds me very much of some Sutliff Red Virginia blends as well, which makes sense since these are produced by Sutliff.

The Perique is very much in the background and helps with a bit of spice. But the Red Virginias are the star of this and other H&H blends.

Similarly to Anniversary Kake, this one too comes in a bit moist and needs some drying time. I don't remember right now how long I dried it for, but it might've been overnight. I made sure that the leaves didn't stick to each other and then I knew it's ready.

Once they're dried enough, the packing and smoking is fairly smooth, although it does require a few relights. The flavor carries throughout the smoke and that tasty Red Virginia sweetness stays with me well after I finished the smoke. It doesn't really bite, but it feels very close to bite. However, I smoked this blend all day for several days and haven't had one of these awful bites, so I think that it's pretty safe.

Body is medium, strength is mild. Not one-dimensional. There's a great play between the sweetness, sourness, and spiciness which are enjoyed even more on the retrohale. Can be an all-day smoke.

I don't usually get the room note but the other day I got to smoke with the door close and then come back into the room. It doesn't smell very good, but nothing awful either. Just a little stuffy.

For me, this smoked the best in a medium-size Billiard or Canadian shapes. Other shapes weren't great either mechanically or in terms of capturing the taste.

Aside from the almost-bite, this is an absolutely fantastic blend.