Hearth & Home Capitol Stairs

I smoked this before the deer tongue was removed. The deer tongue adds some vanilla and a little acrid floralness. The Virginia is citrus sweet and grassy as it forms the base of the blend. The burley has a little nuttiness and molasses as a support player. The perique sports some plum and minor spice notes in the background. The nic-hit is mild. Won't bite. Smoked dry or moist, fast or slow, it does okay at first, but has an unavoidable cigarette taste in the bottom quarter of the bowl with harsh notes at the finish. Needs few relights, and leaves little moisture in the bowl. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

A nice combination of tobaccos that provides more of a Burley/Perique presentation than an ordinary VaPer blend. Some call this Americanized due to the Burley which sure does make its presence known. The Perique is also a player in this one. A little punch in the bowl as it is smoked and I liked that, too.

Pipestud

This blend has, over the last six months, become my go to everyday blend that always satisfies. It usually comes to me from H&H at the right moisture level, is easy to pack and light, and causes no problems. My pallete is not the most sensitive here, no doubt, but to me it tastes like an excellent vaper with a little something extra that I like a lot, presumably the deertongue. Anniversary Kake is probably my favorite H&H blend, but this one is a close second, and AK takes a lot of care in rubbing out and drying. When I don't have the time, which is usually, this is the one I reach for. Good job, Russ, and thank you.

Hearth & Home - Capitol Stairs.

It looks to be more of a mixture than just a ribbon. The blend includes all different sizes of ribbons, and also a few twigs. Nothing to get in a stew over, there's only one or two that need discarding.

I adore the flavour! At the start of a bowl the Perique is easily the leading taste. It gives quite a sharp spiciness, which is almost overbearing until the Burley joins in. When this arrives the smoke becomes more wholesome, with a bready/nuttiness. I don't get much in the form of grassiness/fruitiness from the Virginia, it seems the quietest of the group; the formidable Perique and flavoursome Burley don't leave much room for others! On the low side of things it can bite my tongue a bit; nothing that a gentle sip doesn't prevent!

I get a medium amount of nicotine, and enjoy the room-note.

Despite the touch of bite I'm highly recommending Capitol Stairs.

Four stars

This review is for me - to remember not to try this again. If you're curious about deertongue, order a small sample, smoke it in a cob, and decide for yourself. As for me, I just couldn't enjoy it. The flavor is just weird, and the smoke is harsh and irritating.

That being said, most everything else I've tried from Russ Oulette is top shelf. You can't fault him for providing a unique "niche" blend.

I purchased this during a H&H sale at P&C along with many other tins of H&H blends I had yet to try. The reason I chose this particular blend was to give deer tongue another shot since my only other experience with it was crooner by C&D; which I did not like. I found the DT quite overwhelming in Crooner. Well, I was let down when I found out that this no longer contained DT, but I kept an open mind nonetheless.

In the end, I would say this is just a "ho hum" Virginia Burley blend. the ingredients claim there is perique in the mix, but I did not really pick up on it. I found the blend to be pretty weak and it tended to get bitter quite easily. When you get the tempo right there is some nice nuttiness, but it is fleeting and does not add enough enjoyment to the smoking experience as to make it worth the effort.

two star blend for me. It performs well, but the blend lacks soul.

This Hearth & Home offering leaves alot to be desired. On first light I got a very sharp presence of Va and Perique. Then the Deertongue kicked in. Vanilla has no place in this blend! This blend started out bad and did not improve. I cannot recommend this tobacco to anyone.

I received a small sample of this from Russ O. Upon opening the pouch I recognized a very sweet smell. Probably the VA's and the deertongue. I was very excited as I expected a sweet smoke for a change in pace.

TOP OF BOWL: A very good char light. It smells GREAT. Even makes me hungry a bit. The first thing I noticed is a very mild sweet taste but it came along with a harshness.

MIDDLE BOWL: The taste is getting more to the tobacco although I haven't recognized any Perique yet. The harshness is still there. It is becoming more complex as I notice the VA's flavor coming through but the deertongue along with the burley seems to add some depth to it.

BOTTOM OF BOWL: The Perique is coming through but instead of the normal peppery or spicy taste it has along with it some very odd flavor (Deertongue). I did not like this mix and the harshness is still there. It does burn fairly clean though.

SUMMARY: It is a good smoke. It would be very good if it wasn't so harsh. Although if you sip slow this will help. The taste is sweet without losing the tobacco flavor and it burns very nice with an excellent room note. But it is still hot and harsh so I can only give it 2 out of 4.

I recently ordered a Home & Hearth sampler and this was one of the blends I chose. Unfortunately, I picked this blend for my initial foray. I found Capitol Stairs to showcase the worst aspect of each of its constitutient components; Burley's acrid, cigarette-like notes, Virginia's bite, and Perique's sour sharpness; a tri-defecta, as it were. The poor Deertongue didn't stand a chance. I rather doubt I'll even be able to finish this sample.

I found Capitol Stairs to be a medium to full-bodied blend that can be ?burley sweet? at times and yet present cigar-like qualities at other times. While the addition of the deer-tongue may be an attempt to temper this blend, I had a difficult time discerning its presence when smoking it but the deer tongue flakes are quite apparent in the pouch. It was extremely dry upon arrival; a little moisture improves its smoking qualities. The first 2/3 of the bowl, although largely monochromatic, had a good, base, burley flavor but harshness can creep in towards the last 1/3 of the bowl if you are not careful. To mitigate the harshness and to appreciate this blend fully, smoke it slowly like you would smoke VA and VAPER blends. Although the components and proportions may vary slightly, I found Capitol Stairs similar to C& D?s Big ?n? Burley and Gray Ghost but not quite as strong as either of these C&D blends. Strangely, while CS is not one of my favorite blends, it is one of those four or five blends I crave from time-to-time.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 8.3 out of 10.