Hearth & Home Capitol Stairs
(2.48)
Named after the famed Million-Dollar Staircase in Albany, NY's State Capitol building, it is a truly unique combination of mild, nutty burley, sweet Virginia and perique, and finished off with Deer Tongue (a vanilla-like herb). The result is a non-aromatic blend (no added flavorings) that has an almost French toast-like aroma, and a lightly sweet, smooth smoke that you can enjoy all day.
Notes: According to a recent (07/21/2014) informational request, Deer Tongue has been removed from the blend.
Details
| Brand | Hearth & Home |
| Series | Signature Series |
| Blended By | Russ Ouellette |
| Manufactured By | Pipes & Cigars |
| Blend Type | American |
| Contents | Burley, Perique, Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 1.5 ounce tin, bulk |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
2.48 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2014 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
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
-JimInks
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 03, 2008 | Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
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.
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.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 09, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
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.
Pipe Used:
Cobs and various briars
PurchasedFrom:
Pipes and Cigars
Age When Smoked:
62
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 12, 2006 | Mild | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
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.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 12, 2010 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Every blend I've had with deertongue has had an unusually acrid note to the smoke, which usually also seems very light and without much body. This blend has the exact same problem. It's relatively inoffensive to the nose, but the smoke being light and acrid isn't terribly pleasant to the eyes. I haven't found a deertongue blend I like (this is my third) and suspect that this is the root of the problem with this blend for me. H&H tend to make great blends, and many of them are well represented in my cellar.
Update April 2011 After revisiting this blend, I'm downgrading to one star, and placing the remainder of the sample in the reject bin. Too harsh on the roof of my mouth, and just not at all pleasant.
Update April 2011 After revisiting this blend, I'm downgrading to one star, and placing the remainder of the sample in the reject bin. Too harsh on the roof of my mouth, and just not at all pleasant.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 21, 2010 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Extremely Mild (Flat) | Tolerable |
This is my first sample of their tobaccos, and I gotta say I am disappointed. I won't even go into depth with this review. The tobacco was dry and harsh; it burned like, and tasted like, cheap cigarettes. There was no 'french toast like' aroma, it simply smelled like cheap burley. I lit slowly, with a match, and sipped carefully. Just an overall terrible experience. If this just happened to be a bad batch, and I have a different experience in the future, then I will come back and edit this. However, after trying a couple other of the samples, and being similarly let down, I doubt that my opinion of any of their blends will rise much higher than this.
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