Hearth & Home Virginia Spice

(3.21)
Virginia, perique, and cigar leaf. For the pipe smoker who really enjoys the clean, sweet spiciness of a mixture of matured Virginias, but who wants something a little different. The difference comes from the use of cool smoking perique for a bit of plum and pepper, with cigar leaf added for a hint of round richness.

Details

Brand Hearth & Home
Series Signature Series
Blended By Russ Ouellette
Manufactured By Sutliff Tobacco Company
Blend Type Other
Contents Cigar Leaf, Perique, Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Coarse Cut
Packaging 1.5 ounce tin, bulk
Country United States
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.21 / 4
22

15

8

2

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 47 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 14, 2012 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant
The Virginias are grassy with some citrus and tangy stewed dark fruit and earth. The bright and red Virginias are present in equal proportions. They form the base for the blend, and are the dominant components. The mild Connecticut cigar leaf continually plays in the background for a light smokey sweet nuance that you may not always recognize explicitly, but it adds a slight body and depth to the proceedings. The perique offer plum, raisin, and a slightly more than mild pepper as a supporting ingredient. This blend seems to have an extremely mild sweet topping, but whatever it may be, it doesn't intrude in any way, and at times, I'm not entirely certain it has one, but it may account for a light fruitiness. The nic-hit is a shade above mild. Burns at a moderate pace with clean, cool, fairly smooth and buttery consistent flavor, sporting no dull or harsh spots. Doesn’t need many relights, and easily burns to ash with no bite. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl. The pleasant after taste lingers just a little. The room note won’t chase your pets or spouse away. Has just enough strength to suit the experienced VaPer aficionado while being mild enough for those entering this genre for the first time. An all day smoke if you so choose.

-JimInks
35 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 03, 2011 Medium Very Mild Medium to Full Very Pleasant
This blend is nothing short of outstanding! I have not smoked many of Russ Ouellette's blends but I've never had one that didn't float my boat. Virginia Spice has strength (yippee!) and a subtle sweetness that truly enhanced the natural Virginia flavor. The Perique was expertly added and did not intrude. And while not a condiment expert; I can safely say the spice in this blend was a joyful addition. Just an outstanding compilation!
23 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 30, 2014 Medium Extremely Mild Medium to Full Pleasant
Not only is this an excellent mixture, it's also an excellent value. The primary flavor is semi sweet and toasty and there's just enough perique to provide a nice spicy tingle with a perfectly balanced twang. When sipped I get quite a variety of delicate flavors as well as a few satisfying complexities amidst a wonderful interplay of sweet and sour.

The sweetness builds as the bowl progresses as does the strength and the spice of the perique. Nasal exhales give me that perfect tingle with absolutely zero irritation or throat harshness. Cigar leaf? I got just a hint of it as an aftertaste but overall its purpose seems to be purely synergistic.

Virginia Spice is proof that a superbly executed simplistic mixture can be affordable and provide hours of top notch smoking pleasure. It smokes awesome in a cob and stands up perfectly to briar.

The pleasure of smoking this reminded me of something that my Italian uncle once told me. He insisted that if you want to know if an Italian restaurant is any good, order the eggplant parmesan. And what a chef does with the simplest of ingredients is all you need to know about the rest of the menu. I suppose the same concept can be applied to tobacco blending. That said, in my books, Mr. Ouellette probably makes one hell of an eggplant parm. Now onto the rest of the menu.
Pipe Used: briar & cob
Age When Smoked: 3
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 31, 2011 Medium Extremely Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Virginia Spice in my opinion is one of the best, but often overlooked blends from Russ Ouellette and Pipes and Cigars. I haven't tried many blends that I can compare this blend to in that it is a Vaper, but not really. Its a cigar blend, but again, not really. It does come across to me as somewhat similar, stripped down, less complex version of Stogie made by the same folks. The tobacco smells of very sweet and tangy Virginias and for the most part that's the flavor profile, but the cigar leaf adds a whole other dimension. It arrives a bit moist and after a few minutes of drying, one can expect large billows of smoke and a blast of intense flavor. I tend to like my Vapers on the sweet side but Virginia Spice would actullly be too sweet for me however there is enough cigar leaf to balance things out and add a richness to the blend. If tobacco could be described in terms of sounds, I would call this blend "loud." It may be too much of a good thing for some Vaper smokers that like a more nuanced blend that's not quite so "in your face." Highly Recommended.
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 11, 2013 Mild None Detected Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I have difficulty trying to add anything that the tin hasn't already said. Dead on for once! Spice and sweet accompanied by a little richness, and maybe just a little citrus tang to it. I do taste the cigar a little but some people might struggle to find it over the other flavors. It comes at the correct moisture straight from the tin and stays lit well to the finish, but I would recommend letting it dry out little more than standard. The room note is mostly Perique but lighter than some more Perique heavy blends. It has a dessert like quality that I enjoy but probably won't keep it on hand. Does tend to imbue the pipe with a slight cigar taste for the next few bowls of another tobacco.
8 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 07, 2011 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
A very nice smoke. You get the sweetness of virginias. I can't detect any topping, just a clean smoke that shows off the tobacco. It has a creaminess to it, and a nice, but not overpowering cigar flavor. I don't know how to describe the cigar aspects, but it makes me imagine old books, maybe an empty wine barrel?

This seems to start off sweet and pretty mild, nice but mild. Toward the bottom half of the bowl, the flavor develops more and has a nice peppery spiciness to it (Perique?). Until the last half, I wasn't sure why they called this Virginia Spice.

Another thing I like about this, with cigars, the last inch or so gets real nasty, ammonia like. This blend lets you enjoy the smoke till ashes. I just always hate how with a cigar you waste so much.

EDIT: Forgot to add, not even a hint of tongue bite.
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 08, 2015 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Tolerable
I trust the ingredients listing that there is some cigar leaf in this blend, but it must be mild. I really didn't specifically taste it. This is not unusual by any means as it pertains to cigar leaf in pipe tobacco.

Still this is a good Va Per in its own right as are many of the Va Pers coming out of H & H. The Virginias are very grassy to my tastes. I found the perique to be there for sure, but not overpowering in the least. Overall, with a blend containing both Perique and cigar leaf, my biggest disappointment was that it was not very potent in the nicotine department.

It is an enjoyable blend that is well done, just don't expect any cigar likeness and don't expect too much a departure from a typical VaPer.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 13, 2013 Medium to Strong Very Mild Medium to Full Pleasant
A good friend wanted to introduce me to VaPers and this was his choice blend. This was also my introduction to Hearth and Home Blends. It is quite good but will nip you if taken too fast. Sweet and spicy as the name would indicate. This is an enjoyable sit down smoke... I tried taking it for a walk, not a good idea - a little too strong for a strolling tobacco. The cigar leaf does come out and give this mix a bit of a N kick, not huge but noticeable. Not quite smooth, but full. Burns well, the mixture was neither too moist or too dry from the tin - perfect actually and I don't find that too often. The room note was on the low pleasant side as the wife did not object, but did not rave either. It did fluctuate between a good full clouds of smoke to a bit thin in the cloud department, yet it finished well. I'm not sure if it will be in my regular rotation as cigar leaf, even a bit, does not appeal to me but this is worth a try for something a just a little off the beaten path. The quality of the tobacco and good moisture content packing will have me exploring other Hearth and Home blends.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 15, 2013 Medium to Strong Very Mild Full Pleasant to Tolerable
I just reviewed this tobacco on pipesandcigars website. I've only had one pipefull, and so I feel foolish in raving about Virginia Spice. The new tin is too moist for me, but I packed up anyway. I like strong tobacco, and this is if you aren't careful with it. I like to inhale through my nose, and with this tobacco, that is a true pleasure. I immediately noticed the Perique; a nice peppery/spicy note. It is not dominant; mostly, I simply had the Perique sensation, more than actually tasting it. The Virginias keep this tobacco bright and clean and are always present. It wasn't until I was over half way through the smoke that the cigar leaf would flit in and out. It was delicious; as I told Bobby and Russ at the store, it was a lip-smacking sensation. I have been smoking for 50 years, and I truly cannot remember a better stand alone, all day, go to smoke. I love Nightcap and Frog Morton's cellar, but the former is a bit tough for all day, and the latter a bit cloying. Virginia Spice is my new go-to smoke. Russ didn't create a fine tobacco only; this is a masterpiece. UPDATE 2/3/2012: I love this tobacco, but it doesn't love me. For some reason, it makes me cough very badly when I inhale. It is probably just me, but I thought that I should mention it. If I just puff, everything is fine.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 16, 2014 Mild to Medium Very Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Once again I hate to be the party pooper but here it is. I have the utmost respect for Mr. Ouillette, and have smoked some wonderful tobaccos he has blended, but I just cant seem to appreciate this signature series. I in no way consider this to be bad tobacco, but it does not stick out for me in any way.

Virginia spice is said to be blended with maduro leaf to give it a round smooth taste. Maybe, but I couldn't pick any of that up. Just a normal Vaper for me. This blend seemed to get a little darker and flavorful the second half of the bowl, but overall, kinda blah for me.
Pipe Used: Savinelli 320 Trevi
Age When Smoked: purchased in 2008
4 people found this review helpful.
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