Hearth & Home Sunjammer

I don't know why, but for me this tobacco had a very small no-bite envelope and produced mostly sour and tongue-rasping smoke. When it wasn't misbehaving, it was a pleasant blend, like a favorite sweater. Tastes were Ritz crackers, peanuts, molasses, burning fall leaves, wheat beer. But mostly I tasted sour and bitey smoke, degenerating to a metallic 3-in-1 oil taste at the bottom of the bowl. Your mileage may vary, and I can tell that it could be a really nice tobacco. Hence 2 stars, because I can tell the flavor's there, but it's just not there for me.

I first tried this blend 4 years ago at the West Coast pipe show in las Vegas.. I liked it right from the first bowl. They say that it is. Along the lines of 965 and yes I would agree. For me it's a bit softer and easy to enjoy. Ash burns down to a nice fine powder with a grey and white color. I will be ordering more as I am running low on my supply . Highly recommended. Also the lady's seem to like it. Agree with it being a nice " Summer " blend. Way to go. Russ !

I find this blend does remind me of Dunhill's MM965. It seems to be just right on the moisture level. It smells great in the bag and lights quite easily and stays lit. It produces a nice amount of smoke for me. The wife didn't throw anything my way when I smoked this, so it gets the pleasant rating on room note. It smokes down to a nice ash in the bottom of the bowl. It smokes dry for me without a gurgle even coming close. Definitely recommended.

If you are a fan of Dunhill's 965, this is the blend you should turn to now that it might be diappearing here in the U.S. Others might disagree, but I think Oulette has managed to capture the elusive overall feel of that mixture. Unfortunately (for me) I dislike most of Dunhill's offerings, including 965, and probably won't be buying more of this. But I also recognize that the quality of the leaf and the blender's skill here are top-notch. I rate this a two-star blend based on my personal tastes, but it's probably at least three stars for anyone who's a fan of Dunhill.

My tobacco tastes have been rather fickle over the years. I started out with "drugstore" aromatic and burley blends and smoked them for many years before discovering premium tobaccos via the internet. When this happened, English blends became my favorite, with Virginias and Va/Per blends running a close second. Then once again my tastes changed and I went back to burleys and aromatics, although I still smoked some Virginias and occasionally an English blend. Now Russ Ouellette has me back in the English camp, first with his Distinguished Penguin and now this. Sunjammer is one of the best tasting English blends I have ever experienced.

The main players in this blend are the Latakia and the Oriental tobaccos, with the Virginias in the background adding some sweetness to the smokey main flavors. The Orientals are most prevalent in the first 1/3 of the bowl before the Latakia takes center stage and stays there for the duration of the smoke. I smoked Sunjammer in my favorite English pipe, an S&R Dublin that is dedicated to English blends. I smoked several bowls before taking my notes in order to get rid of any "ghosts" that might be there from other tobaccos.

Sunjammer lights easily, but seems to take more than an average amount of relights during the smoke. Speaking of which, it makes prodigious clouds of fragrant smoke, which may mean it won't win you a lot of friends in the non-smoking camp. Latakia blends have a way of doing that.

All of the Hearth and Home tobaccos come in bulk, which means you can stock up without taking out a second mortgage. Just get some Mason jars and cellar some of this, that is if you can keep from smoking it all up first.

Now for Sunjammer's scores; Flavor- 18 out of 20 points, Lighting and burn rate- 7 points, Value- 8 out of 10 points. That adds up to 33 points and a solid **** rating for Sunjammer.

This is simply a delicious blend. It's got a spiciness that you notice at first puff, and it stays with you for the entire bowl. It's well-balanced with no rough edges. It really shines at a slightly hotter temperature than a light sip would give you, but it lost its complexity when the bowl got really hot. That feature is kind of perfect because I found it hard to put this blend down.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable blend. This is easily near the top of my re-up list as I get through Russ's catalog.

Nicotine is there and it comes in near the bottom of the bowl. The intensity of the nic-hit is slightly below what you'd think for the strength of the flavor profile.

This blend did not impress me at first. A restrained English blend with medium flavor. Therefore I put it in the back row of my cabinet and just forgot about it. About 1-2 months I revisited it, I was amazed! It became smooth and rich, without harshness or any bite. I can relate to that some reviews compared it with MM965. As a mild to medium, sweet English blend, this will be my No. 1 choice!

This is one of my go-to blends. It is a great medium strength English blend many have compared to Dunhill's 965. To my taste its like 965 with the extra ounce of latakia dropped in, as the latakia is much more pronounced. I keep a minimum of a pound of this in my cellar at all times.

I picked this one last in my sampler and I almost didn't. I am glad I did. It is lighter in taste and body then most of my others, but it is good. Someone else described it as "refreshing". I would agree. I have found I enjoy it in the morning with coffee/tea. I completed a home project and smoked it all day and I never got tired of it. Tasted liked a light English.

For the price I would give it a try. If you prefer more flavor and a heavy body this might not be for you. But to mix things up a bit it is perfect.

UPDATE 3/20/10

I haven't had much of this since my first review. I got a new pipe so I thought I would give it another try. I am glad I did. It is still a morning tobacco to me, but the flavors have melded together a bit more and it is much smoother. Burns cool if you don't smoke to hard/fast. Always been my problem. I would still highly recommend this tobacco for something on the lighter side or maybe you prefer aro's and want something light and unflavored.

Enjoy, Z