Hearth & Home AJ's VaPer

I tend to gravitate more toward European made VaPers and one of the things I look for in a VaPer is that wonderful sweetness that comes with age. Russ Ouellette takes that up a notch by adding a small amount of Cavendish to his AJ’s Vaper. AJ’s in the pouch smell like there are some McClelland Virginias in the blend, not always my favorite Virginias (no offense intended to McClelland fans), but the addition of a handsome amount of Perique along with the Cavendish adding a bass note to AJ’s along with some additional sweetness make for an interesting blend. I like smoking AJ's in a deep bowl as everything really sings when AJ's has a chance to develop over a longer smoke. When AJ’s is well aged, it becomes one of the sweetest VaPer variations I can remember smoking in a long time. If you like VaPers made with a twist, this should be on the must try list.

Russ says this one is selling fast. It is a really heady VaPer compared to the darker VaPer blends like Escudo. Lots more Perique, too. It really blasts the nostrils at the match and is quite unrelenting all the way down the bowl. The Cavendish is a depth builder and a nice addition. Not much sweetness in the blend which is not surprising with so much Cavendish involved (unflavored). The Virginia leaf must be from top-shelf crops(s) because it provided flavor to the overall presentation.

Pipestud

All in all, this is a pretty good VaPer. Its sweet and sour flavors are satisfying and pleasant for the most part. It's just not one of my favorites. The VaPers in my list of favorites are Bayou Morning, Fillmore, and Escudo. AJ's VaPer just doesn't hit the spot for me like the others do. The tobaccos included in AJ's are top notch, which is why I am giving it three stars. I can appreciate it as a quality tobacco, but won't be ordering it again.

*UPDATE*: After having the better part of four ounces in a mason jar for about six months, I revisited it (Mostly to try to go through some of my tobacco, so I feel better about buying more) and I found that it was much better the second time around. The, well, mason jar note, was very reminiscent of the McKetchup smell, which I actually really like, and I found it to be sweeter and spicier than I remembered. I'm reluctant to raise the review to four stars, however, when I still have no plans for reorder.

Cut: short, narrow ribbon

Color: light to dark browns, reddish brown, black

Pouch aroma: fermented and tangy, slightly musty; no topping noted.

Loading: easy, no prep

Lighting: easy, takes to charring well; some bowls needed only a false light

Burn: slow, even, dry

Ash: medium-fine gray and dry

Dottle: none

Smoke: dense, gray clouds in volume

Palate: happy and clean

Perique-osity scale: 5 (0=undetected, 10=overpowering)

Pipe: performed consistently in group 3-6 pipes of various chamber shapes used.

Performance: most complex and enjoyable sipped at a smolder, but really holds up if one revs the RPM's.

A very pleasant blend of Virginia tobaccos with notable, yet balanced, integrated use of perique.

Naturally sweet, red Virginias provide the backbone of flavor. Occasionally, slight grassy notes come through. Perique adds its stewed fruit and peppery presence for a nice complexity that fades a bit and resurrects to keep things interesting.

The flavor of stoved Virginia develops during the last half of the bowl. There might be some stoved Virginia utilized. Maybe it's the Black Cavendish. Slow, gentle puffing could have served to stove the leaf. However achieved, it adds depth and richness to the smoke. Interestingly, toward the very end of the bowl, I had a fleeting taste of cumin.

AJ's VaPer will only sweeten if sealed and aged, but it is lively and enjoyable right out of the bulk 4 oz. bag purchased.

Pipes and tobaccos are truly quirky things. This blend really didn't work for me in a small to average size bowl but in a large-ish, wide-ish, pot-ish Tinsky it sang like a choir. All of the tatse of the virginias, black cavendish and perique are there. It is full and slightly sweet tasting without being overwhelmeing. If you are a fast puffer it could nip you. As with some other H&H blends I taste the perique but don't really see it in the can.

The unflavored black cavendish does indeed add a twist to the traditional VaPer and this may warrant laying aside a couple of large tins to see how it would be with a couple of years age on it.

Covid19 isolation has provided some opportunities to explore the back corners of my stash. One category of things come to light is blends that I bought to smoke, put away and forgot. Hearth and Home's AJ's Vaper is in that category, so let's open it. Popping the pull top revealed a narrow range brown mixture of a moderately narrow cut with no off-gas pressure. The tin aroma was that of a Vaper, but, somewhat thin and distant for that family of blends. Nearly ready to smoke out of the tin, I aired out my sample smoke for about thirty minutes and had a go. At first I was just disappointed all the way around. I was in the same place as reviewer Musicman 2020-09-13 asking myself why I was continuing to smoke this blend. Then I read the review of puro66 2014-02-04 and began smoking AJ's Vaper in bigger pipes; eventually doing it up in my largest pipe. Now, everything seemed better. The only proviso is that I always enjoy the bottom half of the bowls more than the top halves. While not spectacular, I thought AJ's Vaper made a descent blending ingredient and I am using it in that capacity predominately. So, a little timid for my Vaper tastes, I feel comfortable giving the blend three stars and recommending it to readers.

This blend tricks me every time. It is not in my regular rotation, so I smoke it every once in a while. Every time I light up a bowl I think "why do I keep smoking this blend" I mean, it's never bad, just seems ho hum. Then, about 15 minutes into the bowl I always think, "Ah, there it is". It gets better for me the farther down I smoke it.

This is a nice blend. Middle of the road, not a high end virginia, not a low end virginia. I really like the tin note, it has that McClelland ketchupy vinegary type smell. It makes my mouth water every time.

This is a chunky cut. Packs well, lights well, burns well. I definitely can taste the perique in here, but it doesn't thrill me as much as the perique in other Vapers (like Haddos, or royal yacht). It is really nice, a fine example of a medium Vaper, but for some reason I often reach for something else, which is why it gets only three stars from me. Other people really love this stuff. For me, it is pretty solid, but not one I think about much.

When I bought this, I really wanted to like it. The reviews were amazing and I thought this was going to be right up my alley. I wanted to like it so much that 5 years ago I purchased five 8-ounce tins. You can never have too much right?

Well, I think my tastes have changed and I moved away from perique. So I'm not going to hold that against AJ's VaPer. This is a fine blend. The aroma from the tin is almost mouth watering. Dark fruits, rich fermentation. Pretty, red color to the ribbons too. For me though, it just didn't hit the taste buds quite right. I thought it would have had a bit more sweetness to it. It's there, just not what I had anticipated. The perique is not over the top and lets it's presence be known without an overpowering presence. The spice is present. Enjoy it if you like it. The cavendish does round it all out nicely. A full smoke.

Again, on it's own, it didn't hit the spot for me, but it was not because of the blend or the quality of leaf. It just wasn't for me. However, I've since found that I have enjoyed it as a base for some of my own blends and there, it has sung really well. So to each their own. I hope you enjoy it. If you enjoy VaPer's, you're likely to enjoy this one.

This is my first review so I'll keep it short and sweet. AJ's VaPer has quickly become my go to tobacco. If I'm not looking for a religious experience, it hits the spot. With bulk availability, it's easy to keep on hand. Sweet enough on ignition which has tended to mellow throughout the bowl. It has enough Perique to get your attention without killing you. I've had better results with a narrower bowl. If that changes with age, I'll update.