Hearth & Home Egg Nog

I first tried and reviewed this blend a little over a year ago and gave it 4 stars. Now I'm having to update my review and lower the score to 2 stars, let me explain why.

When I first tried this blend back in 2007 I thought it was great, truly the first all cavendish blend I enjoyed. I packed my pipe and put it in my mouth and I could taste the spices without even lighting the tobacco. Upon lighting it I could taste the spices and the hint of vanilla, I was truly amazed at such an interesting blend. I quickly smoked the 4oz. I had ordered and promptly order 4 more ounces which I enjoyed as well.

Now, more than a year later, as I was browsing pipesandcigars.com I remembered the interesting egg nog blend and decided to order 4 oz. As of today, 03/17/2009 I can tell you that something changed, and not for the good. The spices are no longer present, I don't know if it was because people were complaining about that, but they are definetely toned down a LOT. There's much less flavor present and it burns way hotter than it used to. I don't know if they are using cheaper leaf or cheaper ingredients to keep the cost down, but they certainly destroyed an otherwise amazing blend.

Sorry Russ, you lost a customer. I will continue to shop at pipesandcigars.com but I certainly won't buy any more of the R.O. blends.

Smells great, and burns alright too. My main complaint (and it’s a big one) is that there is no taste. You are puffing on scented steam here. Love the smell and aroma, but not a particularly inspiring smoke. If you’re in the market for a light aromatic to smoke indoors and not offend anyone this will accomplish that.

Not sure what possessed me to try this one, as I'm not really a fan of Eggnog around the holidays, but maybe this will all changed when it eviscerates into smoke?

The bag (I ordered it in bulk) opened to what certainly smelled like a Christmas gift store; sweet candy cinnamon that lingered in the air. Giving off equal parts spicy and sweet. The stuff was quite damp and sticky, almost turning the compressed bag of deep brown Cavendish into kake! After I washed off the residue from my fingers from packing the ribbons and big clumps, I got the torch and lit the mix, to the sound of moist sizzling (that needed future relights). The first puff reminded me of the nut roasters at the Renaissance Fair by us, while the rest of the bowl fell into a cadene of casing flavors that made their presence known, yet canceled each other out.

It was frustrating, since this Aromatic had a story to tell but the white noise from too many conductors (flavors) canceled it out. That and I dislike sticky a mix, so sadly what could of been a success, needs to go back to the drawing board.

This is a great aro. Its got a little more body than other H&H aros(think trout stream), yet still has no bite. Theres not a lot of tobacco flavor per say, but the aro flavor is very smooth. Its definitely cinnamon-y, with an undertone of some nice vanilla, none of that "airy" flavor. Some say its spicy, and i tend to agree, the cinnamon flavor does have some zing, yet it works very nicely with this blend IMO. Not too creamy, but very very smooth with a nice finish.

Very few re-lites with this blend as well, and thats while the humidity outside has been ridiculously high since its been raining for nearly two weeks straight, and no drying out.

All in all this a unique, medium-bodied, pleasant tasting and smelling aromatic. Some may not like it so much, but if your looking for a cinnamon-y tobacco, this is definitely worth a try. Remind me of christmas time 😀

This is one of my favorite aromatics, along with Trout Stream also from p&c. The rum and the other spices are expertly blended to deliver a tin aroma that matches the room note and more importantly, just as the tin reads, it comes through in the smoking flavor itself. I prefer to infuse (not spray or lace - just infuse) this blend with a quality rum and then jar it for a few weeks. Then it smells like heaven in the jar and smokes exactly the same.

I've been searching for my perfect blend, and found that I am becoming a big fan of vanilla aromatics. Too many, though, have been either insanely sweet, or singed my tongue for days. I am happy to say that egg nog is neither. Upon opening of the tin, i found the scent to be very pleasant. The first thing I noticed was that it wasn't over powering in a any way. I like the softness of it. A very classic pipe scent. it definitely has a cinnamon, nut megish, creamy note and the smoke is cool and tasty..the room note is also great. I've only smoked one bowl so far, but I can tell that this one is going to soon be a favorite of mine. definitely buying more to stock up on. If you like vanilla, you'll be a fan of this one, no doubt.

update: ive smoked a 1.5 oz. tin in a 3 week span and i just ordered 2 more tins. this stuff is amazing. a great all day/every day smoke. after i finish a bowl, you can smell cinnamon eminating in the room. going to stock up on this one. nice, mild and flavorful. just right.. do yourself a favor and try this one.. A+

Boff...I've tasted better tobaccos.

The burning qualities were good, though.

Maybe it's just that I don't like Egg Nog outside a glass?

This is a good aromatic with a very nice flavor and a great room note. I did find it to burn quickly and to burn hot. Flavor stayed consistant throughout the bowl and was left with a fine gray ash.

I have to be honest. I have to give this mix two stars. This particular batch of Eggnog smelled better in the bag than it tasted when smoked. The smell in the bag was outstanding even for aromatics. And that was because you could really smell the tobaccos besides all the tasty flavoring. It got me all psyched up for an old school aro. However, this blend did not smoke very sweet and ultimately the tobacco flavor was a bit harsh. It reminded me of burnt dark roast coffee flavor.It's well worth a try for a new smoker getting away from drugstore blends.