Hearth & Home Strikeforce

This is an unusual take on an English blend and I am liking it a lot. It is a mix of Va,Perique,Turkish,and Latakia with a little cigar leaf. The cigar leaf is a condiment and never dominates the blend but does add a creaminess and fullness to the blend but the blend remains very tame and enjoyable. The Latakia is the dominant player here and remains so throughout the bowl. But not an in your face Latakia, but a very mild and rich tasting Latakia. The Va does give it a very nice sweetness and the perique is a seasoning, there but not a main player at all. This blend works and I enjoy it very much. The only weakness to the blend, is once again it tastes a little green and should be aged. It also comes dry in the pouch and ready to smoke. In the pouch, it is a mix of light brown running up to a very dark brown with the almost black Lat mottled throughout. It smell absolutely, mouth watering, great in the pouch. It is a smoky, sweet, spicy aroma that just made me want to smoke it right then and there. It is dry enough to smoke right away and it packs very well into the pipe. It lights on two lights, and stays lit well. It burns down to a dark grey ash with just a little dottle left in the bottom. It remains consistent in flavor all the way down the bowl and never sours or goes ashy tasting. The room note is typical of latakia blends, an aroma I love but is not a wife pleaser. I like this blend and I do recommend it. I think it will improve with age and am going to cellar some. but good enough to smoke now. Would make a great all day blend.

From the web page description, "A healthy amount of premium Latakia is combined with buttery Turkish, Sweet Virginias, tangy Perique and a touch of Nicaraguan cigar leaf for 'kick'."

Not overpowering in the cigar or perique flavors, but nicely blended such that all components are working together to give a good smoking experience. A good match for Larry's Blend and my other favorite Anniversary Kake.

Big and Bold weed I was hoping for a bigger nicotine punch.Still a great Mixture.

It seems the quality can vary somewhat from reading the prior reviews. I agree with Pipestud that this can be a bit harsh at times, especially compared to some other cigar lead blends. Comparing this to GL Pease Robusto, for example, Strikeforce is more "in your face." This is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps not as finished as the GL Pease offering but I actually have a preference for Strikeforce. It may be too "cigarish" for some and likely not an all day or maybe even daily smoke for most of us, but an interesting change of pace.

Very nice and rich cigar leaf blend.

Great aroma, you can smell the cigar right off the tin note, its unmistakable in its particular brand of deep richness.

Very full, the accompanying English ingredients are not only there but add a lot of good support.

Struggling for a way to do this justice, but for quite an unusual reason I smoke this more than anything else even though I enjoy others more. There is something so easy and carefree about it, it doesn't need much care or tamping, and its so gratifying that you feel like you're getting away with not having to work hard for a big result.

Takes to flavor immensely also. I put in a whiskey soaked wood barrel stave and the result was sublime.

Another great offering by Russ Ouellette. This is the third blend I've ordered from Pipes & Cigars & I've been pleased with all of them. As other reviewers have noted, the Latakia rather dominates this blend. Didn't really detect the cigar leaf or perique in this. I found their Armada blend a little more to my liking & perhaps more of a complex blend. Having said that, sometimes one is in the mood for a strong Latakia dominated tobacco. Probably won't put this in my rotation, but it's definitely good enough to have earned a spot there if I change my mind- ergo it earns a solid 3 stars.

I wasn't too sure about the cigar leaf, but I really enjoyed the addition of it. Everything seemed to come together nicely. The room note was very nice. The wife didn't really seem to be too bothered by it, so it gets the pleasant to tolerable. This did produce a nice amount of smoke and has a nice amount of Vitamin N to it. It smokes down to a nice ash at the end of the bowl with little or no dottle. All in all, I would definitely recommend this blend.

I really like cigar leaf blends and found this one to be just a little different. I do enjoy the fact that you can puff away on this blend without fear of tongue bite. And too, one can improve this blend with the addition of just a little of you own favorite cigar leaf. However I am not sold on the idea that one should combine much in the way of Turkish or Orientals with cigar leaf which, for my tastes, limits this blend to 3 stars.