Hearth & Home Obsidian

I tried Obsidian based off what I read in some of the previous reviews, & I must say, I am not dissapointed.

Upon opening the bag, I was met by smells I am more accustomed to finding in my favorite scotch: peat, leather, woodsmoke, (asphalt?). The rich blackness of the blend intrigued me, & since it was already of just about perfect moisture content, I loaded up a bowl & tried it out immediately.

It lit up quickly & evenly, despite the irregular cut of the various tobacco. From the beginning it smoked VERY cool, & had the most pleasant taste, almost like charcoal on a barbeque very soon after being lit, along with the tiniest hint of vanilla on the very back of my tongue. It was smooth, & the more slowly I smoked, the more flavorful it became. I found myself letting it get to the point of needing to be relit so that I could experience every last drop of flavor. It burned cleanly, with no mess in the bottom of the bowl afterwards.

I highly recommend this, even for those (like me) that typically shy away from blends with latakia. This is a real treat. Not an every day smoke, but perfect for cool fall nights on the deck with your dog, favorite sweater, & some glenfiddich 18.

I received a tin of this and was intrigued as soon as I opened it up. All the tobaccos are black, but not all of the same sable shade. The aromas that burst forth from the tin reminded me of a campfire, but with a little hint of sweetness to it.

I immediately packed this into a Missouri meerschaum corn cob and lit up. If you like smoky blends with plenty of good quality Latakia, this is a blend for you! The Latakia and stoved Virginias hit my taste buds right away. The Perique and Black Cavendish were present, but not dominant. I know the description says that no one tobacco dominates this blend, but I'd disagree. There was a hint of sweetness from the Cavendish and a little spiciness from the Perique, but the smokiness of the Latakia and Virginias stand out and become more pronounced the further down the bowl you smoke. That was my experience with my first bowl, but proved true in whatever pipe I smoked this blend.

This was my first sampling of the Hearth and Home blends by Russ Ouelette and I have not stopped sampling them since. This is not an everyday blend for me; but if I'm wanting a good smoky blend, this is definitely one to fill a pipe with.

I was recently gifted a few bowls' worth, so I can't be certain if this is from a new tin, or one several years old. Regardless, I'll be purchasing a tin of my own very soon.

Visually, it's stunning. Different dark shades of shiny, oily goodness that promise undiscovered pleasures.

Packing is a bit tricky, as this is a very rough cut. I swear there were twigs in my sample. Nevertheless, I stuffed them in there and commenced with the lighting ceremony. Lovely, grey smoke poured forth, along with an incredible earthy aroma.

As for the taste: If a standard English blend is a steak, then this is that steak blackened with cajun spices. If the standard is country music, then this is heavy metal. If the standard is Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," then this is the remake. You get the idea. I have not yet tasted anything like it. It's an English turned to 11. It's woodsy and earthy with at least a half-day's supply of Vitiman N, yet you can suck on it like a McDonald's Triple Thick Shake and it remains cool, with nary a thought of biting you back.

This, my friends, is a wonderful tobacco. To close with a more appropriate analogy: If the standard English blend were a cigar, Obsidian would be the Camacho Triple Maduro. 'Nuff said.

The aroma in the baggie was interesting, the smoking much less so. Given how the reviews have changed from '07, I have to wonder if the blend has changed as well. I'll likely finish this 2 oz., but there'll be no more in my future.

Not much of a Black Cavendish fan, so it's not surprising I wasn't very impressed. Nice blend in it's own right, clean burning, well balanced. As with C&D's Mississippi Mud, the black cav just seems to mute out the lat and per, leaving me with a rather monotone experience. Not recommended for most English smokers, Cav fans might give it a try.

This is a very, very mild blend, very cool on the tongue. But I simply did not care for it at all. Maybe it was during the processing that any subtlety was lost on me. This was recommended to me by one of the pipesandcigars.com staff who knew my love for "Larry's Blend" but, to me, they are miles and miles apart in just about every category. I really cannot recommend this blend. It may be for some, but it's not for me.

Mild, smooth and well-balanced, Obsidian reminds me of a Yamaha motorcycle I used to own. That bike was a blast to ride, running so smoothly and handling so lightly that on the road it almost disappeared and left me flying on my own over the pavement. On the other hand, a little roughness has its place; like that bike, there's nothing about Obsidian that really calls attention to itself. This is a tobacco that, if your mind wanders, you can smoke an entire bowl and not realize it until you find yourself sucking ash.

Until Obsidian I wasn't really aware that my favorite tobaccos are the ones that require a little attention. Russ's Larry's Blend is one of my all-time favorites, and if you smoke it wrong you end up with a mouth like the inside of a leather pouch. Any number of great Virginias will satisfy and entertain and, if drawn on too hard, burn the living daylights out of your tongue. Obsidian is a tobacco with almost no risk of such misbehavior, and a gives a very pleasant experience if attended to, but the danger here is not of damage to your mouth but of simply having the tobacco disappear without noticing it at all.

This is a tobacco that I'll keep around, and one that I'll give to a friend who wants to try a "real" tobacco, but I somehow doubt that it'll ever become a tobacco I truly love for itself. A real Japanese inline four of a blend.