Hearth & Home Obsidian

I like strong English blends, and upon opening my tin I was met with that distinct smoky smell associated with Latakia with some Perique savory, and just hints of the other tobacco types in this bend. What also struck me was how dry the tobacco seemed. It clicked when it hit the wood surface of the table and was very light in my hand. But as it turns out that has little to do with how good the smoke was! The flavors were excellent and the smoke smelled "foody" according to those around me. It did have some trouble staying lit which could be due to the fact that the tobacco was not very flexible and didn't pack easy. But a little bit of rehydration later and it smokes fine!

I find this blend enjoyable sometimes. I think it has a distinctive flavor. I notice the latakia immediatley and everything else seems to blend in as you go.

I get a really sweet almost floral like taste out of this smoke. I like larry's blend much more and it is no mclelland 5110 but next to those two it is nice for a change once here and there. I like my smoke a little more on the natural side.

I wish the cut was a little finer and it packed and burned a little better. But compared to what else is available this is pretty good.

Update: 3/15/08 This smoke has found a way into my routine. If they would cut this a little finer I would be happier and we would have a solid four star blend here. I have a sweet tooth and at the same time like bold flavors. Somehow strangely this stuff satisfies my urge for sweet and spicy at the same time.

You can really puff on it too. It is so smooth, but smokes cool and dry. A rare treat. I might just even order some more. Nothing else tastes like this to me. Could stay lit a little better but back to what I said about the cut needing to be a little finer. A tighter than average packing helps it out, and a good repack or two helps it smoke really good.

A fine job by Russ yet again. Bought a tin at the 'brick & mortar' show two months ago, and will undoubtedly get more (along with Mt Marcy). This all "black blend" is just that,and the smoke is just as smooth as the color. Reminiscent of no other English I know, it tastes at first light pretty strongly of perique, but smells like latakia! The virginias chime right in, and the taste becomes fairly consistent & balanced. To my taste, the cavendish smooths the whole bowl all the way but never is monotonous. Three stars.

Curious stuff. Looks black, mystical, foreboding, treated and wet. Smells of little but a bit of .... road tar? Is actually dry, unflavored, approachable and simple. Very tame at the outset. I wondered how much of nothing I was going to smoke when, after about 25 sips/puffs/pulls a true tobacco emerged. Pleasantly sweet, very little latakia or perique flavor (but there nonetheless) and a bunch of unflavored cavendish. After a half a bowl, all the kids jumped into the pool and swam chaotically but civilly until closing time. Even great tobaccos present themselves, to me at least, as a sort of bell curve. This was more of a hockey stick. Ordered another 8-oz. tin. Good dog-walking stuff (not quite a ringing endorsement to most but, hey, i love my dog).

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.

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.