Hearth & Home Magnum Opus

3rdguy

Out of the tin I see a lotta latakia however this is a very well balanced English. The perique is almost none existent for me but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Really an enjoyable smoke and not much else to add to what has already been said to this fine blend.

First, I just want to say Russ is an absolute genius when it comes to blending tobacco. The man is an artist...….

Tin appearance is short chopped chunks, nothing close to a ribbon cut that I can see. Medium brown and black leaf makes up the majority of this blend, with light Oriental leaf spread about. Tin aroma of woodsy campfire, slight musty sourness from the Perique. Slight floral note as well. Packs with a ton of spring. I had to tamp several times during the initial lighting of the bowl, so I learned to leave some room for expansion.

Initial lighting you can really detect the perique in here. Not overpowering, but the spiciness tickles the nose and the tongue. The harder you puff, the more it shows. The Latakia stayed well in the background, but it was always detectable. Not as balanced as most of Russ' blends are. Personally, I would want just a slight bready note added to accommodate myself.

It has been a while since I smoked a blend with this type of complexity, so I had to really pay attention as to what was going on. I tried smoking this on the way to work in the morning, but I just couldn't concentrate on it. I tried the DGT on the way home from work, but it became very dry on the palate. I found it best as a "last call" pipe before bedtime. I have no problem offering 3.5 stars on this blend. It's a must try, but I prefer Black House with Black Cavendish and Kentucky to this.

The note in this blend that sticks out the most is the strong consistent soda flavor. It's really nice with the Latakia, which totally dominates the blend, but as usual Latakia smokes so thin (to my taste) that many puffs are like nothing but hot air. Not a complex smoke for me.

I guess I’m the first to review Magnum Opus in 2019 (the average review being 4.8 years old, with only 5 reviews for all of 2018). What an amazing little village we pipers inhabit!

Russ Oulette has been cranking out some of my favorite blends, blends which are strewn throughout my cellar. Magnum Opus is a solid English blend – as solid as it gets – yes, an English loaded with Balkan tobaccos (one can see the tan flecks and ribbons of Basma and Yenidje throughout). I’m obviously late to this party – other reviewers have already covered all the bases – MO is smooth, creamy, spicy, earthy, woody, smokey, with lots of Latakia-love, and it’s a Brut blend (it is dry, not that sweet). If someone had given me a bowl of this and said “What do you think”, I would have responded “This is a fantastic English (not a Balkan) – super good.” 3-stars.

Yes, a wonderful tobacco, a masterpiece even! Lovely mixture of many different colors of tobacco in this broad cut ribbon, perfect moisture content straight from the tin. I need to cellar this one deep.

This blend is a treat, I taste characteristics of each leaf upon charring. Naturally sweet incense like smoke with just a little spiciness. Smells and taste wonderfull, I could live with this blend the rest of my time on earth if I had to and had enough. Come to think of it its no good dont buy any.... LOL

I can taste that it resembles Blackhouse and Balkan Sasieni, except it has perique which puts it over the top for me as being a little more interesting among the more interesting blends that I like.

The oriental's steal the show with Latakia being a significant player. Some lighter Virginia's, but if you've smoked these Balkan Sobranie style blends this one is may favorite. It just has that perique that adds some kick. It's not too strong though, just enough to embellish what truly is a real tasty extravaganza of a treat.

It did need some moisture which really wasn't hard. I just spritzed some distilled water and mixed it around a bit. That's the only knock is how dry it came. It's so good though I bought several tins to keep around. If I used one word to describe this blend, I'd say satisfying.

The orientals are present, but I would have preferred more Samsun and less Basma, most likely. The latakia compo entry was smooth. The Virginia component was just there for the ride. While this is a good English blend, I believe that Russia has done better.

The biggest problem with this blend is that it lacks harmony. There is way too much Latakia which simply clashes the entire time with the rich Perique. The Orientals don't seem to have a place in the blend, also clashing with the Perique. The Virginias are sugary sweet, and are overwhelmed by the Oriental/Latakia dominance. Once everything starts to meld the flavor is not for me, almost like barbecue charred shrimp. In my opinion the flavors in this blend clash the whole way through. The tobaccos used are of good quality and taste natural, although I'm guessing sugar was added to the Virginias.