Hearth & Home Black House

This is the best tobacco I have ever smoked....

I have waited a long time to review this blend, I wanted to acquire a large enough stash to be safe in case the supply temporarily dried up. When I open the tin I am immediately transported to the streets of Baghdad 1000 years ago, the smells of exotic incense and musky animals, the thick leathery smell of a well worn saddle and the aroma of cooked meat on an open fire. Black House is everything I ever wanted in a tobacco, it gives you a wonderful smoke every bowlful, top to bottom, with subtle flavors coming in and out as the bowl progresses. It also provides enough nicotine to be interesting without being overwhelming. I cannot thank Russ O. enough for this masterpiece.

I believe all tobaccos should be taken in their own terms. Whether Black House is similar, better or not as good as the goneby Sobranie 759 classic (which I did try many moons ago) seems to me a mute point.

This is a great English/Balkan mixture: rich, hearty, complex, full in flavour, diverse in taste and complex in its components. The use of unsweetened black Cavendish (something the old Sobranie did not have), adds depth and smoothness without resting strength from the mixture as a whole.

Unlike other Balkans, I find Black House not so mineral in taste; rather it is richer and more savoury. Latakia and Virginias take centre stage, but the added orientals and the Cavendish make for a far more complex flavour. It burns slowly and easily, and it never bored or overwhelmed me.

A great tobacco in the most classic tradition of the English/Balkan blends.

Back in the old days, the late 80's, early 90's, Balkan Sobranie was a "go to" for me. Now, I admittedly preferred the white label to 759, but when the white label was sold out (as it frequently was) 759 was then the choice. Black House really does taste like 759, perhaps a wee bit fuller and slightly sharper in taste as I remember it, but very close. Would I prefer the original to BH? Yes, but, hey, they stopped making the original, so why not make a clone? I'm all for this. I think Black House is a great blend on its own merit, and I will be purchasing more in the future.

I ordered this based on reviews I've read, and I like it. Being lucky enough to smoke 759 in in the 70's and the 80's. Now the 80's had a change of blenders as the family sold the rights and Balkan Sasieni (Gallaher)made the blend that was a shadow of 759. Now Arango with J.F. Germain make the new Balkan Sobranie (White Label) which in it's own right is very good. They have workers from the original House of Sobranie, and maybe they will bring back the Holy Grail 759. In 759 it had Mountain Blue Latakia, Turkish, Virginia's, Macedonian's, Black Cavendish and Yenidje which has become very difficult to obtain. So that brings me to Black House, I've smoked 6 straight bowls today. From Castello's to Caminetto's to Savinelli's and all different shapes.. Each time it got more familiar to me, visually in the tin and the huff test it was spot on. When I lit up the bowl the initial smoke had that flavor I remember and it produced a nice bellow of smoke that was a gray blue just like 759 the re-lights after sitting for a 1/2 hr or so were excellent. However as I continued it was missing something, now don't get me wrong it's a very fine tobacco. I think it's missing the Yenidje as well as more Macedonian, and a touch more Latakia of course this is just my opinion. It did smoke very well and easily smoked to the heel with no problem. It was dry with no moisture at all in the pipe, I have to say this is the closest tobacco I've smoked since 759. I would say that Black House stands well on it's own merits is a fantastic blend that you shouldn't hesitate to pick up.....Now I'm going to go for a seventh bowl 🙂

For me, there's little in this pipesmoking world less compelling than a brand new tobacco that is hyped as an emulation of some long forgotten classic. I realize there was a contest and all that, but I just usually shy away from these kinds of blends. However, since I was lucky enough to recently acquire a small amount of 759 and this was voted to be the closest to that classic, I thought I may as well see if I agreed. Such hype begs... no, demands... that it be directly compared to the blend it's trying to match, if such a comparison is possible.

First of all, the contents of my tin did not much resemble 759. It came fairly dry, but was also evenly matched between dark and brown tobaccos. The cut was a bit wider as well. In the pipe, this tobacco was indeed very similar to 759. How that is so, when this blend contains Kentucky and Black cavendish which was not in 759, is beyond me and very likely a testament to the blender. But the flavor was remarkably similar - same sweetness barely up front with the smooth and spicy latakia close behind. The orientals tasted like the ones in 759. This one as well refused to be DBT'd.

It was only when I pushed it a bit that this blend showed its ornery and decidedly non-759 side. It became cloudy and a bit dirty tasting, which I could never get 759 to do. Whether this is due to the inclusion of those two condiment/base tobaccos, I do not know. And it's a non-issue anyway, if one smokes suitably slowly and in a relaxed fashion. To my tastebuds, Russ matched 759 most admirably, based on my limited tasting. I'd go so far as to suggest that 759 addicts should look no further. It was so close that it exhibited the same shortcoming I found in 759, in that it was just a bit smoother than i normally prefer. But this one should be tried by every latakia lover, without question. It's a very fine blend.

A short ribbon mixture ranging from light brown to almost black. There is also some pale green tinged leaf in the mix. The tin note is slightly sweet, with some terpene Latakia notes.

Notionally a Balkan, this tobacco is something of a Frankenstein blend, and I am sorry to say, given there is clearly a lot of love for it, that it behaves that way too.

I found the burn quite irregular. Sometimes smouldering, at other times taking off like a house on fire, at which times it was hot, harsh and wet. I also felt the ammonia levels were unacceptable. The Oriental and Latakia aromas soon burn off and the middle of the bowl is very mid range Va. I honestly thought these Virginias were coarse and without nuance or colour.

The end of the bowl is DFK territory; ashy, sometimes bitter, and very high in residual nicotine.

Not my cup of tea at all.

Took a while to get my hands on this stuff, but it was worth the wait. I met Russ at the Richmond, VA pipe show two days after I had received my first order, so I was able to congratulate him on a job well done. Upon opening the tin the aroma seemed almost disappointing; pleasant though quite mild, giving no hint as to what was in store once the pipe was lit. The orientals are right out front most of the way through, sometimes almost a bit too sharp, but invigorating. It has a very springy, loose cut. Normal packing gave almost no resistance to the draw, so the temptation is to pack it a bit tighter than you normally might. Moisture seemed about right straight from the tin, but that was deceptive. The first 3 bowls I smoked (in 3 different pipes of different sizes) all got a bit wet near the bottom of the bowl so I tried two things. First, I dried it out for a couple of hours before smoking it. Second, I packed it more loosely. Bingo. It burns fast, as others have noted, but when dried out it burned right to the bottom clean and dry on one light. So don't succumb to the temptation to overpack it. just enjoy a bowl at its own pace, then have another. Although I was smoking pipes back when BS759 was available, I missed out on trying it. In the past 15 years or so I have come to love Balkan-style blends and have tried many over the years. This is a very tasty tobacco. I normally prefer a tad more latakia than this, but variety is the spice of life. Different blends for different moods, and this one definitely fills a niche. I'll always try to have some on hand from now on.

Magical, mysterious, glowing

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utterly spectacular.

I have never tried 759, so I cannot compare. I have been pipped at the post in the dying seconds of a bid on eBay more than once for a sealed and obscenely overpriced tin, and each time I tell my old pipe mentor he scolds me for even bothering while Black House is available which he says is every bit as good a smoke.

So many superlatives you can talk about with this, but for the positives, I lit this up the first time and knew that this was the one I had been searching for. Warm incense with strong tobaccos throughout, the woody aroma of the KY playing off the smoky lat and the orientals just add a magical spice to it that bring it into a place I have never experienced. The Black Cav just tinges it with a subtle sweetness.

With so much going on, you'd swear it would be confusing, but it works like a Mozart Symphony, everything has its place, and everything contributes just the right amount.

The only downside, it can lose some of that magic near the end of the bowl, and get a bit dirty tasting. The aftertaste was a bit of a letdown for had what had been almost a religious experience to that point, it gets a bit out of sorts right down at the end, somewhat bitter and ash laden, and its just very lat heavy down there. To combat, I halt proceedings right before the final 6th now.

Epic.

I have never smoked the target blend and have not brought myself to pay the insane premium on eBay to try Balkan Sobranie 759 (maybe someday). I did get a tin of Black House and a tin of Blue Mountain to compare. I have since bought a couple more tins of Blue Mountain.

Black House is a quality tobacco and Russ knows his craft for sure. Smokey, broad flavor profile, balanced but definitely on the spicy end of the spectrum for my taste. Even when smoked carefully the spice level sometimes 'plasters the heck out of my palate', not an endearing quality - hence the 3 stars.

Burns down to a dry, gray mottled ash. I prefer Blue Mountain to this because of the slightly lower 'spice' level. Both are great blends and worth getting your hands on.