HU Tobacco Sunset

A variety of light, dark, and red Virginias work together to create a creamy medium bodied flake with a little complexity and a very consistent flavor. Minor grass notes intermingled with earth, honey, tart and tangy citrus and tangy, sugary dark fruit sweetness with a slight tartness, a little bread and wood, and bare hint of spice. The strength and taste levels border on medium. The nic-hit is just past being mild. No chance of bite or harshness here. Imbued with its own natural flavors, there are no toppings. It burns slow, cool, clean, very smooth and even with no dottle, and virtually no moisture in the bowl, which seems to be a trademark of HU products. The flavor is very consistent from top to bottom. A little moist fresh out of the tin, it does need a little more than your average number of relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. Can easily be an all day smoke.

-JimInks

I was really looking forward to trying another HU tobacco when I opened this Sunset . I found a relatively dry folded flake with a very mild tin note . The smoke was sort of hot and basically tasteless . I stored it in a ball jar for a few days and it really took off delivering a sweet , honey taste, albeit one that we might not be used to . HU tobaccos use Indian and Philipino Virginias , much different to our domestic variety . It takes a while to get used to them and enjoy . The Sunset burns a little fast but delivers an almost fruity taste further down the bowl . Much like the HU Haymaker but a little more tart and less spicy . It must be remembered that the HU folded flakes should not be smoked direct from the tin but stored it a ball jar for a while to allow them breath . Clearly worth the trouble to order them .

Sunset is very smooth and mild with no chance of bite, it burns evenly and completely to a white ash but it’s not very flavorful. It’s an easygoing tobacco with nothing to not like, but if the point is to smoke something flavorful Sunset is not it. While the tin note smells of something added, the tobacco tastes natural. Mostly tangy and dark flavors, on the bready/yeasty side of the Virginia spectrum. There is some honey-like sweetness but everything in Sunset is on the mild side. This is how I judged Sunset initially after smoking a few bowls.

After reading Big Train’s review I decided to follow his instruction and jar the tobacco. So I rubbed out all the flakes and left them in a jar for a few days. My first impression after that was that the tobacco had indeed become more flavorful. And actually I finished Sunset quite quickly which is a sign that I liked it. I smoked it straight and I used it for blending as well. I would gladly buy Sunset again especially for blending. I am not going to give it four stars but it deserves three stars at least.

Sunset, just another Virginia Flake ? No way !

Inside the family of "unscented" Virginias, Sunset is, seen by its choice of leaf, truly something special. A nice sweetish flake, which appears quite "flowery" from its taste, and consistently "creamy" during smoking all down the bowl. No harshness or tongue bite, as often observed while smoking VA-Flakes - a true delight!

Sunset ? OK, a wonderful VA-Flake and a beautiful label painting presentation, even if smoking pleasure is more like a "Sunrise". I tend to recommend smoking this blend on a relaxing evening however - it is not an "all-day-smoke". Congratulation, 4 Stars !

Very nice tobacco , creamy with a full taste of virginia , mild nic-hit , no toppings , no tongue bites . Have everything need to be a perfect virginia flake . Congratulation HU Tobacco .

This is a great Virginia. I had a tin of this sitting in my cellar for a few years after I obtained it from a friend in Germany in a trade. It had also been sitting in his cellar for a few years. In total it had aged more than 6 years before I opened it so this may have some influence on my experience that may not match that of a new purchase, but my experience lands this easily in the top 5 Virginias I have ever had the pleasure of smoking.

This has all the elements of virginia sweetness that I look for in a straight virginia. There is the light hay and citrus notes you come to expect from the bright virginias as well as the dried fruit and earthy tones you would get from darker and Red varieties. All of these tones are well balanced and will poke in and out throughout the bowl. It also does not lack in body or heft. It never left me wanting more.

The tobacco comes in flakes that are nearly impossible to pull out in tact, but easy to rub out. I used the shards in my normal kind of fold, kind of rub and stuff. No problem with performance and the flakes did not require any drying before smoking. Four Stars and perhaps a new favorite virginia for me.

Upon lighting , I sense grass, earth, hay and some wood. It’s mildly sweet and slightly spicy. Towards the bottom, the sweetness reaches it’s zenith, as does it’s spiciness.

It’s not harsh, but with quick puffing it can taste bitter. It burns at a moderate pace for a flake. It’s medium in body and nicotine.

For me, the optimal time to smoke Sunset is late-afternoon to bedtime. It’s not bad, it’s just there are better straight Virginias available. 2.5 stars

Beautifully smooth and creamy smoke. A great blend. There is such a lovely silkiness to this sweet, fresh tobacco that, after smoking, the mouth is left with a warm, soothing aftertaste. Beautiful texture and cut in the tin, fresh grassy aroma, with a clean natural taste, sweet with a biscuity appeal. Similar to Haymaker, but more mellow. Simply Virginia and nothing else. Burns so well after a couple of lights and didn't need much relighting at all thereafter. This is another great handmade blend by a master blender. For me, it has been a great discovery. Highly recommended. And, as another reviewer has said, with age, this will be a wonderful vintage.

Although I have a general preference for aros, I am a devotee of Tillerman and Dockworker and found a sample of Sunset included by Hans in a recent order.

Packing my Butz-Choquin churchwarden at sunset and strolling through the garden yielded a rewarding experience, although likely under-appreciated on my end due to my general tilt toward cased blends.

There was neither bite nor gurgle, and the bowl burned steadily throughout the duration of my walk. This tobacco is one which will surely help mature my tastes, and move me beyond my current palate over time.

"10 points for Gryffindor" (and Hans), as one of my children might say.

Tin note is hay with some sweetness and a lite citrus note. Beautiful flakes light in color. I tend not to rub out flake Virginia and find that they smoke better in flake form. I just fold enough flakes in half to break loose the bottom of the flakes and put them in the bowl lengthwise snugly. The flakes burn much better that way and wont get too hot if you control your cadence. The smoke from this is mild, but has lots of flavors citrus, hay. some grass. So far I have never been disappointed with any of the HU blends. There are no detectable toppings at all. Nic hit is mild to medium and the flavor is mild but very satisfying. No bite or harshness at all. If you like straight Virginia blends this will not disappoint. All day smoke for sure. Update to this review if you rub this out it will burn much hotter.