Hermit Tobacco Works Co. Captain Earle's - Honor Blend

I bought this one well over 6 months ago and from the looks of it I might have smoked it once. I re-discovered this one the other day and have been taking it out for a whirl. The tin is dated 12/31/18 and tin note is a light semi-sweet smell, faintly of hay maybe. The site labels this an Oriental but the tin denotes this a Virginia based blend. This smokes dry as in dry wine description, very little sweetness. Also, there is no Latakia in this blend either which is okay but my issue with this one is I am not really 100 percent sure what I am smoking. Is it Oriental or VA? This is not a bad blend but it does seem to have a slight identity crisis to me if I was analyzing it objectively. I smoked this mostly in the morning and maybe this might be a better blend in the evening. Okay, but the least of the Hermit tobaccos I like as it stands today. Tomorrow could be a different story, who knows?

My sample is just over one year old. Upon opening, an overwhelming molasses scent makes it difficult to resist taking a bite. This is not a broken flake, or a crumble cake, but a very dense plug composed of relatively coarse ribbons. It is impossible to break off and must be sliced with a knife. So, technically a cake because it is made from cut leaf, but behaves like a hard plug.

If not rubbed out, it will require frequent re-lights. Very mildly sweet, but at times has a nutty flavor, and at times is rather harsh. Bites like a mad dog. Burns very hot. The flavor is strong, but boring and lacking depth. The nicotine is strong. Unfortunately, the best part of the experience is the scent in the tin.

I'm giving it a second star just due to peer pressure. I wouldn't buy it again, but I will not throw it out either.

Best sliced off thinly with a very sharp knife, fully rubbed out, and in a larger pipe. A churchwarden stem helps to cool the smoke.

Honor Blend is a very satisfying smoke, but satisfying like a cigar. It has a strong presence to both the smoker and those in the room. It starts with a distinct cigar-like quality to its taste, aroma, and body. By the middle of the bowl, the fullness lessens to a degree. The sweetness of the red virginia and cavendish does not emerge until the last half of the bowl, and it is about this time that I needed to be more careful in my technique--slowing down to avoid it getting too hot. This a stout, non-latakia blend--stouter than I like for an everyday blend, but I'll be looking for that open tin on a hot summer night or a cool Sunday morning (these are cigar moments for me). One note: I find it easy to pack Honor Blend too tight, so I try to pack looser than I normally would for the medium ribbon cut. Overall rating: B-, special occasion smoke, room note very earthy.

Lightning may strike twice, but eventually it won't. Likewise, it was inevitable that Captain Earle would eventually produce a dud. I'm unsure if there are severe consistency issues at the factory, or if our funny family of reviewers has wildly different tolerances for different tobaccos. Out of charity to the good Captain, I will lean towards the latter. This is not a bad blend, in any way. Its sole fault is a lack of "Wow Factor". Sadly, given tobacco prices today, that puts it on my "Do Not Reorder" list. Life is too short for "Just OK". A smoker of primarily straight Virginias would enjoy this, as that is the primary profile it offers. The additional tobaccos are present only as buffers and accents. The unsweetened Cavendish provides some slight toast notes, while reducing acidity; The Perique serves to bolster the nicotine content while accentuating the fruit notes of the base Virginias; the Orientals don't seem to do much of anything, beyond the occasional musty note. The general tasting notes are of dry grass and small amounts of orange peel. Nicotine content is moderate; right in the range that it will be too much for some, and not enough for others, namely myself. Despite my notoriously-terrible Virginia technique, this smokes without bite. Occasional tanginess comes through, and the general profile leans towards sweetness. The room note isn't terrible, but isn't great; reminded me (and my wife) of unfiltered Camels. Nostalgic for me (my grandmother smoked Straights), noxious to my wife. Smokes to the heel without relights or gurgle, even in a full-bent Bones. This could be a nice departure for fans of Capstan or Escudo; Perique fiends would do well to search elsewhere. It could even be an all-day blend for the right person. Unfortunately, I am not that person. In summation, remember your Dante: those "Whose lives earned neither honor nor bad fame" were still banished to the gates of the Inferno.

The previous reviewer is right..this is rather unique. It is a crumble-cake style tobacco. I don't know about others, but I get a bitter taste from this as part of the flavor profile. I rather like the tobacco, but I don't like the bitter component.

I could never smoke this tobacco everyday, it is simply too strong. It is nice every once and a while. It has the body of a cigar and the taste of a very strong Virgina. The second half of the bowl is the best part the VA's start to sweeten up and the Perique starts to take on a spicy note, very well balanced but too strong for my taste.

I didn't love this one. I couldn't find a flavor in it that I particularly enjoyed. Maybe because cavendish was mentioned as being part of the blend I assumed that this tobacco would have a sweet-ish or mellow note to it, but I could not find it. For several of my puffs, I detected a faint acetone flavor that I associate with smoking cigars. The aftertaste I have in my mouth after finishing the bowl is akin to what I taste after smoking a cigar as well.