Hermit Tobacco Works Co. Captain Earle's - Ten Russians

I have heard about this from a few friends of mine and decided to try it. The tin note has a nice leathery smell to it, nice soft crumble cake, easy to light. Not a whole lot more I can say about this one other than it is a full rich Latakia blend that tastes very good and is consistent to the end of the bowl. My tin was dated 121118. Definitely worth a try and a solid four stars for me.

Very smooth smoke, no harshness or tongue bite, but a little one dimensional. I get some brief tastes of Virginia but mostly just Latakia. The Latakia used tastes a little different than Private Stock, but are tasty. It smokes dry, with few relights, and leaves very little dottle. It is a fantastic evening smoke and pairs well with black tea. I prefer Private Stock just because of the tingle I get from the Perique, I guess; however, this is a top notch tobacco and stays in my rotation.

So a friend of mine turned me onto this blend. His comment about this blend...."started smoking this and the next thing you know I am on the ground in nothing but my tidey whiteys and these ten big ass Russian guys are standing over me laughing."

Well how can you pass up a review like that! Opening note was outstanding....smelled like a campfire. The light up was easy and the first puff or two.....Wow this bad boy is potent. My friend suggested I smoke a small bowl. Good advice for me. This has a fantastic taste so sweet and smoky and perfect for a true lat lover. No it is not Syrian Latakia but Cyprian Latakia. Still it is damn good. You just have to respect the power of the nicotine level. Had to relight a few times but nothing really a problem as it gave me time to come down from the nicotine high. Room note is tolerable at best for the fairer sex. This is a big boy blend but outstanding to all us latakia lovers. A true five star smoke just mind those big burley Russians guys.

In a word, Excellent! A lat bomb, it has plenty but the Lady Latakia is tamed by the sweet Cavendish and well cured hay like Virginia. While it is noticeable I feel the Turkish is the least noticeable of all. While some have said it is not an all day smoke, I say, not so fast my friend! Smooth enough to go the distance, and enough nicotine to keep you on your toes. The crumble cake breaks up well and packs and takes fire well. Consistent taste throughout the bowl with little to no moisture. An all around satisfying smoke for this ole sod buster! If you like Latakia you will like The Russians.

Leaf: This tobacco was my first Krumble Kake, it's no wonder it got caught up at customs, it must have looked like a brick of Hashish on the X-Ray. It is a little rectangle of very compressed tobacco, maybe 2x2x1 inches, dark brown and black, a little oily and a bit wet. It breaks up very nicely into a fine mix of what I guess you would call chopped leaf. It dries quickly once broken up.

Tin Aroma: Latakia. Glorious, thick, smokey Latakia. There is also an underlying sweetness here, and a spiciness from the orientals, but it all takes a back seat to the Lat, which is fine by me.A very rich aroma you can smell a mile off, Earthy, Smokey, and at the risk of sounding silly, I thought I got a hint of smoked bacon from time to time...

Taste: Things get even better here. My first mouthful was dominated by the Latakia, it is really packed in there, big, heavy, smokey, dry, earthy, a wonderful dose of what has to be my favourite component in many blends. But it doesn't end there, you could be forgiven for assuming this will be a one dimensional smoke, but I found it far from it, the orientals and Virginia don't disappear into the background, their sweetness and spiciness weave in and out of the heavy latakia all the way, it feels very well balanced, it is incredibly smooth, with thick velvety smoke. I found it to be a satisfyingly complex blend of elements that never seemed to leave any single component in the dark. By the end of the bowl I found the Latakia to be slightly less dominant, maybe due to becoming use to it, and the orientals and Virginia become a little more pronounced. At the end of the bowl I was left with a sweet, smokey after-taste in my mouth and on my lips. This is top quality leaf, a top quality blend, and a top quality experience.

Smokeability: I had no troubles with this, I never dried it, just crumbled it, packed it a bit lighter than I usually would with ribbon cut, lit it up with two matches, and smoked away. It stayed cool and dry throughout, it never even looked like biting even when I was taking big deep puffs to make the most of the thick smoke, and the big Nic hit. I found it very manageable and it burnt down to a fairly fine white ash. No fuss to clean up.

Summary: This is a GREAT smoke, I really, really, REALLY enjoy it, it has great depth of flavour, it is BIG, it is rich,it is smokey and sweet, and it has a big Nic-kick to boot, make sure you respect it or it will sit you down and teach you a lesson. It is like walking into one of those restaurants from Man Vs Food, and ordering their challenge, the "Super Dense English Supreme with Extra Latakia and legendary Secret Nicotine Sauce", except sitting through this isn't a challenge, it's a privilege.

I don't think I've used the word 'comforting' before in a tobacco review but it fits here. This is a nicely balanced blend, definitely 'Latakia forward', that comes in a nice big brownie-sized cake that cuts and crumbles easily. Medium but definitely present nicotine strength, with a sweet and gentle flavor that has a familiar, warm, and 'comforting' feel to it - silky mouthfeel, light on the orientals (no bite or afterburn). I did not at all get the oily or creosote sensation that some have reported. This reminds a little bit of Penzance in flavor profile - dusty but round and smooth - although not quite as refined / subdued, and the cake is not as dense. This is a quality smoke, perfect for a mellow, contemplative evening on the patio accompanied by a snifter of brandy.

Update 2018-08-23: A little age (4 years) has been good to the Ten Russians in my cellar. Edges smoothed out a little. Leather, salt, and more cream than before. A tiny floral note peeks in just once in a while. Delightful.

I just finished the second +2 year old tin. I must say that this blend improves with age.

C&D typical good plug format- crumbles easy enough.

When the tin was new I had a few bowls and the smoke was good but a little
unremarkable. So I came back to it again at 6 months, with similar result.

At about a year ( stored in mason jar) this smoke became wonderful and extremely complex. I would say its not a Lat bomb but very Lat forward.
Virginias adding strength and depth.

Super smoky and almost dusty on the pallet . Bite factor is very low.
Smokes well fully dried out as well and it does not loose flavor (to me) when fully dried out.

Have just smoked the sister tin to the first one and having the same age gave the same result. I would consider to recommend this blend to anyone liking strong English blends (like Nightcap) but please consider to age for a while before smoking as the tobaccos seem a little "young" with new tins.

I'm half way trough my second kake. The first block I got from a friend. It had some age on it. Now I'm smoking a fresh tin. There is a difference. More flavour nuances when aged.

I certainly see why this is so popular among the serious Latakia lovers. Probably hell on earth to someone who doesn't like or is just so-so about the Lat.

For me it was love at first light. This fresh tin has not disappointed. Very Latakia forward. I think it is medium strong regarding the Vitamin N hit, though not to be played with carelessly if you are nic sensitive.

I'm giving this four stars with the proviso that I'm a Lat lover.

When I pulled out this fine black brownie of a tobacco brick from the tin, I was surprised at how easily it separated and loaded into my pipe (large bowl). After wiping all the charcoal-esque residue (which wonderfully smelled akin to peat or diesel fuel) all over my pants, I lit up and sat back. To my surprise, this tobacco did not kick my arse in the latakia department, but rather kept me guessing with other dimensions that rounded out the blend. Here and there I would get good latakia strength, but when my mind would start to wander, the Russians would reassure my palate that they were not done showing off. While it is true my personal tastes wanted Ten Russians to be more of a "lat bomb" given the name and such, but it is much more than that, it is what the masters at Captain Earle's wanted: "to deliver a perfectly balanced blend to the true aficionado of full English tobaccos." If you like such englishes as Odyssey and so forth, definitely puff on this in a generous bowl.