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

This is one of the most powerful Latakia blends that I've ever smoked. The stuff comes out of the pipe in waves and my tongue got a little overwhelmed, frankly. I do like to smoke Latakia from time to time, but also enjoy the other elements in the blend. With Ten Russians, I get a Latakia Intravenous drip.

Pipestud

Good Lord have mercy - what a shot of Latakia!

I know this tobacco has other components, but the various flavors were snuffed out due to all the Latakia. I think CAO's Old Ironsides wuld take a back seat to this one. If there is a fuller Latakia on the market I'd frankly be afraid to try it. I like Latakia every now and then, but this is just too much for this old cowboy. Taste presentation; leather & salt.

The taste is mostly latakia as the Virginia and cavendish play minor supporting roles, though you will notice the Turkish some. The Virginia is earthy and the cavendish is sweet. Strong and forceful in taste, it'll give you the nic-hit you're looking for if you are into lat-bombs. If you're looking for a complex English, this isn't the place to be, but if you're a latakia fiend, you'll enjoy the journey if you smoke this. The flavor is consistent with no harsh or weak moments. Burns well, slow and leaves no dottle.

-JimInks

There are a lot of really nice full Latakia mixtures on the market and there's no doubt that this is one of them. It comes in a nicely pressed tobacco cake and gives off a rich deep smoky aroma from the tin. Once I have broken off a chunk from the cake and roughed it up a bit, I do find that it needs a bit of dry time, perhaps 30 minutes on average. Overall the presentation is a bit more moist than a lot of the other latakia mixtures I smoke. I would imagine that the pressed cake form has a bit to do with that.

The first half of a bowl of Ten Russians provides a densely layered smoke quite reminiscent of mixtures like Pease's Odyssey and Dunhill's Nightcap. However as far as nicotine goes, Ten Russians sits a bit more firmly on the Nightcap side of the spectrum. My only knock on Ten Russians is that unlike Odyssey and Nightcap, the back half of the bowl gains a somewhat aggressive acridity. Too much information for my feeble minded tongue to unravel? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I prefer the end game of the other two aforementioned blends over this one.

Altogether this blend is still quite satisfying. It's spicy, rich, and nicely balanced. However I doubt I will stock up on it as I have plenty of blends on hand in the same realm that I enjoy more, but I am very happy to have tried it.

A very nice surpise. This is, by all means, a very good Latakia laden smoke: strong, manly, perhaps a tad overwhelming. But it is very good: meaty, hearty, full of flavour. The Virginias are quite dry, with all their natural sweetness gone. The orientals (Turkish) and Latakia predominate. The strength is obvious. One draw and the palate is immediately greeted by a blast of a heavy English taste that lasts long after you've put the pipe down. I would not recommend this as an all-day smoke, but every once in a while, specially when it's cold and windy, it's an exhilarating smoking experience.

The question of “Strength” and “Taste” to me is often confused. I find Ten Russians to be medium in a strength department as in the level of Lady N. In the taste department, TR is definitely full. For lovers of Latakia, it will be on most pipers top five list. I enjoy it both aged and newly tinned. The other tobaccos merely show up as there is no doubt who the star of the show is in a fresh tin. Ten Russians with three years of age presents at least to me, a more balanced smoke. The Latakia softens a bit while the Virginias gain a bit of sweetness that I don't find in a newly minted tin. I find very little complexity in a newer tin and a greater degree of it in one with some age on it. I prefer to rub it out, being careful to not overdo it and being careful to not let it get too dry as it will turn to dust. Either way, if you are not a fan of Latakia forward tobaccos, than this is one to take a pass on. If you love well made, Latakia forward krumble cakes, it's hard not to recommend Ten Russians.

As expected, it tastes like latakia and has little to no development as the bowl progresses. I would prefer Odyssey over this, but this over DaVinci and Pirate Kake, although they are all in the same genre...that is, heavy latakia blends tempered only minimally by Orientals.

You can get the same smell by jamming your head into a fire pit the day after a campout, but it isn't as relaxing or socially acceptable.

This is good stuff. This review was from a fresh tin and smoked from a large cob ; you get an initial hit of nice smoky Latakia that quickly develops into a cheesy bacon Oriental flavor, very flavorful through the first half of the bowl with nice balance. I wouldn't say there was much sweetness and the Cavendish doesn't do much either. Unfortunately, half way through the pipe the flavors become mottled, Latakia totally taking over the Orientals and a spice bringing some heat, (Smoked at a sip). It seemed to stay lit very nicely and smoked for a long time. I really think this will be super blend with a little bit of cellar time, I don't like the harsh spice on the tongue. I'm doing my own comparison test against Engine 99 and Odyssey, I'll update with my conclusions , 3 stars now.

Update: Best ****- Odyssey ( 9 months cellaring),

Good ***- Ten Russians ( new tin),

OK **-Engine 99 ( new bulk)

I just noticed reviewer," Tom Servo 03/29/2011", I have to agree

Updated 7/29 2015- I just retried this blend after about 3 years in the in the cellar, very smooth and flavorful. This has definitely improved to a 4 star blend . If it only came this way as a fresh tin.

This actually deserves 3 1/2 stars.

There's just something about this blend. Sure, it's Latakia. And oh Lord is it strong. Like coffee from Africa strong. And the room note scares away all but the masochists. But whether it's the pressing or some other magic hoodoo, J and Louise give up a really great one here.

This blend is made for sitting on the porch or walking through the woods. This is not an all-day blend. This is not an every day blend. This is a blend for pot roast and Yorkshire pudding evenings, for stiff ales and lagers. This is a blend to bring out when some n00b annoys you by lighting up some sticky pouch of dessert like Cap'n Black or Cherry Cordial. This is the real deal.

Complex? Please. About as complex as a Nascar race. It's loud, it's strong, you get dizzy just being there and it keeps going around the track until it's over. But there's no question in your mind that you've had a pipeful of some high-octane Latakia. And you'll be back for more. Right around the time your wife speaks to you again, you'll think to yourself... "Yeah, that was some powerful stuff. I wouldn't mind another bowl."

Not for the faint-hearted, experimental or dessert topping crowd. Consider yourselves warned. But for you Latakia fiends, you have no excuse for not posessing at least one tin of this. Break half of it up and jar it up. Leave the other half in bricks and jar that up too.