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Derby Club Aromatic is one of H&H's Mid-Town Series. Smooth and pleasant, it is a blend of burley, Virginia, Turkish and a bit of perique. Derby Club Aromatic is, like all the Mid-Town series, rather reasonably-priced. You can enjoy DCA anytime: morning, noon and night.
Notes: Derby Club Aromatic is a match for Kentucky Club Mixture Aromatic.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JimInks (3049) |   |
Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
The burley is lightly molasses sweet, earthy, woody and nutty, and is the star component in regard to composition. The perique offers a bare hint of spice with more plum and raisins in the background. The Oriental/Turkish provides slight notes of earth, wood, and is barely floral and herbal. It's really less than a condiment as is the perique. The Virginia is a little grassy and mildly citrus sweet in a support role. The topping is a little fruity, and avoids the chemical note of the original, otherwise it’s the same in both. In both case, they moderately sublimate the tobaccos. The differences between the original and Derby Club is that the original is a little sweeter, the burley is a shade deeper in flavor, while Derby Club is a little smoother. The look and cut of the tobaccos are the same in both. Some say the original had a tendency to bite, but I did not notice that in either version. The strength is mild and the taste is a couple of steps past that mark. The nic-hit is very mild. Derby Club burns cool and clean at a reasonable pace with a very consistent flavor from start to finish. Leaves very little moisture in the bowl, requires few relights, and makes a pleasant all day smoke, as did the original. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste.
I rated the original at two and a half stars.
-JimInks
22 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Morley (97) | |
Mild | Mild | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
What a fine surprise. It’s an aromatic, they say. It’s unlike any aromatic that I’ve ever encountered. Would that there were more like it.
Just think, it has burley and Virginia and that’s well enough, but there’s Turkish in there, too and, what’s more, Perique. Perique. Who would have thought? In an aromatic, and an aromatic directly based on an old drugstore tobacco, no less.
The burley is dominate. It is in all of the Hearth & Home Midtown Series. It’s good burley. Well cut. Well blended. Not overly treated. It’s soft and round and direct. Cool smoking and consistent. It’s probably like the burley of yore that the entire series of blends is inspired by. I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t around to smoke those, but it’s nice to think about.
With that very nice burley base in Derby Club, there is a fair amount of yellowish, bright Virginia. It’s sharp and sweet and grassy. It’s nicely balanced with the burley and never dominates or overheats. It makes the otherwise straightforward, woodsy burley just a little bit more interesting. But wait. There’s more.
That Turkish tobacco is bitter and herb like. There’s not very much of it, but it’s enough to kick things up a notch. And then there’s the Perique. It’s the Perique that really makes Derby Club my favorite of the Hearth & Home Series. The Perique deepens and darkens this blend. It makes it like a good dark chocolate or a very ripe, dusky stone fruit. It makes the blend soft and velvety, but rich and bodied.
There is a top dressing, an uncomplicated, unobtrusive one; slightly fruity, which complements the Perique and makes the rest of the blend sing just a bit more. It smokes cool throughout and doesn’t fatigue the palate. If I were to have any complaint, it would be that I always wanted another pipe immediately after finishing the first.
20 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emeritus Account (30194) | |
Medium | Very Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
Another sample from an internet friend (as was the Chatham Manor and Presbyterian match). This was a bit darker in color than those two and had a headier pouch aroma. Deep and uninhibited, if lacking a bit in refinement. I could smell orientals but not perique, which is typical of my own lack of refinement when it comes to perique!
Earthy is an oft-used term to describe burley and it fits here. This was a robust burley rather than a nutty version and the minor inclusion of orientals provided a bit of welcomed bitterness and brine. The perique was barely noticeable and then only really in the room note. The topping, perhaps of an alcohol base, was fruity at times and bitter-sour at others, but never overdone. I've never smoked the original this is based on, so I can't comment on how close of a match it is. This one is definitely recommended to those who prefer a robust blend, yet it desperately wanted to fry my tongue and roof of the mouth at every opportunity. I had to fight off that phenomenon regularly, and this loses a star as a result. Then again, it's not the tobacco's fault, I suppose. Sipped slowly, the flavor of this is beyond reproach and I would buy again but for that biting quality. Try this if you enjoy fullness of flavor without flopping into brute strength for its own sake. I sincerely doubt the original was this good!
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| fr_tom (393) | |
Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I am smoking through a 2 oz sample from P&C. This has been a very pleasant smoke. I have smoked the original Kentucky Club, but never the Mixture, so this review is not based on any comparison to Kentucky Club Mixture Aromatic.
The blend presents as a mild VaBur on the Buley end of the spectrum. It has some condimental perique and Turkish, and a mild fruit topping. The effect is slightly sweet and nutty with a few Virginia notes and some grassiness in the sweet. The perique adds a plum to the fruit flavors and the Turkish provides a little spice - maybe the perique is part of the spice too. The perique and Turkish are a light touch and are most evident when puffed and exhaled through the nose.
This is not what most people would characterize as an aromatic. It is a great mild smoke with tobacco flavor and a little "salt and pepper." This is easy to recommend to anyone who likes a mild VaBur and thinks a little variety (but not too much) might be interesting. This is easy to recommend.
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Pipestud (1829) | |
Very Mild | Mild | Mild | Very Pleasant |
I'm not sure that I could taste much Perique, but the Burley, Virginia and touch of Oriental elements came through just fine. It has been so long since I smoked a bowl of the original that I don't know whether to indicate that this is a good match or not. All I know is that I liked it. Very light in overall presentation and an easy all day smoke.
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Gentleman Zombie (729) | |
Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I find myself liking this a lot. Never had the original. I get a nice Burley mixed with Oriental and the Virginias in the background. Just a slight touch of spice from the Perique. The topping is fruit, but seems to have something else I can't identify. Whatever it is tastes nice. A very good anytime smoke,
Mild in body and flavoring. Mild to medium in flavor. Burns perfectly with no harshness or bite.
Pipe Used: MM Country Gentleman, MM Mark Twain
Age When Smoked: fresh
Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com
7 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Earl Grey (34) | |
Mild | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I never tried the original Middleton Kentucky Club Aromatic, but after reading so many great reviews for Derby Club Aromatic, I had to try it. And I am so glad I did. This isn't a typical aromatic. I found the flavoring to be a subtle enhancer to all of the great tobacco flavor in this blend. I would say it's a bit more Burley forward, but all the tobacco flavors are there. It's balanced perfectly IMHO. The Virginia and Turkish are evident and come and go throughout the bowl, but it's the Perique that really drives this one home for me. I knew from part way into the first bowl of Derby Club Aromatic that I was hooked. This is now in my daily rotation. I even stocked up on this one. If you like the old school burleys, but with way more flavor and complexity, I would give this one a shot. Perfect moisture level, one relight and burns to a fine white ash. No tongue bite at all. Like I said, I never tried the original, but H&H made a fantastic blend with this one.
Pipe Used: Missouri Meerschaum, Falcon
Age When Smoked: Fresh out of tin.
Purchased From: pipeandcigars.com
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| BigSwede (93) | |
Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
This is a good smoke and much better than I thought it would be. I got this with several other baggies in the Mid-Town series. Frankly I'd never been a huge fan of the original KC Aro so I put this one off for a while. Long story short: this is a good, solid burley blend, using good leaf that is mixed with other "stuff" to create a smooth, slow burning comfortable smoke. Just enough topping that melds well with the tobacco, to give it a bit of aroma but never over the top. The flavor develops nicely deeper into the bowl. Cool, no bite, easy to keep lit. Nicely blended to create, or re-create, the kind of blend that was so popular with our fathers and grandfathers. For me best of the series so far. Simple is good!
Pipe Used: Generic billiard
Age When Smoked: From fresh bag
Purchased From: pipesandcigars
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Young Piper (304) | |
Medium | Very Mild | Medium to Full | Pleasant |
First off I am absolutely delighted to see that A. Morley Jaques has started reviewing again! In 2004 when I first started smoking a pipe he was one of four reviewers that I took their tobacco opinons seriously and found that their preferences were very similar to mine. Pipestud, Prison Chaplain and Eulenburg being the others, I had kept in touch with Eulenburg via email and Christmas Cards up until say 2010 and have not been able to locate him :-( Mr. Jaques on the other hand I had seen as Edgar Allan Poe at the Old Stone Church around 2010 and was blown away by his performance... Not only a great reviewer of tobacco but a master actor as well..
Anyhoo H&H Derby Club is another wonderful Mid-Town blend that puts the original blend it is supposed to replicate to shame. The perique is not too strong which is good since I cannot take it in excessive amounts and the slight topping gives it a pleasant room note. Anything with Turkish, perique and burley is going to be a stinker that will cause women, children and pets to flee with the haste of a passenger exiting a burning aircraft but Derby Club manages to deliver strong delicious flavors with a pleasing aroma. Russ really has a nack at creating top shelf boutique blends that resemble OTC Drug Store blends, it's really amazing what he can create! I am quite happy with this offering and would not hesitate to recommend it to others, the price is refreshing at a time when others are raising their prices while the quality drops, Hearth & Home continues to amaze me with their creations! Great job on this one too Russ!!
Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars
Similar Blends: Kentucky Club - Kentucky Club Mixture Aromatic.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| newmystic (4) | |
Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I really like the flavor of this. I never had the chance to try the original, but this higher quality version is going to be my tinker smoke.
Pipe Used: Tsuge Ichibana
Age When Smoked: fresh
Purchased From: Pipes and cigars.com
Similar Blends: Kentucky Club Aromatic.
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Epoch (3) | |
Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
I really enjoy this blend. If I'm looking for something to smoke which I know is going to treat me right every time, I reach for the Derby Club. For me, it checks all the boxes as an every day tobacco: It has a great burly base which burns nice and cool, enough virginia for that sweet tang in the back of the mouth, and just a bit of perique and turkish to amp it up when puffed a little hotter for a change of pace as desired throughout the bowl. The retrohale is pleasantly spicy.
To round it out, I've never yet been bitten by this blend. I smoked a pouch of Kentucky Club Mixture before buying Derby Club as its replacement in my rotation. KCM could leave the roof of my mouth a bit beat up if I pushed it. This stuff doesn't. As a replacement for KCM it works great. The only noticeable difference I can detect is more cocoa in the pouch aroma. Flavor, to me, is equivalent.
Nicely done with this one, Russ. First old school blend I've felt was worth the tub.
Pipe Used: Cutty, Anse, Squat Bulldog
Age When Smoked: Fresh
Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com
Similar Blends: Kentucky Club Mixture.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| MarkTheLad (46) | |
Very Mild | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
I have never smoked the original Middleton version, however my father used to smoke it a lot and the aroma/room note is very much like I remember. I definitely get the soft, nuttiness of the burley, the slightly spicy orientals is very light, but it's there. The perique is a pleasant, but light fruitiness in the background. It's sweet, but not too sweet. I was worried that this would have that Chemical aftertaste that I usually get from a lot of aromatics, but I taste nothing but quality tobaccos. The mouth feel is soft and smooth, with no harshness, but with plenty of body, with no bite, very nice. This is easily an all day smoke, I enjoy it with morning coffee. I only ordered a 2 oz. pouch, but I'm definitely going to order a tub. Bravo H&H, nice job on this blend!
Pipe Used: 1/2 Bent Thomson Apple
Age When Smoked: Fresh
Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com
Similar Blends: Kentucky Club - Middleton.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Idlehands (2) | |
Mild | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
I normally do not review tobacco blends as I feel reviews are really very subjective to the reviewer. That being said, I offer this. Most of the reviews here have hit on the quality of this blend so I will avoid repetition. I have been on a 3 year search for a go-to blend that I can sit back and enjoy anytime regardless of weather or location without offending anyone nearby and the bus stops here. I have tried tubs of H&H Midtown CM, Chestnut and PA and now DCA. The DCA is in MHO the best of the H&H Midtown series, and it now my go-to smoke. I cannot offer a comparison review because I never sampled the original Kentucky Club Mixture Aromatic, but Derby Club Aromatic stands alone on its own as the best of the Midtown series. If you like a milder VaBur, you owe it to yourself to try DCA. Thank you Russ.
Pipe Used: A variety of briars
Age When Smoked: fresh
Purchased From: P&C
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Adam T Valleau (21) | |
Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
So far, I have sampled three Hearth and Home Mid-town Series tobaccos: “Chatham Manor”, “Chestnut”, and now “Derby Club Aromatic”. I think all these blends are really very good, but “Derby Club Aromatic” is the best of these with “Chatham Manor” a close second. “Derby Club” is a very smooth and mellow blend which still manages to have quite a bit of complexity and character. I smoked a lot of “Kentucky Club Aromatic” early in my piping history (early 1980s), but it has been a long time since I last smoked it and so trying to compare these two blends might not be very fair. Yet, it seems to me that Kentucky Club was NEVER this good! In any case, “Derby Club” is a rich, flavorful tobacco which manages to remain reasonably mild. It is definitely burley-forward, but the Virginia and Turkish make their presence known. The Perique is not strong, but it peeks in now and then, if you pay attention. The topping is there, but is subtle and works very well with the tobaccos. I would classify this blend as a light aromatic, at most. It isn’t too moist, it isn’t goopy, it lights and burns well and leaves little dottle. I would think this would easily be an all-day smoke for most (it is for me). “Derby Club” is a fine blend in my opinion, and it is definitely one of the 5 blends I’m looking for to always have on hand. For the price, it is hard to beat. Highly recommended!
Pipe Used: Variety of briars, corn cobs and meerschaums
Age When Smoked: Fresh
Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars
Similar Blends: Yes, Kentucky Club Aromatic, but also H & H Chestnut (but stronger), and a little like Half and Half..
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Ronnstein (29) | |
Mild to Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
IMHO the best of the Mid-Town series. Very good descriptions made by other reviewers so I'm not going to get into that, the only exception for me is that I added a few pinches of blending perique to this and it really helped make a good blend much better.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Houndstooth (34) | |
Medium | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
The two ounce bag I bought smelled like chocolate to me, but this did not scream "aromatic" when I smoked it.
The perique is definitely there- providing the spice, or is that the Turkish? The texture has that burley fluffiness to it, just like the Midtown series "Chestnut" and is probably just as good of a smoke all the way around. Again, not a trace of harshness either and my guess is that those so inclined could smoke it all day.
I found moisture beading up in the amber stem of the new corn cob I was smoking it in, but I think that was due to the cob being smoked for the very first time.
So far, this Midtown series is not an extreme flavor sensation, but don't call it bland either. Gentleness and subtlety is the name of the game, and I'd recommend both varieties I've tried to newbies and vets alike.
Pipe Used: MM Morgan and many others
Age When Smoked: new
Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars
Similar Blends: Supposed to be a Kentucky Club Mixture Aromatic knock-off, but I wouldn't know..
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Sunday (27) | |
Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
I have never smoked Kentucky Club so I don't know if this is a good remake or not but I certainly enjoy smoking this tobacco. It has a very pleasant aroma and burns well but the nicest part is the taste. I am not good at describing how things taste and probably couldn't even describe how lasagna or coffee taste to someone but as a pipe smoker for at least 20 years now I do know this is one smooth blend!
Pipe Used: MM Cobs and Dr Grabow
Age When Smoked: Had just recieved it
Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars.com
Similar Blends: Not quite sure.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| Lager (53) | |
Mild | Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Not being much of an aromatic smoker this one was a surprise. The topping was done with a delicate hand and really enhanced the tobacco flavor. Quality of leaf seems very good. This is a good all day smoke you need not think alot about. Packs and lights easy. Flavor is the same through the entire bowl. Recommend. Smoke in peace- Lager
Update: This ages very well as any rough edges that peaked out once and a while are now gone. I will smoke the remainder and might order more. Nice mild aro.
Pipe Used: Pete's, Savs
Age When Smoked: New
Purchased From: Pipes and cigars
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| andythebeagle (2) | |
Overwhelming | Medium to Strong | Overwhelming | Tolerable to Strong |
I just got finished with reviewing the Hearth and Home Mid Town Series Chestnut that included this, and now I will separate this out to do just the Derby Club Aromatic.
Now, the Derby Club Aromatic. Char light is good. That's all. It tastes nasty. I is hot, bitter, burny mouth feel, bad after taste, rough inhale, almost a chokey feeling, nasty smelling "tin and room note", nasty overall burning smell, lingering foul odor, miserable smoking properties, and fights all the way against being a decent smoke, which is the only reason to use a pipe in the first place. I'm not going to break it all down for you. I will sum it up as "this just ain't gonna work" and may be a good way to ruin an otherwise decent pipe.
My overall assessment? Never again, with any of the Hearth & Home Mid Town Series.
Pipe Used: 2 meers and several briars
Age When Smoked: new from seller
Purchased From: P&C
Similar Blends: Nothing In My life..
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
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| ZachJJ (14) | |
Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
One of the more interesting and complex in the Midtown line from P and C. A semi aromatic. Tastes like a mélange of walnut, plums, fig, and a touch of cocoa - in that order. The taste is mostly natural tobacco, medium and complex.
I taste something that make me think there may be some condimental amount of cigar leaf. I have to say my impression is that there is a Perique like quality that may also be unflavored Cavemdish.
Full taste, evolving though out the smoke, and eminently satisfying.
This will be added to my cellar permanently.
Pipe Used: Stanwell bent brandy 9mm
Age When Smoked: Fresh
Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars
Similar Blends: Iwan Ries - Three Star Gray.
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