Hearth & Home Derby Club Aromatic

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!!

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.

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.

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.