Virginia /Perique Tobacco » Hearth & Home Virginia Spice Tobacco Reviews

Smooth and Nice Virginia Spice

This blend is reportedly a VaPer with cigar leaf, but I was unable to detect any cigar-y overtones. It's mild to the palate. The draw and intake are smooth, sweet and very flavorful. The nicotine is there, but is not heavy.

An Amazing VA/Per Blend

This blend was new and fresh at the time of review.

The pouch aroma (bulk) is sweet, tangy, slightly spicy, with a hint of plum. The tanginess hits my nose and starts my mouth watering. I love the smell of this blend. The moisture level is perfect for smoking right away.

Right at the start the flavor tasty and complex. I tasted a very nice tobacco flavor that was sweet and spicy with hints of pepper. None of the flavors overpowered the others. Sometimes one of the flavors are more noticeable than the others and sometimes they all mingle together. The finish has a slightly tart plum flavor to it.

Around the mid-bowl point the pepper becomes more pronounced, but never gets overpowering and the sweetness has faded quite a bit. At this point the flavor profile changed to a more spicy and peppery flavor with a hint of sweetness instead of sweet and spicy with hints of pepper like in the beginning. The finish also changed. It is now sweet and spicy with a hint of pepper instead of the tart plum flavor. This last change in flavor lasted through to the end.

This is an amazing and complex blend. It burned cool, dry, and didn't bite. I even tried to get it to bite and it wouldn't. It burns very well and was easy to load, light, and keep lit. I never detected any cigar flavor in this blend, but it does have a fuller smokiness to it than most other VA/Per's that I have smoked. I love this blend and I Highly Recommend it!

Read my full review here:
PipesMagazine.com - Hearth & Home Virginia Spice Pipe Tobacco Reviews

Virginia Spice is everything nice

Virginia Spice is the last of the Hearth & Home VaPer blends that I have explored because I was put off by the word "spice" in the name, and "cigar leaf" in the blend description. As it turns out neither should have been a concern. What Russ Ouellette serves up here is a delightfully sweet and plummy mix of Virginia's (my guess is red, stoved-red, and some brights), seasoned to perfection with a rich, complementary Perique. Mellow is the operative word.

The power of suggestion may be at work here, but at times I think I detect an ephemeral hint of the sort of spice found in jellied candy spice drops -- more of an impression than a taste. Maybe the purported cigar leaf content is playing off the Perique to create this sort of sweet piquancy. I dunno; but it is neatly tucked within the broader fruity tobacco profile. The emphasis here is on a rich, chewy smoke volume with good mouth feel and a prominent, dark, fruity sweetness. What's not to like? I think this is one of H&H's better VaPer offerings, although I'm admittedly hard-pressed to choose among them (well, with the exception of Frenchy's Sunza... :)

There really aren't any negative issues with the blend: its rough cut leaf packs and lights well; burns nicely; has mild nicotine content; great tobacco taste in the dark fruit range of the spectrum; pleasant, mellow sweetness; no bite; slow, cool, and dry burn; and a pleasant long lasting finish. Although I need those sharp, grassy, zesty Va.'s in my rotation, there will always be a jar of H&H's Virginia Spice within reach.