Hearth & Home -- Louisiana Red

Brand: Hearth & Home
Blend: Louisiana Red
Style: Virginia/Perique
Pipe Used: No-Name Apple
Price: Free Sample

Appearance: 8
Taste: 8
Room Note: 8
Value: 9
Overall: 8

While most tobacconists offer their own proprietary house blends, rare is the shop that develops such a wide array of quality pipe tobaccos that they're able to mix, tin, and distribute them for sale by their own competitors. Such is the case with the Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe -- better known to Internet connoisseurs by their web address pipesandcigars.com.

I've enjoyed many of their blends over the years and since they seem to keep devising innovative pipe tobaccos I guess I'll never run out of new things to try. I've been sitting on a sample of their Louisiana Red for a while now and finally got around to giving it a whirl.

Hearth & Home's Louisiana Red is a Virginia/Perique (VAPer) blend made up of two kinds of Red Virginia leaf and a healthy dash of St. James Perique. Out of the tin/pouch it appears as a classic medium brown ribbon cut tobacco and smells sweetly of dried fruit.

I loaded up my favorite pipe, a cheap no-name apple shape, lit the tobacco and started puffing. My first response was that it tasted like McClelland's 5100 Red Cake with the same mix of nutty sweetness that I love in that blend. Since both are predominantly Red Virginia blends I guess that stands to reason.

But after a few puffs the added Perique began to poke through with a rich, boozy taste of homemade fruitcake. This added some real depth to the blend but the Perique remained a sweet condiment and never added any spice or kick whatsoever. I actually enjoyed this departure from the classic VAPer flavor profile but I would certainly rank Louisiana Red as a mild blend in that genre.

Toward the bottom of the bowl a rich cigar taste and aroma briefly emerged which really brought the smoke to a stylish and satisfying end. The room aroma in general was fairly pleasant and nicely complimented the flavors.

The blend was also well behaved in the pipe and smoked cool and dry with no problems whatsoever.

Hearth & Home's Louisiana Red is a unique VAPer that provides a most enjoyable and flavorful smoke. The fact that the blend can now be purchased in tins (1.5 and 8oz.) from multiple retailers at great prices offers a nice alternative to bulk for those who don't enjoy canning up their own tobacco. LA Red is a winner from top to bottom and I certainly plan to stock some away.